# Sustaining your cruising lifestyle???



## willykunkle (Sep 28, 2007)

Hello everybody,

First I waned to thank everybody for all the great advice. I've been sailing for 10 years now but I am quite young (23). I don't have a lot of money, but I am preparing to buy a boat for long term cruising. Based on the advice from members of this community, I have set a goal for how much I need to spend on a boat and preparations, a realistic time frame to shoot for, and what to look for in a boat. That is not the problem.

I'm not worried about being able to travel long term as far as surviving on little money goes, what I'm worried about is when I want to buy a larger boat for more serious cruising. If I am sailing instead of working, how will I ever be able to upgrade? 

I would like to ask how people here have made this possible? I don't really want to wait until retirement before I set out, but I would also like to be able to eventually buy a boat capable of major ocean passages.

Any advice???

Thanks!


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## willykunkle (Sep 28, 2007)

*Also*

In addition, I am still in the very early stages of research. I'm just trying to figure out how to make something like this possible.

Thanks!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Sail a little , work a little , sell boat , work a lot , work somemore , skrimp save plot and plan , work more , find bluewater boat , prep boat , prep self , prep funds to cruise ( means work ). Go cruise . Come back and repeat as needed.
My wife and I took some time off from cruising to have our first kid then number two came along , we sold our boat and moved closer to the inlaws for a few years to help out with the babies . Its a break we both knew we would have to take from the water. However we know we will be back cruising again someday soon. Maybe not as soon as we want to but when we are ready . Thoughts like homeschooling have been discussed and traveling jobs have been discussed. The hard part for us is not buying the next boat too soon. My wife almost jumped on a very nice Tayana last year and I was the voice of reason and talked her out of it . This year I seem to be the one with the bug and have been looking at Tartans in earnest. She has been reeling me in from buying the next boat too soon . It all boils down to timing.
If we wait a little longer our cruising days will be better we will have more boat more money and more time to enjoy it. The biggest peave I had last time we lived aboard was having to be at a certain place at a certain time (for work) and having to bypass places you wanted to go because you had to be somewhare by a certain time. Next time we go away from land I dont want to come back till I choose to . So we work , plot , plan ,skrimp ,save and look for the next boat but we are trying to be cautious this time around because we know what we want to do and what kind of boat we need to do it . We still sail on a daysailor , cant be completely removed from sailing that would suck . But the next cruiser will have to wait . 
Now to answer your question " How do you upgrade when your sailing not working ?" I dont have the foggiest idea but when you find out let me know.

Best of luck


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Sure fire ways to get out there...

A. Rob a bank
B. Marry a rich girl
C. Win the lotto
D. Go to work

There you have it, now get going

If you choose D, the biggest trap is spending money on all the 'stuff' of modern life. "I made enough money to buy Miami, but I pissed it away so fast".
Live simply, on your boat, and save save save.
I'd recommend B


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## tommyt (Sep 21, 2002)

Willy,

You have just been given some good advise. You work for it!!!!

If your question is, how do you leave now and still spend lots of money upgrading along the way (without working) , good luck. I think that there are a few ways: rich relative dying and liking you: inventing a patentable item while dreaming your way across the water: or President Clinton adding a program for cruisers to improve their boats for the expanding family. 

I think there may be work in your future. Good luck.


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## tommyt (Sep 21, 2002)

Oh ****, I forgot about B. Preferably a beautiful rich girl that adores you.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

tommyt said:


> Oh ****, I forgot about B. Preferably a beautiful rich girl that adores you.


Beauty is only skin deep, rich goes all the way to the bank.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

Another plan would be to develop a skill that other boaters need. Suppose you learned to be a diesel mechanic. You could make money fixing other peoples boats. You could even barter some for things like their new GPS plotter. Then, when you find a really nice boat with a blown engine, give them a low ball offer after telling them how much it will cost to replace their motor.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Funny, I was thinking about career choices for a youngster with cruising in mind and thought of diesel mech. Truck mechs make a lot of money. Boat yards are full of diesel boats and cruisers everywhere need help now and again with their motors & gens.
But then you'd have to get your hands dirty. B is still the preffered choice.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

You can go now and pay later...
Or pay now and go later...
But you can't go now and never pay...unless you just get lucky.
I paid the price for 30 years after financing the $3k for my first boat but the dream never died.
Hard work and personal discipline is the answer along with a firm plan with milestones along the way.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

My simple plan:

1. Higher education-talent inspired
2. Employment- work hard, save money/invest wisely
3. Find someone to love you (optional-but fulfilling)
4. Take care of home first - buy real estate smartly
5. Acquire small boat(s) to learn on (could be inserted anywhere above)
6. Trade up to larger boat(s)
7. When able and ready, cut the bowlines loose (keep the house for the inevitable return . . . or buy an RV)

Some of us never reach step 7.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

TB
That's soooo boring.

