New Blood

[Bad Obsession]

When I bought my Hunter 22 and started cruising it in 2003 I knew that I was one of the younger people in my area to be cruising. I have been cruising around the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River for a while now and I have yet to meet anyone younger than I am when I was talking to cruisers around me (I am now 32). Most of the cruisers that I have met have been in their mid 40's to their mid 60's.

I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this when they were out. It seems like there isn't that many younger people out cruising these days. I see a lot of them racing when I use to race.

Any thoughts on why this is? Anyone think that I am just not running into people my age out there?

Either way the cruising friends that I have made through the years are great people. All of them are a different breed than the normal people we meet on land and I have to say a better breed! It just seems that other sailors will go out of their way to help a fellow sailor, most are very pleasant and friendly, and there is a kindredship that we all share.

 

[sailingdog]

There are younger sailors out there, but they are fewer than you'd expect. Part of the problem is financial. Many younger people can't afford a boat or to go out cruising. Part of the problem is generational. Many younger people are too career focussed or to materialistic to want to go cruising, which, unless you have a very large boat and budget, is a somewhat spartan lifestyle. Others are too connected to be wanting to take the time and go cruising—that would be the crackberry set...

 

[Paul356]

Nick Hayes has written about this and is out speaking about it. http://www.savingsailing.com/Home/Saving_Sailing.html

 

[Paul Brinkley]

When I was younger, I couldn't afford a boat AND didn't have the time- did find some time for whitewater canoeing, but my only sailing was on my canoe with a homemade sailing rig. Now I have a boat, but still don't have much time, and my wife is still working full time, so no cruising, just a day or a weekend now and then. Maybe one day.... -Paul

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

I think I would have to agree with a lot of what Sailingdog says. I was about your age when my husband and I started sailing on OPB almost 20 years ago. We still race on friends small boats on a smaller inland lake in addtion to sailing our 40 footer in the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior and most of the people I meet are in their 40's and over. For myself, I didn't consider sailing any sooner than I did because it never would have occured to me. A friend of my husband bought a sailboat and started asking us to go with him and then I fell in love with sailing. Hmm. Maybe we should all start asking young people to go out with us?

 

[Ross]

The younger set that wants to sail mostly crews on other peoples boats and the mix seems to be athletic girls and macho guys.

 

[RECESS]

Turn key, put in forward, go, buy more gas when done. This appeals to most younger people. My friends always say it looks like you are doing so much when you sail. I hand them the tiller and main sheet and they soon see it is not rocket science. Sailing has a perception as being very time consuming and a difficult activity to people outside of it.

 

[Amos Cape]

Last summer was the first time I was ever on a sailboat. We were out with wind gust up to 25 mile per hour and loved it. By the end of the day I was doing the sailing. I have had a motor boat for a long time but the thrill of sailing was more fun and I got the bug. So the search was on to find a sail boat that worked into my budget. It was a long search but we found a 1977 S2 8.0b with a motor that was in good shape except for the cabin. We have redone the interior with new pumbing, eletrical, cushions, counter tops, flooring.

My wife thinks I'm crazy! Maybe I am!!

I know that will start asking young people to go out with us. We have four kids and they are all so excited. They range from 33-18 years old some with kids too.

 

[Hermit Scott]

I think it's the same reason why you find few young people that own their own business. They don't see that's it's possible for them until they see someone like theirselves doing it.

 

[sailingdog]

I do invite a lot of younger people to crew on my boat. Several of them have gone and bought boats of their own. It's a start.

 

[Joe Snuffy]

I'm 34 and the youngest by 15-20 years to the next youngest sailor at my marina. The old salts have tons of knowledge and go out of their way to help me out.

 

[RECESS]

I'm 34 and the youngest by 15-20 years to the next youngest sailor at my marina. The old salts have tons of knowledge and go out of their way to help me out.

That's because they know you make your own homebrew!!

The old salts at my club are worth the dues all by themselves. None of them have turned down a beer either.

 

[Joe Snuffy]

That's because they know you make your own homebrew!!

The old salts at my club are worth the dues all by themselves. None of them have turned down a beer either.

While they help me a ton, I have noticed that most of them sit on their boats, enjoying a beer and telling stories while I'm out sailing.

 

[Maine Sail]

I was in my mid 20's when I bought my first, non-family owned, cruising boat. Heard the old "it's cool your dad let's you use his boat." stuff too. I would just smirk and say "yeah cool" cause it was not worth explaining.

I think the progression these days goes like this OPB's through the twenties, hope to buy your own in your 30's, some do, most don't ,finally in the 40's people have it together enough to buy a boat an some actually make the jump.

Some of my friends make excellent money, so it's not that holding them back. Sometimes, it is, IMHO, the lack of confidence. One of my friends did not buy his first boat until 44 and then it was a 400k+ vessel.. He's an excellent sailor, sailed his whole life, but the mechanics and maintenance aspects scared the heck out of he & his wife. They thought new would help, it didn't, but he's learning..

