Scenario

[SanderO]

While the scenario presented must have happened a few times, I think it is rather rare.

My hunch is that most adults would do a fair bit of reading and research before they fork over their savings on a dream.

Anyone looking at a yacht can see that there is a lot there and a lot to learn. It's even more than a small airplane and I would think that any mature person looking at a plane knows that it's serious business and someone could loose an eye.

I do think people buy boats they can't handle and don't use for all sorts of reasons... but the sailing off around the world is not one of them.

Even if you start as a rank amateur you soon realize this:

The more you know, the more you need to know, the more you can know.

This is very sobering to people who begin new "endeavors". They soon find out that it's a very complex thing they got themselves into. And to get somewhere there are no short cuts.

jef
sv shiva

[dave6330]

My experience is along these lines, but with a (hopefully) different outcome. I'm a lifelong dreamer with no experience to back up my dreams. My wife and I were in the final stages of buying our first sailboat (our first boat --period) even as we were going thru the ASA sailing classes.

We wanted a boat capable of coastal cruising and wanted this to be a part of our retirement, which at that time was years away. We've owned our 36' Omega now for going on five years and consider each season's sailing as a training event preparing us for the time when we cast off and sail away for good.

I'm realistic enough to know that, eventually (maybe sooner than later), we'll want to settle into a more conventional retirement. However, initially, we want to sail out of Resurection Bay, turn left and keep going. We may want to trade boats prior to retirment to get into a full or modified full keel boat vs. the performance cruiser we have now, but for now, CIRRUS is more than capable to meet our needs. Since we bought her, we've learned TONS, gained experience and built up our confidence both in her and in ourselves and we've REALLY enjoyed our weekend and weeklong sails.

[sailingdog]

I think a more common scenario is:

They get the boat, make a single bluewater passage, say across the Atlantic...encounter an unexpected storm along the way, then decide that they don't ever want to do that again...and leave the boat where they made landfall. Then they fly back home and ask a broker down in the islands to sell the boat for them.

[deniseO30]

People DO BUY on a whim.

Everyone (almost) forgets or doesn't care about the learning curve. (boating, mt climbing, caving, drag racing, oval racing, etc. )

"a fool is easily parted with his money"

"wanting is never the same as having"

"woulda shoulda coulda" usually means Money!

Learning to sail is like joining a gym.. it's fun at first...

[Raggbagger]

Its a cold hard reality isnt it ? Happened to several friends of ours that looked at my wife and I , saw what a wonderfull colorfull exotic carefree life we had . Cruise into port . Crack open the rum . Dance on the foredeck as the sunsets between the palm trees . Next morning scuba till noon and off for a perfect sail . That evening same thing dance till the sun sets yada yada yada . We looked very appealing I imagine . What they dont see or even contemplate is the beating we took on the first run out the Chessapeke with waves coming at you so fast that salt water was forced into your mouth and eye sockets no matter how hard you grimaced . The terrifying lightning storms we met up with in the Pamlico . Not to mention the oil changes , fuel filter changes , and poo factor of mascerator pumps that get clogged . Yup thats when the true glamor of sailing hits a high note . Grey water tanks can smell worse than holding tanks depending on your diet . And on and on , as they say its not all beer and skittles . Thats the beauty of it though its a self purging sport/lifestyle/hobby/ habit thing . Those that last at it where meant to be there and those that dont provide us with some marvelous buying oppotunities . I'm all for anyone getting into it , just don't let your boat rot at the dock if you know its not your cup of tea . I agree with the comments about getting the right boat for the right job . After all theres a gazillion different boats to choose from out there before you come to terms with the fact that you may be a stinkpotter .

[chris_gee]

There might be some hyperbole in the scenario, but allowing for that the underlying theme is not uncommon.
There was a survey/report a while ago, which from memory said roughly 60% of those setting off on a world cruise pulled out within 6 months. As SD says many would be at the end of the first major leg, which is why certain spots are known purchase points. I think around 1% went on to complete it.
Of course one doesn't have to circumnavigate to comfortably cruise. But one guesses that say 10% of those who have the fantasy actually get around to buying the boat, and 20% of them set off though rather more may do a short trip to the Bahamas, the number continuing on after reaching NZ or Australia close to a year later would be small.
All sorts of things, like $$, relationship issues, health, repairs and hassles, and encountering severe weather come into it. Even grandchildren can be a contrary pull.
Yet one repeatedly sees threads starting with I always dreamed of sailing the world, I have no money and have never really been on a boat apart from a ferry, which blue water boat should I buy?
Guess it beats thinking about another twenty years in that job with that wife.

[tommyt]

SanderO,

I think that you give the general population way to much credit. We are a population, and in the case of us baby boomers, a generation of " I want to so I will". Then we find out what we wanted ( new vette, Masserati, Porsche, mountain retreat, boat, whatever), is not what it was cut out to be. That is when the bailing takes place.

I count myself fortunate to only have pissed away money on things that I had a blast with, and with very few regrets. Sure, I have bought a few stocks that I thought might finance my stupidity and did not, but the wins were better than the losses.

I love the water! Love sailing and heaven forbid power boating. I would love to cross an ocean...in a week or a month! I have no desire to cruise the rest of my life....I am way to spoiled for that and like it. So I am safe in not wanting a bluewater boat to live on. However, that is not to say that I won't decide I need a really fast boat someday, and the person that buys it from me will be the winner. We all have our passions and dreams. Sometimes reality steps in!

[bestfriend]

Denise, where are you going with this thread? I don't mean that in a negative way, I just don't follow.

[tommyt]

I am not sure where Denise was planning to go, but I think she has provided a reality check option.

I had a second home for a lot of years. A very good friend wanted to buy one on the Lake of the Ozarks when he was living in Chicago. I told him that I had never regretted the money spent, or the time to drive 6 hours to our retreat, because it provided something that I needed in life. Both for purposes of family and my love of the water.

I told him that he and his family should do what they needed as a unit. If the retreat on the lake met their needs, and they would use it enough, then buy it. The true test of a summer home on the lake is not the enjoyment you get in July on your months vacation, it is writing the mortgage check in February when the retreat is 6 hours away and the snow if two foot deep. It is then that you realize how many checks you have to write till your next vacation.

[uspirate]

Originally Posted by deniseO30

Learning to sail is like joining a gym.. it's fun at first...

If this is the case, maybe sailing isnt for that person. sailing isnt just a sport or hobby or an addiction (which it can be all three) but it's a state of mind where you find peace, tranquility and drink alot of beer. just my .02