A few years ago when he asked me, “So, how does it feel to swallow the anchor?” I must admit that it stung a little. The smirk on his face was a revealing sign indicating contempt for me, a sailor turned land lubber. He was still sailing, and I was on my way home and back to work. But I didn’t feel like I was done sailing. In fact, I felt like I was just beginning a lifetime of passage-making and distant landfalls.
Now, two years and about 6,000 miles later, once again I’m faced with an end of one journey and only plans for another one, even grander than the last. But all journeys begin with a desire and then a plan.
So, why sell the boat then, If you want to keep sailing? Wasn’t the BCC enough for the two of you?
Of course it was. BCC Elizabeth is a beautiful boat and a joy to sail. However, having purchased it on a loan, we thought it best to sell her, pay off the loan and purchase a vessel with cash so we can do more sailing. It’s time to get on with it, and foreign landfalls are the only next step for us.
So, if it all begins with a desire and then a plan, then the journey begins when the plan is put into action. Finding and purchasing the next boat, getting her ready to cruise, working and saving money, are the necessary first steps. That’s where I’m at today. Joyfully.
What is your desire? And plan? I want to hear your story!
Hey T&B! -- If all goes well I think I’m still 2-3 years from casting off the docklines. And there’s plenty that might not work out just exactly the fastest that it could. But I’m taking a patient view. Sailing isn’t necessarily the end itself for me and my wife Sandra, rather a means. What we really want, my desire, is the liberty, beauty, learning, self-discovery and travel opportunities that long term sailing brings, and to get those in an environment that brings my wife and 2 kids (12 and 9 years old) closer together and able to function as a team. Sailing may occasionally (on dark days) seem a little way off to us but we’re already extremely grateful for having built a life that gives us all our desired benefits while we wait for the boat to come to us. She’s out there somewhere facilitating someone else’s dream for the time being. And she’ll be ours when the time is right!
In the meantime we’re travelling and working in different countries for 2-3 years at a time. We’ve lived on the coasts of Scotland and Catalunya, we’re now in Chile, and the next stop is New Zealand. So far so good. Fair winds.
Paul’s entry re: working abroad is inspiring but I need details. I too want to travel with my boat but I need money-making ideas. In Canada, temp agencies pay minimum wage. What are the jobs that are most in demand or pay the best without requiring expensive and long training? I also have UK passport so any Euro-relate suggestions welcome. Good luck to all and thanks for any tips.
The wife and I had a ten year plan. We bought a dirty, cheap 25 footer and learned on her. We learned how to work fiberglass, sew and repair a small engine. We learned to sail too of course . 4 years have gone buy and we have bought (outright) a 38 footer. And in 4 years, when I am 55 we cast off the docklines. So our 10 year plan has turned into an 8 year plan. It is people and blogs like you and yours that inspire us. Thanks…..Allan
We have our Cruising Home and have plans to quit work in June 2013. I’m soaking up information as I mentally prepare myself for the leap. We are getting things worked out on the boat we purchased this past March and will be moving aboard after we do a bottom job this October. We will begin the transition from land to sea one step at a time. I can’t wait to see who I am without all of the daily stresses that distract me from enjoying the place where we are the most happy… on the boat! We are making it happen!
I want to live debt free and have the freedom to persue cruising or whatever else I choose. I’m still a few years out on the debt front, but I have a plan and I’m sticking with it. I’d love to be out cruising in 5 years debt free with a little cruising kitty to keep me out for a while.
I’d love to hear what boat you two end up choosing. I love both the Nor’Sea and the BCC, but they are a little on the expensive side. I’ve been digging the Cape Dory’s lately, price/looks/build seem good.
Cheers.
To you Crazy Kids,
Go for it! BCCs are incredibly beautiful and seaworthy boats, but pricey, and I completely understand selling her to pay off your loan. It sounds like you two have the ‘simple living’ part down, so saving for a different boat may not take too long. Life is short, and going sailing and exploring while you’re younger can set you up with experiences, people and opportunities to last you for the rest of your lives. Who knows where you’ll wind up?
