A special warning to lurkers and non-boat owners...

[2savage]

You must take the chance now to live your dream.

Waiting doesn't help anything except ensure that you have a little less time. If you dream of trips of a lifetime, do it now even if it isn't the dream boat.

The memories you will have will be priceless compared to the dreaming and a few extra savings which you may never be able to enjoy.

Remember, the view is the same no matter how big the cockpit of your boat is.

 

[ancora]

I concur, having retired thirty one years ago. My only regret was not retiring earlier.

 

[ksanders]

Your message is so true.

I just found out this week that a former co-worker died recently.

Mid 50's no bad habits. Cancer

I'm out in less than 60 days. Have 16 more 12 hour shifts in a my career.
Turn 60 next week

Could buy a much more expensive boat but not willing to trade the years in the office to pay for it, so sticking with my Bayliner 4788.

Heading out on a 4,000 mile cruise the first weather window after May 1st.
My retirement cruise.

I'm not rich but will get by just fine. Going to live my life while I have health.

 

[backinblue]

I don't disagree with any of the sentiments expressed here so far, but I would bet that current world events will give people reasons to put their dreams on pause temporarilly. When there is so much uncertainty in the future and financial markets, coupled with the likelihood we could see double the fuel costs this summer compared to last year, many will put off making big purchases right now, especially non-essential ones.

 

[Hippocampus]

There’s always uncertainty about the future. Pick the worst case scenario that’s likely [I use 95% probability this -pick event- won’t occur) and budget accordingly. Sleep nights and enjoy your days.

 

[Jolly Ogre]

You must take the chance now to live your dream.

Waiting doesn't help anything except ensure that you have a little less time. If you dream of trips of a lifetime, do it now even if it isn't the dream boat.

The memories you will have will be priceless compared to the dreaming and a few extra savings which you may never be able to enjoy.

Remember, the view is the same no matter how big the cockpit of your boat is.

You assume we lurkers can afford to do so.

Unless you are willing to support this venture?

 

[2savage]

I don't disagree with any of the sentiments expressed here so far, but I would bet that current world events will give people reasons to put their dreams on pause temporarily.

I couldn't agree less. When does 'wait and see' mode end? There is always going to be something to use as a reason not to do it.

 

[ksanders]

To the wait and see advocates...


Your body calendar will not wait and see.

It is going to age at it's own rate regardless of the world around it.

 

[backinblue]

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that it's a good idea to wait and see, but the reality is that when there is turmoil and uncertainty in the world, people tend to hold onto their money and hold off on big purchases. That's just human nature whether you agree with it or not. I know you can always find uncertainty in the world and excuses not to do things, but you can't deny that the world is in a much different place right now than it was a year ago.

 

[Simi 60]

Several of our friends are still working towards retirement, now near 20 years more than me and 10 years more than my lovely.

They think we are so "lucky" and well off to be able to retire early and enjoy life but I keep telling them, it is them who have the money, it's just their addiction to shiny shite and keeping up with the Jones that keeps them chained to their desk.

Debt slaves the lot of them.

 

[FWT]

A lot of businesses pulled way back on business plans in 2020 believing people would take a wait and see attitude, including boat businesses. They were wrong.

When stocks crashed in 2000-2001 vacation condo sales boomed.

Good luck trying to forecast psychology.

 

[ksanders]

The one thing you cannot get more of is time

 

[2savage]

My philosophy:

The next time your whole life flashes before you, make sure you have a lot to watch.

 

[Peter B]

Several of our friends are still working towards retirement, now near 20 years more than me and 10 years more than my lovely.

They think we are so "lucky" and well off to be able to retire early and enjoy life but I keep telling them, it is them who have the money, it's just their addiction to shiny shite and keeping up with the Jones that keeps them chained to their desk.

Debt slaves the lot of them.

So true Simi, and why I have always challenge those who post about their planning to buy a boat and go trawlering just as soon as they retire, and urge them to, like the OP, do it now if at all possible, even if on a lesser vessel than desired.

Proof of how we just don't know what is around life's corners is the sad news today, which you will relate to, as you will know of whom I speak, but today we heard that a prominent cricket player here - really a legend in the sport, and I'd say on a par with the top US basketball players - died last night of an assumed heart attack at the age of 52..! All one can say is he did indeed lead a very full life while here...

