I'm honestly just kind of exhausted. I actually have not taken any concrete steps toward the goal today. I think the best I can do is to get some sleep. Good night.
Potty Training
Some days I think potty training is really taking off for little Lorelei, and other days I'm completely exasperated with the whole thing. She is SO interested in it! She wants to go potty all of the time, and is getting pretty good at going pee in the potty. She will also, on occasion, make 3 drops of pee on the potty, then say 'all done mama' and run off. Before I can get the diaper on her she has squatted and peed on the carpet. Oh- and then yesterday she was sitting on the potty and made a little toot, which I thought was promising...but then she got up, ran to her changing table and said 'diaper on please mama', so I put on the diaper, and 3 minutes later she pooped in it.
I'm really not in a hurry for her to potty train, she is only 21 months old. She is so interested though, that I feel I can't deny her, although I think it would be way easier if she waited a few more months, and then tried. I think this is another instance of wanting to do everything her big sister does.
At this rate I think she will definitely be potty trained by the time we move on to the boat though! That will be nice. I recently read a moms account of washing out all of her diapers by hand while cruising with her infant. NO THANK YOU!!
I'm really not in a hurry for her to potty train, she is only 21 months old. She is so interested though, that I feel I can't deny her, although I think it would be way easier if she waited a few more months, and then tried. I think this is another instance of wanting to do everything her big sister does.
At this rate I think she will definitely be potty trained by the time we move on to the boat though! That will be nice. I recently read a moms account of washing out all of her diapers by hand while cruising with her infant. NO THANK YOU!!
Lazy Pool Days
I spent about 30 minutes on the phone this morning (while driving, and handing the girls graham crackers in the backseat in order to keep them quiet...thank goodness for hands free telephones!). We are thinking of re-financing our house, but aren't sure if it will be worth it considering we are most likely selling it next summer. I'm getting so exciting about starting our adventure, but still the thought of leaving our beautiful spot in Nederland is hard to imagine.
The rest of the morning was spent at the YMCA. I got to work out, Yeah! Afterwards I took the girls to the pool there. They are both getting so brave in the water! Audrey is constantly saying 'watch this mom' as she sticks her head in the water. She comes up gasping for breath grinning from ear to ear. Thankfully she is getting smarter about were she does this. A few weeks ago while at the Old Town Hot springs in Steamboat Springs, she was so excited to show off for Uncle Paul that she slammed her face into one of the pool steps. Ouch! I honestly thought she broke her nose for a minute. Once it was iced though, the swelling went down, and she never got a black eye.
Lorelei is a little too brave for her own good too. She, just like her big sister, will say 'watch this mama' and then throw herself off the edge, expecting me to catch her. If for some reason I'm not watching, she just starts to sink. You would think she would learn! I guess she realizes I'm the one who has learned...I just can't take my eyes off of her for a second.
Audrey got her 1st email from a friend a week ago (to my email address), so cute. Today she decided she wanted to write her back the old fashion way. I helped with the spelling, but the sentence structure was all her. I'm SO proud! Even the little drawing is beautiful. She is such a smart, creative little girl!
The rest of the morning was spent at the YMCA. I got to work out, Yeah! Afterwards I took the girls to the pool there. They are both getting so brave in the water! Audrey is constantly saying 'watch this mom' as she sticks her head in the water. She comes up gasping for breath grinning from ear to ear. Thankfully she is getting smarter about were she does this. A few weeks ago while at the Old Town Hot springs in Steamboat Springs, she was so excited to show off for Uncle Paul that she slammed her face into one of the pool steps. Ouch! I honestly thought she broke her nose for a minute. Once it was iced though, the swelling went down, and she never got a black eye.
Lorelei is a little too brave for her own good too. She, just like her big sister, will say 'watch this mama' and then throw herself off the edge, expecting me to catch her. If for some reason I'm not watching, she just starts to sink. You would think she would learn! I guess she realizes I'm the one who has learned...I just can't take my eyes off of her for a second.
 |
| she has taken to striking a pose when I ask her to say cheese |
Audrey got her 1st email from a friend a week ago (to my email address), so cute. Today she decided she wanted to write her back the old fashion way. I helped with the spelling, but the sentence structure was all her. I'm SO proud! Even the little drawing is beautiful. She is such a smart, creative little girl!
