This subject is very close to me but in a different way and I probably have a different perspective because of my age. I am now 66 and in good physical condition. Last year, I began a 30-year retrofit of my Landfall 38 for cruising to the Bahamas in the fall of 2016--I'll be 69 years old at the time I leave. I can't predict what my health situation will be like in 2016 or anytime for that matter and I can't worry about it. I have taken off for 6 months 20 years ago and cruised to the Bahamas and back (from Annapolis). So, I have done the short term cruising that some here have talked about--I do strongly recommend this for anyone at any stage in their life.
As far as pouring a lot of money into your boat and never getting the chance to go anywhere (like someone brought up here), for me, "messing about in boats" is as enjoyable as cruising somewhere--its all part of the journey, viewed from a wider perspective. If I die from a heart attack just a few months before we are supposed to leave for the Bahamas, I still had lots of fun retrofitting my boat and would find peace with that. Whether by cancer, a car accident, or whatever, we can all die at any time. We have to do what we love to do and hope that we can live long enough to do much more of it. Others may not find the pleasure that I do by simply messing around my boat and I can understand their need to cruise somewhere to get this pleasure. We are all different. From the 6-month cruise I did a long time ago, I can assure you that it is not all palm trees and hammocks and beaches. A lot of cruising is doing simply tasks (like doing laundry) in exotic locations. Even though the Bahamas are beautiful, I never found a place that I considered "paradise" and wanted to stay the rest of my life. There are all kinds of compromises to places like there are for boats. For this reason, I think the wider journey (retrofitting your boat, traveling up and down the ICW, etc. are all as valuable as any cruising destination could be. Most of my life I have owned a business. When I took off for 6 months, I thought I would just resume when I returned but the business was in shambles and I had to rebuild it. So, leaving in the middle of your life and returning has its consequences. As Wally says, we are all "revenue generators" here at home. The time to take off cruising permanently, in my opinion, is when you are young (in your 20's) or when you retire in your 60's. I don't know if what I have added to this discussion is of value or not--I am just one person with my own opinions. Bob Boyer S/V Rainy Days (1983 C&C Landfall 38 - Hull #230) email: dainyr...@icloud.com blog: dainyrays.blogspot.com "There is nothing--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." --Kenneth Grahame
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