From his autobiography, Wanderer

Sterling Hayden is a much admired old Hollywood actor, sailor, and author. In these hard economic times I thought I'd stray a bit from the usual information and give you a glimpse of the other side of the good daughter before she became enmeshed in the world of elder care. The world of sailing and cruising which most folks passing through San Diego waters in late fall each year are usually moved to do. Because of Sterling Hayden, I too, got wanderlust in my heart and set off on my own journey in 1996. It was a very special experience indeed and one I needed before I embarked on the road to Alzheimer's. Here are some of the those words which inspired me so in the mid 90's when I owned a 30 foot sloop named "The Loon".

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. "I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, the dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?