When Did Man Start Sailing?

The history of sailing dates back to around 3000 BCE when ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians began constructing boats with sails. These vessels were used for fishing and transportation, and the exact origins of sailing are still debated. The Phoenicians were the first civilization to create the bireme, a man-powered sailing vessel. Sailing is an ancient activity that has been used to facilitate trade and warfare throughout history. The earliest record of a ship under sail appears on an Egyptian vase from about 3500 BC.

The first established boat travel is argued to be around 50,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens set forth from the sea. Around 2500 BC, the ancient Egyptians began building wooden boats that could withstand sailing across oceans. The sailing man-of-war emerged during the 16th century, and by the middle of the 17th century, warships were carrying increasing numbers of cannon on three decks.

The earliest record of a ship under sail appears on an Egyptian vase from about 3500 BC. Vikings sailed to North America around 1000 years ago. Advances in sailing have continued to evolve over time, with the first established boat travel being around 50,000 years ago when Homo sapiens set forth from the sea.

New evidence suggests that our hominid ancestors learned to sail half a million years ago, and that our hominid ancestors crossed the wind sometime in the 6th century. Evidence for modern humans sailing dates back to just 50,000 years when they made their way to Australia. If true, that would mean that our ancestors were the first to travel close to the wind sometime in the 6th century.


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When did man start sailing in the ocean
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When did humans first start sailing?

50 000 years Humans have been sailing the seas for at least 50 000 years, progressively migrating to all of the world’s islands, but no archaeological remains of Prehistoric navigation before 8000 BC have been found so far.

Humans have been sailing the seas for at least 50 000 years, progressively migrating to all of the world’s islands, but no archaeological remains of Prehistoric navigation before 8000BC have been found so far.

The Mediterranean Sea has been sailed for millennia since Prehistoric times, the Bronze Age, Greek and Roman times, with a climax in the first centuries of the Common Era. As far as archaic seagoing shipping is concerned, Egyptian rulers have been sailing during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3300-2100 BC). In the Gulf, Mesopotanians were sailing to the Indus valley and to East Africa, via Dilmun (Bahrain) and Magan (Oman).

Minoans from Crete were probably the first “professional” seafarers sailing internationally in the Mediterranean area. This spanned, in round figures, the period between 2000 BC and 1500 BC.

Maritime history timeline
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Who were the first people to sail?

Ancient voyaging: from 50,000 to 25,000 BC people from Asia sailed simple rafts from island to island, reaching Near Oceania (Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands). They traded in stone, hunted animals and gathered seafood and local plants.

People have been harnessing the power of the wind to sail for thousands of years.

Sailing uses the wind acting on sails, wingsails or kites to propel a craft forwards.

Throughout history sailing has helped civilizations to develop as people sailed across oceans to settle in new areas or trade with others.

When did the Age of Sail end
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When did the first man sail around the world?

Juan Sebastián Elcano completed the first known circumnavigation of the globe in September 1522.

Mooring at the southern Spanish port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda on September 6, 1522, the Victoria’s hull was so rotten that it could only stay afloat by continually operating the pumps. Three years before, the ship had set out from port as part of a proud, five-ship flotilla under the command of captain-general Ferdinand Magellan. Since then, of the four other ships, three were lost and one had deserted. Of the 250 men that had formed the flotilla’s original crew, only 18 returned that September day.

The man who had captained these survivors on their long journey home, however, was not Magellan—killed in the Philippines more than a year before—but a Basque seaman named Juan Sebastián Elcano. By steering the frail Victoria across the Indian Ocean and around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope back to Spain, Elcano completed the first known circumnavigation of the world, a total journey of 45,000 miles marked by hunger, scurvy, murder, and mutiny.

J.S. Elcano and his ship Victoria are celebrated on this postage stamp issued by Spain in the late 1970s.

When did sailing become a sport
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Who was the first to sail around?

Juan Sebastián Elcano completed the first known circumnavigation of the globe in September 1522. The Basque navigator led the tattered remains of Magellan’s fleet back to Spain after the commander’s death in 1521.

Mooring at the southern Spanish port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda on September 6, 1522, the Victoria’s hull was so rotten that it could only stay afloat by continually operating the pumps. Three years before, the ship had set out from port as part of a proud, five-ship flotilla under the command of captain-general Ferdinand Magellan. Since then, of the four other ships, three were lost and one had deserted. Of the 250 men that had formed the flotilla’s original crew, only 18 returned that September day.