April's doing a great job moving stuff on craigslist and I read the first chapter of World Cruising Essentials last night.
I'm continuing to experiment with ways of maintaining a backlog of tasks. I'm not really happy with my awesome universal to-do list. We're playing with using Trello to orchestrate our efforts. I'm thinking maybe we need something more GTDish.
I really did marry the perfect wife for me didn't I? How many women, moms no less, would be up for this plan, not to mention fully-engaged and excited? I love you, April. Thanks for being my perfect partner-in-audacity.
I'm continuing to experiment with ways of maintaining a backlog of tasks. I'm not really happy with my awesome universal to-do list. We're playing with using Trello to orchestrate our efforts. I'm thinking maybe we need something more GTDish.
I really did marry the perfect wife for me didn't I? How many women, moms no less, would be up for this plan, not to mention fully-engaged and excited? I love you, April. Thanks for being my perfect partner-in-audacity.
Hooray! We finally got our Amazon shipment, including Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Destinations and World Cruising Essentials.
We read the medical preparations chapter from The Capable Cruiser. Lin and Larry recommend not only the Red Cross CPR and Wilderness First-Aid classes but a more intensive multi-day emergency medicine seminar (e.g. Wilderness Medical Associates' "Offshore Emergency Medicine", Dickie L. Hill's "Medicine at Sea") for folks who are contemplating long-term cruising. The seminar will probably run about $1500 for both of us, and the Red Cross class will also be a couple hundred dollars apiece. As shipboard references, they recommend Your Offshore Doctor: A Manual of Medical Self-Sufficiency at Sea and the Merck Manual of Medical Information.
For kids' health they say the biggest issues are ear infections and infected coral cuts. For ear infections they recommend a drop of oil in the ears before swimming and alcohol swabs twice a day as preventatives. For cuts, they recommend something called Silvadine.
It seems that a number of cruisers are supporting themselves largely by writing online. I think the model is basically write a lot of good content that draws a lot of traffic and make money on the ad revenue. Maybe then you also get a weekly or monthly column in some publication, and you may also get some level of sponsorship by equipment manufacturers too. For that kind of thing, I think the key is great pictures which just so happen to feature some item or other. It probably helps to be photogenic.
We read the medical preparations chapter from The Capable Cruiser. Lin and Larry recommend not only the Red Cross CPR and Wilderness First-Aid classes but a more intensive multi-day emergency medicine seminar (e.g. Wilderness Medical Associates' "Offshore Emergency Medicine", Dickie L. Hill's "Medicine at Sea") for folks who are contemplating long-term cruising. The seminar will probably run about $1500 for both of us, and the Red Cross class will also be a couple hundred dollars apiece. As shipboard references, they recommend Your Offshore Doctor: A Manual of Medical Self-Sufficiency at Sea and the Merck Manual of Medical Information.
For kids' health they say the biggest issues are ear infections and infected coral cuts. For ear infections they recommend a drop of oil in the ears before swimming and alcohol swabs twice a day as preventatives. For cuts, they recommend something called Silvadine.
It seems that a number of cruisers are supporting themselves largely by writing online. I think the model is basically write a lot of good content that draws a lot of traffic and make money on the ad revenue. Maybe then you also get a weekly or monthly column in some publication, and you may also get some level of sponsorship by equipment manufacturers too. For that kind of thing, I think the key is great pictures which just so happen to feature some item or other. It probably helps to be photogenic.
April listed some of our stuff on craigslist and got some inquiries on it right off.
We've been getting into windtraveler today. Brittany and Scott and their new baby, Isla, are living in Tobago for now. We're really interested in how she's making a bit of a living on social media.
Dick Brano is an interesting guy.
And now, Pardey time.
