Cruising on a sail boat can be a fantastic way of life.
You are free as the wind, no fixed d schedules, just living every moment at one with nature
All you need is a yacht.
To acquire one, many folk work hard, save, then work even harder, for many years to acquire the yacht of their dreams. One with all the mod cons .. air-conditioner. fridge, freezer, gas oven, two toilets and showers,internet, radar, GPS plotter, vhf radio, water maker, stereo and big generator
This will cost about $500,000 at least.
.. ….. but will have cost them far more in reality .. because these were precious years in the prime of their life,.
.oOo..
Jenny and I had this same dream. At one stage she had a good job as a university qualified Social Worker, while I was earning top dollars driving work boats on wharf construction. When one contract finished I was offered another, on the same top money in West Australia. This would mean us living apart .. so after a few drinks one night Jen said..
“Why don’t we buy a boat and go sailing ?”
Struth, we had another few wines, then just went out the very next day, and bought the first one we saw ( a very inexpensive, small home made sailing catamaran.)
All our fronds were aghast,. “ Look at what you pair are throwing away .. two very good jobs with excellent pay.. you are bonkers.”
“She’ll be right” we said, and a week later hauled sail north.
All that eventuated is related in “Travel Mischief” . .but here is the main truth I would like to share, and perhaps inspire other to just up and live your dreams right now. .
This little sailing cat “Iorana” did not have any of the a fore mentioned comforts There was no fridge or freezer, no radar, no depth sounder, no VHF radio, just one small outboard, only two sails, no auto pilot, and certainly no GPS plotter.
All we had for navigation were paper charts, visual transits, and a hand bearing compass. As for weather, we just looked at the wind, ocean swells and sky, plus our trusty good barometer. For food we caught plenty of fresh seafood, while shooting an occasional kangaroo, and of course collected all the fresh rain water we required off the roof.
“Iorana” had a strong, clean hull, (no mini keels) with flip up rudders, so she could easily explore tidal estuaries, then sit on a sheltered beach at high tide, snug and safe.
Oh well we sailed for a year and day up the Queensland coast .. before arriving at Dunk Island, (where this photo was taken) and finding ideal employment there and on nearby Bedarra island, plus a new owner for “Iorana”.
..oOo..
The essential thing with all this is ..
We had not lost many precious years in the prime of our lives saving for a fancy Yacht .. and even sailing we had not lost a year .. look at how fit, relaxed and alive we were .. in all ways younger than before tossing all that other stuff aside and venturing out into the cruising life.
So if, perchance you have yen for adventure in a cruising life . why just up and do it now.
This lil poem says it all ..
“If I was bird and lived on high,
I would lean on the wind, as the wind went by,
and say
this is where I wanted too be today.”
..oOO..