Looking towards the Horizon.....

[Ross]

Moony, I suppose that I just have too broad

a range of interests to drop everything and go sailing for weeks at a time. We have been 36 years in our house and our community. We have gardens and a library and my shop. I absolutely love the work that I do and we made this home as a place of quiet refuge and retreat. I also love sailing and am not put off by rough weather although I can't say the same about Nancy. She enjoys our boat but prefers winds below 12 and temperature below 85 and above 35. We have lots of books on board, plenty of food and good wine.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Just looking at things now

I am merely doing research and looking at future plans now.As for my career, I am a police officer and I figure that 25-29 years or that kind of work is enough! I have plenty of other things to fall back on (I am a crash reconstructionist and I do 3D crime scene mapping etc). My first year after retirement I plan to kick back and take off for the winter. I am sure that I will do at least part time work in retirement.There is definately a lot of good information in this post. I am just kicking around an idea of going to a bluewater type boat now and spending years fixing it up for after I retire. It isn't too hard of a stretch to think of making a Bermuda run in a few years because I build up massive amounts of vacation and I could take 3-4 weeks off at a time. I also only work 13 days a month doing what I do.I don't attend to get rid of my Catalina in the next few years but I am really interested in learning about the information that everyone is putting down. I am sure that I will be putting a new set of sails on my Catalina before I sell it but I have at least another season or two on my current sails.I have to say that my 150% doesn't really sail that great when partly furled (especially upwind). I still think that my next sail for the boat will be a 135% with a good foam luff so it will sail well when partly furled.

 

[Ross]

If you really enjoy time on the water

then the job of "River Keeper" is always a good posibility. With a law enforcement background and a few courses at the local colleges could work as a door opener. Many long term sailors spend more days in port than they do sailing between ports. I have always thought that sailing around the world alone non-stop was the dumbest thing a person could contrive to do. All of that time and effort and when they get back they have seen a lot of ocean water and weather.

 

[MoonSailer]

Good Answer Ross!!!!!

Getting tied to the dock is easy to do. My wife got a Laborador retriever that is one line to shore. He is just too big for the boat. I like horses but if I ever buy another one that is another line. Gardening requires a gardener so that is another line. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being securely tied to a place. My Mom has lived in the same house for over 50 years and in the same town for her entire life!!! Over 99% of her life has been spent within 4 miles of where she was born!!!! She loves her house and her garden etc. Me I have yet to feel tied down to a place but have lived here in Alabama and in the past in Tennessee,Texas ,Virginia and South Carolina. If my Grandkids lived close I would never leave for long but they live away from here in different directions. My wife lived 43 of her 54 years within a few miles of her birth and is looking longingly at some land that her father gave to her as a place to build a house. I guess that it all depends upon what makes you happy. It is impossible to remain tied to the dock and see the world at the same time!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ross]

Nancy and I have learned to enjoy the world

in small bites. We take short vacations to places of interest. We are in a way micro maniacs. For her birthday we spent an entire day driving the back roads in Delaware, stopping in state parks and going for short walks along the cleared trails. Stopping to talk to people we met in various places. Combine that with some good reading and you have a very satisfying memory to savor for a while. Just don't loose your curiosity about the places you go. Have you read the stories of the people and the land in your county? What was it like before the US government relocated the southern Indian tribes? How many small villages were lost when they built the dams that created the lakes where you sail?