The man who had captained these survivors on their long journey home, however, was not Magellan—killed in the Philippines more than a year before—but a Basque seaman named Juan Sebastián Elcano. By steering the frail Victoria across the Indian Ocean and around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope back to Spain, Elcano completed the first known circumnavigation of the world, a total journey of 45,000 miles marked by hunger, scurvy, murder, and mutiny.

J.S. Elcano and his ship Victoria are celebrated on this postage stamp issued by Spain in the late 1970s.

Sailing history timeline
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Who originally made sail?

Awolnation “Sail” is a song by the American rock band Awolnation. It was released as a single on November 8, 2010, first featured on the band’s debut extended play, Back from Earth, and later on their debut album, Megalithic Symphony.

  • Electronic rock
  • alternative rock
  • industrial rock
  • electropop

“Sail” is a song by the American rock band Awolnation. It was released as a single on November 8, 2010, first featured on the band’s debut extended play, Back from Earth, and later on their debut album, Megalithic Symphony. The song was written and produced in Venice, California by group member Aaron Bruno, with Kenny Carkeet as audio engineer.

“Sail” is the band’s most commercially successful song to date, debuting at number 89 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 2011 and spending 20 weeks there before dropping out. The single re-entered the Hot 100 a year later, becoming a massive sleeper hit and reaching a new peak of number 17. “Sail” is the first song to climb to its peak after a year on the Hot 100. It spent the fourth-longest amount of time on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with 79 weeks behind Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” (91 weeks) The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (90 weeks), and Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” (87 weeks). As of May 2024, the song has accumulated more than 810 million streams on Spotify.

Ancient boats and ships
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Did humans and Neanderthals ever mate?

Neandertals and anatomically modern humans overlapped geographically for a period of over 30,000 years following human migration out of Africa. During this period, Neandertals and humans interbred, as evidenced by Neandertal portions of the genome carried by non-African individuals today. A key observation is that the proportion of Neandertal ancestry is ~12–20% higher in East Asian individuals relative to European individuals. Here, we explore various demographic models that could explain this observation. These include distinguishing between a single admixture event and multiple Neandertal contributions to either population, and the hypothesis that reduced Neandertal ancestry in modern Europeans resulted from more recent admixture with a ghost population that lacked a Neandertal ancestry component (the “dilution” hypothesis). In order to summarize the asymmetric pattern of Neandertal allele frequencies, we compile the joint fragment frequency spectrum (FFS) of European and East Asian Neandertal fragments and compare it to both analytical theory and data simulated under various models of admixture. Using maximum likelihood and machine learning, we found that a simple model of a single admixture does not fit the empirical data and instead favor a model of multiple episodes of gene flow into both European and East Asian populations. These findings indicate more long-term, complex interaction between humans and Neandertals than previously appreciated.

2. Introduction. When anatomically modern humans dispersed out of Africa, they encountered and hybridized with Neandertals. The Neandertal component of the modern human genome is ubiquitous in non-African populations, and yet is quantitatively small, representing on average only ~2% of those genomes (6, 22). This pattern of Neandertal ancestry in modern human genomes was initially interpreted as evidence of a single period of admixture, occurring shortly after the out-of-Africa bottleneck (6, 26). However, subsequent research showed that Neandertal ancestry is higher by ~12–20% in modern East Asian individuals relative to modern European individuals (22, 18, 36).

Neandertals occupied a vast area of Asia and Europe at the time AMH dispersed outside of Africa (~75,000 BP), and later Europe and Asia (~47–55,000 BP (20, 32)). Moreover, the breakdown of Neandertal segments in modern human genomes is indicative of a time-frame for admixture of 50,000–60,000 BP (26, 32) prior to the diversification of East Asian and European lineages. The genome of Ust’-Ishim, an ancient individual of equidistant relation to modern East Asians and Europeans, has similar levels of Neandertal ancestry as modern Eurasians, but found in longer haplotypes, consistent with an admixture episode occurring ~52,000–58,000 BP. Given the extensive support for a single, shared admixture among Eurasians, there is extensive debate surrounding the observation of increased Neandertal ancestry in East Asians.

Ancient maritime history
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When did humans first travel in water?

