5 ms·

I'd buy a sailboat and take people on tours in Greece. Except I hate people, which is why I work in tech.

by FigBug 10y ago

aepearson 10y ago
I feel ya - the struggle is real.
randcraw 10y ago
Well you don't have to bring them BACK...
sailfast 10y ago
Save the money and deliver sailboats. Large market for trained crew to take yachts from Point A to Point B. :) No people except those you bring. Free yacht.
- HockeyPlayer 10y ago
  Can you tell us more about the training and experience required to be delivery crew?
  - sailfast 10y ago
    If you want to drive the boat yourself and not get too many questions, you probably want to start looking at a Captain's license. That requires a number of hours on the water and a test. The same is typically required or at least desirable if you want to run a chartering business. https://www.uscg.mil/nmc/credentials/charter_boat_capt/ https://www.uscg.mil/nmc/credentials/charter_boat_capt/ RE experience, if you're totally new to sailing I'd start first with some basic sailing expertise at a sailing academy. J-World and others offer "learn to sail" courses as well as cruising courses. An American Sailing Association boat-handling certificate is probably useful as "proof of experience" for future crews. US Sailing's "Safety at Sea" typically run annually in different cities is another good one, and required for most off-shore regattas. Once you've got the basics down, I'd suggest being a ride-along with a more experienced skipper / crew. Places like Offshore Passage Opportunities provide listings of folks looking for crew, but I'd recommend due diligence if you decide to make the passage: https://www.sailopo.com/ https://www.sailopo.com/ You might also get yourself on a mailing list for local regattas or sailing forums and say you're looking to help with deliveries. How long / where these things happen will likely vary by region. People do transits from Florida to Carribean all the time. Same with New England to the South each year. Racing boats go from Mid-Atlantic / New England to Florida / Key West around end of the year. In Midwest, deliveries from Mackinaw are common in July after the Mackinaw races. West Coast - not sure, but Transpac (Hawaii - SF) returns and/or Coastal races are probably common. Best of luck! :)
  - junto 10y ago
    You can get started fairly easily. Take a sailing course that gives you a recognized certificate. For example, the RYA "Competent Crew" or "Day skipper". Different countries have different certifications that are recognized worldwide. The UK Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is definitely one of them, and you can do these courses in lots of sail training facilities across Europe. From there you can jump on almost any boat delivery crew with a bit of luck. Most rich boat owners don't want to sail their yachts across large bodies of water, so they employ delivery crews. Normally they employ an experienced captain and the captain hires his/her own crew. Boats are normally moved during the spring months from Europe to the Caribbean, specifically for the start of the season for Antigua Race Week, which I believe takes place in April/May. They normally head out from the Mediterranean via the Canary Islands to cross the Atlantic. Common places to jump on board are where yachts have been kept or serviced over the winter. Common ports include places like Palma de Mallorca, which is full of "boaties" looking to get a place on a yacht crossing. You hang out in the "boaty bars" and see if you can hook yourself a ride by chatting to people. There are also a number of internet forums, but you'll get better luck face to face, and you'll spend a number of weeks with these people in close confinement, so you'll want to know what they are like beforehand. As you get more experienced and depending on the boat you could try to get taken on permanently by the owner. The pay on the super yachts of the super rich can be insanely high, especially for experienced captains, chefs and engineers - monthly 5 figures if you are really good. That being said the super rich can be complete assholes, who can start throwing the carefully presented lobster dish back in your face because it wasn't the right colour, or you forgot to make sure the wine fridge was stocked with enough Dom Perignon P3 Plenitude Brut. I've heard some wonderful stories of the super rich from boaties. It's a crazy life.
  - contingencies 10y ago
    Just a heads up that a friend of mine worked in this direction for years but was rejected from a captain's license because he had that partial color-blindness thing lots of people have, and that reportedly was enough to disqualify him permanently. Most of a decade "wasted" (if wasted is defined as sailing yachts around the Med and picking up languages). He now sells wines in Sydney, with the benefit of correct pronunciation in four or five languages.
    - sailfast 10y ago
      That's really interesting - makes sense, however as the main nautical colors are red and green. Messing them up would mean the difference between avoiding a ship and hitting it. Never thought about how bad a color choice that was for lights!
aidos 10y ago
I have a romanticized vision of owning a boat that I teach people to sail on while toiling away in my woodworking space in the evenings.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
tonyedgecombe 10y ago
If you hate people you could open a bookshop: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/05/bookseller-from-hell-steve-bloom-yorkshire https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/05/bookse...
- slig 10y ago
  I wonder if Bernard Black, from Black Books, is inspired on him.
jotux 10y ago
>Except I hate people, which is why I work in tech. I once met an older guy who was a software developer and asked him how he got into the field. He said that he'd originally received a doctorate in psychology and was a psychiatrist for years before he realized that most people don't want to be fixed. He said he'd got into programming because, "Computers always want to be fixed."
- hervstluft 10y ago
  I wanted to reply psychiatrist/psychotherapist in this thread (most of my free time reading is about that). And now I want to print out and put into a frame what you just wrote. I still think people deserve a chance though.
bobhall1981 10y ago
Sailboats are a lot cheaper than people think. Did you know there is no technical definition for "yacht"? In practice, it just means "a boat that's nicer than yours". Don't buy a yacht. In Seattle there are plenty of sailboats under 30' that cost less than $10K. The moorage is the expensive part and costs around $400/month.
- peterwwillis 10y ago
  And if you have an engine in it, the biggest expense is time (spent trying to fix the f^%!$@ thing)
- FigBug 10y ago
  I've owned several boats and I'm done with that. I now belong to a coop where I pay $650 a year and have access to a 30' Catalina and 24' C&C that I can use almost as much as I want. There is no such thing as a cheap boat. The maintaince is a constant time and money suck.
  - AnimalMuppet 10y ago
    A former co-worker told his wife, "The next time I say that I want to own a boat, take me out in the yard and spray me with a hose while I tear up $20 bills."
  - rak00n 10y ago
    Is it in Bay Area?
    - FigBug 10y ago
      No, but a quick Google turned up two in the Bay area: http://www.spinnaker-sailing.com/timeshare-sailing http://www.spinnaker-sailing.com/timeshare-sailing https://sailtime.com/san-francisco-bay/ https://sailtime.com/san-francisco-bay/
- contingencies 10y ago
  You can skip moorage if your have a trailerable boat. They are very common. I personally owned two second hand Wetas, used them for a year, and sold them for a profit. It was great fun, and I would do it again. If you can get some friends together and import four at once in a single shipping container, it's way cheaper.
smoyer 10y ago
I have a small yacht that I can comfortably sail myself ... who needs a big boat for that?