We've been getting into windtraveler today. Brittany and Scott and their new baby, Isla, are living in Tobago for now. We're really interested in how she's making a bit of a living on social media.
Dick Brano is an interesting guy.
And now, Pardey time.
Whoopsy daisy
Whoa. Almost fell off the blog-wagon for a second there. But we're still forging ahead on the plan.
We're teaching the girls boat terminology by referring to the bow and stern of the car, the helm, and the cockpit. Around the house, we're referring to the heads, ports, galley, cabins and berths, the dinette, the settee, and the salon. Great suggestion from Mom.
We read the insurance chapter in The Capable Cruiser last night. Lin and Larry say that they don't carry health insurance for cruising away from the US. They say healthcare is just affordable elsewhere. Which gave me an awesome idea which I can't tell you about.
They also said that while insurance for vessels on passage is very expensive, insurance is pretty affordable for boats cruising coastal waters (where all the rocks and anchor-dragging and other boats are). So I said we should just get insurance any time we arrive somewhere we plan to spend some time, and then like three sentences later they suggested the same thing. We're like totally sympatico.
We've also been working on identifying specific, actionable items for our big to-do list. We'd stalled out on that for a bit. It's actually kind of a challenge to get from something like "save up for a boat" to specific things we can start doing to start to achieve that end. One thing we've got going for is that we actually have an excellent budgeting system, for the first time ever, and have been actually living on our budget for a year or so. But anyway, we've been working really hard on getting down to those do-able items, and are making some headway.
April sent in all her licensure paperwork so soon she should be able to counsel insurance clients. So we're just waiting for the dollars to start pouring in now.
I've been having a hankering to watch Captain Ron for the last couple days. What are some other good sailing movies? Anyone? What about some great sailing books for kids?
We're teaching the girls boat terminology by referring to the bow and stern of the car, the helm, and the cockpit. Around the house, we're referring to the heads, ports, galley, cabins and berths, the dinette, the settee, and the salon. Great suggestion from Mom.
We read the insurance chapter in The Capable Cruiser last night. Lin and Larry say that they don't carry health insurance for cruising away from the US. They say healthcare is just affordable elsewhere. Which gave me an awesome idea which I can't tell you about.
They also said that while insurance for vessels on passage is very expensive, insurance is pretty affordable for boats cruising coastal waters (where all the rocks and anchor-dragging and other boats are). So I said we should just get insurance any time we arrive somewhere we plan to spend some time, and then like three sentences later they suggested the same thing. We're like totally sympatico.
We've also been working on identifying specific, actionable items for our big to-do list. We'd stalled out on that for a bit. It's actually kind of a challenge to get from something like "save up for a boat" to specific things we can start doing to start to achieve that end. One thing we've got going for is that we actually have an excellent budgeting system, for the first time ever, and have been actually living on our budget for a year or so. But anyway, we've been working really hard on getting down to those do-able items, and are making some headway.
April sent in all her licensure paperwork so soon she should be able to counsel insurance clients. So we're just waiting for the dollars to start pouring in now.
I've been having a hankering to watch Captain Ron for the last couple days. What are some other good sailing movies? Anyone? What about some great sailing books for kids?
Ugh...finances!
Life is feeling hard right now. I'm so glad to have something to look forward too, like this adventure. Right now it is just about being patient and continuing to work toward the goal. Money is extremely tight! My car needs $4000 worth of work, that we can't afford, so we are using one car, and we are looking at possibly taking a month or two off of preschool, and skipping ski season. It is breaking my heart...both are things I think are important for Audrey, things she loves, and I don't want to take them from her! I applied for a job last night, and finally mailed my licensure paperwork, hopefully those things will happen quickly and get us back on track financially.
I'm going to try and think positive thoughts!
I'm going to try and think positive thoughts!
How exactly might we do this?
