Many people dream of sailing off into the sunset but few do. Why is that? What can you do to see if it is something you really want to do?
The daydream of sailing off into the sunset is a romantic notion that has been around for centuries. Many people dream of it but few do. Why is that? It takes certain kind of person to make the sacrifices that have to be made to make it happen. For those willing, and comfortable making them, many treasures await.
But what are those sacrifices? Let's discuss the basics.
Giving up land life
Life aboard a boat is somewhere between camping and house living with a few added features to make it interesting. A traditional land life and all of its creature comforts don't fit aboard a cruising sailboat unless you have millions to throw at it. You also have to consider if you want to be at a marina or not, which will determine some of the comforts you can have; a marina will give you more available luxuries but also cost a lot more.
What friends and family will think?
Some families are very supportive of new and unusual ideas, like sailboat cruising, and others will think you are mad. A person has to be willing to deal with any consequence of telling family. Also, how will you keep in touch with loved ones? There are many options for this, though some are very expensive; satellite phone, ham radio, email, phone calls, visits home, having family/friends visit.
Then, of course if you are married and have children, do they want to go too?
Money. How much will it cost?
How much money you will need and how will you make money while you travel. This is an area I will cover in greater detail in another article but let me touch on it briefly. How much money you need to travel depends on a few different factors. The first is the size of the boat. The larger the boat, the more money it will take to maintain. Two, how many “creature comforts” do you want? If you can live with no air conditioning, manual water pumping and head (toilet), sailing most of the time instead of motoring; all of these things will save you money. Next, basic living; going out to eat, where you put the boat. Under the right circumstances, a couple can comfortably live on $1000 a month. For others, they might not be comfortable without a budget of $2000-3000 a month.
If this is a dream you have for yourself or your family, here are a few things you can do to see if cruising is right for you.
- Read! Reading is one of the best ways to get information. I suggest reading Lin and Larry Pardey book as well as the magazine Latitudes and Attitudes.
- Talk with your family about your ideas. If they are going to be involved they deserve to give input.
- Figure out if you like living on a boat. Try chartering a boat for your next vacation!
- Figure out how much you spend and what you spend it on. Living on a boat will eliminate some costs, but you will spend the same on entertainment!
The sailboat cruising life can be very rewarding for those that can take on the challenges of both living the life as well as making the choice.