From today's paper...
“It is with great sadness we advise that Shane Keith Warne passed away of a suspected heart attack in Koh Samui, Thailand today, Friday 4th March,” the statement read.
Australian cricketing great Shane Warne has died in Thailand, aged just 52, from a suspected heart attack.
The shock news has been confirmed by the Warne family, who released a statement at midnight, saying the international cricketer-turned-commentator died of a suspected heart attack on Friday.

 

[socalrider]

You assume we lurkers can afford to do so.

Unless you are willing to support this venture?

It is possible to cruise cheaply. Probably best to get a small sailboat though - check out Sailing Uma, Free Range Sailing or Millennial Falcon on Youtube for inspiration. I spent a bit over a year riding a motorcycle all through MX and Central America in my 20's & the total cost for the excursion was about $5000. Got a wife and decent Spanish out of the deal too!

That's also assuming your aspiration is to retire & cruise. There are lots of worthwhile things to do with ones time on this planet other than working all day at a job one hates to pay the bills.

It's tougher when there's a family involved & you're anchored to a place. All in all it's a good problem to have: my wife and kids love their life here too much to take off cruising full time, so we do it over the summers.

As soon as the youngest is out of the house, we'll do something more ambitious. But we are enjoying life in the meantime.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. JO. "...we lurkers can afford to do so." Do it on the cheap. We purchased a 23' boat 6 years ago for $5000 US. We've traveled in her every summer for up to 2 weeks at a time and had a GREAT time. First 4 years we went for a week with our 2 grandsons (9 & 12 years old) AND our 60lb dog. Wouldn't trade those trips for anything.


Sistership:

Was it like camping out? Of course but so what?

 

[Wildbill]

You need to have time to enjoy retirement and not pass before at least a good swing at your bucket list. As some of you know I've been 30 years in emergency medicine and trauma, I've said goodbye to too many people. I officially retired 1/15/22, but due to government rules they could hold me much longer, they were nice, final shift 2/18, in Oriental NC 2/19 for a week to get some work done on our boat. Since the planned retirement and 90 days required notice some profound changes in my life. Despite no symptoms, I scheduled a stress test (due to a strong family history) Mildly abnormal, cardiologist friend said needed a cath...scheduled on Valentines day. During the time I waited, a friend with whom I'd ridden motorcycles all over the country with called me 12/26 from one of my ER rooms on my day off, was planning to retire in January and wanted to plan some sled trips, he never left the hospital, died in his sleep the morning of his planned discharge. Then a young nurse I'd worked with for years and the night before, dropped dead while working, after heroic efforts the code was called. 2 lives stolen. My cath very abnormal and I'm scheduled for a triple bypass on St Paddy's day, a gut punch for an Irishman. Lord be willing I can get to my boat this year....Don't wait my friends, find your enjoyment before the Bastard comes for you

 

[psneeld]

Or take a retirement job that you really don't need the money yet it is so much fun and not too intrusive...and it gives you great experience to/with the cruising life.

Some jobs are so much fun` that they may actually be better than retirement cruising.

 

[Delta Riverat]

67 retired, time to dream a little...

Figure I've got about 10 years before this gets a little too big. Now or never!

 

[jleonard]

My philosophy:

The next time your whole life flashes before you, make sure you have a lot to watch.

I like this philosophy.
I DO have a lot to watch, but I want some more. Just after 30 years of boating, I want to watch some stuff from land.

 

[smitty477]

I like this philosophy.
I DO have a lot to watch, but I want some more. Just after 30 years of boating, I want to watch some stuff from land.

Well put....

 

[Hippocampus]