My 30 day notice goes to the marina in the morning, and I will be sailing for the Channel Islands, then Catalina, Dana Point and Mexico. I’ll spend a year there, then set off for the South Pacific. I have a PSC Orion I bought in Honolulu, sailed home, lived aboard for 15 years, and she’s beautiful. She’s in great shape, I’m in good shape, so I figured it was time to go.
Being able to leave with no debt is such a huge relief, and I encourage it, if possible. I don’t own other property, will be selling the car, loaning out the camping stuff, and giving away a lot of crap, er, stuff, to friends who can use it so much better than I. I’ll be saving money as I sail, as I won’t be in marinas except when necessary for maintenance or provisioning. It’s an open-ended voyage, with no end destination or time frame. It’s time for my adventure!
Keep the dream, keep each other as friends, take care of others in ways you know how, work hard and you’ll be out again before you know it! Always love each other!
Best Wishes for Everything!
Hey Wendy,
You should start a blog to document your adventures. All us liveaboards and sailors love to read one another’s stories!
Cheers!
Chris Troutner
The longer the journey, the more rewarding the destination. I salute you and Ben on your decision to get a boat *together* and own it *debt free*. Your exciting adventures to date have led you here. I can’t wait to see where else it takes you!
As you know, my wife and I have been restoring the Rock ‘n Row for the last year an half. We’re about three years into a five year plan. While it’s still just as hard to wait patiently, it’s great to know that we’re closer to the exit than the entrance.
So “Cheers!” to living debt free and physically free!
Chris Troutner
Hey T,
My desire is to live poor but happy. To fined someone like you in life to stay happy with. After the trip i learned that its possible to live poor but happy. I was wrong on the boat money is not happiness.
I live on a blue, winding road. A friend of mine recently told me that countries and places are not distant, they are all connected by this road, so they are all within my backyard. The sense of connection I get from being on a boat and on the water is something special, but this lifestyle isn’t just for the wealthy. I acquired my 19′ O’Day Mariner for free from someone looking to give it a good home. I moved into the boat, minimizing all of my storage needs constantly, while worrying about winter, snow, cold, and the repair work that still needs to be done. She sails well, but jumping into such a small hull and not knowing what colder temperatures have in store concerns me.
School starts soon for me, which means I am tied to a marina for the season. I suppose that’s just as well, since marinas also have plenty of electricity to power an electric heater until I can find another heating source. Upgrading solar panels, installing safety lines, etc. It’s a lot to do, and doing it all between working days is challenging.
I work for a harbor tourism agency, so I spend my entire day selling harbor tours, driving boats, dressing up as a pirate and squirting kids with water cannons. It’s a tough job, but someone has to be a pirate. My happiness, pursued.
Consider a boat with junk rig. Annie Hill, in “Voyaging on a Small Income” and Roger Taylor (http://www.thesimplesailor.com/) explain the advantages, among them simplicity, no need for foredeck work, and low running cost. And because few people appreciate the advantages, second hand boats with junk rig tend to be cheaper, rather than more expensive. Sunbird Marine (www.sunbirdmarine.com) brokers only junk rigged boats. Robin Blain, who runs the business, has been involved in developing the junk rig for many years. Him being based in the UK is not so convenient for you, but several of the boats are dedicated ocean cruisers, so might be worth a look even so. A good place for getting information on the junk rig is http://www.junkrigassociation.org/
Hey T send me a list of what you guys are looking for and I’ll help you guys with your search.
