A Quick Shift to Living Aboard
Last year we featured the story of how George and Sarah found the boat of their dreams for retirement. Well, they are bloody plonkers no more. Rather, they are experienced and accomplished cruisers who quickly became live aboard sailors in retirement.
CONGRATULATIONS! The “Miradors” (George and Sarah) sold their house in Virginia which was the trigger for them to retire. It came as a bit of a shock to them, but George did not miss a beat He quickly wrapped his very “cushy” job while Sarah sold, packed, stored, and gave away as many possessions as she could in minimum time. She did “somewhat prepare” for this day when she started minimizing the clutter in their home during the previous year, so it may not have been quite as harrowing as it could have been.
However, speaking from experience, one always has a lot more stuff than one realizes. And tying up the “loose ends” ashore can be overwhelming. Forwarding mail, sorting out finances, notifying all of change of address, changing drivers’ licenses, and, of course, saying one’s goodbyes are just a few of the many steps one takes to shift to living aboard a sailboat. Setting a timeline of when each should be accomplished is the best way to deal with this situation which is exactly what they did.
They became live-aboards in January in a very cold Virginia…possibly not the best time of year to be holed up on a boat, but they are excited!
These two “wanderlusts” are not just moving onto their boat to go cruising. They will take a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia in April. Then attend graduation for their daughter in May. And on to Italy in September. They will be back on their catamaran to start the cruising season in the Chesapeake and possibly get ready to do the Caribbean 1500 to the Bahamas!
We love their sense of adventure and wish them the very best. We will check in on them periodically to see how they are doing.
Cruising Retirement and More
The “Awe-Sprays”, Don and Lynda are en route to the Bahamas right now. See one They started off in Canada, where they now reside part of the year after they retired a few years back. These two are doing the “pioneer” thing in the Canadian wilderness…growing vegetables, catching fish, hunting, and improving the cabin and land they had bought many years ago on a lake.
Awespray was ready to return to the ocean after a blissful summer in the sweet water of the lake in Canada. Don and Lynda got ready to set sail before the brutal Canadian winter weather set in. They decided to follow the Great Circle route through the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River, and along the Gulf Coast to the Bahamas.
Their lives aboard their catamaran have been about discovery and learning. Their adventures are entertaining and, often times, quite funny, and occasionally scary, such as this harrowing tale from a cruise on the Mississippi River. They managed to help other “distressed” yachties with sound advice and Macgyver-like actions, which just shows us how far they have come…maybe we can update their status to not so plonkerish?
We will have the pleasure of their company in Fort Lauderdale soon and will no doubt have a lot to report on!
Retiring to Live Aboard, then Back Ashore
The “Simplicities”, Dave and Peggy (you can read more about their sailing retirement here), were holed up in Beaufort, South Carolina, for the summer after their stint in the Bahamas on their catamaran. From there, they did a road trip, visiting friends on the way to Washington state where they met up with their family. They both fell in love with the area. After some serious thinking and agonizing, they decided to suspend the sailing adventure and move on to adventures on the land in and around Seattle where they would be closer to their family.
Much to their surprise they sold the boat almost instantly through our catamaran brokerage and got close to asking price! They promptly returned to Simplicity to pack up their belongings and with their U-Haul, car, and trailer, worked their way back to the Pacific Northwest. They are currently housesitting for their son, James, and his wife, Jennifer, who are both deployed in the military for the next 6 months. CATAMARAN GURU AND ALL OUR READERS AND FRIENDS SALUTE THEM AND THANK THEM FOR THEIR SERVICE!
Dave and Peggy are not totally sure where the next adventure will take them but they are ready for whatever will come their way. We salute them for at least trying the sailing lifestyle. So many people dream and talk about doing it but few actually “take the plunge” or let the lines go. The “Simplicities” will never have to say: “…what if…”. Captain Dave, a former Coast Guard captain, will miss the ocean but he will be happier with the love of his life on the beach! We wish them well and and this will not be the last we hear from them.
UPDATE: Yachts are in Dave and Peggy’s blood so soon Dave was working as a yacht broker and, soon after, bought a yacht brokerage.