I'd buy a sailboat and take people on tours in Greece. Except I hate people, which is why I work in tech.

by FigBug 10y ago

I'd buy a sailboat and take people on tours in Greece. Except I hate people, which is why I work in tech.

aepearson 10y ago

I feel ya - the struggle is real.

randcraw 10y ago

Well you don't have to bring them BACK...

sailfast 10y ago

Save the money and deliver sailboats. Large market for trained crew to take yachts from Point A to Point B. :) No people except those you bring. Free yacht.

HockeyPlayer 10y ago
Can you tell us more about the training and experience required to be delivery crew?
- sailfast 10y ago
  If you want to drive the boat yourself and not get too many questions, you probably want to start looking at a Captain's license. That requires a number of hours on the water and a test. The same is typically required or at least desirable if you want to run a chartering business. https://www.uscg.mil/nmc/credentials/charter_boat_capt/ https://www.uscg.mil/nmc/credentials/charter_boat_capt/ RE experience, if you're totally new to sailing I'd start first with some basic sailing expertise at a sailing academy. J-World and others offer "learn to sail" courses as well as cruising courses. An American Sailing Association boat-handling certificate is probably useful as "proof of experience" for future crews. US Sailing's "Safety at Sea" typically run annually in different cities is another good one, and required for most off-shore regattas. Once you've got the basics down, I'd suggest being a ride-along with a more experienced skipper / crew. Places like Offshore Passage Opportunities provide listings of folks looking for crew, but I'd recommend due diligence if you decide to make the passage: https://www.sailopo.com/ https://www.sailopo.com/ You might also get yourself on a mailing list for local regattas or sailing forums and say you're looking to help with deliveries. How long / where these things happen will likely vary by region. People do transits from Florida to Carribean all the time. Same with New England to the South each year. Racing boats go from Mid-Atlantic / New England to Florida / Key West around end of the year. In Midwest, deliveries from Mackinaw are common in July after the Mackinaw races. West Coast - not sure, but Transpac (Hawaii - SF) returns and/or Coastal races are probably common. Best of luck! :)
- junto 10y ago
  You can get started fairly easily. Take a sailing course that gives you a recognized certificate. For example, the RYA "Competent Crew" or "Day skipper". Different countries have different certifications that are recognized worldwide. The UK Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is definitely one of them, and you can do these courses in lots of sail training facilities across Europe. From there you can jump on almost any boat delivery crew with a bit of luck. Most rich boat owners don't want to sail their yachts across large bodies of water, so they employ delivery crews. Normally they employ an experienced captain and the captain hires his/her own crew. Boats are normally moved during the spring months from Europe to the Caribbean, specifically for the start of the season for Antigua Race Week, which I believe takes place in April/May. They normally head out from the Mediterranean via the Canary Islands to cross the Atlantic. Common places to jump on board are where yachts have been kept or serviced over the winter. Common ports include places like Palma de Mallorca, which is full of "boaties" looking to get a place on a yacht crossing. You hang out in the "boaty bars" and see if you can hook yourself a ride by chatting to people. There are also a number of internet forums, but you'll get better luck face to face, and you'll spend a number of weeks with these people in close confinement, so you'll want to know what they are like beforehand. As you get more experienced and depending on the boat you could try to get taken on permanently by the owner. The pay on the super yachts of the super rich can be insanely high, especially for experienced captains, chefs and engineers - monthly 5 figures if you are really good. That being said the super rich can be complete assholes, who can start throwing the carefully presented lobster dish back in your face because it wasn't the right colour, or you forgot to make sure the wine fridge was stocked with enough Dom Perignon P3 Plenitude Brut. I've heard some wonderful stories of the super rich from boaties. It's a crazy life.
