Who is truly hoping to do this indefinitely?

[pwillems]

I just finished reading Anne Vanderhoof's "An Embarassment of Mangoes". Her and her husband set out from Toronto and cruised to Trinidad and back for a couple years. The last section of the book was all about coming home and getting back into their old life. The tone of the last chapter was almost like a bit of a sad ending with her describing how the busy city life seems like everyone there is really missing the point.

This made me wonder, my goal will be to set out one day (15 yrs away at least ), but at this point, I think I will be doing it with the intention of finishing off my life that way. This is not an issue for me as I grew up living a fairly nomadic life. My family was very close, but at heart only. My parents taught my sister and I to live our lives and not miss out on our dreams due to not being close by.

How many people considering this life actually do it with the intention of truly sailing indefinitely?

[Zanshin]

I decided that in order to pursue cruising indefinately I needed to balance it with shorebound life. I have met several sailors (both individual and couples) who have been cruising so long that they've really lost contact with what I'll call 'mainstream' society that their chances of successfully re-integrating are almost nil. In order to avoid that situation and not lose the few social skills I've got left, I decided to spend 4-6 months out of the year on land and working. Fortunately this blends in well with the type of work I do and I feel that I get the best of both worlds, both ashore and afloat.
So for me the cruising time is indefinate but interspersed with times in the real world. Alternating between the two lifestyles also makes the advantages and disadvantages of each seem more pronounced and thus much more flavorful!

[MARC2012]

Zanshin is probably right.but difficult to get back in mainstream.Or possibly mainstream just s***S.MARC

[PBzeer]

Though I'm currently working to rebuild the cruising kitty, once out again, I intend to keep cruising until physically unable.

[wind_magic]

Pwillems, your question is at the root of many of the debates that we have here on the forums, though it rarely comes up for discussion directly. It'll be interesting to see what people write.

[kd3pc]

we are like John, intend to be liveaboard cruisers, until we can't then buy a trawler and live at the marina...

I see no need to move back shoreside...maybe visit kids, or do some sightseeing.

[marianclaire]

I am torn on this question. I spend 4 to 6 months a year on a long cruise and the rest of the year on land with a lot of short 3 to 7 day trips to/on the boat. Problem is I have a deep connection with the area here in NE TN/NW NC. “Cruisers bliss” is real and I often think of how simple life is when I am out there. It is not all sunny days and cocktails but it is simpler IMHO. So to answer the question: No I do not plan to cruise full time. But check back in a few years. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[night0wl]

One thing that often gets overlooked...your body. Physically, most cruisers will reach a point in time where doctors visits, medical procedures, proximity to home care, or even just mental faculties will make it impossible to cruise. Not to mention the physical rigors of sailing. Heck, even short term cruising may become impossible without electric winches and other expensive, failure prone mechanics.

Fact is, most cruisers do the lifestyle for only a few years and then eventually reintegrate back into life/reality.

[eryka]

Well, financially, we're set up so we can keep going forever. Neither of us has close family (parents deceased, no kids), and "home" has been wherever Uncle Sam tells us it is for so long that we have no ties to a particular place. That said, we've also found that after exploring for a while we like to come back and "rest" at a location, tie up in a marina and have a car again, not need a map all the time, and appreciate towns for something other than groceries and laundromats. You can probably count us in the group who has/will travel for a few months, then settle for a while, then go again. One thing, though, we have no plans to move ashore. We'll go from a sailboat to a trawler in a marina as we age, maybe an RV, but no house!

[damies]

My long term plan is to do this indefinitely, but I need 2 things to make that a reality:
Plan Part 1) An income stream that will allow it to be possible (allowing for food, expenses and regular airfares home for my wife)

Plan Part 2) A bigger boat that is more comfortable for living aboard, about or a little after part 1 is in place.

I'm years away from part 1, will update when (if) I get there. It's not likely to happen while the kids are at home (the youngest is 8 now) so I have a few years to make the plan happen.

Dave.