Sailing had always been on my "someday bucket list," but I kept putting it off since I could never make the time to take the week or two off to do the course.
But once I started learning, it was so much more deeply satisfying than anything else in my life, that it immediately became a top focus. Before I'd even finished my captain's license, I had already hit "buy it now" on an ebay listing (admittedly reckless and not recommended, but I couldn't wait).
That being said, boats are floating money pits (the rule of thumb is that you spend half the boat's price again, every year, in maintenance and mooring) and take a ton of upkeep, so I think it's only viable if it's a major piece of your life and you're willing to devote considerable time o it. Otherwise, it just sits there, losing money while accumulating chores.
I sold mine during the first lockdown, but I'll absolutely get another someday, once I'm ready to wrap my life around it again.
Yeah, I looked at trailer sailers (although I wanted a cabin), but it wasn't really viable for the types of travel I wanted to do. Now that my life and location are slightly more predictable, a 7m with a small cabin that could go on a trailer would be ideal. (Although I'm sure I won't end up making that sensible choice.)
As a software developer and team lead who's worked from and lived on a sailboat for the last two years, I'd agree with others here and encourage you to give it a shot. My wife and I both work remotely as software developers and we've been able to put thousands of miles under the keel, traveling from Mobile Alabama, to as far north as the Chesapeake Bay with multiple stops in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, all while keeping our full-time software engineering jobs. It's been a really great experience and I highly-recommend it to anyone with a remote role.
I’d love to hear about the logistics of how you do this because it’s something I’ve considered trying, at least for a period of time. I keep running into the idea that without consistent, reliable Internet, not to mention the other niceties of productivity like a workspace and monitors, it simply wouldn’t work for more than a few weeks.
We haven't, but it's on the list! We've mostly stuck to the US coast and Western Caribbean, visiting the Keys, the Bahamas, a bit up North, and the stuff in between. Currently anchored in Biscayne bay (Coconut Grove), but will probably be headed down to the keys in a month or so.
I'm reading this on board my boat, getting nice warm feelings of empathy about single handing long flights of locks, and then Rob has to go and spoil the happy thoughts by talking about diesel spills and sinking :D
Sailing had always been on my "someday bucket list," but I kept putting it off since I could never make the time to take the week or two off to do the course.
But once I started learning, it was so much more deeply satisfying than anything else in my life, that it immediately became a top focus. Before I'd even finished my captain's license, I had already hit "buy it now" on an ebay listing (admittedly reckless and not recommended, but I couldn't wait).
That being said, boats are floating money pits (the rule of thumb is that you spend half the boat's price again, every year, in maintenance and mooring) and take a ton of upkeep, so I think it's only viable if it's a major piece of your life and you're willing to devote considerable time o it. Otherwise, it just sits there, losing money while accumulating chores.
I sold mine during the first lockdown, but I'll absolutely get another someday, once I'm ready to wrap my life around it again.