Get Real, Get Gone: How to Become a Modern Sea Gypsy and Sail Away Forever

Best book I’ve read from an average Joe standpoint, there’s lots of sea going jargon out there to confuse the newbies like me, but Rick writes in a very understandable way, just enough technical explanation, loads of humor and realistic expectations. Must have, 5 stars.

This book is well written and packed with info. I am not planning the type of sailing life that Rick Page lives, so I didn’t necessarily expect to finish the book. But it was a great read, so I did finish in one sitting. [Big disclaimer, I know nothing and am at the “thought about sailing all my life but just now signed up for ASA 101... on a lake” stage.] He does such a great job of describing the decision processes around the boats he chooses and how he sails, both practically and philosophically, and didn’t get more technical than he had to, that I learned one heck of a lot that I feel I can use. For one thing, his discussion of rudder types was eye opening. I now know that the kinds of boats I’ve been window shopping online are the exact inspiration for his term “yogurt cup.” (Mumble, mumble, ben-a-toe thir-tee-dot-one for example, cough cough.) He also has some real talk about what a bunch of additional convenience features may cost you in... inconvenience! He is very clear about the WHY behind all his decisions and the fact that boat ownership doesn’t mean you HAVE to circumnavigate or even do passages — and especially not before years of other experience. So maybe a yogurt cup would end up being ok for weekends on the (warmish water, large enough to sail but never out of sight of shore) local lake. (The author also has some words about people rationalizing their emotional decisions, haha.) The point is, now I’m better informed to going into any exposure to boats because the author doesn’t just tell you what, he tells you why. In compelling and yet succinct detail. Great, engaging read, packed with interesting ideas. Looking forward to his next book.

If you are planning to buy a boat and live aboard, this is certainly a recommended resource, told from experience and with a sense of humor.

This book was recommended to someone else on a Reddit thread (on the r/liveaboard sub).. WOW! What an amazing, accessible read. Rick's writing style reads like you're having a conversation with him, which makes the whole book feel super accessible. Also, there is a lot of semi-technical data on: boat selection, boat outfitting, and financial advice to assist anyone in reframing their mindset to sail off in to the "wobbly blue stuff" and never return. Basically, how to check out of the consumerist rat race, and seek to enjoy a like full of travel, and adventure! It's true, if you follow Rick's advice, there won't be a newly leased luxury car every three years in your future, but is that really the purpose of life on this mortal coil? Is the function of our existence to accumulate more disposable goods made in a far away land that are obsolete every few years? Or is there possibly another way to live that involves actual problem solving, and more rewarding behavior? If you think the latter is true, but can't imagine how to get there, this is your road map to how to do it NOW, not "when you're ready" (Hint: You'll never be "ready".).. I'm at a turning point in my life where sailing the world for a few decades is actually quite possible, but Capn Page shows you how to do it on a minimal budget - be frugal, avoid debt, let compounding interest work for you, and learn to do your own minor repairs. I also recommend his second book - Stay real, stay gone. It expands on all of the principles and lessons of the first book, but with the same easy to read writing style. Absolutely one of the books with the largest influence on my life's trajectory I've ever read. If you're thinking about liveaboard life, please read this.. Perhaps read it twice.

This book has been the proverbial fire to get me on track to living my dream. It makes you believe that you can attain the lifestyle, and that you can do it comfortably on a budget. It is full of wonderful, un-sugarcoated knowledge, witty humor, and yes some cockiness that comes with learning things the hard way and through experience. It makes you laugh out loud, second guess your reasoning for "needing" all of the shiny, high-tech gadgets that are marketed specifically for us novice sailors, and realize that you can sail anywhere with the right attitude. That being said, this read is geared more toward voyaging, so it may not always pertain 100% to your goals or dreams, which is fine. My thoughts are that if your vessel is capable to cross an ocean, it's certainly capable to hop along the islands of the Caribbean, Med, or French Polynesia. This book is not a sailors bible but filled with two experienced sailors knowledge and opinions, with plenty of other suggested readings following its conclusion, most of which I plan on buying or at least checking out at my local library. The portion on how they do their laundry was worth the price of this book alone; pure, outside of the box genius thinking. It is well worth your time and money. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone thinking of becoming a sea gypsy. :)

The author writes in an engaging, humorous, direct style that both informs and entertains. Much more than this, the best possible recommendation that I can give is that my wife and I used this book and its sequel, "Stay Real, Stay Gone" to leave our jobs and start living aboard a 34 foot sailboat. We are currently in Scotland, and we absolutely love our new way of life. IF you do what Rick suggests, and employ ALL of his recommendations and strategies, your life will absolutely change for the better. I am living proof that you, with Rick's help, can actually achieve your dreams. If you're even thinking about buying the book, buy it.

