Our Sailboat S2 1978 7.3

We actually did it. We found a sailboat for the right price. (Cash) It is located on Canyon Lake, Texas. We have only had her out by ourselves 3 times, but they were wonderful experiences. There are some great experienced sailors at the marine where she is docked who have already asked me to crew with them in upcoming races. They are extending that offer I'm sure because they know how invaluable the experience will be for someone so new to the task. Each weekend we cart more stuff to her to clean her up, fix some things and make her our own. Next week I start on her chalking finish, and tear down and clean her four winches.

Remembering the past and steering toward the future

This voyage of ours will be to steer a new course toward something different and new. This will not be an escape but rather a redirection of our energies and passions. When we set sail I will build paper boats (biodegradable) on which to record the things in my life I wish to change and evolve and burn them at sea viking style.

Benchmarks

My purpose in writing this second blog entry is to create a list of benchmarks to meet that would help us determine whether we were indeed ready for this type of adventure and, if so, what it was going to take to get there.

Before I do that, though, I have to note just how frustrating work has been this week. I don't want to read too much into the problems I had this week in association with our recent decision to try to become a sailing family, but I have to say that this week I definitely could see myself saying "good-bye" to the corporate world forever. I like getting a paycheck every other week, but I'm starting to ask myself, "What is the point?" More about that later, I'm sure. Since we are looking at a 3-5 year plan, I'll have plenty of opportunities to lament our economic slavery.

The first thing I told Joe we had to do is pay off all our debt. This is no small feat. We have been working diligently to cut into our debt for several years now, but it is a slow process. I hate slow processes. I want things now. But, getting out of debt takes time, so we have been whittling away at ours for a few years now.

We have our debt down to a handful of accounts these days, but those accounts are, ahem, large. Or at least larger than I would like. More frustrating is our low credit score. We have worked hard to pay bills on time, but sometimes the money just isn't there, and bills are paid late. Of course, this ruins your credit. My goal ultimately is to NEVER use credit again, or at least only for large things (house and real estate!).

Benchmark Number One: Pay off all debt. I absolutely, positively consider this a must. I am NOT sailing around the world with debts hanging over my head. I want to be free and clear, having only to work to maintain a boat and provide us with living expenses.

Benchmark Number Two: Build up savings. After all debt is paid off, we will start using that extra income to build up enough savings to pay cash for a boat and have a cushion in case my online work hits a dry spell.

Benchmark Number Three: Get all three kids out of high school and into college or travelling with us. I won't leave solid ground until all the kids are done with high school and are pursuing their own lives. Our youngest won't graduate until 2015, so realistically the earliest departure date is the summer of 2015.

Benchmark Number Four: Sell house, cars, and all unnecessary worldly possessions. There are a few things in our house that I insist on keeping (our bed for one), but I'm not attached to anything so much that it couldn't be replaced later, once we decide to become landlocked again.

Benchmark Number Five: Find the right boat. Not too small, not too big. Just right. The Goldilocks Boat. Cost is important here too...I don't want to get back into debt (see number one!).

Benchmark Number Six: Cross the T's and dot the I's. Joe is an excellent researcher, and I know that he already has a long list of things to do before we set sail, including what type of boat we need, what types of things to take along, etc. etc. He's really good at that type of detail.

I know that we'll think of other things along the way, but for me these are the big picture items that need to be considered. Somewhere in that mess is my devoting some time to writing a book so that we can take care of everything on that list with one blow.

Benchmarks help us to know whether we are on track and whether we are all on the same page with this endeavor. Debt and the children are the most important considerations for me right now. If we can create a plan that addresses those considerations, then we could definitely be in business!

Getting Started

Since I'm the practical one in our marriage, my first reaction is to create a checklist of practical issues to address before we can make this dream a reality.

It's weird being the practical one, actually, because I was always the slightly less practical member of my immediate family. My brothers are both oriented toward the "hard sciences" - they are involved in computers, business, sales, and areas that our current society actually values. I, on the other hand, was involved in music, writing, literature, art, theater, and philosophy. I wanted to be either an Broadway singer or a writer in the mode of William Faulkner or Virginia Woolf - slightly unbalanced (Ok, a LOT unbalanced), prone to heavy drinking, and working my way through a series of immediately gratifying but ultimately boring relationships with people only slightly less unbalanced than I. Think Gloria Steinham meets Earnest Hemingway.

However, I am my father's daughter, and hard work and perseverance won out over my imagined Dionysian lifestyle. So, more than 20 years into the real world of work (god, has it really been that long?), I find myself realizing that hard work and perseverance don't necessarily lead to happiness. Love and freedom do.

Having a partner who is a dreamer is exciting. It keeps me guessing, it makes me stop and think about whether what I'm doing now is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life, and it gives me leeway to dream about possibilities that don't necessarily involve building up a 401K and accruing vacation days. My dad worked at the same horrible job for 30 years. He did it because he had a family to provide for and three children to put through school (Thanks Daddy!). But he was under-appreciated, under-paid, and working for people who were far below his caliber in both intellect and character. Did he work that hard only to see his daughter do the same? I have to think that he didn't. I know I don't want my children giving up their dreams for the sake of home equity and 3% yearly raises.

I want to be a writer. I was meant to be a writer, I think, but I won't find the time to be what I'm meant to be if I have to devote 60 hours a week to a job that pays the bills but little else.

So, when my best friend said, "Let's sell the house and all our stuff, buy a boat, and sail around the world together," I didn't laugh because I don't think it's a bad idea. I think it's going to take a great deal of planning and work, but it is not impossible.

So....if we're gonna do this, then the Voice of Reason (me) says you have to have some benchmarks.

Next blog: Benchmarks!

Where do we begin?

I guess the first step was to put the idea out there. The conversation was awkward to say the least. How do I bring something like what I was thinking about up without coming out as totally wacko? I mean we talk about everything and it's not like I didn't know that what I was thinking wasn't an original idea. People think about it all the time. People say they are going to do something like it all the time. So I just said. Honey, here is my idea. I have to admit I was and still am a little confused by the reaction I got. I was expecting a little push back, but what I got was she thought it sounded great. I mean she wasn't all "let's do it tomorrow." She is the practical one of our pair. :) But she actually started looking up more information about it and got right on board. I'm still kind of wondering though if she is just biding her time. Holding some cards close. Thinking to herself, “ He has finally gone off the deep end.” :) Time will tell. :)