There are cards from retired military personnel, policemen, firemen, teachers, doctors, nurses, and entrepreneurs who have sold their businesses or turned them over to their kids. It s a broad spectrum, Dave says. Many, like the Pierces, are early retirees. Dave says the cruising life imposes a change of pace and attitude. Those who fail to understand that often drop out quickly casualties of their own rigidity.
Weather is always the final arbiter in scheduling.
You have difficulty adjusting to the fact that you can t do things according to plan, Dave says. And sailboats are not speedboats. I expected to go a lot farther and a lot faster than we do, he says. You go about the speed of a bicycle. And, of course, the close confinement of two or more people for long stretches can be wearing.