And it's what I did, altho I'm selling the house. Don't want that anchor around my neck, tired of being a landowner/homeowner. Appreciation will be slower now and taxes & maintenance makes it less worthy.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Boring is what boring does. My list of extraneous adventures and countless vein-bulging thrills, are a sharp contrast to the ridgid structure of that plan.

Bottom line is, I may dream of "escaping" this life to sail away, and am capable of doing it, but am perfectly content to not have the need.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

TB...sell the house. It is an anchor that DRAGS you back and wastes your time and $$ when you are out cruising (I cruised for 2 years with the house and was soooo happy when it sold). When you come back....you can buy something suitable (with or without wheels!) (g)


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## cockeyedbob (Dec 6, 2006)

Promote goofy sailing adventure, preferably for one charity, erectile disfunction, or something gay and green, obtain sponsor, hire ghostwriter, sell video rights, get rich ... see, piece o' cake  

Save the sea cucumber!


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Not kidding anyone here - the real reason is - my wife and I love each other, but _she_ dosen't love sailing.

Plan B.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Don't go there TB! One skill I find that you could ply anywhere too is canvas. They ALWAYS need the canvas fixed, repaired, remade. If you learned a couple of these skills really well you'd be set. No substitute for hard work (oh yeah I forgot b. above), and these trades are hard work. But it would keep you near the water...


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## cockeyedbob (Dec 6, 2006)

TB, 
Bob understands your pain. The mate barely tolerates sailing but goes along to prevent Bob from trolling for squid. She compensates by bringing along her knitting ... sigh ...


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

Get a skill (like database administator, code monkey, writer etc..) that you can do from home. Convince boss that home on the water is same as home of brick, convince boss that the only thing you can't do face to face is look 'em in the eye.

There is literally nothing I can't do from my boat that I do in the office.

That's how you sail and earn the money to stay out there. We're still in save mode, having just finished paying off the last of 5 college educations but it won't be long now 

Seriously, it's a global jjob market, connectivity is global.


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## willykunkle (Sep 28, 2007)

Allanbc said:


> Another plan would be to develop a skill that other boaters need. Suppose you learned to be a diesel mechanic. You could make money fixing other peoples boats..


I like this idea a lot. This requires about 2 years of school though doesn't it? Not that I'm opposed to that idea, just trying to gain an understanding.

Also, my current profession is in video/film production. I wonder what the market would be for a videographer to travel with cruisers and document their adventures??? anybody??


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

Go to sea commercially as I did. And I have been to many exotically named places around the world.
A. Acquire a "Z" card from USCG.
B. Get a job on the boats or ships.
C. After awhile you have enough time to get your license.


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## willykunkle (Sep 28, 2007)

Boasun said:


> Go to sea commercially as I did. And I have been to many exotically named places around the world.
> A. Acquire a "Z" card from USCG.
> B. Get a job on the boats or ships.
> C. After awhile you have enough time to get your license.


i've considered this before. Is there a lot of commercial work to keep busy? also, is this something i could do while living aboard a boat and fixing her up?


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## cockeyedbob (Dec 6, 2006)

Uh Willy, your papa ever warn you 'bout recruiters?


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## willykunkle (Sep 28, 2007)

oh ha ha, yeah maybe now wouldn't be the best time to join the coast guard! good point!


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

willykunkle said:


> Also, my current profession is in video/film production. I wonder what the market would be for a videographer to travel with cruisers and document their adventures??? anybody??


Very big laugh! I've been a freelance cinematographer for 25 years. Every year the business gets more and more saturated with kids. Every school in the nation now has a video production program spitting out grads.