The purpose of this book is to help people on a small budget get into the live aboard sailing life and does that very well. But the advise for picking out a boat and type of sail plan is very profound because it ignores what all current yacht manufacturers do which is copy current yacht racing trends which are wide flat bottom boats designed to sail around buoys in races and have no regard to seaworthiness. This started in 1973 when Doug Peterson designed Ganbare, everyone started copying this in racing and cruising yachts quickly followed. Then in the 90s Bruce Farr started the extreme flat bottom trend with wide square sterns and long narrow bows. This trend still exists today so that we have yachts that pitch and pound on heavy seas, heel over too easy in high winds and are too twitchy to steer easily. The perfect type of cruising yachts were made in the early to mid 70s, you still see a lot of these yachts in marinas, Catalina being the most popular brand by far, Cheoy Lee being my favorite. Yachts like this are narrow enough and have a deep enough displacement to handle very heavy seas and strong winds without the worry of heeling the boat over to where its completely on its side. The author Rick Page briefly eluded to these kind of yachts but spent more time talking about sail plans. He recommends both gaff rigged and (chinese) junk type of sails. In the past I would not have considered gaff rigged yachts, but the prevalence of square shaped sails now in racing and cruising shows that this is not only viable, but a better choice than triangular shaped sails for both a speed and safety perspective. I wish someone could expand on this book, someone like a well known yacht designer and start showing and recommending the kind of yachts that cruising sailors should be buying instead of just blindly following bad cruising yacht trends. I notice a lot of the Amazon reviews on this book criticize the author being overly frugal. There is a time and place for buying high priced items just to follow trends, and buying a cruising yacht is NOT the time or place to do that. It just so happens that buying what is built strong, safe and maintainable happens to be cheaper (ultra light racing yachts are expensive to build while being weaker).

This book is exactly as the title suggests... REAL, and in his case real means honest, in its love of the sea life and in the perils that life can bring. If you want to get past the fluff and nonsense of "eternal bliss at sea" and into the responsibilities of living at sea, this is a great book to tell you it's a great life if you work at it. After 40 years of sailing, I've found every word herein to be true.

Great book for the budget sailor. Rick and Jasna are very practical, thorough and yet funny. They give hints about buying your first boat, keeping it under budget and, places to go, equipments, all you need to know. 'Get real get gone' is a book for the new (or soon-to-be) sailor to learn how to live on a boat around the world without having piles of cash. Yes, it's possible. They started from scratch with no experience whatsoever and made the dream real.

I chose this rating because, after enjoying the first couple chapters, I was surprised: The whole darn book is wisdom and knowledge, distilled with intelligence and dispensed with generosity. First, let's get straight what kind of book this is in order of importance: 1. Philosophy - thinking straight when those about you are losing their heads and blaming it on - well, you know that old chestnut. 2. Wisdom - life saving application of #1 to bobbing on things wobbly and blue 3. Generous good will - life saving dispensing of #2 to REAL people who want to experience a small sliver of REAL living while they breathe air. (Do I get to edit this later? Cuz I could write a book about how this book has given me another reason to try life, when all my other reasons are used up) -EDIT-After beginning my second reading, I sent this email to Rick: "Hi Rick, I just started re-reading your book and, of course, noticed that I forgot every detail you wrote by the time I finished the first reading. This second time will get me re-focused and back to the "real" part so I can actually begin the "gone" part successfully. You have really shared a vast treasure in a compact "chest", and it needs to be sifted through carefully after the initial reading. The practical detailed suggestions you and Jasna packed in there can be forgotten in comparison with the profound spiritual gifts of courage, humour, honesty, soundness of mind, and a sense of - is it hope? - that you and Jasna imparted to me. Thanks so much. I hope to meet you some day. Ed"

Ce livre est une chance ! Quand on cherche son bateau et veut naviquer loin sur les mers, ce n'est pas toujours facile de trouver les bons compromis. Si vous avez un enorme budget, peut etre que ce livre n'est pas pour vous, ou peut etre que si justement, car pourquoi depenser autant finalement. Mon budget est entre 20000-30000€ et les conseils dans ce livre sont precieux pour comprendre pourquoi mettre de l'argent dans certains equipement est important et que le congelateur et la clim n'est pas necessaire. Il faut choisir si on veut voyager a proximite des habitants sur les iles ou si on veut s'isoler sur une palace flottante. Ce livre donne les conseils precis et utiles qu'il faut pour partir loin avec un budget minime sans pour autant faire n'importe quoi. Avant d'acheter son voilier, c'est une lecture obligatoire.

"Get Real, Get Gone" by Rick Page is a tremendous source of inspiration for me. Since I was in my twenties, I dreamt of a life aboard a small sailboat, and this book provided a practical framework that made it seem achievable. For that, I'm truly grateful. The author doesn't romanticize life on a sailboat; he provides a real guide that's both inspirational and down-to-earth. This realism permits to acknowledging the challenges and making them conquerable. On top of the book providing absolute great assistance, also the author is reachable for help! I emailed out to him for guidance on buying an specific sailboat, and he offered invaluable assistance. In short, "Get Real, Get Gone" is a must-read if you are yearning for a life out of the ordinary on a sailboat. This book provides me with great confident and excitement about starting my own sailing adventure.

A fantastic book, full of suggestions based on real sailing life. Not only this gives a strong incentive to apprach a real sailing life, but very useful for every active or potential sailor even if you are not yet ready to plan your life on a sailing boat. This book will guide you through the difficult process of choosing the right boat for you. A MUST read before starting the process to buy a boat and become a sailor.