Thats some life you live there Wicca. Free as you like. One man following his dream. Good on you mate.
Non Bushy...boats....health warning!!!
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Absolute independancy and complete freedom to roam the entire world on a whim!
But before we all divorce our wives, sell our kids and buy boats, could you let us in on the downsides of this lifestyle?
If for no other reason then to let me concentrate on work again...
But before we all divorce our wives, sell our kids and buy boats, could you let us in on the downsides of this lifestyle?
If for no other reason then to let me concentrate on work again...
Tengu, it's that man again..Ballerina..Robert Tucker design and you are quite right some people say a yacht is "a hole in the water that you throw money into" But I don't have a house to maintain and as I can still do my own upkeep of my boat, so with care it's affordable on my pension.
Husky, downside of the lifestyle? Singlehanding is obviously not for those who need the company of others, some people just need regular contact with other humans. I don't. Life at times can be a bit 'Spartan' by modern standards, I don't have a TV, if my little charcoal heater goes out I can't just flick a switch for the central heating or turn on a tap for hot water, I have to boil it on the galley stove or shower in cold..
There's also the restriction on just how many 'belongings' you can own, I need to own very little, I'm happy without, others like to accumulate possessions. But none of these things are any different really to the way our fore fathers lived, they survived in relative happiness without all the trappings of modern 'civilization' Of course there are times when the benefits of life ashore are attractive. Stitching a 4 inch gash in my knee while the boat was rolling beam to beam off the coast of Morocco was one of them..so you need to be err adaptable too 
I'm a widower, my family have grown up and I have a pension which allows me to live (carefully ) on that amount. I am also an incurable adrenalin junkie, after an active and sometimes..err exciting life, if I settled down in a house ashore and grew roses I suspect Wicca would soon fade..like the roses..)
Husky, downside of the lifestyle? Singlehanding is obviously not for those who need the company of others, some people just need regular contact with other humans. I don't. Life at times can be a bit 'Spartan' by modern standards, I don't have a TV, if my little charcoal heater goes out I can't just flick a switch for the central heating or turn on a tap for hot water, I have to boil it on the galley stove or shower in cold..
There's also the restriction on just how many 'belongings' you can own, I need to own very little, I'm happy without, others like to accumulate possessions. But none of these things are any different really to the way our fore fathers lived, they survived in relative happiness without all the trappings of modern 'civilization' Of course there are times when the benefits of life ashore are attractive. Stitching a 4 inch gash in my knee while the boat was rolling beam to beam off the coast of Morocco was one of them..so you need to be err adaptable too I'm a widower, my family have grown up and I have a pension which allows me to live (carefully
) on that amount. I am also an incurable adrenalin junkie, after an active and sometimes..err exciting life, if I settled down in a house ashore and grew roses I suspect Wicca would soon fade..like the roses..) Wicca...
I've put the re-jigged post up in my first comment in the thread (post number 6) neater layout and captions more closely associated with the pictures.
If you manage to re-do your original post as discussed I'll remove it again.
The only problem with it being this way is it MIGHT (possibly not, but might) use double the amount of downloads from photobucket which could make them stop appearing on the thread.
I've put the re-jigged post up in my first comment in the thread (post number 6) neater layout and captions more closely associated with the pictures.
If you manage to re-do your original post as discussed I'll remove it again.
The only problem with it being this way is it MIGHT (possibly not, but might) use double the amount of downloads from photobucket which could make them stop appearing on the thread.
Thank you, even my ramblings make more sense when properly presented...You can see why I navigate with paper charts and compass and not by computer..
I'm sailing from Bermuda to the states this summer and the rigamorole that you have to go through with the coastguard and US customs and immigration is something else.
Your aye!
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." Kenneth Graham
"BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WON'T DROWN " Arthur Ransome (I'm not shouting that's the way it's written).
Your aye!
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." Kenneth Graham
"BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WON'T DROWN " Arthur Ransome (I'm not shouting that's the way it's written).
No probs Wicca, happy to help.
I'll probably be going down the paper charts and sextant route myself. A bit of GPS as backup, probably, but I like the idea of doing it the old fashioned way.
Boatswain - I've often wondered about US waters and immigration. I was playing with Google Earth yesterday and figured out a roughly 5000 nautical mile trip up the west coast of England and Scotland to the Faroe Islands, Iceland, East Greenland (up above 70 degrees it looks like a pretty nice bay to explore) and on to Newfoundland, Mainland Canada and eventually sailing up the Hudson to New York - as soon as I got to the last bit I thought there'd be issues with the US authorities.
