Retirement is what many of us work towards and look forward to with much anticipation. There can be a downside if retirement creates a vacuum of time which needs to be filled. Having too much free time comes with a string of potential disadvantages such as boredom, procrastination, anxiety and even depression. To have our best life in retirement we needed to find passions to help fill our new found free time. Sailing in retirement has become one of our passions.
Why Passion Matters
Passion is the energy that keeps us going, that keeps us filled with meaning, happiness, excitement and anticipation. Hopefully we are able to find a ways to fill the new found time with passionate pursuits, but do we actually have any interests that we are passionate about? The irony is the hustle and bustle of the normal workaday life is so full of tasks and responsibilities that many of us fail to find time to identify or pursue any interests which might become a passion. Passion is important because it is a powerful force in accomplishing anything you set your mind to, and in experiencing life to the fullest extent possible.
Sailing In Retirement Chose Us
Passions can develop very unexpectedly as ours for sailing did. Discovering passions in life sometimes means getting a fresh look at the world we live in. Travel can open us up to how other people live which could inspire us to try something new and amazing. Meeting new people brings new personalities into our life. New acquaintances will have their own likes and dislikes and ways of seeing the world we might not have thought about before. If we are fortunate, someone might introduce us to a new passion. That is what happened for us. Newly found friends introduced us to sailing which developed into a new found passion.
Our Introduction to Sailing
In 2007 I met a new work customer and his wife with whom Diane and I got along with very well. We went to dinner a few times and visited each others homes. As we got to know each other, we found more interests in common than we ever expected. They were into sailing and scuba diving which interested us greatly. As luck would have it they had been to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) before and they were in the process of planning another trip. They asked if we would be interested in joining them. We said YES and started packing that evening. In reality, we had months to prepare and plenty of time to get our PADI Open Water Diver Certifications.
The First Adventure
Our first sailing adventure was a 10 day sailing trip on a bareboat chartered catamaran. Bareboat meaning no crew or provisions are provided. We were our own captains and on our own to succeed or fail, to sail when and where we wanted, to explore the BVI’s 36 islands and waters as we pleased. This level of freedom really got us thinking of sailing in retirement as a lifestyle.
We Flew Into The Tortola Airport
Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport is the main airport serving the British Virgin Islands. The airport serves as the gateway to just about all of the islands within the BVI. Many travelers fly into Beef Island, with the intention of taking a ferry to the other smaller British Virgin Islands. The airport is located on Beef Island which it is connected to main island of Tortola by the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.
The Yacht
Our chartered yacht was a Lagoon 42 catamaran. Each of the 4 cabins had queen size beds and private heads. The bridge deck included a large saloon, dinning table and galley. The spacious aft deck became our main hangout for dinning, swimming and lounging in the sun.
Provisioning
Following an early morning Captain’s Briefing from the charter company, we headed to the local grocery store to purchase provisions. One roll of toilet paper is about the only supplies provided on a bareboat charter. Our charter marina was located in Road Town, the capital city of the BVI’s. We found several options for purchasing grocery items. Riteway Food Market offered a large selection of fresh, deli and dry goods. By early afternoon we were ready to set sail and begin our first sailing adventure.
Sailing Into A Storm
Learning to sail in retirement has offered many learning opportunities like… Always check the weather forecast for yourself. Unfortunately the charter company’s briefing had not addressed the weather forecast. We unwittingly left the yacht basin the afternoon of the first day and sailed straight into a rapidly developing tropical depression. We sailed straight south from Road Harbor across the Sir Francis Drake channel to Peter Island. At Peter we grabbed a mooring ball and some protection from the storm. The storm passed quickly and by late afternoon we had beautiful weather once again. The depression moved out quickly towards the northwest but it did intensify into a hurricane just a few days later.
Smooth Sailing Comes Our Way
After less that a prefect start, the rest of our trip was awesome! There were challenges but I think they helped us develop a passion for sailing in retirement because learning that you can overcome obstacles, learn from struggles and benefit from mistakes lays a solid foundation for success.
Preparing To Sail In Retirment
Local Experience
For my 50th birthday (Diane) bought us sailing courses from the American Sailing Association (ASA). The basic certifications were Basic Keelboat Sailing, Basic Coastal Cruising and Coastal Navigation. This formal training helped build the knowledge and experience we needed to be confident and safe on our own sailing in retirement adventures. We practiced in sailing in Galveston Bay using local charter boats and sailing with friends on their boats.
Return Trips To The BVI's
We have chartered monohull sail boats in the BVI two more times since our first trip on the catamaran. The second trip was on a 36′ because there was just the two of us. Our third trip included our son and his fiancee so we chartered a 42′ monohull for the extra room.
We Bought A Sailboat
We had delayed buying our own sailboat until we were closer to retirement because we were aware of the time required to use and maintain one. In July 2020 we felt the timing was right so we made the leap and purchased Out of Sight, a 1995 45′ Catalina/Morgan.
Sailing Has Filled Up Our New Found Free Time.
We had the boat surveyed prior to purchase and we thought that it was close to be ready to sail away. After we began to spend time on the boat we discovered quite a few deficiencies that we needed to remedy. All our repairs and modifications will eventually be detailed in future blogs and eventually on our YouTube channel Sailing Out of Sight. This refit has been quite the learning experience. We’ve acquired many new skills at everything from replacing all of the running and standing rigging, fiberglass repairs, refrigerator/freezer replacement to electronic navigation upgrades.
We moved onto the boat and began living full time in January 2022. Currently we are located at Pelican Rest Marina in Galveston, Texas. As of February 2022 we had completed the critical boat projects are ready to set sail in retirement as soon as the weather improves. Our immediate aspirations are to make it to the Florida Keys this spring or early summer.
Wishing you all the best from Sailing Out Of Sight.
Live life by a compass, not a clock.