Nobody wants to get their hands dirty anymore. That leads to two things: 
One, jobs like filmaking are saturated
Two, jobs like diesel mechanic are paying VERY good because of the scarcity of workers.

Every time I turn around I read of somebody who is going to finance their cruising by selling their photography. I have a friend/photographer who crews on boats around the world and takes pictures. He has sold many to major sailing magazines. He gets about $100 a pop. Good luck living the good life on that!
500 channels of TV should provide an endless supply of work. But the pie is only so big & when cut into 500 slices each piece is so small there's no budget. So there's lots of low paying work...enjoy!
You need to decide if you want to be in movies OR go sailing.

Latts & Atts TV on water channel folded.


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## cockeyedbob (Dec 6, 2006)

willykunkle said:


> oh ha ha, yeah maybe now wouldn't be the best time to join the coast guard! good point!


Nay! USCG, an honorable and well respected service ... you could do worse ... heck, your chances of gettin' smoked at the 7-11 while eatin' a moon pie are greater ... 'course, I don't recall anyone drownin' at the 7-11 ...

Yeah officer ... I turned my back and he jumped in the slurpee machine ... we pulled him out and I tried CPR but strawberry isn't my favorite flavor so he died ...

OTOH, love the mechanic/sail repair idea ... gonna do that myself and earn some spare change.


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## GySgt (Jun 11, 2007)

Bottom line is, if you really want to do it, you will find away.


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

You got that right, XORT. I was a commercial/advertising photographer for 12 years. When Photoshop came out, everyone said "great!", I said "uh oh!". Soon after, digital cameras appeared and that was the writing on the wall, as far as I was concerned. I saw the jobs disappear to the in-house techies at nearly every company that I shot for. Good thing I learned how to tear apart an engine in 8th grade.


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## Tartan34C (Nov 21, 2006)

cockeyedbob said:


> Promote goofy sailing adventure, preferably for one charity, erectile disfunction, or something gay and green, obtain sponsor, hire ghostwriter, sell video rights, get rich ... see, piece o' cake
> 
> Save the sea cucumber!


I have said this before in another thread. As a teenager I did a lot of sailing in a 22 foot Sea Sprite daysailor. When I was getting ready to do my first trans-Atlantic in 1974 I arranged sponsorship and had a Sea Sprite weekender built for the trip. That trip and the deals that made it possible started to come together in 1971 when I was only 18. She was not quite a stock boat but close to it. I had decided that sailing was what I wanted to do and turning my trips into sponsored events was the way I paid for everything. It was clear to me that if I did the conventional thing and worked first and then sailed after retirement I would be, as I am today old and tired when I started doing long distance sailing so I wanted to sail first and then retire from the world of professional sailing into a sailing related job and settle down. I never quite got the settle down part right but I did get into the boat design/build/repair business.

After that first trans-Atlantic and as part of the next sponsorship deal with Boodles Gin (General Wine And Spirits a division of Joseph E Seagram) I did some personal appearances, did game shows like "To Tell The Truth" and had a book written about the sailing I had done up until 1976. It was a way to pay for my habit but I don't think you will find it as easy to do today. In the early 70's it was easy to get some kind of record and attract sponsorship. Today it's become an expensive game and you need more then a simple gimmick to get real money. Unlike the 70's you need to do something instead of just surviving a trip as the youngest person to do that trip to sell a package to a sponsor.

On un-sponsored trips I sold some pictures to stock houses and did deliveries to raise some money during the trips. I also did boat repair and rigging which was in reasonable demand in out of the way places like Gambia on the west coast of Africa. It can be done even today but it's getting harder to finance trips today doing the same things that were easy 30 years ago. Now its easer to work a bit and save money and then sail while making some money along the way by teaching sailing, taking people out on day trips, giving talks at hotels and yacht clubs etc.
Good luck and all the best,
Robert Gainer


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

"Presumed Lost" was you? Well, whaddya know.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Reading Mr. Gainer's comments I'm thinking that you have to look at the big picture now more than ever before. You need to be an inventor...of work, of jobs, of careers, of something nobody else is doing. Following the herd is going to lead you off a cliff.
So asking all us old farts is going to tell you what we did, past tense. And that will likely be old news.
Go out and invent something unique.
Good luck!


