Yachting and Boating World forums: What AGE are you planning or indeed DID retire... and if pos.. how.. ?

In my twenties I used to sail for a living but it was unfair on my then wife to come home and find a note 'On a delivery. Back in 3 weeks' or whatever. I moved inland in 1982 in a bid to settle down, get a proper job and make the marriage work. I never read a sailing magazine, went to the seaside or anywhere near a boat from that day on. I joined the police (as near to a proper job as I could stand) and we had two sons, followed by a divorce!

Then I met SWMBO. Life rebuilt despite heavy CSA payments. I started painting and one day bought Sailing Today just to see how the shadow should go on a sail. I rang SWMBO and said 'You know how I always said we'd sail away one day. Well, it's not a dream, listen to these prices. They haven't gone up since I was a kid!' When she came home she wanted to sell up and sail immediately. I was very tempted but my sons were young and lived with their mum.

We did a weeks charter in the Med, she loved it and I remembered how to sail. Then a week in the western isles in the rain in May and she still loved it.

Since then, we've bought a boat to sail in the UK and plans are well afoot to retire at 55 (or less) I'm 50 and can retire in just over 2 years, daughter is 16 so should be able to look after herself by then, we'll have a small house or flat in the UK and a boat of 30-36ft to sail until we're bored. My pension should be about £1,000 a month so we should be comfortable. We 're not very materialistic, we enjoy our own company and the company of others for short periods. We hardly ever go out for meals etc and live pretty much hand to mouth now, so that won't be a change! As I told my daughter, I've spent the last twenty five years trying to conform. It doesn't work and I can't wait to be free to be me again!

There are so many places we want to go; Round Britain, Iceland, St Petersburg, the French canals, Turkey, North Africa, Guatamala, the Panama canal, Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, the South Sea islands, NewZealand. The list could be endless!

Maybe we'll last six weeks, decide it's not for us and then pack it in. But at least we'll have tried!

The worst thing that could happen is for a grandchild to arrive on the scene. That could well stop us from going.

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Funny old world, innit?

Edited by Slow_boat (18/05/2008 18:14)

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