What does it involve?
I'll probably be going down the paper charts and sextant route myself. A bit of GPS as backup, probably, but I like the idea of doing it the old fashioned way.
Boatswain - I've often wondered about US waters and immigration. I was playing with Google Earth yesterday and figured out a roughly 5000 nautical mile trip up the west coast of England and Scotland to the Faroe Islands, Iceland, East Greenland (up above 70 degrees it looks like a pretty nice bay to explore) and on to Newfoundland, Mainland Canada and eventually sailing up the Hudson to New York - as soon as I got to the last bit I thought there'd be issues with the US authorities.
What does it involve?
Basically the US don't recognise foreign yachts which means that you are not entitled to be on the visa waiver program but that you have to apply for a visa (cost about £100 plus an interview at the embassy London or Cardiff) also the coastguard are very interested in all your scheduled ports of call, your possible ports of call.
Cheers
Absolutely awesome post wicca, you lead a very enviable life. My own experiences range no further than a Topper, but how fun they can be!
Boatswain...
Now you mention it I remember hearing something about not being eligable for Visa Waiver if you sail to the US.
I also seem to remember some way around it to get onto the visa waiver. This may well be incorrect, but it was somehing like landing in Canada, corssing into the US by land on visa waiver and then going back for the boat and entering by sea.
Getting a visa would just be another hassle - especially considering how unplanned I expect my travels to be once I'm afloat - if it is possible to use the visa waiver system somehow with yachting it'd be better.
That said, there's a lot of coast in the US!
Would the 90 days granted on visa waiver even be long enough to sail all the way down the Eastern Seaboard, and into Mexican, Cuban or Bahaman waters?
Bearing in mind I'd be stopping to visit and spend time friends here and there, spend time in New York and around the Keys and maybe even indulging in a spot of hunting and wilderness type camping while over there.
How keen are the coastguard for you to stick to your scheduled and possible ports of call? I'm the sort of traveller who hears of a good place to visit once I'm there and then goes, I wouldn't have that clear an itinerary and even if I did I'd be inclined to drop it at a moment's notice.
I get the feeling they wouldn't accept a map of the eastern (or indeed, western) seaboard as the list of "possible ports of call".
Now you mention it I remember hearing something about not being eligable for Visa Waiver if you sail to the US.
I also seem to remember some way around it to get onto the visa waiver. This may well be incorrect, but it was somehing like landing in Canada, corssing into the US by land on visa waiver and then going back for the boat and entering by sea.
Getting a visa would just be another hassle - especially considering how unplanned I expect my travels to be once I'm afloat - if it is possible to use the visa waiver system somehow with yachting it'd be better.
That said, there's a lot of coast in the US!
Would the 90 days granted on visa waiver even be long enough to sail all the way down the Eastern Seaboard, and into Mexican, Cuban or Bahaman waters?
Bearing in mind I'd be stopping to visit and spend time friends here and there, spend time in New York and around the Keys and maybe even indulging in a spot of hunting and wilderness type camping while over there.
How keen are the coastguard for you to stick to your scheduled and possible ports of call? I'm the sort of traveller who hears of a good place to visit once I'm there and then goes, I wouldn't have that clear an itinerary and even if I did I'd be inclined to drop it at a moment's notice.
I get the feeling they wouldn't accept a map of the eastern (or indeed, western) seaboard as the list of "possible ports of call".
BigShot
Customs and immigration are notoriously short of humour and big on rule books, I think that the risks of getting it wrong outway the expense of doing it right. As far as having a planned itininary and bolt holes I'm not sure, probably need to find a coastguard website and get chatting, I'm doing this as part of an organised event and our passage plans are pretty well set.. god willing.
keep the wind on your back
Cheers
Customs and immigration are notoriously short of humour and big on rule books, I think that the risks of getting it wrong outway the expense of doing it right. As far as having a planned itininary and bolt holes I'm not sure, probably need to find a coastguard website and get chatting, I'm doing this as part of an organised event and our passage plans are pretty well set.. god willing.
keep the wind on your back
Cheers
Gotta say, I did wonder about how worthwhile that approach would be and figured it'd probably end up easier to just do it by the book.
As for the wind at my back, I dunno, close hauled sailing is just so much fun! Haha.
As for the wind at my back, I dunno, close hauled sailing is just so much fun! Haha.
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