8 Years and Counting

 New Bern, NC

Eight years ago today, we took possession of Tarwathie and started our cruising life.   We continue to believe that was one of the best life decisions we ever made.  We can't imagine being any happier with any other form of retired life.  So, what are our major observations and lessons learned after 8 years?

1. It took two years to really get into it.  We heard the same figure, two years, from other cruisers.  By the end of two years you really know, yes or no, this is the life for us.
   
2. Our skills improved, peaked, then started declining as we became overly complacent, less scared, and thus less vigilant.  The decline is the reason behind this hiatus from year 7.5-8.5 in New Bern and on the road.   Safety is critical and it takes effort.
   
3. Life as Nomads is in our blood as much as life on a boat.  We have perpetual travel lust.  A week in one place is enough; after that we get antsy.  That was evident even last week in the keys.  Libby was letting loose on pent-up wanderlust and she just wanted to go and to in every direction.
   
   The only exception to that is Marathon, where we are content to say for months before moving on. The summer of 2013 we'll be touring by car instead of by boat, but we'll be nomads anyhow.
   
4. We are just as much attached to Tarwathie as our home as anyone is to their house.  The difference is that we take our home with us when we go.  If fortune should offer us a bigger, nicer, more affordable boat, I think chances are high that we would decline the offer.
   
5. We have many cruising friends, but few full-time cruising friends. For the first 7.5 years, we were full-time cruisers.   We were away from the boat and sleeping on land less than one week per year.  Very few of our cruising friends are full-time cruisers.  They might cruise 75% of the year, but not 100%.  Many of them own cars and houses or slips.   Few of our friends average 5,000-6,000 nautical miles per year as we do.   To be sure, there are circumnavigators and cruisers who travel further and longer than we do, but none of them are in our inner circle of friends.
   
6. We have every intention of continuing to cruise as long as our health permits.  I'm antsy already to sell our car in September because I see it as a life-style spoiler.

Advice for would-be cruisers?  Short and simple.

• You must have good health.
• You must have a solid marriage.
• Wealth is not necessary.  Indeed, scaling down your life style brings much happiness.
• Don't delay.  Do it ASAP.  Carpe Diem.  Tomorrow, the opportunity may be snatched away.