- contingencies 10y ago
  Just a heads up that a friend of mine worked in this direction for years but was rejected from a captain's license because he had that partial color-blindness thing lots of people have, and that reportedly was enough to disqualify him permanently. Most of a decade "wasted" (if wasted is defined as sailing yachts around the Med and picking up languages). He now sells wines in Sydney, with the benefit of correct pronunciation in four or five languages.
  - sailfast 10y ago
    That's really interesting - makes sense, however as the main nautical colors are red and green. Messing them up would mean the difference between avoiding a ship and hitting it. Never thought about how bad a color choice that was for lights!

aidos 10y ago

I have a romanticized vision of owning a boat that I teach people to sail on while toiling away in my woodworking space in the evenings.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

tonyedgecombe 10y ago

If you hate people you could open a bookshop: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/05/bookseller-from-hell-steve-bloom-yorkshire https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/05/bookse...

slig 10y ago
I wonder if Bernard Black, from Black Books, is inspired on him.

jotux 10y ago

>Except I hate people, which is why I work in tech. I once met an older guy who was a software developer and asked him how he got into the field. He said that he'd originally received a doctorate in psychology and was a psychiatrist for years before he realized that most people don't want to be fixed. He said he'd got into programming because, "Computers always want to be fixed."

hervstluft 10y ago
I wanted to reply psychiatrist/psychotherapist in this thread (most of my free time reading is about that). And now I want to print out and put into a frame what you just wrote. I still think people deserve a chance though.

bobhall1981 10y ago

Sailboats are a lot cheaper than people think. Did you know there is no technical definition for "yacht"? In practice, it just means "a boat that's nicer than yours". Don't buy a yacht. In Seattle there are plenty of sailboats under 30' that cost less than $10K. The moorage is the expensive part and costs around $400/month.

peterwwillis 10y ago
And if you have an engine in it, the biggest expense is time (spent trying to fix the f^%!$@ thing)
FigBug 10y ago
I've owned several boats and I'm done with that. I now belong to a coop where I pay $650 a year and have access to a 30' Catalina and 24' C&C that I can use almost as much as I want. There is no such thing as a cheap boat. The maintaince is a constant time and money suck.
- AnimalMuppet 10y ago
  A former co-worker told his wife, "The next time I say that I want to own a boat, take me out in the yard and spray me with a hose while I tear up $20 bills."
- rak00n 10y ago
  Is it in Bay Area?
  - FigBug 10y ago
    No, but a quick Google turned up two in the Bay area: http://www.spinnaker-sailing.com/timeshare-sailing http://www.spinnaker-sailing.com/timeshare-sailing https://sailtime.com/san-francisco-bay/ https://sailtime.com/san-francisco-bay/
contingencies 10y ago
You can skip moorage if your have a trailerable boat. They are very common. I personally owned two second hand Wetas, used them for a year, and sold them for a profit. It was great fun, and I would do it again. If you can get some friends together and import four at once in a single shipping container, it's way cheaper.

smoyer 10y ago

I have a small yacht that I can comfortably sail myself ... who needs a big boat for that?