Let's review the situation: We have decent earning capacity, but virtually no savings. I mean we have a non-negligible amount in 401ks but nothing liquid. We have a slightly neglected house in a gorgeous location. We have probably zero equity in this housing market. I don't think we're underwater, but we might be. On the other hand, 2 of our neighbors sold this summer for reasonable money. So who knows. We could break even after paying off the realtor. Hopefully. OK, great. Then what?
I think the sequence of events is this, roughly:
I think the sequence of events is this, roughly:
- Between now and next spring, liquidate a lot of junk and put in a lot of sweat-equity (but not money) on aesthetic repairs.
- List and sell, May through August. Try for a profit, but be prepared to just break even.
- Move to month-to-month lease locally.
- Choose somewhere with lots of boats and jobs to job hunt. Probably Miami, since it also provides easy jumping off to island hopping.
- Get a job there.
- Move to a month to month there.
- Boat-hunting. Slowly and patiently.
- Choose and buy boat.
- Move aboard, pay it off, fix it up, learn maintenance and repair of marine diesel, electrical and electronic systems, hulls and decks, sails, rigging, etc..
- Save a cruising kitty.
- Quit, and head for the Bahamas and Caribbean.
- Work out the kinks for 6-12 months.
- Panama
- Passage-making
- Sustain on ~20K/year by eating a lot of fish, stopping to work in boatyards and on 3-6 month programming contracts, doing charters, maybe selling some photos and articles, and hopefully some deliveries.
So that's the "plan" for now. Let's see how it goes.
I found some cool pages on the theory and physics of sailing:
I want to start to get really specific with boat knowledge. J measurements, cringle radii, clew vangs, fliberty-gibbet ratios, the whole bit. So I'm going to work on that.
I found some cool pages on the theory and physics of sailing:
I want to start to get really specific with boat knowledge. J measurements, cringle radii, clew vangs, fliberty-gibbet ratios, the whole bit. So I'm going to work on that.
Starting to liquidate; lessons from The Capable Cruiser
We've chosen a bunch of stuff to start selling. We're going to see how we fare on craigslist and then maybe try for a Labor Day garage sale. It's starting to feel like we're really doing this.
Some notes from the first chapter of The Capable Cruiser:
Some notes from the first chapter of The Capable Cruiser:
- Success cruising:
- satisfaction with the experience
- harmony aboard
- eager to go on to the next passage or port
- Successful cruisers are:
- self-sufficient
- self-confident
- possessed of strong seamanship
- specifically?
- Consider the loaded capacity of the boat based on the following:
- for 2 months, 400-600 lbs per person
- for 6 months, 1200 lbs per person
- long term, 2000 lbs per person
- Cruising boats must have
- a reasonable turn of speed
- specifically?
- windward ability
- should point to 45 degrees from the wind
- performance specifics?
- maneuverability under sail
- An overloaded light displacement boat has no performance benefit.
- How is light displacement defined?
- Displacement: the weight, in tons of 2,240 pounds, of the vessel and its contents. It is calculated by dividing the volume of water displaced in cubic feet by 35, the average density of sea water.
- what's light, what's heavy?
- Recommend a light displacement boat for >45 ft, heavy for <40
- Quality boats cost by the pound
- range?
- Avoid extreme fin and skeg
- what's "extreme?"
- Look for something with enough sump that 10 gallons of water won't leave the sole awash
- Look for a beamy boat, well-balanced fore and aft
- what's "well-balanced?"
- Avoid long overhangs
- Rudder easy to remove and repair
- No short rigs
- 350-400 sq. ft main
- 600 sq. ft headsail
- Masthead rig w/long J measurement -- no fractional rigs
- J measurement is the distance from the frot of the mast to the headstay pin
- http://www.secondwindsails.com/measurement.php
- No running backstays
- What's a running backstay?
- Look for a staysail rig where the staysail balances with the main, single-reefed
- Must be able to make 90-degree tacks
- No rod rigging
- Ease of movement in and out of the cockpit
- 18-inch side decks
- 8 inch bulwarks
- Easy access to halyards, mast winches
- Rails at the mast to hold and lean on
- Cockpits should not funnel water into the companionway
- Great galley layout
- Meaning?
