We would like to travel the world for approximately a year by sailing to various destinations. I realize there are people that sail their entire lives and never do something like this, but I really want to know if it is possible and the best way to go about it. How long will it take my husband and I to learn everything we need to know about the ocean, sailing, and so on until we would be capable of such a venture?
Some relevant info:
-We live in the USA and are both in our late twenties.
-Neither one of us has any experience in sailing at the present time.
-We are both in good shape and absolutely love to travel.
-We are currently 4 hours from the ocean but might consider a relocation to make this dream a reality. If it's easier just assume that we will move to a coastal community.
-Budget for a boat is likely in the neighborhood of $100-$150K. This is a very soft estimate because I really do not know how much you SHOULD spend.
Thank you for any information on this.
2007-01-02 07:21:41 · 13 answers · asked by M C E 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Boats & Boating
These are excellent answers so far (other than the first one posted). Really this is first a question of feasibility and any details beyond that are very much appreciated.
Obviously, I understand that nobody is ever "safe" on the ocean. I'm not looking for reassurance that this is not all that dangerous and I appreciate and totally agree with the words of warning/wisdom from all of you veterans!
2007-01-03 04:16:07 · update #1
if its your first time on the open water your greatest initial challenge will be seasickness probably. otherwise for 2 people a 45-50 foot sloop or ketch will be enough..sailing is pretty easy to learn. will take bout a day of F'ing up to learn how it works-motor out to the open waters and see how.
a good book is "chapman piloting and seamanship" buy that before you get the boat...pretty much a know it all guide..
if you got $150k to blow i'd suggest getting a snark or daysailor or something before you head around the world. they go for about a grand or 2 so- sailing around the world sounds all romantic and fun in the beginning but when you're actually out in the waves you might change your mind in a day- its more of a lifestyle than a vacation. especially when you have to eat,sleep and S within 10 feet of each other for a few weeks at a time...the romanticism goes away in a minute. not to mention the first time you get stuck in a squal that all of a sudden whips up overhead waves.
heres an account:
my pops and i were sailing up to tarpon springs from naples,fl get to duchman key
http://maps.yahoo.com/index.php#mvt=m&q1=Tarpon%20Springs,%20FL,%20us&trf=0&lon=-82.809191&lat=28.16653&mag=5
the water is flat as the road and theres crab traps everywhere. we decide to anchor cause we dont want to get the prop wrapped on some damn crab bouy...the last thing you want is to wrap the prop with some rope at night..cause then somones gotta dive overboard and go under and cut it. so we grill steaks and go to sleep...probably 4 or 5 hours later: "BLAAAMM" dishes go flying everywhere and the boats rocking like a mofo...we turn on the weather radio and noaa's saying 8-10foot swells in the next 6 hours.. so we gotta try and get in between the key and land before then cause we're only in 15 feet of water. so my pops is out there with a flashlight looking for crab traps to steer around meanwhile im trying to steer into the big waves so we dont roll too much while still trying to head for the channel. to make a long story very short..we eventually make it i there between the key and pass out for a few hours. we wake up to see some charter fishing boat full of tourists going out thinking they're gonna catch some fish and all we can see on the horizon is white caps....sure as S.. 10 mins later we see that same fishing boat come back in cause it was hella rough out there.
so thats gonna be the kind of stories you're gonna come back with when you embark around the world (times 10)- going into strange ports in substandard conditions and mcguyver methods...i say give it at least a year or 2 puttering around your own coast before you leave it.
just my 2 cents
~cheers
2007-01-02 07:56:08 · answer #1 · answered by Jilm_Jones 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Firstly, you never will learn everything, even if you live to 100+ years.
There have already been some good answers here, but I would recommend you first get as much sailing experience as possible before committing yourself to a) a boat, and b) the notion of going off sailing. My wife, 10 year old daughter and myself did it for 4 years and had a great time doing it. Sailing was not the big thing that one had to learn, SEAMANSHIP was of much greater importance. Gaining experience in rough weather sailing, anchoring, getting out of trouble etc..etc..or avoiding trouble, that's where the skill lies.
n the other hand, you can wait for ever getting all the components together, ie experience, the boat and so on. At some point you have to make the decision to just go.
For example, we bought our American built boat one year old. The original owner had everything put on it and at the time I thought that this was just great. It even had a 4.5 Kw generator, but we had so much trouble with this piece of kit, that I thought I would go crazy. We hardly ever used it. We could have also bought a much cheaper boat and had just as comfortable a time without all the hassles and worry of owning an expensive boat.
I'm rambling a bit, but if you want to make direct contact, my email address is pdurk @hotmail.com
2007-01-03 00:41:45 · answer #2 · answered by Peter the Great! 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi,
How long till you learn everything? Forever, that's one nice thing about sailing!
I've been sailing since I was 10, learning new tricks each day, and the best advice I can give you is, take it easy. Don't rush to buy a boat and cast off. Yachting, unlike speedboat driving, is as much about the voyage as about destinations, and you need real skills to sail safely and with good seamanship.
The best place to start is an on-the-water sailing course in a reputable yacht club, also get acquainted with yacht owners looking for crew: You'll find many only too glad to oblige, as there're tons of boats sitting at their berths for lack of crew
Read all the books you can get your hands on.
That way, you'll build up confidence and experience.
THEN, shop around for a small dinghy or daysailer to build coastal navigation skills.
Only THEN graduate to a blue-water cruiser of a size and rig you can comfortably handle. I own a 32-footer and feel confident handling her with my wife to help along, and I guess that up to 40 ft is the most you can hope to handle safely in most conditions.
