Sailboat living... of all the frugal retirement living lifestyles that we have experienced since 1994... by far and away the most fun was the time that we spent on our sailboat Shadowtime in the Caribbean.
We had no idea that a sailboat is essentially an RV that floats... boats, both sail and power, are fully self-contained means of mobile transportation.
Our 35 foot sailboat was where we ate, slept, and generally enjoyed ourselves for eight wonderful years.
Our eyes were opened to the possibility of sailboat living when we were in St. Thomas on a cruise ship... we took a shore excursion along with two other couples from the cruise ship for a four hour adventure, on a 36 foot sailboat that was home to two very happy and ordinary people... I was absolutely blown away by the idea of living on a boat from the moment we stepped on board.
When the cruise ship left the harbor that night I went up top and toasted the several dozen sailboats in the Charlotte Amalie harbor... and decided that we would toast the cruise ships when they left St. Thomas from our own sailboat within five years.
We moved up the timetable and did it in four years... to get us ready we took charter sailboat vacations in the British Virgin Islands... initially with a Capt. and cook... later on we took a charter boat out by ourselves.
The last time we chartered by ourselves, called bareboat chartering, we did it for three straight weeks to see if this lifestyle was really for us... that gave us time enough to go to the grocery store several times, the bank, the post office, and perform the more mundane items of everyday life such as getting the garbage from the boat to a public dumpster.
This last chartering experience led to a purchase of our boat in the Kemah, Texas area... from where we sailed the boat to the British Virgin Islands that same year... nine months after that last charter.
For the next eight years we had the time of our lives, we were safe, spent very little money... less than $1000 a month, stayed healthy, and generally enjoyed ourselves to the fullest.
Looking back on those eight years, it was obvious to me that if we, having no prior boating experience of any kind, can learn to live safely and confidently on a boat... then I should write about all the steps that we took to get us to a lifestyle that we will never forget.
You can do this too.
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