Little evidence remains that would pinpoint when the first seafarer made their journey. We know, for instance, that a sea voyage had to have been made to reach Greater Australia (Sahul) c. 50,000 or more years ago. Functional maritime technology was required to progress between the many islands of Wallacea before making this crossing. We do not know what seafaring predated the milestone of the first settling of Australia.: 26 One of the oldest known boats to be found is the Pesse canoe, and carbon dating has estimated its construction from 8040 to 7510 BCE. The Pesse canoe is the oldest physical object that can date the use of watercraft, but the oldest depiction of a watercraft is from Norway. The rock art at Valle, Norway depicts a carving of a more than 4 meter long boat and it is dated to be 10,000 to 11,000 years old.

Throughout history sailing has been instrumental in the development of civilization, affording humanity greater mobility than travel over land, whether for trade, transport or warfare, and the capacity for fishing. The earliest depiction of a maritime sailing vessel is from the Ubaid period of Mesopotamia in the Persian Gulf, from around 3500 to 3000 BCE. These vessels were depicted in clay models and painted disks. They were made from bundled reeds encased in a lattice of ropes. Remains of barnacle-encrusted bituminous amalgams have also been recovered, which are interpreted to have been part of the water-proof coating applied on these vessels. The depictions lack details, but an image of a vessel on a shard of pottery shows evidence of what could be bipod masts and a sail, which would make it the earliest known evidence of the use of such technology. The location of the sites indicate that the Ubaid culture was engaging in maritime trade with Neolithic Arabian cultures along the coasts of the Persian Gulf for high-value goods. Pictorial representation of sails are also known from Ancient Egypt, dated to circa 3100 BCE.: figure 6 The earliest seaborne trading route, however, is known from the 7th millennium BCE in the Aegean Sea. It involved the seaborne movement of obsidian by an unknown Neolithic Europe seafaring people. The obsidian was mined from the volcanic island of Milos and then transported to various parts of the Balkans, Anatolia, and Cyprus, where they were refined into obsidian blades. However, the nature of the seafaring technologies involved have not been preserved.

Austronesians started a dispersal from Taiwan across Maritime Southeast Asia around 3000 BCE. This started to spread into the islands of the Pacific c. 1300 BCE, steadily advanced across the Pacific and culminated with the settlement of Hawaii c. 1250 CE, and New Zealand c. 1300 CE. Distinctive maritime technology was used for this, including the lashed-lug boatbuilding technique, the catamaran, and the crab claw sail, together with extensive navigation techniques. This allowed them to colonize a large part of the Indo-Pacific region during the Austronesian expansion.: 144 Prior to the 16th century Colonial Era, Austronesians were the most widespread ethnolinguistic group, spanning half the planet from Easter Island in the eastern Pacific Ocean to Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean.

First sailboat in history
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When did humans start using the ocean?

“Today, we know more about the moon than we do the ocean”. This quote by Jean-Michael Cousteau holds a truth: even though the ocean covers approximately 71% of planet Earth, we still know very little about it. Understanding what goes on beneath the sea is one of the utmost challenges of science.. Humans have always been attracted by the ocean, and the first ocean explorers were several coastal cultures in Greece and China, that around 5000 BC began diving into the sea to gather food and engage in commerce.

Modern Oceanography – the branch of science that deals with physical and biological properties and phenomena of the ocean – began only in the 18th century. Ferdinando Marsili, an Italian scientist and explorer, is considered the father of modern Oceanography. He is the first scholar to introduce scientific rigor into the study of the sea, and one of the first men in the world to carry out oceanographic research and to investigate the biology of the sea and the morphology of basins and coasts. He made field observations, studied the seabed in the Gulf of Lion, the classification of species, the currents and the properties of seawater, recalling that his entire scientific approach was based “on the experiments and observations he made himself on the spot”. In 1725, he published the “Histoire physique de la mer” about the discoveries of his oceanographic research of 1705-1706 in the Gulf of Lion, which is considered the first scientific treat on the ocean.

Another milestone in the history of modern oceanography is the Challenger Expedition (1872-1876), building on the recent discoveries of Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle, scientists aboard the HMS Challenger circumnavigated the world’s ocean with the main aim of gathering data on a wide range of features: ocean temperatures, seawater chemistry, currents, penetration of light in the deep sea, marine biodiversity, and the geology of the seafloor. The scientific results of the voyage, including the discovery of 4.700 species and the biological findings, were published in a report containing 50 volumes with more than 29,500 pages that took more than 20 years to compile, with the help of illustrators and artists. One of the most important discoveries of the Challenger Expedition was the localization of the Mariana Trench in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The technologies of the time measured a depth of almost 9,000 meters, something never recorded anywhere else on Earth. The Mariana Trench is confirmed to be the deepest known place on the ocean floor, with approximately 11.000 meters of depth.