Received a phone call from a husband to thank me for my care. His wife was a pt. I followed from her teens who just died in a car crash. Apparently seized and ran head on into a truck. I followed her through innumerable meds changes, brain surgery ( temporal lobectomy), vagal nerve stimulator and had her seizure free for >5 years. She had a life, married, kids and working as a LPN. Her insurance allowed her to see me only with a copay so she decided to transfer her care to her PCP. After her death was lead to understand unbeknownst to him her med suppliers were changed so one assumes bioavailability changed. Same day battled after clinic to get preapprovals on the phone talking to insurance RNs and MDs who had limited knowledge of my field. Got a lot of NOs. Days in the ER were in my thoughts. Such as a near drowning that ending with dealing litigation. Not med/mal but the involved parties arguing about whose fault her drowning was due to and an anoxic encephalopathy from a O.D. Told the significant other that the odds of meaningful neurologic recovery was slim. He became abusive. Received similar but less extreme abuse many other times. The abuse from irate pts., insurance companies, litigious society was in my mind as I drove home. I thought I’m at the pinnacle of my career. Don’t mind the work. In fact enjoy it but can’t take the rest of it. Time to bug out. Wife was also at the pinnacle of her career as a RN in the special care nursery at MGH. She loved her babies but she came home fuming about administration. Was met at the door with a tirade that she was done.
So we both quit early. Took me a half a year to disentangle. Took her a bit over a year. We both miss giving care. Neither of us miss work. Our friends and colleagues told us we made a mistake as we both had another 10-15 years left to “expected”retirement. Could of had a lot more money. Could of had a bigger boat. But when the time comes to get out-get out. As soon as you are reluctant to go to work and can’t wait to leave it’s time. No body is irreplaceable. Life will go on in your absence. You get one pass. Use it wisely.

 

[romeojk27]

I’m a lurker/non-boater owner here. And lots to think about. Thank you all so much for sharing and for caring. I do keep trying to run the numbers to a sooner retirement date, but I really want the house paid off first.

I do dream of a slow roll down the coast and back with the seasons. In the meantime I joined a boat club a few years ago (never a boater before that) and my wife and I have been enjoying day cruising to Martha’s Vineyard and around Cape Cod. It’s not the same as retiring and I do count my blessings that we have our health and now is the time to really do it.

I hope to change my 6yr plan to a 3yr plan, and would love to make it a sooner plan. All good points made here and I too have seen to many go too soon and know I am rolling the dice waiting.

So again, thank you and keep the reasons coming. It usually takes a lot to make things sink into my thick skull, I just hope it’s not too late when it does. I’m 57.

 

[Hippocampus]

R- you make a great point. Given once you throw up the anchor it’s very difficult to maintain a reliable income stream. Some folks run real estate rentals or remote consulting businesses but even that is dependent upon fluctuations of those markets and demand. It also doesn’t allow you to entirely throw off the chains.
Wife had only two demands before we went cruising. First, that we always had a house to come back to. Her thinking was if we got sick or real estate became prohibitively expensive or the boat was unusable for a long period of time or so many unknowns which made it impossible to live on the boat we’d have a home.
Second, that home be kept empty other than use by us or family so we could return for breaks from cruising (Xmas, school breaks, etc.).
Given we’re dependent upon investment income we built a house using cash and built the boat with cash. When we converted to power used cash. Have no debt burden of any kind. Think this is instrumental to a low stress cruising life.
Of interest annual expenses have been roughly the same cruising or not. If we weren’t cruising we’d still be traveling. Airplanes, resorts, car rentals, increased restaurant usage, and entertainment expenses add up. So cruising is definitely expensive but so is traveling with other modalities. You end up spending money at roughly the level you did and got use to before the life change regardless if it’s boating or another activity. If you lower your “nut” before you leave you’ll spend a bit less. We did that by carrying no debt and building our house to be zero footprint. In fact we get a monthly check for having geo and solar on the house and the usual tax breaks. Beyond taxes, insurance, plowing/landscaping services and monitoring systems the house costs us nothing. In fact when we’re not in the house it generates more income. ( less heating/cooling, no water use, nominal electric just the geo pumps and the monitors).
So you’re right. Anything you can do to be impervious to market changes and lower your monthly “nut” will decrease your stress. The more disengaged you are from the real world the happier you’ll be. The mantra “go small-go now” has merit. The sunsets are the same as are the sights and off the boat activities. Creature comforts may vary somewhat as will safe cruising plans but the world’s a beautiful place with much to see and do. Pay off the house and go.

 

[backinblue]

Hippo, good post thanks. I know you've done extensive cruising by sail and now will continue doing a lot with power although more coastal it sounds like. If you don't mind me getting too personal, can you share some details about what age you started full-time cruising and did you completely stop working at that point? Whatever you feel comfortable with is fine, but I think you have an interesting story if you don't mind sharing. if you'd prefer not to, I respect that as well.