Here in Southern Maine we do have a fair amount of young under 30 sailors, perhaps more than some other areas from the sound of it, who own their own boats. We race with a guy who owns a P-26 and I'd be surprised if he's a day over 26. Also a coastie who is quite young who bought his own boat. One of the launch drivers bought and lived on a 27 footer for the summer and he was in his early 20's, perhaps even still in college.. Ran into three guys at the Maine Boat Builders Show, who don't even look to be 25, and all own 30 something footers...

I think often it can be finincial, but really, I think it comes down to a lack of comfort/understanding about the actual owning of a boat not just the "sailing" of one that holds many back...

 

[kenn]

I believe it depends alot on what you want out of life, which changes as you grow and age. I don't think that my younger self would have appreciated the soulful qualities of sailing/cruising - the quiet, just getting away, anchoring out, 7+ hours passage-making in anything from dead calm to 25+ kt, and spending quiet, uncomplicated time with people who feel the same way.

We got our little boat as a new project about when we turned 50. I've always sailed, mostly windsurfing, but a boat was the only way to share sailing with my wife. It's worked out fantastic, and she's just as enthusiastic as I am about it now. I used to kick myself about not doing this sooner, but now I can see that even at 40 we might not have been as appreciative about it as we are now.

Finally, it's fantastic to find new things in middle age. Having new things to learn, try and experience makes us feel young again. Let the young sailors race dinghies and then party inland, AWAY from the anchorages where us cruisers go to bed just past sunset

 

[sailaway78]

Interesting post

At the tender age of 71, I am in most places the oldest in the crowd. By a bunch. But that doesn't necessarily hold true when around sail boats and sailors. While many times I am the oldest in the crowd, among other sailors, the difference is not nearly as great. When out and about in the boat, I would think the average age of the people I meet is well over 50.

 

[cephius (Dave)]

My parents were campers, not boaters. I started sailing in city youth programs around 8. I didn't start cursing until I joined the Sea Scouts in Jr High.

We were based out of Alamitos Bay, Long Beach. I spent most summer weekends anchored in one of the many coves of Catalina Island.

Youth cursing programs do exist for those without the financial means. A person just has to be resourceful and seek them out.

 

[Shooter II]

I started cursing about the time I went into Cub Scouts or maybe Weeblos. Been cursing for over 50 years now. I didn't start sailing until 2 years ago. I haven't actually cruised as such. I have a cruiser but I find it hard to find crew. The wife doesn't actually enjoy the boat.
Buddy just moved here from Atlanta. He'd been down there nearly 25 years. Came up here with his bride of 20 years. They crewed on on Sunday and I hope we can make it a regular thing.
As for when I would've if I could've; I've wanted a boat, never even thought about a power boat, long as I've been cursing. In the early '70s, I thought a Venture 21 would be neat. My Spitfire would never towed it. In the '80s, with a wife and daughter who didn't share my yearning, I couldn't rationalize the hassle of ownership. The '90s were a continuation of the '80s and we became horse owners with a competitive rider in the family. No time or money then. About y2k, we talked in earnest 'bout a farm and well, the boat would have to take a back seat to getting a farm. Big financial hit followed in the early part of the decade.
Realized I was rapidly approaching 60 and still no boat. No farm either. Decided to get the boat now rather than when I was rapidly approaching 70. Wife doesn't come down to the boat much. I singlehand as much as anything. Daughter still boards the horses. We looked at farms to buy, just today.
Sometimes life just happens and gets away from you.
Hope to sail much more oftener this year.

 

[Benny]

I consider we have lived in the golden age of production boats. Larger and more modern boats were produced to capture the growing wealth of the American working class. Marinas and satellite companies grew all over the country. Prior to WW II boats were basically custom made and too expensive to get and maintain. The sorry aspect of it is that we could also be seeing the end of such an era, with marinas closing, services diminishing and fees increasing. Between restrictive regulations about the use of boats and the increased cost it we could see the tide turning even before the recession. With the job marlet in a tailspin and not predicted to recover for at least another 2-3 years not too many young people are going to be attracted to boating. I don't know how many boats Hunter, Catalina, Island Packet, Benetau and smaller production manufacturers have built in the past 2 years but I bet not many so 3 years from now there will be a scarcity of good used boats which represents the entry level for younger people. The way I see it for the sailboat industry to recover we need less unnecessary intervention by government agencies, incentives for marinas and related industries, for boat builders to scale back and offer smaller boats at lower prices and a good campaign for everyone to promote sailing among the youth. Forgot what the topic was.

 

[DannyS]

I agree it is a $$$ thing. I bought my first boat after my first sail on a friend's boat...I was 28 and hooked! That boat was a $2000 POS but it was a start. Now, in my late 30's and still the youngest people in our marina and the only ones with young kids. Priorities are different when you're young, our priority was to own a boat that our family of 4 would be comfortable on for the summer. We're basically liveaboards all summer. While our friends have large homes and nicer cars, we have a small home and a "Yacht"! I guess that makes us different from our peers, we enjoy close quarters.