What is the age of sail
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Who invented sailing?

Egyptians, Phoenicians and Babylonians were among the first to use sails to move ships using woven straw, linen or hemp coated with tar.Nothing can prove that they were the firs sailboat builders but the Egyptians were the firs people to leave documents about navigation and boats: thanks to the wind blowing from the north they used these means of transport to travel the waters of the Nile. This is what is also represented on Egyptian tombs: rowing boats, cargo ships and boats demonstrating how the Egyptians were able to design boats suitable for navigating the river.The first element used in the construction of the first boats was the papyrus, which grew abundantly on the banks of the Nile, so the papyrus boats were used to cross the river from one bank to another or even for activities such as fishing. Obviously these boats did not have a long life: once wet the papyrus lost its consistency and the boat therefore remained unstable. The invention of sailing was the most important event in the history of navigation: it most likely appeared in 3500 B.C. in the Red Sea or Persian Gulf almost certainly formed by large palm leaves.Later the Greeks, Phoenicians and Arabs, who most likely learned to sail from the Egyptians, used their sailboats to dominate the seas.

Sailing boats as we know them today were born in the 17th century in Northern Europe: yachting. This term comes from the Dutch word “jaght”wich means “hunting” and indicated precisely those boats on whichpeople hunted and lived. Jaghting experienced its greatest splendour in England: Charles II of England, in exile in Holland in 1651 knew this activity and on his return took with him a boat coining the term yacht. Very soon this activity became one of the favorite hobbies of the English nobilty until in Ireland was born in 1720 the first nautical club, the Water Club of Cork.

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Did Neanderthals sail?

Recent finds in the Ionian and Aegean seas suggest that early modern humans and Neandertals may have voyaged to remote islands before 130,000 years ago. Strasser argued that the tools may represent a sea-borne migration of Neandertals from the Near East to Europe.

Golden Age of Sail
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When did humans become sea faring?

Early members of the human family such as Homo erectus are now known to have crossed several kilometers of deep water more than a million years ago in Indonesia, to islands such as Flores and Sulawesi. Modern humans braved treacherous waters to reach Australia by 65,000 years ago.


📹 How To Start Sailing Around The World 🌎(10 Step Guide + 5 Tips)

For years people have asked me how they can life this incredible life on the sea. So here is a full how to so you can get started on …


When Did Man Start Sailing
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Debbie Green

I am a school teacher who was bitten by the travel bug many decades ago. My husband Billy has come along for the ride and now shares my dream to travel the world with our three children.The kids Pollyanna, 13, Cooper, 12 and Tommy 9 are in love with plane trips (thank goodness) and discovering new places, experiences and of course Disneyland.

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28 comments

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  • As someone who is 54 and was told to get married, buy a house, have kids, and save for retirement so you can enjoy life. Listen don’t fall for the American Dream. Go live your dreams now, don’t buy a big house you don’t need. Go live your dreams now, before you get trapped, and realize you’re too old to live your dreams. Before you wake up one day and realize, you can’t do half the things you always wanted to do, because you’re body won’t let you do half of what you wanted to do. Your mind stays young but your body grows old. Live your dreams while you are young, and can complete them.

  • I’m the idiot that got a “free” boat. You are so right. I was dead set of multihull due to dogs and a broken back. I stumbled into a very well equipped 40′ searunner trimaran with structural issies that was cheap and ended up being “free” by negotiations end. It is definitely a 1-2 year project that i winched into the back yard. @dudeanddogssailing is my website on rebuilding it. You hit this article on the head. Great job. I needed a shallow draft condo that i can take from surf destination to surf destination with room for dogs to roll around and play a bit and can anchor in skinny water. I really appreciate your articles. Keep up the great work.

