When are you too old for sailing?

When are you too old for sailing and should hang it up?

(Will the nursing home allow me to park the cat and trailer in the employee parking lot?)

I know I usually feel 'too old' after every regatta, when I can hardly move my arms and my back is killing me! But when I see guys like Rick White and Gordon Isco still out there going at it I am inspired to 'get over it' and press on.
You're only as old as you let yourself be. The ones who are in their 60's and 70's and still racing are an inspiration to me. Thanks for leading the way guys!

I think the question was "when are you too old for sailing" not too old for racing. There is a difference. I am over 70 and still enjoy sailing my F18 a few times a month but have zero desire to race

I'm in two months 69.

And because I only sail at sea, I think there will be a very distinct point when sailing is over.
That's when I start being afraid, feeling insecure at sea.

Ofcourse this point has to do with sea state and wind. With offshore wind it is always a lot less freaky then with 25 kts cross-onshore.

Strangely enough I think that my body will not play a leading role in that moment. I have already now so much defects that each time a bit more pain seems nothing.
I use heavy painkillers after each sailing and I never sail two days behind each other anymore.

But with windsurfing there is more connection between my fear and my body defects. Yesterday I surfed with strong cross-offshore wind. Far out my sail became loose and my waterstart failed a few times. There was besides that a heavy sudden fog, so i couldn't see the coast anymore.

At that moment I started to feel myself insecure, because I know I will never manage to come back on own force if I cannot cope start sailing again.

On my cat far out at sea, I feel myself definitly more safe

Even though you don't like racking there are always chase boats and other people know your out there. Organized sail events seem safer to me than being out alone. At least there should be other boats so you can help out if someone brakes.

I know several guys who raced cats well into their 70s. And yes, I always feel safer at regattas than fun sailing in smaller numbers.

Mike

+1... Depending on the sailing environment, I'm not sure there is such thing as "too old to sail".

I've seen some really old folk in Flying Scots, Sunfish, and other craft bobbing around in lakes. I'm sure there are probably a few centarians on some boat, somewhere... Maybe not racing the Transpac this year...

But didn't Bob Oates sail the Sydney-Hobart this year? He was 80+ and had a special fitted chair on WOXIII right?

Perhaps you're too "old" to sail when you become a hazard to yourself and others while participating.?

By the way, this may also be the case when you are a younster!

I think that if you are an older and experienced sailor, you have a rather good image of the circumstances you can cope with.
But when you getting older and older, you are slightly starting to doubt this confidence in your mind. Based on noticing physical discomforts and less stress resistance in your all-day life. And ofcourse because your sailing capacities change.

So, like my experience this week of having to fix far out at sea my surfsail, in big waves and a dense fog, I notice afterwards that this sticks in my mind and alters my safety confidence. I think the same will happen when I should capsize with my cat one time in very bad circumstances.


Eventually this can lead to a change in your choice of sailing circumstances. In worse case it can end your sailing passion at once. (I've seen that happen with young sailors too ,after a freaky sea adventure)

Maybe the question I SHOULD have asked is, "When are you too old to sail a catamaran?"

The day I'm thrilled to be sailing a Sunfish, is the day I KNOW I'm too old for real sailing! The greatest danger of sailing a Sunfish, -is death by embarrassment or ridicule.

Maybe the question you should have asked is, "Who is the oldest catamaran racer still actively racing, and how old is he/she?".

Jeff, I do not know how old you are but I do know you have a lot of growing up to do if you are worried about being embarrassed by ANY kind of sailing or by anyone else's opinion of whatever you are sailing. Sailing is for you, no one else. If you want to sail any kind of craft and enjoy doing so then go out with gusto and have fun and then feel sorry for any poor SOB who thinks less of you for sailing anything. Sailing is inherently good; period. To show you my age I will quote MR. T. and say I pity the fool who does not find the joy in sailing whatever they want whenever they want.

Sailing a Sunfish in 20 is a blast. Try jibing one when it's blowing. Helluva lot harder than a cat. Don't be disparaging the Sunfish. It's been around 62 years.

Ask Gordon Isco, he's still killing it in his 80s.

Mike,

I plead guilty to 2nd Degree Snark; and for throwing "chum" in the water.

We sail regularly with a terrific guy, Warren, who enthusiastically sails an a-cat, hits the beach, and jogs to and fro. He's incredibly fit and an inspiration at 67.

Geesh, that is young, Jake.

So Rick, you must know some of the more experienced guys out there still racing, who's the oldest you know of?

So, this topic looks like to turn out to the famous male contest: who has the largest D...

We all know that there are always exceptional guys in that contest. And we also know that this small group is not decisive for the general question.

In fact in general it has to do with a lot of luck with regard to your body and mind.
Yes, I know, training and self-discipline play a big role. And for that you have to give credit to these old fogyes.
But if you have injuries or a fading mind it overcomes you when you are getting older. There's not much you can do.

The only way you have to slow down the degradation is to hang-on and postpone the decision to quit.

I just sold one that's about that age... was my mothers (and raced actively in the late 60's all the way to the early 80's). Heck, my mother's friend (in her mid 80's) is STILL racing Sunfish. Just had a regatta at Sarasota a few weeks back?

First boat I singlehanded as a yoot. Learned how to handle varnish by maintaining those wooden foils (centerboard/rudder).

A little heavy compared to today's version (I think this one was fiberglass over plywood?) and likely won't win any national regattas, but the dude bought it to drag the kids out on the water... which is perfect for what he wanted and the price point ($950 with trailer).

I'm sure we've all seen some pretty whacked-out boats out on the water... But the smiling sailor tells the story...

That about sums it up, doesn't it. As long as cat sailing puts a smile on your face, you're not too old!

Has to be Gordy Isco, I just celebrated Rickmas on the 4th to reach 78 unmolested.., well maybe a little molested

Gordy?? He's not that old, he told me he was only 37, he just looks older due to his lifestyle!

When I questioned his bald head, he simply said,

"Too many U Turns under the sheets..."

Speaking of which, I was out on the lake yesterday zipping around when I saw a sail off in the distance, downwind, so I popped the kite and went on down there to see who it was (I rarely see another sailboat out on my lake). As I got closer, it looked like an Opti....but the sail was wrong. When I got really close, I could see it was something like an Opti on steroids, with a gaff rig, but much larger than the Opti, and a wooden mast/boom/gaff that looked more like a Sunfish setup. It had lee boards instead of a dagger board. It looked pretty crude, was obviously a homebuilt.

I did a fly-by, 20 feet away, fast on one hull, then snuffed the kite, turned back up wind to catch him and to see... "w.t.f. it that?"

He said it's some kind of Pram (said the name but I don't recall) and yes, he built it, for his daughter. He had a lot of questions about my boat (How FAST does that thing go?!) and said he was sailing across the lake to meet up with his daughter at a beach party on the other side. I told him I'd be happy to take them both out on my boat sometime and bid him farewell.

He was smiling when I showed up, and when I left, and loving his boat.

Doesn't matter how fast or slow it is, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or builder in this case!).