One of the most popular questions we get asked is, Am I too old for sailing? With our decade of sailing experience behind us, we’ve met sailors of all ages. One of the first couples we met were in their 80’s. That was eight years ago and they’re still going strong. Sailing has no boundaries – you can be younger, older, rich, poor, black, white, experienced, not experienced and the list goes on.
We get asked how much sailing experience did you have before becoming sailing cruisers? People think that we’ve been sailing all our lives. If people have a background in sailing then, perhaps, it’s possible to sail later in life.
Much to our readers surprise, the answer is that we didn’t have much sailing experience at all!
Ten years prior to buying our first boat, we did week-long sailing vacations through SunSail, a sailing charter company. So, we sailed for one week, once a year. After that, we purchased a 35′ Moody sailboat and messed around on it over the weekends for 18 months before deciding to go big.
After realizing how much we loved sailing, we finally pulled our finger out and traded in our Moody for our 56′ dream boat, Britican. Once on Britican, we untied the lines and haven’t looked back. At the time of writing this, I’m 48 years old and Simon is 56 so we started playing around with sailing later in life. Interestingly, most of our Britican Experience guests are in their late 40’s to late 50’s. We’ve also had a few guests in their 70’s.
Being too old for sailing has never been the issue.
The issue is one’s mental state. Anyone can do almost anything if they believe they can. So let me introduce you to Dan and Kitty. This beautiful couple joined Simon on Britican to spend a fully immersive week living the life as a sailing cruiser. Watch the video and let me know if you think this 50+ couple will be able to make their sailing dreams come true.
Join Simon on Britican for a sailing experience like no other! If you and your partner are interested in living the sailing cruising life but don’t know where to start, take a test drive on our 56′ Oyster yacht to determine if the sailing life is for you and the specific skills and steps required to make it happen. For full details on our Britican Experiences, visit: https://sailingbritican.com/liveaboard-experience/
Other Articles/Resources You Might Like
- How Do I Get Sailing Experience?
- Sailing Experience in Open Ocean
- The Reality of Long Passage Sailing
- What Experience Do I Need To Be A Sailing Cruiser?
- 10 Signs To Become A Sailing Cruiser Now
Also check out this great post on Life of Sailing: https://www.lifeofsailing.com/post/am-i-too-old-for-sailing
Any Questions or Comments?
Please leave them below.
Bob Young says
I am really looking for a older couple or a single who has a Catamaran equipped for deep water sailing..
I have a handicap issue that is not conducive for a monohull sail boat.
Kim Brown says
Hey Bob – are looking for a sailing experience on a Catamaran? Thanks, Kim
W.W says
01-30-2023
Hi all !
Just noticed your previous 2–3 videos seem frozen, not clickable, more like a photo than a video ! Text is OK, although not as immersive as videos.
Airline travel is fast becoming slower than sail boats ! Steady as she goes
in fair winds and following seas. W.W