When Is The Right Time To Cut Loose And Sail Away?

When is the right time to cut loose and sail away? Any time, as Helen Fretter finds out from cruisers of all life stages

- Helen Fretter

How do we untie the lines that bind us? Family, jobs, homes, schools, pets, friends… our lives are built on the myriad of small connections and huge decisions that we have made over a lifetime.

Appealing though it is to dream of handing in your notice, locking up the house and sailing off into the sunset, the reality is that it can take a daunting amount of planning and organisation to disentangle our land-based routines.

There is no ‘right’ time to go – there are cruisers who have enjoyed bluewater adventuring with a newborn baby, others who’ve waited until their 70s and plenty of others who found their life circumstances changed dramatically but their sailing plans could be adapted to carry on.

We spoke to those who have made the move to liveaboard or long-haul cruising to find out why they chose to go when they did, and what lessons they’d pass on to anyone thinking of making the leap.

THE BOOMERS

When Kathleen Casey-Kirschling was born at 0001hr on 1st January 1946 in Pennsylvania, she became the USA’s very first baby boomer, the first of the generation that would

redefine ‘retirement’. It’s no surprise that when she and her husband chose to retire they did so aboard a yacht (albeit a motoryacht, their Grand Banks 42). It was named First Boomer.

The post-war generation who were born between 1946-64, are now in their mid-fifties to early-70s, and statistically healthier, wealthier and more active than any previous generation, so in the best position to enjoy long-haul cruising.