Okay. A question for you guys.

[otterinbham 0]

Okay, if the planets align correctly, my wife and I are selling the house in about 10 years and living aboard a sailboat. So far, our investments are shaping up, my sailing classes have paid off, and I'm getting lots of practical experience on the weekends.

So, at a dinner party Sunday, Mrs. Otter mentions this at the dinner table. Our relatives and friends all freak out (Well, 80% of them). They proceed to spend the next hour telling us why we shouldn't do this, bringing up every worst-case scenario possible from hurricanes to medical issues to everything else.

Part of me was offended, especially there was an assumption that we are brainless fools. We've known people who have done this and thought it an incredibly rewarding experience. After all, the chance to sail around the globe, seeing the world along the way, is something very few people get to do.

Am I just kidding myself? Why wouldn't we do something like this before we get old? And why would these people be trying to hard to talk us out of it?

[BamaGrad03 0]

People criticize what they can't relate to.

If you can afford it, I say do it.

[Tigermike 4,082]

Okay, if the planets align correctly, my wife and I are selling the house in about 10 years and living aboard a sailboat. So far, our investments are shaping up, my sailing classes have paid off, and I'm getting lots of practical experience on the weekends.

So, at a dinner party Sunday, Mrs. Otter mentions this at the dinner table. Our relatives and friends all freak out (Well, 80% of them). They proceed to spend the next hour telling us why we shouldn't do this, bringing up every worst-case scenario possible from hurricanes to medical issues to everything else.

(Did they bring up pirates?)

Part of me was offended, especially there was an assumption that we are brainless fools. We've known people who have done this and thought it an incredibly rewarding experience. After all, the chance to sail around the globe, seeing the world along the way, is something very few people get to do.

Am I just kidding myself? Why wouldn't we do something like this before we get old? And why would these people be trying to hard to talk us out of it?

(If that is what you guys want to do there should be no problem. They try to talk you out of it because they are afraid. They would be afraid to do it themselves and deep down think everyone else should be afraid as well.)

Before you do it, watch this movie.

link to a glimpse of your future

[TitanTiger 22,004]

Okay, if the planets align correctly, my wife and I are selling the house in about 10 years and living aboard a sailboat. So far, our investments are shaping up, my sailing classes have paid off, and I'm getting lots of practical experience on the weekends.

So, at a dinner party Sunday, Mrs. Otter mentions this at the dinner table. Our relatives and friends all freak out (Well, 80% of them). They proceed to spend the next hour telling us why we shouldn't do this, bringing up every worst-case scenario possible from hurricanes to medical issues to everything else.

Part of me was offended, especially there was an assumption that we are brainless fools. We've known people who have done this and thought it an incredibly rewarding experience. After all, the chance to sail around the globe, seeing the world along the way, is something very few people get to do.

Am I just kidding myself? Why wouldn't we do something like this before we get old? And why would these people be trying to hard to talk us out of it?

They're being idiots. As long as you are properly prepared, have good equipment to help you navigate, get accurate weather info, have communication in case of emergencies and things like that, tell them to go jump in the lake.

[AUTiger1 0]

Okay, if the planets align correctly, my wife and I are selling the house in about 10 years and living aboard a sailboat. So far, our investments are shaping up, my sailing classes have paid off, and I'm getting lots of practical experience on the weekends.

So, at a dinner party Sunday, Mrs. Otter mentions this at the dinner table. Our relatives and friends all freak out (Well, 80% of them). They proceed to spend the next hour telling us why we shouldn't do this, bringing up every worst-case scenario possible from hurricanes to medical issues to everything else.

Part of me was offended, especially there was an assumption that we are brainless fools. We've known people who have done this and thought it an incredibly rewarding experience. After all, the chance to sail around the globe, seeing the world along the way, is something very few people get to do.

Am I just kidding myself? Why wouldn't we do something like this before we get old? And why would these people be trying to hard to talk us out of it?

Just my two cents

Actually, if you have the means, and this is something that you and Mrs.Otter want to do, then you are not kidding yourself and it is no one else's business other than yours. I want to go on another two week tour of England and France again before I get old, but chances are that I will not, so I don't blame you. Out of those that are trying to talk you out of and are treating you like a "brainless fool", how many of those are going to be able to do the same thing and how many of them were snive about it? They may even believe that you can't do it financially and that would be the reason for them bringing up every worst case scenario. The answer to that question should shed a lot of light as to why they were trying to talk you out of it.

[CCTAU 3,821]

You're both idiots. Within 10 years man made global warming will have created so much unpredictable weather that you will die still tied to the dock from a flash hurricane. I suggest moving to Colorado and investing in some underground living space.

I mean why die happy. Die locked in a hole somewhere scared shitless that the ozone layer just erupted. <insert emoticon of choice here>

Oh yeah. Make sure you take a lot of Vaseline. It will cure many ailments on the open sea.

[OldNewby 27]

Go for it! Just take CCTAU with you to ward off the pirates.

[otterinbham 0]

Haha. Good advice from all. I was just astonished at the response we got (especially from Mrs. Otter's hidebound parents).

Oh, and pirates actually are a problem in places such as Indonesia and the Red Sea. But they go after container vessels, not small sailboats. Typically, cruisers travel in flotillas through those areas for greater safety.

[autiger4life 3]

Within 10 years man made global warming will have created so much unpredictable weather that you will die still tied to the dock from a flash hurricane.

Actually to be fair, global warming would cause less hurricanes according to a convention on global warming.

[jared52 4,358]

I love April 1st!

[otterinbham 0]

I love April 1st!

Oh. I forgot. No, this is the real deal.

