Reasonably sane people do take their well found yachts and go long-distance cruising to exotic lands: this crazy idea sprouted in the 1940s, but really bloomed in the 1950s thanks to inspiring tales of the sea-faring live written by the Hiscocks, the Wests, the Pardeys, Hal Roth and Jimmy Cornell. 

In those early days, you had to be incredibly wealthy in order to build or buy and maintain an ocean-cruising yacht, or – like most Americans – you had to sell your home, business and everything else you owned. You had to quit your job or close down your business, which severely limited your flow of funds from then on. You had to provision the boat for years of Spartan living off inhospitable shores. Departure day meant severing communications with family and friends.

 Life-altering commitments like that discouraged all but the most smitten cases of wanderlust.