The sailboat cruising lifestyle, a typical day onboard

Living the sailboat cruising lifestyle is a major unknown for most people. It's a great way to enjoy frugal retirement living. A common question is what do you do all day? Nothing really unusual... what you do on land using what is available on the boat.

The morning

A typical day if you are by yourself, and that is your choice.

You get up, half of us do anyway, at first light, make coffee eat a light snack, grab a book and go up top (that's in the cockpit).

We both read a lot on the boat...always had a book going.

This might be great time to read the classics, or John Grisham may be more your style.

Now if you are gone 6 to 9 months you will run out of books right? Wrong, remember you are living the sailboat cruising lifestyle with other people in the same boat so to speak. You do book exchanges...you get together, bring several books you have read, put them on the table or sand and take a book from someone else. This works surprisingly well for everyone.

This is the cockpit, the living room,note the crossbars on the stern, these were part of the dingy davits so you could pull the dingy out of the water. Note the real teak grates, had these made in Trinidad, very cheaply.

Boat Maintenance

The rest of the day might be spent doing any boat chores you have to do, and there always seems to be something. You don't take routine maintenance lightly. It is much easier do things at a leisurely pace than have to fix something on a passage at night.

However, you don't have to be a mechanic...I am living proof, my work around the house pre sailing days was limited to changing light bulbs...I'm not kidding... don't think you have to be mechanical to enjoy the sailboat cruising lifestyle.

The basics would be knowing where your thru hulls were located and being very familiar with the stuffing box, the seal around your propeller shaft. These are places where water can get into the boat...important stuff.

You should also know how to bleed your diesel engine; change (keep spares) engine drive belts: and know how to fix your engine water pump. Not an extensive list, but necessary. we helped each other a lot. One person might know his electronics, the other a engine whiz, it worked quite nicely.

Mid day

The uniform of the day.Check these 4 cruising ladies and 1 guy out. Is this Vogue and GQ or what?

Footware, because you occasionally will get wet, needs to be water proof. Every cruiser, and I mean every cruiser wears Teva sandals, You can get them wet no problem. Do you wear any other shoes?...I may have had a pair of tennis shoes, my bride a open toe pair for church, etc...

How did you get around ashore with no car?

Same way the locals did...by 14 passenger vans called Maxi taxis. We were very often the only white folks on the bus...we never felt uncomfortable, island locals are very polite and friendly. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, would say good morning when getting on the bus...always.

It is an amazing thing. You treat people like you want to be treated you get along fine...anywhere in the world..especially those that offer frugal retirement living.

How much did it cost? A dollar would take you from one end of St Croix (about 35 miles) to the other. A bus ride in Venezuela would cost you 7 cents...that's right 7 cents. The sailboat cruising lifestyle is not only fun...it is living cheaply.

Afternoons and evening

If you returned to the boat in the afternoon, and knew you were staying aboard, you haul your dingy out of the water using the davits. Its a 2 person job made easy by the block and tackle pulley system. The captain gets the engine side, the mate gets the bow...hey its only fair.

Why do you pull your dingy out of the water? Security, if your dingy is in the water it would be easy to steal. It happened , not to our friends, but it happens.

Second and most important to us is the quiet...with no dingy behind the boat it is much more quiet. The dingy will make noise as the waves lap against it being tied to the boat. We did not want anything to interfere with our sunset.

Here's the payoff for the sailboat cruising lifestyle

We had a hard and fast rule on the boat, no projects of any kind started after 3PM. You retire to enjoy the sailboat cruising lifestyle to relax and enjoy yourself. Some projects have the tendency to get drawn out and take longer than anticipated. So no new work after 3 and you will never miss a sunset...right.

A shower then quiet time in the cockpit. A little rum and or beer then dinner. Ah what a life.

Return from sailboat cruising lifestyle to living aboard a sailboat

Return from sailboat cruising lifestyle to frugal retirement living

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