  • Good day mate, I built my dream and it took me 23 years . I have been living onboard since 2018 and I concur with everything you said. Sailing reads better than it live but if you love the sea no book can compare. It’s interesting to see just how much synergy there is between some sailors and huge differences. Ther is no right or wrong there is only. Regarding money i made a 40 day crossing from Durban to Perth and after around 20 days i found my wallet had turned green with mould i realised the. That the lot of a sailor is not linked to money ( while sailing) ut definitely linked to living. It takes an enormous amount of courage to cast off N go. I am still working on that keep up the good work

  • A couple of thoughts, on top f your excellent advice. It’s a sailing boat. Don’t get hung up on the interior. Make sure she is in good sailing order, and a design that sails well. Then go sailing. You will probably want to change the layout in any case, but won’t know what you need until you have sailed her for a while. Docks / marinas / yards all eat your cash. A boat that can easily take the ground (intentionally or not!) is well worthwhile. Oh and if you can, a stern hung rudder, easy to maintain, can even be done at sea.

  • Good lidt of points. I’m one of those people who was given her boat as a gift. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but I can say it’s really my boat. Exept for the hull and the mast and rigging, it’s no longer the same as when I started. I had no money, but space and time because I only work part-time as a single mother. I also have the necessary skills as I have already worked in a boatyard and in a carpentry.

  • so much good advice! I had my first one bought in The Netherlands a few years ago, sailed for a year all the way to Portugal and then Southern Spain. It was a simple – but tough as nails – De Kloet Fellowship 28. Sailed mostly solo without a lot of experience – the fact that the boat was small and so simple was key to avoid significant issues. As you quoted: go simple, go small, go now. A bigger boat will be a money pit, it will be harder to dock, and dangerous if you’re alone in the middle of the ocean (if I had a 45 foot when I crossed the Biscay, it would have been tough doing it solo if I had no furling main in a couple of hairy events – the Biscay is not to be f*cked with). My next one will be in the 34 to 38 range but no bigger, and the only “luxury” i want is a bow thruster to be able to dock easily by myself. AC, watermakers, etc are really not needed unless you’re with your whole family cruising around the world for years. If its only you, or alongside your better half, then go simple, but don’t procrastinate.

  • This is a great article! Subbed. Especially really liked the saving money part of it. You really do have to change something drastic to be able to save money quickly. Did something similar. Bought a cheap boat by selling my car. Lived on it very cheap for couple years to be able to save enough money for a year off cruising and it worked!

  • I started sailing 12 years ago, I’m self taught (no YT, lol), joined a sailing club and sailed every weekend for 3 years straight. I bet I sailed more in those 3 years than most of the members did in 20 years. I’ve had boats from 22ft up to a 36′. I’ve even built my own 18′ open sailboat. I’m still sailing, I love the sailing life

  • I love that you referenced Waterworld. It came out when I was a kid and I watched it hundreds of times. It’s supposed to be this negative, post-apocalyptic portrayal of the world. I remember being fascinated with his life of adventure and the freedom he had. My #1 inspiration for traveling and having a dream to sail oceans.

  • I built my 31′ folding trimaran (in foam and carbon) 20 years ago. Sailed her over 70,000 miles. Best boat in the world. Cheap and easy to maintain, versatile, never needed a boat yard as I can haul her out by myself with some inflatable fenders and some blocks and line. She is fast, can’t sink, comfortable, elegant. Just sailed back to the USA from Thailand going the “wrong way,” spent hardly anything, very few things broke…well, the rudder case did break, twice, but that’s a long story. You couldn’t do what we did on any other boat. You are right about the flexing of the hulls, and that does create it’s own maintenance issues, but they really aren’t a big issue, and costs nearly nothing to deal with. I don’t stay in Marinas hardly at all, but once I had to fold one ama to get into a slip. And another time I had to fold both to get through a lock. One time I had to lower the mast while under way to get under a bridge. I’ve made mistakes along the way that would have destroyed most other designs, but because my boat has such a shallow draft, is so light weight, and has a few layers of kevlar on the bottom, I sailed away laughing….took a few hours to repair the damage. I could go on and on…suppose I should make my own youtube vid.

  • Topics I expected from the title: 1. What licenses do I need? 2. How to cross international borders? 3. How, where and for that price I can store the boat while not sailing? 4. Docks, marines, anchoring – wtf are all that? 5. What should I do if I get serious illness or trauma while in the sea? 6. How to communicate with authorities/coast guards/customs? 7. Should I bother about canals, like Suez, or they are for big trading corporations only? 8. How to pass the straits? 9. In what areas I’m not allowed to sail and how to find out where they are? 10. Dangers: reefs, shallows, storms, strong currents, diarrhea, scurvy, anything else that can kill me? Thank you for covering all that.