Hi Teresa and Ben. About five years I was going through a separation which ultimately ended in divorce. At the time I played with the thought of living on a boat which led me to looking at boats and then the thought crossed my mind to build a boat. Why not? I am a cabinet builder by trade, love to build things out of wood, and the challenge of something different is always appealing. Well as life would have it, my ex left, not just me, but our two children and home. Since then I have built two boats, a 15’ dory and a 14’ kayak. Along with my new found love for building boats came a deep desire to sail. I love kayaking and involve myself in local river sweeps, but I cannot escape the desire of living a life on the open water. I have dreamed about building a larger live aboard sailboat, but with all my responsibilities here at home the thought of trying to make that kind of initial investment was not vary realistic. I could probably buy a nice used boat much cheaper then I could build one, but there is just something special about being out on the water in something you built with your own two hands. As it turns out I saw on a sailing catamaran project listed on Craig’s List just a couple of weeks ago. The fellow that listed it started building the catamaran about three years ago and was planning to live on it with his wife when they retired. Little did he know how long it would take to finish this project and although he had the two hulls built, his retirement came too quickly, so he decided to just buy a catamaran, abandon the project, and give it to someone with the desire and commitment to see it finished. Better yet, the hulls were just about 35 miles from my shop. Now, with a lot of help from friends and a small payment to his nephew to help get the hulls on the trailer, I am now the proud owner of a great start to an awesome sailboat. The timing could not be better. This will be a huge project but well worth the effort. I figure it would take me about 5 years to complete this project if I were able to buy all my material as needed, so I am planning for 9 to 10 which is about the time my youngest will be getting out of school. Along with the hulls came a lot of epoxy, fillers, and other materials to keep me busy for a little while anyway. My plan is to try to pay my car off by spring or at the latest summer. Then I will apply those payments toward the boat. My house will be paid off in seven and a half years which will give me another year and a half to two that I will be able to apply those payments toward finishing the boat and getting it transferred to Charleston. If all goes as planned, within 10 years I will be completely debt free and living the dream on my new boat, Arianna Maria, named after my daughters’ middle names. My eldest is already planning to do college online from the boat. Ha, we will see how that goes. Anyway, I just happened to run across your videos last week on You Tube. Since then I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog posts. They definitely have been an encouragement to me. It is so nice to see that there are others, simple working class people like myself, who are living the dream that I have had for the last several years. I look forward to joining them. Good luck in your future. I trust you guys will find the perfect boat for your next adventure soon. I can’t wait to see it.
So great to view your YouTube videos. What an inspiration. My wife and I inherited a 28′ c&c. Awesome boat, and we enjoy sailing when we can.
I am going to try and get us both to the Bahamas in 2013 and do some sailing to get our feet wet on the ocean and island hopping. I pray all goes well so we can plan for future extended cruising.
I was looking at larger boats , bit after reading the blogs I do agree smaller is simpler, less expensive and easier. However not all the comforts of home.
You and Ben look like a great couple. What Great adventures you are having!
Hi Theresa and Ben,
JIm from Toronto messaging you both. Firstly, congratulations on tying the knot. From seeing your videos of living on Daphne and Elizabeth, you have a wonderful and working partnership. Secondly, I am in the process of saving up for a good small sailing boat, considering an Orion 27 or a Nor’Sea 27. I hear both are really seaworthy and with the shoal draft I can navigate the waterways that meander through Eastern Ontario as I leisurely journey Down East back home to Nova Scotia. I have no knowledge of either the Orion 27 or the Nor’Sea but they seem more seaworthy than any of the sailboats I am seeing in Toronto. IF you have any tips etc on the advisability of either of these two boats I would be most appreciative.]
Sincerely,
JIm D.
I think you made the right decision to “Swallow the Anchor” and get out from under that loan. You’ll feel much better on your new boat knowing that it’s all yours and you can go anywhere you please.
I insisted on buying my home/yacht with cash so that I didn’t have to worry about the burden of a loan and expensive insurance.
I love your blog, and I’d like to invite you to check my cruising and sailing blog as well.
Oh and now that it’s January, are you any closer to getting back out there? I hope so!
Fair winds and following seas,
Rob
Theresa,
I think many of us who are stuck on land but belong to the sea think a lot about sailing away. My wife and I tied the knot the day before hurricane Irene struck. She was rowed to the beach here on Cape Cod in a longboat rowed by 10 oarsmen. This past summer we acquired an oldy but a goody. Avalon is our Alberg 37 capable of taking us wherever we want. While we don’t have plans of yet to move aboard, we put over 1000 miles on her before she came out for winter work this past November. The work is almost as good as sailing her, well, no quite. The dreams of her cutting through Nantucket Sound with no other boats in sight this coming April are all I need to look forward to. We are planning an offshore Passage from Provoncetown to the Bay of Fundy this coming August.
While the tether of careers keep us from climbing aboard and never looking back, we cherish every moment we have on the water. From one young sailing couple to another, happy sails no matter which boat you are on.