- An are by the companionway which can get wet and salty
- Room for everyone to stretch out in the main cabin
- Gear storage, especially amidships
- move any tanks that are amidships fore or aft
8/18
We've been catching up on the adventures of bumfuzzle. Those crazy guys.
We've gotten through another chapter of the The Capable Cruiser.
I saved up my pennies the last couple weeks and got to place an order for It's Your Boat Too: A Woman's Guide to Greater Enjoyment on the Water, World Cruising Essentials: The Boats, Gear, and Practices That Work Best at Sea, World Cruising Destinations, and Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die: Sailing Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations all used and with free shipping!
I filled in a number of items on the To-do list today for making our house marketable for sale or rent.
I'm going to start keeping a list of everything we spend on this project for historical interest.
We've gotten through another chapter of the The Capable Cruiser.
I saved up my pennies the last couple weeks and got to place an order for It's Your Boat Too: A Woman's Guide to Greater Enjoyment on the Water, World Cruising Essentials: The Boats, Gear, and Practices That Work Best at Sea, World Cruising Destinations, and Fifty Places to Sail Before You Die: Sailing Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations all used and with free shipping!
I filled in a number of items on the To-do list today for making our house marketable for sale or rent.
I'm going to start keeping a list of everything we spend on this project for historical interest.
The mother of all to-do lists; Never enter at night; Pardey time
We're making slow but steady progress on filling out our to-do list. We're getting down to some actionable items in some areas. Looking forward to starting to cross some things off and establishing some momentum on this project...
I enjoyed a number of Connie's posts on simplysailingonline.com today. I especially like Connie's words of wisdom from Entering a Harbor at Night:
OK, time to turn in for our nightly reading from The Capable Cruiser. Good night.
I enjoyed a number of Connie's posts on simplysailingonline.com today. I especially like Connie's words of wisdom from Entering a Harbor at Night:
There are some sayings that we have turned into family rules on Eurisko. You can ask any of our boys and they'll rattle them off more quickly than multiplication tables. Start these sentences in their presence, and one of them will complete it:
If you can hear it [lightning]...it can get you.
(We have NOAA to thank for that one!)
If you have to ask...do it.
(Usually used to answer such questions as, "Should I put out another anchor?")
If you fall in...you're dead.
(We are not real big proponents of sugar coating things!)
When the wind dies...reef.
(Invariably you sit there, watching the squall line head your way, the wind dies and you know, put it in now while it's easy or have hell to pay in a few minutes.)
It's easier to shake one later if we don't need it [a reef]...than to put it in if we do.
(Before raising the main to sail off the anchor, whoever is raising it looks at the rest of the crew and says, "Full sail or should I tuck one it?")
And some sentences we use to remind each other of decision, good and bad, that we've made in the past:I also enjoyed her entertaining and informative Bells and Whistles. I'm looking forward to shouting out my window at the next cyclist I pass (and it's Boulder, so it won't be long) that I'm passing him on two whistles.
It only takes one.
(The boys' personal favorite!)
And the one I most often have to remind captain and crew of on those dark nights when we are only minutes from being able to anchor, if only we could get through that cut/inlet/harbor:
NEVER ENTER AT NIGHT.
OK, time to turn in for our nightly reading from The Capable Cruiser. Good night.
Simply Sailing, The Capable Cruiser, Bavarias
What a great book Simply Sailing: A Different Approach to a Life of Adventure is! I haven't gotten my hands on the full book yet, only samples on Google Books, but from those samples I can tell this book is going to be a real treat. It's written in nice little bite-sized chapters that are about 1/3 practical knowledge and 2/3 narrative from the author's cruising experiences with her husband and 3 sons (!) aboard their 34-foot (!) cutter. But wait, that's not all! Connie and Dave also run the excellent site, http://simplysailingonline.com with lots of great information on all aspects of the project from homeschooling to maintenance to recipes.
April and I are reading The Capable Cruiser aloud to each other. What fun!