  • Helping a serious sailor at a boatyard is the BEST way to gain experience at fixing boats, meeting other sailors, investing in a relationship with a mentor by proving your serious intent through sweat equity, and most importantly learning that fixing boats sucks! If you can work on a sailboat for 6 months and still want to own a boat yourself, maybe you are meant for the lifestyle.

  • Hi Dan, I have dreamed of sailing for years and really appreciate this article and all of your articles I’ve watched. Finding a sailing mentor and learning how to sail are both things I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’ve been chatting online with sailors and captains and looking for boats online to buy one and just go. It would be wise to learn first for safety reasons, but I’ve talked to people who have just bought a boat and splashed and learned as they went. I’m so close to booking an ASA liveaboard 1 week course for 101, 103, and 104. But that is over $2,000. I’ve also looked into sailing clubs to learn with the racers like you did. I also dream of adventure, independence, and freedom from the noise and nonsense of society and culture here in the U.S.

  • I agree with you in all. I am from Vancouver Island and Switzerland. I bought my Dreamboat in Spain. 40 years old, 33 Feet, Center Cockpit, excellent shape, but nothing replaced and original. I bought in 2015. It took me until now, to have saved and worked, to put it in its current state as a APPOCALYPSE AND SURVIVAL BOAT. And much Money too. But…., I can go with the most peace in mind, repairs will be in an acceptable proportion but never to avoid. Personally, I would never even consider, sailing without a Windlass. Not only to hard on ones body and accident prone for it too. But one cannot pull anchor up, in Windy conditions or others dropping their hook in such a way, that it endangers you. I have a Desalinator as well and let me tell you, there is nothing I enjoy more on board. No more begging for water, no more perusal / telling your wife she is using too much water. It’s BAD FOR THE LOVE LIVE😂. New Sails, 2 new Genua Roll systems oversized for Stormy conditions, new 50 HP Engine, all Seacocks new, all hoses new, all Terminals and wires to the Mast new, 8 Solar panels with 2 independent regulators, electric cooking, Diesel Heater, Radar, Portland Dinghy plus Bananaboot Dinghy as Reserve, Fridge, Upgraded Matratzes. My Guns and Ammunition from the Special Forces. All legal of course, looked and secured but handy in a heartbeat if Pirates or other Treaths are approaching, Homemade HOOKIPAA System, and the LORDS PRAYER. I am soon gone to round Cap Horn and find my Place somewhere away from People.

  • I see there are some other older people in the comments. I’m a 54-year-old truck driver who has never been married and don’t have kids. I plan on retiring at 65. My goal is to retire in the Philippines because of the scenery and not to pick up a wife in which 99% of Filipino expats articles are about. Finding a house or apartment doesn’t interest me. I want to island hop and live on a boat. The question is “Do I buy a sailboat or a power yacht?” What are the differences in cost? Will fitting a kite sail on a motor yacht help with speed and lower fuel costs? Since I live in sleeper on a truck, I don’t need a big boat? But, how big should I go that I can still handle by myself at an age over 65? I have a goal and at least 10 years to get there. I just want clearer steps to get there. This article helped with that. Thanks!

  • My wife and I are 30 and have a passion for the ocean and boating and adventure. We have a boat, but just a bass boat that we use on fresh water lakes in Texas. We also own our own business (lawn care) and owm a house and have 2 paid off cars and we have been talking for 6 months now about selling everything (house, furniture, cars, the business and all the equipment) and buying a sail boat and dedicating our foreseable future to sailing the world. We have pretty much made our decision 😊 but we now just have to wait for the right timing (finishing this lawn care season) It will be the biggest life change we have ever done.

  • great article! I really enjoyed the later half. Especially the apart about free boats, im not sure why so many opt to get/buy these free or almost free boats that need a complete 2 year refit just to float. I know for some that is part of the dream, but you don’t want to do more work than needed or wanted. You don’t need a big boat either, you mentioned you got a 37 foot boat but plenty of people cruise on boats under 30 feet. They are much cheaper to refit do to their size, and also solo sail. Not to mention some sub 30 foot boats have a draft under 4 feet letting you go anywhere.