[AUloggerhead 2,841]

Within 10 years man made global warming will have created so much unpredictable weather that you will die still tied to the dock from a flash hurricane.

Actually to be fair, global warming would cause less hurricanes according to a convention on global warming.

Just think of the increased iceberg danger because of the collapsing ice shelfs. Recommend you watch the Titanic movie before you go ... Be prepared, awareness & stuff.

[vatz22au 148]

People criticize what they can't relate to.

If you can afford it, I say do it.

I agree.

[quietfan 233]

Forget natural or manmade disasters...a year or two before taking the step, move into just the two smallest rooms of your house--minus closets--and lower the ceilings to see if you can handle the cramped quarters on a permanent basis.

If the claustrophobia doesn't get to you, then follow your dream...

[Tigermike 4,082]

Forget natural or manmade disasters...a year or two before taking the step, move into just the two smallest rooms of your house--minus closets--and lower the ceilings to see if you can handle the cramped quarters on a permanent basis.

If the claustrophobia doesn't get to you, then follow your dream...

Good idea QF. And that is for eating and sleeping only. The rest of the day and night stay on the deck or patio, ran or shine.

[TDAuburn 2]

I get the same, astonished, are-you-crazy look from most non-riders when they find out I ride a motorcycle, including the daily commute. My guess is that sailing is similar to riding a motorcycle, in that it's a managed risk, requires skill and practice, is a huge rush, and gets you out in the open. Tell them you could try to explain it, but they wouldn't understand. Let them continue in their lemming-like ways.

Go for it.

[AUBURNJAC 53]

Dude, that is AWESOME! LIVE YOUR DREAMS! Make sure you get direct TV though, so you won't have to miss FOOTBALL SEASON!

[DKW 86 8,094]

Maybe, in their misguided way they are just concerned or maybe even jealous of you. It might not be all negative. people are funny.

As for you and mrs Otter, yall aint fooling me. You guys know everything is legal at the three mile limit and want to take full advantage of it.

[CCTAU 3,821]

Go for it! Just take CCTAU with you to ward off the pirates.

They don't need me. That's what the Vaseline is for.

When you see them coming, spread it on the deck so they fall off.

[DCWarEagle 0]

Obviously that is something that is not the "normal" way people live their lives. If I heard about a friend doing it, my first reaction would be mixed. I'd be a bit worried about him/her, but also thrilled that they were talking about doing something so unusual that would make them happy.

My advice would be to be sure that you have the finances in order, as well as a "Plan B" in case the experience was not what you hoped it would be. But assuming you get a decent "safety net" prepared, I say go for it. That is the kind of thing that defines you as a person, both to yourself and to others.

Just be sure to have a big Auburn Flag somewhere on the boat!

[Ranger12 53]

Otter, I have told you this before I think, but my wife's uncle, who lives in DC and is retired from the State Department, has been sailing for about 30 years and a certified captain for awhile also. He sold his boat a few years ago and now just captains boats for rich clients back and forth from the east coast to the Caribbean. Also, when somebody buys a boat, he also sails them from their ports of purchase when necessary.

Even with all the years of experience he has and how much he loves it, he said there was more upkeep and headache with living on a boat then in a house. He tried it one time and said that it was fun at first, but it took the joy out of sailing for him when it was his home also. He lived on his on the Potomac, so he did not have to worry about hurricanes and the such like you would if you lived on the Gulf or the southern east coast.

Also, on our honeymoon, we took a sunset sailing cruise and asked the captain of that boat if he and his wife lived on it. He said they did live on a boat back at the docks, but they did not live in that particular boat. He also said he does not like to live in the boat that he sails.

That is just info from two long time boat captains, which may mean more to you. You and Mrs. Otter may not be like them though and would have no problem living on your boat. There are plenty of others that love it.

[CCTAU 3,821]

If you see this guy while out on the ocean...don't let him on your boat. Bad things happen when he's near boats.

[quietfan 233]

If you see this guy while out on the ocean...don't let him on your boat. Bad things happen when he's near boats.

I never thought about it before, but Billy Zane has a terrible record with boats! Besides "Titanic", there's:

"Dead Calm"-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Calm_%28film%29 (Although Nichole Kidman is welcome on my boat any day!)

"Head Above Water"-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_Above_Water (Ditto Cameron Diaz!)

and wasn't there some trouble on a ship in "The Phantom"? (Or maybe it was just that whole movie that sank. )

[Tigermike 4,082]

Oh, and pirates actually are a problem in places such as Indonesia and the Red Sea. But they go after container vessels, not small sailboats. Typically, cruisers travel in flotillas through those areas for greater safety.

Pirates Seize Control of French Cruise Ship Off Coast of Somalia

Friday, April 04, 2008

PARIS — Pirates seized control of a French cruise ship Friday off the coast of Somalia, France's Foreign Ministry said.

A ministry official said details about the attack were scarce, and it was not clear how many crew members were on board the ship or if there were any passengers.

The ship is in the high seas in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.

The official declined to identify the vessel or its owner.

The ministry has set up a crisis center to deal with the situation, said the official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off the Somali coast last year.

The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region. Last year, the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opened fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese tanker.

Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have its own navy and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control.

The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy, said in its annual report earlier this year that global pirate attacks rose by 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346449,00.html

[AUTiger1 0]

Oh, and pirates actually are a problem in places such as Indonesia and the Red Sea. But they go after container vessels, not small sailboats. Typically, cruisers travel in flotillas through those areas for greater safety.

Now if the pirate in the middle would eat a few cheeseburgers and get back to the way she used to be, I wouldn't mind seeing her coming at me on the open seas.