sailing dream

I've been trying to remember how long I've been dreaming of going to sea. Fragments of childhood memories of sailing in the Bahamas flit across my mind's eye.... an early-morning watch with no land in sight; dawn awakening on a becalmed sea; moonless crossings with stars by the thousands; dolphins playing at the bow. Those experiences have sustained me during the long years spent away from the water and sailing. How I've wished to recapture those experiences and share them with my family! That Jeanette has proven so seaworthy is a blessing. A summer vacation to Block Island and Newport, RI, was just enough to whet our appetite for more extensive cruising. There's plenty in New England to keep us busy the next couple of years as we refine our plans and sharpen our skills.

Decision is made!

We've sat down and figured out that we have 3 more years to work before we chuck it all aside, find a boat and cast off! This is the perfect antidote to turning 50 in a few months and wondering what exactly am I supposed to do about that particular milestone. I'm very fortunate to have a wife, Beth, that wants to do it even sooner! And there's no doubt I'm blessed with a 4 year old daughter who can't wait to call a boat her home. Though I'm not sure the reality will live up to her expectations, only time will tell.

While we've been talking about doing something like this, we're actually crawling beyond the talking stage and making exaggerated motions about really doing it. I've done a flurry of spreadsheets to prove to myself this works from a dollar standpoint, but they mostly made me realize that any number of my assumptions could turn around and bite me, causing a severe loss of future possibilities. But, I hope that even if some of my assumptions turn on me, that they at least have the decency to warn me before they do.

I love the fact that Beth is so enamoured of this idea too. But what's not to love about quitting your job, climbing on a boat for ten years and seeing the world? Of course, she has to put up with me, but that shouldn't be much worse than what she's suffered from on land so far.

Back to the "Big Decision". Here's the basic idea:

1. We both work for three more years in our jobs
2. During year three, we sell our existing 30' sailboat and buy a larger cataraman - something in the range of 36-42'
3. We spend 4-6 months fitting it out in sunny FL and then we work our way South to get out of the hurricane zone by Nov 1, 2011. That means going as far South as Trinidad/Tobago or even Venezuela.
4. From there, we drift with the winds until we wind up somewhere else.
5. After about 10 years of drifting, we go ashore to allow our now 16-17 year old daughter to try being a more "normal" kid. Hopefully she will resist that tendancy.
6. After she goes off to college, we figure something else out.

OK, it isn't the most detailed plan for such a big decision, but it's going to take awhile to figure out some of the details and many of them can just be thrown to the wind to settle where they may. The most important part of any journey is deciding to have one in the first place! The journey may evolve into something totally different, but I'm OK with that too. Maybe we can't do it for more than five years, but even if we do it for one year, it will be an experience unlike all others - which is compelling for me.