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## Tartan34C (Nov 21, 2006)

bestfriend said:


> "Presumed Lost" was you? Well, whaddya know.


Yes that was I but don't spread it around. I didn't like the book and besides I have done lots of sailing since then and have gotten reasonably skilled at it. At least I haven't seen my obituary again. Besides I like my mention in the second edition of Richard Henderson's book on single handed sailing better anyhow. It's kind of vague as to why I am in the book and that suits my style better. You can't tell if I am an example of how to do it or how not to do it. It can go either way.
All the best,
Robert Gainer


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

Sure thing Robert, I won't tell a soul. I don't want to ruin the ending anyway. I believe I read that book just before high school. I was really into the Bermuda Triangle and all its mysteries. If I remember correctly, I liked it! Now I am going to have to go out and buy another copy. Your royalty check is in the mail.


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## blowinstink (Sep 3, 2007)

WK-
I'd suggest you check out a couple of websites: Google "swell" and "sai" and "surf" and you'll hit the log of the sv swell. Young woman in her mid 20's doing a circumnavigation with a lot of surfing innterspersed. Her boat of choice is a late 1960's Cal 40. Another voyage caribean to austrailia was done on a PSC 25 by a couple in their 20's (search for the log of s/v "tiny bubbles"). I'd post the links myself, but I don't have link posting privilleges yet. 

You'll take what you do from those sites, but my thinking was that although all of the previous advice you've received is solid, because of your youth you may have options that aren't available to those of us who are a bit older. You can cruise with a different lifestyle, on a much smaller budget and probably a much simpler boat. You'll also have access to the local economies in a way that those in their 40's 50's and 60's probably won't (at the same time, you'll need to be more careful not to put your liberty in jeopardy by making dumb decisions). Planning for real estate, carreer, love and familly as a prerequisite to crusing puts you boat well behind a horse you haven't asked to ride. Jump into what you love -- with both feet!

BS


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

I'm sure you can do whatever you put your mind to. As with anything, it's important to stay flexible and go around obstacles that get in your way. Take it as it comes, keep your eye on what you want, just keep working it until it works out. And it will work out. There are few things in this world that can stand against a determined 20'something.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

> I'm not worried about being able to travel long term as far as surviving on little money goes, what I'm worried about is when I want to buy a larger boat for more serious cruising. If I am sailing instead of working, how will I ever be able to upgrade?


You probably won't, unless you get very lucky somewhere.

True Blue outlined the process most of the long-term cruisers on big boats have gone/are going through.

Chances are, that your goals and priorities might still change a bit betweern now and the age of 35. So if you have taken care of your education, then there is no reason not to hop on a boat and go for a few years with the knowledge that you're going to come back and have to work for a while.

Nothing wrong with that.

You may even find once you get out there and have done it for a while, that there are some other things in the world you'd like to try as well. Nothing wrong with that either.

Keep your options open, spend less than you earn and things will usually work out as they should.

_(I'm starting to sound like my grandfather....guess he was smarter than I realised at the time...)_


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Liz Clark and the blog of s/v Swell is located here.


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## jldooley (Aug 1, 2007)

In my next life, I want to be a charter boat captain people will actually pay you to sail them places.


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## cockeyedbob (Dec 6, 2006)

Oh sure! 
Fine 'til ya book ol' watzhisname, that Bob fella!


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## blowinstink (Sep 3, 2007)

Here (with my new found linking privilleges) is the log of S/V Tiny Bubbles:

http://www.adventuresoftinybubbles.com/

BS


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## willykunkle (Sep 28, 2007)

*hmmmm*

I really like the direction this discussion is going, there's a lot of good stuff here, but I think it kind of deviated from what I was trying to get at.

So I guess I just kinda wanted to know what everybody HERE, on this message board does. Are you a full time cruiser? Do you go when you have paid vacation from work? where do you work? I just wanted to learn about the cruising lifestyles that people on here have.

tell me your story!!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I'm retired from the Marines at 100% from only ten years of service. I was injured in Somalia and Iraq, so I can't play GI Joe anymore...

That provides my liveaboard kitty and keeps a house together for my wife when I'm out on the water. 