A nice alternative, budget permitting, is chartering in the Caribbean or the Med to get a taste of what it'll be like at your future destination!
2007-01-05 05:37:14 · answer #3 · answered by willyunger 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The ocean is a cruel mistress yarr! I agree with most of the people here, start off small, learn how to navigate, learn your equipment, find out if you get sea sick, and take as many courses and training as you can. Get yourself a boat that you can right if it capsizes, start off with small trips, a week or so at a time. There are races around the world held every couple years or so and alot of people who start the race don't wind up finishing. I can tell you the Ocean can be really scary at times. I have been in seas with 40-50 foot waves, crashing down on are warship. To put in perspective its like a 5 story wall of water crashing down on you. To sail in something like that in a small sailboat requires a lot of skill and courage. There are in places in the world where ships have litterally dissapeared without a trace. Also, if you guys get into a fight at sea, what do you do. Can't go for a walk, it takes alot of cooperation and tolerance to spend that much time with someone in that small of an environment. Also, you might want to consider taking some advance first aid training. If one of you gets hurt it might take awhile for 911 to get to you. That being said, the ocean is beautiful, sometimes it makes me feel like I am in the precense of God. It could be a really good once in a lifetime experience, if you guys are strong, enough smart enough and lucky enough. Good luck.
2007-01-03 13:58:03 · answer #4 · answered by Cactus Dan 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
From the time I was little, I daydreamed about winning an Academy Award. I actually probably had the talent to become a successful actress, but had too many personal challenges to overcome and am proud that I made it this far. My dream now is to write a book on tarot (I just started working on one) and become a successful psychic -- enough so that I make a living at it and don’t have to rely on other sources of income. My grand dream is to have enough money to start a non-profit that helps animals. But when it comes right down to it, I am already living my dream. I always dreamt, but never believed I could have, the marriage and relationship with my husband that I have. Because of my background, and the things I went through, I didn’t think I’d ever be capable of being in a truly intimate relationship, I didn’t believe that anyone could ever truly love me, and I didn’t believe that I was even worthy of that love. But I worked long and hard at bettering, and learning to love myself. It wasn’t easy, but it was certainly worth it. Every time I get down because I feel like life is passing me by and I never attained the career I wanted to attain, I think to myself, "Would I trade what I have for millions of people cheering to catch a glimpse of me?" My answer, without even having to think about it, is unequivocally, "No". I could not ask for more in a partner than the wonderful lover, and best friend, I have in my life. Sometimes, dreams really can come true. ;) Caat
2016-03-29 04:47:42 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are some great answers already posted. I think a good way for a couple with no kids is to crew on racing boats. Crewing in racing conditions allows you to learn the fastest, most bank for the time spent. Also you may find yourself on a different path. BIG Question....Is it the object or the activity you are going after. That advice saved me $$$$ big time. Didn't buy the boat but proceeded to crew on race boats about 2000 miles worth in Lake Erie...Up to 40 footers..also cruised a bit...all for free. Then I bought a 20 foot racing dingy...( open boat , planing hull. & spent most of my time sailing not fixing t& cleaning the boat. I had offers to crew on large boats, ocean crossings, & one stage race around the world! Check out local sailing clubs...Intense 3-4 year learning curve ahead if you stick to original idea...
2007-01-02 09:22:08 · answer #6 · answered by ibeboatin 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Contact a marina for lessons on how to learn how to sail. Have some of these before you buy the yacht because it you don't like it it is a lot of money to spend on something that will never get used.
It took me about 2 months to learn the basic principals and the ropes of sailing. I would suggest to have some sailing lessons on your boat before you go because every boat is different to sail.
If you want to take it around the world and do long offshore trips I would suggest to get at least a 40 foot yacht. If you want to spend 12 months on it i think a 60 would be better although it would be out of your price range. I would suggest getting a used beneteau , Jeneau, dufour or a farr because they are great offshore boats. I would spend at least $500 000(australian) on it to go around the world in it. Look at a beneteau 473
2007-01-05 18:35:10 · answer #7 · answered by Dan 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I am currently learning to sail. I'm 41 and in good shape. It's not as easy as it looks, I can tell you that. Lot's of things can go wrong. We are going to spend our retirement sailing - starting in about 3-4 years. I'm learning on an 18-foot Capri and reading everything that I can get my hands on as far as equipment, techniques, emergency plans, sailboats in general, repairs, etc...
I would say that even in the best of circumstances you will need a year of practice and reading before you would be able to go out in the ocean alone.
2007-01-04 09:00:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The most DANGEROUS place on the planet is the OCEAN, I have a very healthy respect, and YES even a "FEAR" of it. I've been out with experianced Captains, and Coxwains, and had to change my underwear when I got back, and this was when the ocean did'nt even get what experianced sailors consider "A little show of her fangs" not even near what she can do. Inexperianced people who try and do what you're doing unfortunately often become a statistic, the ocean has swallowed 600' freighters without a trace ! If you want to "PLAY" stay in the Bay !
2007-01-02 21:08:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
This is a very open question. I have been a captain for over 30 yrs and have my own business teaching people how to boat. Some people learn very quickly while others will never get it. Go on to www.yachtworld.com and check out boats that are available in your price range. Go on to www. boatus.com and find free training they have online. Contact your local US Power Squadron or USCG Auxiliary and take their boating courses. Find a local Captain to teach you how to boat "hands on" your boat Spend as much time sailing as you can for at least one season and learn! You might at first charter a boat to test the waters.
2007-01-02 08:51:14 · answer #10 · answered by mark t 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