  • I bought Skylark a 1969 Mercer 44ft sloop as you talked about, made a offer and ready to walk away. Got her for 20k and have been doing repairs while sailing. I’ll continue doing upgrades for a couple more years until I retire then heading out. Interested in this YouTube website thing but I don’t know much about making articles. Bottom side down my friend

  • Great article!!! I only have one difference of opinion. I strongly recommend that everyone take at least the very first ASA-201 sailing class. Instructors should focus on safety facts, features and equipment. When you just learned from other people, the safety aspect tends to get slighted. Sincerely, Capt James Cook (yes that’s my name but just call me Jim.)

  • Nice article. Motor sailer looking good. Get out to first tack or down wind and emergencies. Lol. Small more efficient as well … tough boats as well. More sink proof … rough life. Could be fun … sail in a cool area you live is probably best idea. You sail smaller boats more as well. Sport machine to handling and comfort . Control .

  • Dan you are the man! I would like to meet you in person one day soon. Do you mentor? Here’s my timetable. By mid May I will have sold everything I own. Then I will be available for lessons crewing shopping and buying. If there is a direct way of communication with you I would appreciate knowing that. And I do look forward to part 2!

  • i do a lot of travelling on land and would love to travel the world on a 10m sail boat. but I’m not mechanically gifted. i always call a guy and cant fix anything or never because i always get someone else t fix it. so is this something that would put a stop to a dream? or do you learn as you go. what if something broke at sea that i couldn’t fix?

  • Not sure I would recommend being a crew on a racing yacht, it would put a lot of folk off. Their view of enjoyment is very different to a cruiser, and of safety/ wise decisions. You will probably be lumbered with a simple task, and spend most f the time sitting in an an uncomfortable position as human ballast. That said many smaller Clubs do have more relaxed racing, ie no spinakers, and perhaps just two of you, then you will learn.

  • Oh, i forgot to say, young people can buy small and be happy but if you are older or if you are an older couple, BY A CATAMARAN OR A 45 FT+ MONOHULL! Couples need more space especially older couples. Young couples can live in very small spaces and be fine but as you get older you need more space. My wife and I have owned 5 boats and 1 catamaran. We lived aboard for 5+ years. We loved it but the lifestyle comes with many sacrifices. In summary, 29 years old or less=monohull 30 years old+ and couples=CATAMARAN Of course 30+ couples could go with a monohull if you are planning a divorce within 2 years!

  • I have just turned 60 years old, I am still single never married and early this month bought an Columbia 27 monohull sloop rigged sailing boat to live on, and cruise the coast of qweensland Australia wear i live. At present, my boat is on the hard as it need a few things done. I have an ytube website, SV GEMSTAR. I just started and going to do an walk through on the boat towrads the weekend, allso i have an intrest in photography. Gerard on svgemstar at Airlie beach north QLD Australia.

  • I’m new here, great article and thanks for all the pointers! Something I noticed, did you ever had a stroke or a herpes on your facial nerves? I noticed the left side of your face is a bit unresponsive. I wouldn’t have noticed it, but it’s something that happened to my best friend, and with years it got a lot better. He hadn’t had a stroke, but nerve damage from a herpes on his ear area and face. So there is hope it will get much better with time. Wish you luck wit that and your voyages!

  • That’s NOT a full keel. Tell you what I would NOT be out in the big pond without a full keel. You also better be comfortable with climbing some height. That’s what scared me away from ownership. Crewing? Yeah that works. But no way am I climbing that thing I’d be using a man lift at dry dock instead.. or careening in the Bay of Fundy. No way you’re getting me up there in a bosuns! I also notice this guy has about 30 years on him. Yep that’s another one this is a young man’s game. Get over 60 and you better be looking at something land based. Orcas are gonna love that rudder of his sticking out like that. Not me I want that thing protected and the only way to get that is with a full keel. ditto with a protected prop. that’s another thing. You don’t need a big diesel but you need diesel or if no an outboard… NOT an inboard gasser. Something around 30 feet or so is perfect. Relatively easy to single hand, stuff like that. Also a relatively smallish transform with tiller steering. And finally a small cockpit that doesn’t hold a zillion gallons of water if you take one over the transom or gunnel.

  • …my friends in the boating community have given me a new name, which they call me behind my back: “Doomsday”. I have only asked for a chance to make it, survive, when facing danger. My new sailboat gives me a backdoor. Of course… I’ll have to watch “castaway” a few more times, then find an island to escape to! But, I won’t be sitting in America with the politicians arranging A NUCLEAR WW3.