 

[Hippocampus]

Decided to bug out at 57. Took 18m to build the boat and get it from China to Norfolk Va. Was totally disengaged from my prior life before turning 60 and in North Sound BVI for that b’day. Single handed a bunch that year. Wife was still flying back and forth while using up her comp and sick time. She was totally disengaged by 58.
In retrospect we could have done it before I was 55 and should have. Since my mid 30s never lived up to my income always putting 10% away. We would have kept the sailboat except the admiral fell off a ladder while getting on the sugar scoop while she was on the hard in Grenada. Although she healed her three ankle fractures she felt unsafe on the foredeck in a seaway. You’re rarely up there on passage but when you need to be you need to be. Until then our plan was to go transatlantic and cruise the eastern med. Now the plan is US/Canadian east coast and Bahamas as well as the Hudson and maybe a modified loop. Intend to cruise until they throw dirt in our faces. Current boat makes that possible. Would run into couples in their mid to late 80s still cruising the Eastern Caribbean so know it isn’t a pipe dream.
They say hindsight is 20/20. Many people cruise with children. Boat kids are a wonderful group and seem quite prepared for adulthood. Think their exposure to different cultures, languages and skills in making friends with kids from other countries gives them a leg up in adulthood. Think becoming schooled and then established in your profession then taking a hiatus for cruising has benefits to you and your children. My life’s projectory didn’t allow that but I’m glad I bugged out early.

 

[Airstream345]

You only die once.

Couldn't agree more with the OP. We took the plunge at ages 50 and 51. I'm still working (reboatly) while we refit and customize the boat to our mission and preferences. Certainly a "silver lining" of the pandemic was how companies now accept the concept of highly remote work. As a marketing exec I also get some street cred from our mostly millenial workforce who think living aboard a boat is "pretty dope" .

Sold the dirt home, put the proceeds in the bank and paid cash for the boat and refit. We certainly know we'll never be able to buy back into Seattle but we're fine with that. There's a downtowm marina we can visit when we need our city fix. The more we think about it the more we doubt we will ever "retire" in the US.

We don't spend much since two of our three adult children off the payroll and the youngest about to graduate college on a signficant athletic scholarship which has proven to be an massive advantage while we're in our prime earning years. As far as retiring-retiring - I honestly can't imagine not working on something as long as my mind and interests are there. I'll likely be turning wrenches or refinishing teak in marinas for cash until I either don't know what wrenches are for or I drop dead.

We've lost family, friends and neighbors in their prime. We've also met cruisers in their 90s that are sharp as a tack. I've read many post on this site and others where a couple saved up for their dream boat and soon after retirement one or both lost their health and had to sell.

We made the decision to do this now rather than waiting. Yes, holding onto our home in Seattle for another ten years would've made financial sense, so would moving to San Jose ten years ago but life is all about choices and we elected to chose lifestyle, time with our families, friend and each other and most importantly putting experiences in the bank vs money. You can always make more money - you can never make more time.

It was scary and difficult at times but now that we're in the groove we don't regret it for one second.

 

[Hippocampus]

As a small thread drift. Got real friendly with a guy who ran a small grocery in Bequia. Over morning coffee he explained islanders looked at visitors in three groups. Expats, tourists and cruisers. Tourists included charter boats, cruise ships and resorts. Expats and cruisers actually live in the given island so spent time in groceries, hardware, pharmacies and the other activities of daily living to learn the culture and be exposed to the life of the island. The others could have been anywhere. A resort in Miami is little different than a resort in the Caribbean. Even PR where a different language is spoken.
Think although the regional differences in the US have become blurred that’s still true to some degree here in the states. So suggest there’s value to cruise not boat. Even if you can’t bug out think about maybe moving your boat to a different cruising ground every few years. Or even for hiatus of your usual routine. Think this is applicable at any age.

 

[Hippocampus]

Good on you 345.

 

[Unclematt]

I am 65 and have 1-1/2 months to go until I retire, then June 1st off I go solo with my dog on the Loop. I have a business I am selling to my sons. My income will drop in half but I know it is time for me to go. When your sons are partners in your business you loose them as your children. One other key reason I am doing this now is too many people I know have died, many younger than I. Live while alive is my new motto.