Living on board a sailboat is a good way to enjoy retirement. It's not only a lot of fun it is a very frugal way of living.
My better half and I quit in 1994, when I was 49. We purchased our ship, May 1994, in the Clear Lake area south of Houston. I sailed the boat to the UK Virgin Islands 6 months after purchase and that is where it stayed for the next eight years.
My comments are aimed at people who need to retire to living on board a sailboat in the Caribbean. It was eight years of fun in the sun, and it was sure cheap, less than $1,000 a month.
Why so cheap? Good question. Birds of a feather?
The single road which runs lengthwise the Cape, now winding over the plain, now through the shrubbery, which scrapes the wheels of the stage, was a mere cart-track in the sand, commonly without any fences to confine it, and continually changing from this side to that, to harder ground, or sometimes to avoid the tide. But the inhabitants travel in waste here and there pilgrim- wise and staff in hand, by narrow foot-paths, through which the sand flows out and reveals the nakedness of the land. We shuddered at the thought of living there and taking our afternoon walks over those barren swells, where we could overlook every step of our walk before taking it, and would have to pray for a fog or a snow-storm to conceal our destiny. The walker there must soon eat his heart.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
Why so frugal? They would do anything to avoid returning to work.
Clothes for instance.upon arising, I pulled on a couple of swim trunks, a T shirt.that's it. I had two collared shirts, one or 2 pairs of light long pants ( for church ), one pair of shoes. Teva sandals.
Wife's wardrobe, same deal, swimming costume and cover up for going ashore. A few cotton long dresses and.you guessed it Teva sandals.
Because you use local transport, mini buses, you do not shop much.just groceries.
with the plane nowhere and her body taking by the throat
The undying cry of the void falling living beginning to be something
That no one has ever been and lived through screaming without enough air
—James Dickey (b. 1923)
The only salesmen you encounter on the water are ones with lobsters for sale or trade. Their guests were paying $500 a night, we paid zero, and we had a better view.
Stormy weather, not an issue, problem, your sails between islands were short. From the VI to Trinidad, the longest passage was 95 miles. BVI to St Maarten. You are not in a hurry if you cannot retire because of the economy.think again. Living on board a sailboat in the Caribbean, is fun and frugal. Enjoy.
Is an avid internet user and currently runs a number of video based website built with Video Blizzard, a software platform that creates instant video websites. http://heroapps.com.