Now, ok, so living on a sailboat in Colorado or travelling to Mccauneghey (sp?) in Nebraska with a whopping 100 miles of shoreline isn't too big of an adventure, but I have learned how to provision, anchor in storms, run for cover like hell, sail with bare poles, heave to in whopper squalls, change sails ten times a day to suit our crazy weather, and much more, all the while encircled with beaches to run aground on. I guess that is an adventure in itself.

As far as my boating lifestyle goes, we have nothing but fun. When my boat gets wet, I stay with her for weeks at a time. There is time to work on the boat, and time to have a drink, or time to fish. We also sail for hours and hours... hahaha, I've even sailed for 19 hours around the lake just to see if I could handle singlehanding when we go to the gulf. 

I guess I'm saying there is a lot of time to moderate all the days' things to do. It would be like having your boat 25 miles away and trying to drive to it each day to work on it, or being far easier to just live on it and work, where you can spend more quality time with her. 

Living aboard is more productive to my boat than parking her in the yard and working on her when I "have time".

I don't think a good cruise would be a "two week vacation" from work. I recently met a guy who chartered in the keys, and in order to meet his plans to visit each port, he short-handed his ship with wife and kids to get everywhere as soon as possible. They were flying a 150 genoa at night with the motor pushing along too so they could stick it at hull speed all of the time to make the ports. The third night, he had an evening squall in the dark and the boat rounded up into the wind, the jib backed, and knocked the boat over into the water on the other tack, leaving them with a ditch bag and dinghy for a few hours until they were picked up. I understand that he left the companionway open and the boat downflooded and sunk in minutes. 

That gives me the impression that if you're gonna cruise, don't set a plan with a "must-get-there" attitude, it could end up hurting your family or self because you'll be rushing. Rather, just save and sail at your own pace and be safe with a leave of absence from your job, or quit alltogether! 

I hope that stuck to your topic a bit...


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## Tartan34C (Nov 21, 2006)

willykunkle said:


> So I guess I just kinda wanted to know what everybody HERE, on this message board does. Are you a full time cruiser? Do you go when you have paid vacation from work? where do you work? I just wanted to learn about the cruising lifestyles that people on here have.
> 
> tell me your story!!


I'm semi retired from cruising and work full time for The Beacon Institute as their Maritime Specialist and I am also the Program Director at Hudson Fisheries Trust. I am a live-aboard and have been for all my adult life. Sounds like the start of an AA meeting.

The Beacon Institute is a research center for rivers and estuaries. Any thing to do with the boats and how to maintain them build them or convert them for a particular mission is my job. I handle all new design work and draw all plans needed for conversion or construction. I also handle any questions about design, construction and history of boats, ships and maritime equipment that comes from staff or the public. They pay me too much (no need to tell them) to go out and play with boats using other peoples money. If that were my only job I would be happy.

But I am also the Program Director at Hudson Fisheries Trust. We are a museum of maritime technology with a special interest in the history of the watercraft on the Hudson River and surrounding area. Shad fishing by all the methods and the boats that were used is of particular interest to us. We have programs to teach traditional boatbuilding to children and do research into the history and development of small boats. Once again it's the type of job where you would expect to pay to play but instead they pay me to go out and have fun. We are starting the lofting on another one of my design on Saturday and will start making sawdust next week.

Before this I was the managing partner in a marine business based in Haverstraw Marine in West Haverstraw NY with a branch in Worlds Fair Marine in Queens NY and was involved in all aspects of repair rigging maintenance and construction. During that time I had a great group of people working and had the opportunity to do some deliverers the length of the east coast and even trans-Atlantic sails. Not to mention all the trial runs and short delivery trips on hundreds of customer's sailboats over the years. They ranged from small daysailors to BOC racers. Can you imagine that, people smile while they pay you to sail their boat and in some cases I sailed the boat more then they got to sail their own boat.

But I started out as a teenager by doing sponsored sailing or professional sailing to more places then I can remember. I have been paid to sail to England; all over Europe the Atlantic islands Africa Brazil etc. Lots of fun and I am very happy that I did all that sailing when I was young and could enjoy it. I still sail long distance but not at the same pace as when I was younger. The best times were when I was the Sailing Master on an English West Country Ketch. She was very traditional, gaff rigged and over 100 years old and we sailed from England to Brazil with a lot of interesting stops along the way.
All the best,
Robert Gainer


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## Tartan34C (Nov 21, 2006)

Willy sent me a PM asking about how to get started doing deliveries and making money while sailing. This is my answer to him and I thought it also fit into this conversation so I am posting it also. I hope Willey doesn’t mind and this isn’t letting the cat out of the bag if he’s thinking of running away from the wife and kids to a life at sea.

