I must have watched dozens or their videos now, enough to know that to sell up and spend your years sailing the world is harder work than just going to real work and paying for a holiday as and when you fancy. You never really escape the tedium of bureaucracy anyway, the insurance, visas and logistics are a constant drag, as is maintaining any degree of civility and comfort.
It’s good to see the world from another’s perspective, but I wouldn’t swop places for more than a fortnight.
Sorry to learn you may be ready to hang up your sou’wester, Howard, but even if your yacht sells and sails, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the sea.
Its a very different life to a life of work and an annual charter. I have met more than a few of the sell up and sail away people and mostly they seem to enjoy it for a few years. I havent met anyone who has done it for a lifetime, even those who have been born on board to parents who were sell up and sail away eventiually go land based.. The logistics are much less of an issue than the ones we take as routine living on land, though as one guy put it to me - "you try getting your gearbox repaired in Pago Pago.". Health care is an issue for the older folks despite a nominally healthier life style. Contrary to what most people imagine, it is not a dangerous life style . Few drown or are shipwrecked.
However, some foreign ports are clogged with those who have started on the dream, got so far and then become harbour bound a bit like "travellers" who dont travel. You want a cheap long distance boat - check out harbours in the canaries, gib, the windies etc. Pal bought a lovely 40ft schooner rigged Freedom for not a lot in St Vincent. Had been abandoned there by the young couple who couldnt continue. Came fully equipped with everything from scuba kit and compressor to baby bottles and cot. His only problem was getting it back to the UK.
No I am not ready to hand up my sou' wester! Head tells me that I should but I am royally pi55ed off at what I have done and had a miserable night thinking about it. And the odd thing is that the bits I found myself missing most were bashing to windward round Lands End in the middle of the night. On my own in the cockpit, longships light flashing, dire straits in the earbuds, rollers passing under the stern. Times like that rather than in a sunny harbour. Beats car driving into a tin hat.
