You can buy a sailboat for ~$1,000? My wife and I sailed through the Panama Canal for $1,400. That won’t buy much of a sailboat. If you don’t like cruises, don’t ever go on another. But why state blatant falsehoods to make your case?
It was not a blue water boat. At 22 foot, you'd have to have some courage to go to the Bahamas. Now 32/36 foot or bigger and yeah, Bahamas no problem if you know what you're doing. Else you better stay where you can see land. Still fun though. Sail for a while and then find a cove to anchor in and bbq a meal. My 22 footer had a cabin and I slept in it many times. Wife and I spent our anniversary night in it. It was actually the perfect FL sized boat because with the sails dropped, boom laid back and center board pulled up, we could go down rivers and canals and in some cases, go from one lake to another with the 10hp outboard. There are bars and restaurants right on the shores of many lakes and the gulf coast in FL. Many have bands/music.
That's a Rhodes 22 which is what I had, though mine didn't look quite as nice. Still sailed and was solid. We had a toilet and a bed and a grill we hung off the side. The two of us plus the kids, when they were single digit age, could sleep in it. Prices have gone up since then but I could find the equivalent for under $3k. I figured prices had gone up which is why I said one or two cruises. I paid $800 for mine and put a little into it. It didn't come with a trailer or the 10hp outboard. I think I had $1300 into it when I was done. I could find the equivalent for $2,800.
Here's one that's cute and ugly at the same time for $1,500(extra $400 for the outboard). https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/boa/d/saint-petersburg-ensenada-20-sailboat/7348849221.html. Awesome FL boat. 1 1/2 foot draft with the keel up. Roomy inside for it's size.
Guess it's in the genes/blood. My dad and his uncle were lobstermen. My 4x great grandfather was a captain of a wooden sailing merchant ship. We like to feel the water/waves. If I'd have gotten into it when I was younger, before kids, I might have gotten a 40 footer and went to the Bahamas with some shipmates. Here I sit in MO now with the only decent sailing lake being Lake Stockton, 3hrs and 160 miles away. Lake of the Ozarks might not be bad either but Stockton is the official sailing lake of MO due to steady winds that don't change direction every several seconds.
I see a few trailer cruisers that sleep four in my local craigslist right now for $2000-3000 with trailer and outboard. If we were closer to Stockton or Lake of the Ozarks, I'd have one already. Great for teaching kids some hands on and slightly complex and at times, dangerous stuff if you screw up.