Willy,
Everything depends on you background and skill set. I grew into it and started during high school. I found that the easiest way to pay for sailing was to get someone else to pay for it. I started out by contacting local newspapers and telling them about upcoming trips. They covered them and with that I was able to get companies to kick in equipment and tech support for other, longer trips. Those companies had an interest in promoting the use of their stuff and that lead to personal appearances at boat shows and mall openings etc. Because of all this attention I was able to meet a lot of boat owners and that lead to repair work, design work and to the point of your question, delivery work. Of course I grew up in Rhode Island and sailing was important to everybody so it was newsworthy when I did some of my longer trips. By 18 I owned a rigging business and had enough of a “name” that I could sit down with the builder of a boat and talk about sponsorship and having a custom boat made for a try at the record for the youngest person to solo the north Atlantic. None of this would be possible today and you need a different and original approach if you wanted to pay for your habit by book deals or sponsorship today. Also keep in mind that at my age when I was starting mistakes were expected and were part of thing that made it all work and be newsworthy. As I look back on it I think I had the perfect mix of mistakes and successes. If I made some of the mistakes today in a rigging business that I made as a kid I would be sued and be out of business in a heartbeat. 

For some reason that I never did understand I got a lot of support from the boating industry. Jack at RigRite helped out and taught me a lot of rigging. He even let me start out using his equipment for my own jobs. Dr, Edson Schock, a designer and professor of Marine Engineering and Navel Architecture at the University Of Rhode Island tutored me in design and Charles Street, the chief designer at Person Yachts also helped in my education about design and boats. Carl Alberg, Bill Shaw and a lot of others also put up with endless questions and many requests for help in one form or another. Growing up and sailing the northeast and Canadian Maritimes was lots of fun and endless adventure.

After I did my first solo trans-Atlantic I never returned to Rhode Island except to visit and for things like receiving an award during a dinner at the Bristol Yacht Club two years ago. I did a lot of sailing over the years and earned money along the way. Deliveries, teaching sailing in tourist spots, taking hotel guests out on daysails, selling photos to the wire services or stock houses, boat repair, teaching navigation, salvage work, doing hydrograph surveys, book deal, chartering out the boat as a background in a movie were just some of the ways to earn money. I think the most important thing was to always be looking and thinking about the next opportunity. Some deals were strange and others were a no brainier. On the strange end was a person in England that wanted to retire and move to a different country. He sold his business and discovered that England at the time had currency export restrictions for citizens. To get his money out of the country was as simple as buying the largest boat possible with his available cash and sailing the boat to his final destination and selling her at a profit. I got the job of getting the boat under sail and out of the country. I was the Sailing Master on board that boat for a year. I didn’t wake up one morning expecting that deal to come up and that wasn’t how the conversation started with that person. Given what he wanted to do it was just a good idea that came at the right time when I was between boats and able to act on it.

The bottom line is that there are opportunities out there to make money while sailing the world. Keep on open mind and be imaginative and always listen to what people are really saying instead of hearing only what you think they are saying. And what I did back then was the right thing to do at that time and place but today things are different and you need to find what works for you in today’s market using your own skill set. In today’s world I don’t think many of us will be able to get full sponsorship or a book deal.
Good luck and all the best,
Robert Gainer


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I would recommend winning the lottery, but that means having the cash to buy the ticket. So you could either go to work or marry the rich chick. The rich chick would be a great option if she's really hot, and will loan you the money for the lottery ticket.

That being said, I think you're screwed.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Willy,

Have you ever thought about working internationally? I have been in the petroleum industry for 20. It would not be full time cruising but the pay is good and you work a 28/28 day rotation, so you can cruise every other month. Most companies will fly you out of any major US airport. Downsides is your cruising would probably be limited to US waters till you saved enough to quit and slipping your boat in a marina when your away. Entry level positions start around $60k a year, not bad for all expense's paid while at job and only 6 months of work.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

> So I guess I just kinda wanted to know what everybody HERE, on this message board does. Are you a full time cruiser? Do you go when you have paid vacation from work? where do you work? I just wanted to learn about the cruising lifestyles that people on here have.
> 
> tell me your story!!


