I try to keep my post as short as I can , but this one might wander on.
I have a boat in Japan. I love it and feel a responsibility to it because she is a survivor of the tsunami and her previous owner wasn't.
However I am 66. In four years I will be unemployed and on the Japanese pension.
There are jobs for pensioner like collecting carts at the supermarkets or waving a flag at a construction site, but the number of pensioners far exceeds the opportunities, That is a reality.
There are almost NO SUBSIDIES for pensioners in Japan.
The pension is just enough to freeze to death in winter (due to the price of heating fuel), stave to death or kick off because you can't afford certain medications. Again that is reality.
So my wife and I will have to live frugally.
She explained clearly that the boat is an extravagance that we cannot afford in the future.
So I approached a younger bloke that I have worked with and chatted with in the past.
His father had been a dinghy instructor in England and he had grown up sailing every summer.
As boat owners we have knowledge of sailing (and all the accumulated mistakes ) and knowledge of our boats.
I am in the enjoyable situation of sailing with John, passing on my knowledge of sailing and of my boat.
He will dob in 1000$ a year over the next 4 years and then the boat will be his.
Except it will still be mine to sail, work on and enjoy. For free.
We went out yesterday in 8 degrees with 15 to 30 knots. As we were motoring back into the wind I purposely cut out the engine and
said," John. We are in the s**t now . What should we do?"
He really quickly got a lesson in emergency anchoring.
Sharing a boat and all that knowledge is an extra bonus of sailing for me now.
I am lucky to have found a win-win situation. The wife is pleased too.
Gary
Hi Gary, is there no option to return to Australia? Or is there no similar Superannuation system and you will have the pension only?
I am glad to live in Australia, and with the Super system Hawke and Keating put in 30 years ago, because it gives some comfort that there will be a lump sum (depending on salary sacrifice and employment), as well as a part pension. I have 15 years to retirement, but also think that a yacht, such as my 50 year old yacht, is mostly a cheap hobby, and helps maintain sanity and healthy outdoor perspective.
It looks like you have arrived at a brilliant outcome, for you and your friend, if I may say so, Gary.
Apropos of age and experience:
I recently sailed in a keel boat for the very first time ever. It was a club race and I just turned up looking half-interested! The skipper, a gentleman in his early-to-mid-80's, was glad to have me onboard his trailer-sailer boat because he did not have any one else to sail with that day and he needed someone. I said that I had only sailed Laser dinghies for a few years prior and that I didn't know anything about keel boats (except what I read here!) ... no matter, off we sailed, for a race of about 2 hours. He basically put me in charge of the jib, while he operated the tiller and the mainsheet, and a traveller-thing that slid from left to right. Wind was about 18knots max. Several times, as we approached a rounding mark very close to shore, I was feeling a bit nervous because I didn't know if we could turn on a dime or not, but always with the utmost calm and unruffled demeanour that comes with age and experience, at the right moment he would tack and gybe as if it was like a slight-of-hand card trick! Once or twice, I pulled the wrong side of the jib sheet, but regardless of that, after two hours of racing, we ended up coming first by about 5 minutes! It really put a smile on his face - because some of the other boats were shiny new boats fitted with special instruments that we did not have. I thought this guy's skill & experience was pretty amazing and worth bottling. He said he's close to finishing up with his sailing and recommended not to get old, if possible. lol.
Happy sailing to you and your friend, Gary.
Cheers,
snapperfish.
