Keeping The Dream Alive

One thing I've learned from this experience is that it takes a lot of planning. Young attractive couples can sell everything, move on their boat, develop some clickbait, and be off and running on patreon with supporters. I think that is great for them and support them living their dream while they are still young. Their videos on youtube are enjoyable and I know they put a lot of effort in building up their audience. I don't begrudge them a bit. It would have been nice to have taken a year or two off after college to do the same thing but love and family were a higher priority for me and I've been happily married for over 32-years now to my best friend.

I'm referring to couples nearing retirement that want to sail off in their early retirement years without having to return to work. We started thinking about the sailing cruising lifestyle in 2014. Right now we have set a date for sailing off on October 10, 2022! It's a Monday and Columbus day so that seems like a good choice. It's sailing superstition to never set sail on a Friday, so why not Monday? That is a little over 8-years from concept to reality. Ruth and I (Drew) thought it was important to set a date otherwise this would just remain a dream. Now we have a real goal to attain. I think it's the engineer in me that wants to plan this and just not take off without being ready.

In terms of the planning, here's a list of the things we wanted to accomplish before setting sail:

• Take ASA sailing classes (DONE!) (I'd still like to do a multi-day ocean passage though)
• Charter a number of bareboat trips (Ongoing process but we've done quite a few already)
• Learn about diesel engine mechanics (Plan on taking a class next year)
• Understand paper navigation (DONE!) (100% score on ASA 105)
• Gain knowledge of celestial navigation (Ongoing process)
• Save enough money so we won't have to go back to work when we return (Ongoing)
• Prepare the home for either selling or renting (Ongoing)
• Organize a mail forwarding service (one of our children?)
• Setup a blog and youtube account (DONE!)
• Buy the cruising sailboat (Ongoing)
• Read and learn as much as possible (Ongoing)

Of course there is more to do, but I think these are our highlights. We have been researching boats and have a pretty good idea of what we are looking for. Everything I have read says don't buy your boat too soon, so we are anticipating another two years before we start seriously looking for a boat. We have a list of things we want in a boat instead of a specific boat in mind. Hopefully we will find a good deal as boats can be difficult to sell.

Ruth and I also ran through a fun exercise in which we sat down and talked about WHY we want to do this. Here's the list we came up with:

• Fun
• Togetherness
• Learn new things
• Get away
• Spent time alone together
• Freedom
• Exploration
• Travel
• Being responsible for oneself and your actions
• Help local communities
• Immerse with local and different cultures

I know that four years will go by very quickly. Til next time....