I am definitely not a full-time crusier.

Being self-employed and the sole owner of an architectural practice does have it's benefits, including finding time to go sailing. Not too sure about the long-term security of this arrangement though, since I'm both "the man" and an employee of my firm. If I leave the office to sail whenever the weather suits me, I lose billable time.

Nobody's ever made a truthful claim that this is an affordable lifestyle.


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## retclt (Nov 7, 2006)

RoofDaddy said:


> So you could either go to work or marry the rich chick.


Those who marry for money earn every penny.

I do like the lottery angle. I hope we hit soon . . . I've already spent it!

I married a school teacher who loves sailboats almost as much as I do. We can't afford to quit work right now so we live close to the water. We aren't living the Cruising Lifestyle . . . . . . . yet . . . . . . . but living close is better than nothing. I lived on a boat in Galveston the eighties when I was young and single and those were the best years of my life . . . . . . except for now with my lovely wife Cheri. 50% of the nations population lives within 100 miles of a coast . . . so you can have work and take a lot of mini cruises - like we do. We love the arrangement.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

retclt said:


> I do like the lottery angle. I hope we hit soon . . . I've already spent it!


I want to win the lottery, too. I tried buying tickets and that didn't work. Now, I have a new strategy for winning the lottery. Instead of buying a winning ticket, I am hoping to find one on ground that someone dropped. After looking at the odds, I have about the same odds of finding a winning ticket as I have of buying a winning ticket. As a bonus, I save the money that I would have spent on all those losing tickets!


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

willykunkle said:


> So I guess I just kinda wanted to know what everybody HERE, on this message board does. Are you a full time cruiser? Do you go when you have paid vacation from work? where do you work? I just wanted to learn about the cruising lifestyles that people on here have.


I'm under 40 w/ limited sailing experience and preparing for a cruise.

For me this is all a result of trips I've taken all along on land. My destinations were getting more remote, trips were getting longer and in most cases more distant, etc, and I needed to change my methods.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I bought a lottery ticket and quit my job just minutes after purchasing my lotto ticket. man my dreams were shot, i thought i had it all figured out, buy a ticket and quit my job. i was jobless and penniless at the same time. married a rich chick that lost all of her money gambling. maybe i'll be like Sailhog and try the male prostitution thing. you can do that at any port , right??


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

JD

In response to your PM. I'm employed by Nabors Drilling. As to who's hiring go to rigzone.com
Create and post resume, search for jobs. You will find entry level, exp. positions as well as electrician, mechanics, crane operator, barge captains & ect....all oilfield related... US land jobs work 7/7, GOM 14/14, International 28/28. Stay away from W African nations due to security.

Good luck


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## kptmorgan04 (Apr 10, 2007)

I will also promote the working offshore life for a youngin wanting to cruise. 
I grew up a dinghy racer. Since high school wanted to buy a sailboat and cruise. Went to a maritime academy, got my Third Mate license.
Worked ashore for two years, thought to myself... "self, what the hell am I doing living pay check to pay check with no hope of cruising until after retirement?"
Quit that job, started working offshore in the Gulf of Mexico on a oil research vessel. 28 on/28 off schedule. Bought my 36ft blue water capable boat 8 months after starting working offshore and now sail her pretty much for 25 of the 28 days I am off. I sailed to New England in the summer and am heading to the Bahamas in the winter. 
While back at work I have a friend who stays on her (luckily) except for this month so I had to bite the bullet and pay for a month slip in Charleston.
There are tons of jobs offshore, ranging from people with no experience to those with licenses already. 
I have been starting to think about getting some education as a diesel mechanic as well, with the thought of transitioning from offshore down the road to that to support myself.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Do like I did...*

Work hard for lots of years, save every penny & marry a rich woman who also likes to stand long night watches. Sound impossible? I did it. It takes a life-long, single-minded determination. There is no short-cut. Sorry kid.

Consider working overseas where you can save lots more money that you can living in the rat-race.


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## husfujdshg (Sep 21, 2009)

Many thanks to ur post. I love it.


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