tausap

Fellow aviators, I have lurked here a long time and enjoyed reading what others have to say, but I have not posted much. It is with mixed feelings of excitement and (not a little bit of) apprehension that after 22 years in this career I have decided to hang up the hat and leave the airlines. I had my offer accepted on a 46' bluewater capable sailboat accepted, and the plan is to leave in September with my soon-to-be wife to circumnavigate the planet for 3-4 years.

Many things have factored into this decision, but the biggest was that I had a scare with a heart problem (despite being only 42 and in great shape) last year and I realized that life is short and I want to realize some of my non-flying related dreams before I get too old or start having health problems. I was lucky enough to make it where I wanted to go in aviation, now I want to do that in other areas of my life as well. I have flown widebodies all over the world, and I have been a 737 and A320 captain in my 15 years with United. I was not happy in the job any more, for the last 5 years at least, despite the fact that it is a 6-figure job with decent days off. I was to the point where I spent my days off dreading going back to work. I firmly believe that rather than sitting around complaining about it, if I did not want to be there I should leave. And that is exactly what I have finally decided to do.

For those of you wondering....no I am not rich. A previous divorce, raising a kid with no support from her mother (19 now and doing well) and the stock market have all taken their toll. I decided to take the financial hit and cash out what is left in my retirement and sell my house, which, along with some of my fiancee's savings, gives us enough to buy an older but well-kept boat (this one: http://www.libertysails.com/html/full_specs.html) and live frugally ($25-35k/year) for 4-5 years. What will I do when we are finished and I am a very non-current pilot? I don't know and I am OK with that for now. My fiancee is a nurse, so she will always be able to find a job, and I am looking forward to finding a new calling. For the first time in a long time, I am actually excited about the future.

Yes, I know many will think I am crazy to gamble on my future, to leave a decent career, to leave all the security of a paycheck and health insurance. But on the other hand, I could stay another 20 years in a job I don't enjoy any more and end up losing everything anyhow due to events out of my control, without ever having pursued this dream. I would rather leave under my terms now. I'll figure it out as I go along...I always have in the past despite 2 previous airlines going out of business and getting furloughed at another. Will I miss it? I think I will miss the flying, well, really the takeoffs and landings. I hated sitting at cruise for 8 hours. I won't miss pretty much everything else.

I'll be starting a blog in the future for anyone who wants to follow along and will post it here when it is up and running. I wish you all smooth skies and good luck in your careers. If I could take my slot at United and give it to a furloughed guy, I would.

Stringer

Good luck to you. You're going to be fulfilling one of my lifelong dreams. I will live vicariously through your blog.

Kilgore Trout

tausap,
Thank you for writing the above entry. Your upcoming voyage sounds incredible.
Back in the mid 90's I worked with a pilot in Juneau who would fly seasonally during the summer, and during his off time he would sail.
Very interesting older gentleman who had great stories to tell. He used to send postcards of his adventures to the company we worked for.
He wrote a book about his circumnavigation, but I never read it. Your above writing prompted me to see if it was available- it is.

Amazon.com: First Time Around (9780918752215): Jamie Bryson: Books

I think I will get a copy.

Safe travels, best to you and yours, and "fair winds and following seas" to you.

bryris

That sounds cool. I am only 28, too young to do that. Maybe in 20 years.

Good luck!

tausap

You are never too young....I may be looking for crew on some of the ocean passages in the future, will announce it on the blog I will eventually establish and post a link to, so if anyone is interested keep an eye out.

Kilgore- The flying seasonally in Alaska sounds interesting and like something I would love doing in the future if funds are running low. Not sure if they would want to hire an ex-airline type who had been non-current for a while though. I will cross that bridge when I come to it though. I will look for the book, sounds like good inspirational reading, thanks for the tip.

SkyHigh

Best Wishes. It will be interesting to follow your progress. My advise would be to start your blog right away and journal your experiences leaving UAL and starting your new life.

Skyhigh

tomgoodman

A friend of mine did just that almost 30 years ago. He had just separated from the Navy, and no airlines were hiring, so they stocked the boat with supplies and cast off. Took them about 4 years, including some long stops (e.g. Australia), where they chartered out the boat and explored by land. A lifelong sailor, he was comfortable with celestial navigation and said they could just "heave to" in storms. The real danger was in shipping lanes, where a constant watch was required. They got home with a lifetime of memories and friends around the world, just in time to catch an airline hiring wave.

dozer

I am SO jealous!! Good luck tausap you're doing the right thing.

pilot1278

Looking forward to the blog and something new to read when I get bored at my desk job. I'll link it up to my blog if you don't mind...

www.flightstudent.wordpress.com

RideandDrive

I feel the exact same way as you. I'm 38 and work at Netjets where I'm completely unhappy with job.

Hoping to make my own exit plan come to fruition.

Enjoy!