What's up with Bavarias? They seem to have a reputation as simultaneously chintzy and pretentious, but are they seaworthy? I assume not, but I haven't seen a review that addresses it specifically, but hey, if they're good boats, I'm unpretentious enough to not care who thinks my boat is pretentious!
April and I are reading The Capable Cruiser aloud to each other. What fun!
What's up with Bavarias? They seem to have a reputation as simultaneously chintzy and pretentious, but are they seaworthy? I assume not, but I haven't seen a review that addresses it specifically, but hey, if they're good boats, I'm unpretentious enough to not care who thinks my boat is pretentious!
Steps for 8/14
We've been making progress in The Capable Cruiser and on filling in the mother of all to-do lists. Handbook of Offshore Cruising: The Dream and Reality of Modern Ocean Cruising and Changing Course: A Woman's Guide to Choosing the Cruising Life look like really good books too.
Steps for 8/12
I've been working on the big todo list, but offline. Making some progress...
Also noted the following useful sites: http://www.atomvoyages.com/planning.html, http://bluewaterboats.org/.
Also noted the following useful sites: http://www.atomvoyages.com/planning.html, http://bluewaterboats.org/.
The universal to-do list
I was thinking about this today: I can actually very easily write a comprehensive to-do list for this effort, or for any effort, for that matter. Here it is:
- Figure out what needs to be done.
- Figure out how to do it.
- Do it.
I'm going to start right now!
What needs to be done:
- Sail to an interesting place. Stay awhile. Repeat.
- Teach our girls what they need to know to thrive on their own.
Now we just need to figure out how to do these things. I don't know how, but I do know how to start figuring out how, since I have a universal todo list. So for each of these items, I will: Figure out what needs to be done, figure out how to do it, and do it.
So, first item -- "Sail to an interesting place. Stay awhile. Repeat." What needs to be done?
- Get a sea-worthy, livable boat.
- Provision
- Cast off.
- Get to an interesting place.
- Drop anchor.
- Explore.
- Repair, reprovision, repeat.
OK, first item again -- "Get a sea-worthy, livable boat." How the heck do we do that? First thing -- figure out what needs to be done.
- Figure out what we need in a boat.
- Figure out what that's going to cost.
- Save or borrow and repay the money for the more affordable of these:
- the most affordable boat that meets all our needs, or
- the most affordable combination of a boat that could meet our needs and the additional services and equipment to bring it into such condition that it does meet them.
- Buy the boat.
- Buy the equipment and services needed to bring the boat into the desired condition.
First item again -- "Figure out what we need in a boat." What needs to be done to accomplish this?
- Become knowledgeable about the various aspects of cruising boats.
- Find out what other people with similar goals in similar circumstances have found important and unimportant and why.
- Make decisions about what is important and unimportant to us.
First item again -- "Become knowledgeable about cruising boats." What needs to be done to accomplish this? I'm going to start to do a couple levels at once, and we're starting to get to things we can actually get to step 3 on (do it) today.
- Find out what the best sources for information are on cruising boats by:
- doing internet research to find out the comprehensive and accurate books and websites
- asking well-informed people what resources they find most comprehensive and accurate
- Get access to the information by:
- visiting and bookmarking websites
- getting the books
- Internalize the information.
- Read.
- Make notes.
- Think about the information.
And now, our first second item -- "Find out what other people with similar goals in similar circumstances have found important and unimportant and why."
- Find out what the best sources are for information on the opinions of experienced cruising families are by:
- doing internet research to find out the comprehensive and accurate books and websites
- asking well-informed people what resources they find most comprehensive and accurate
- Get access to the information by:
- visiting and bookmarking websites.
- getting the books.
- Internalize the information.
- Read.
- Make notes.
- Think about the information.
OK, well, this could go on for awhile. In fact I'm sure it will take the next several years at least. This is the approach I'm going to try taking on the To-do list. We'll see how it goes...
Favorite answers from IWAC
What is a good reason to go cruising?
Happy Monster: You can sleep in your own bed and cook your own food while you have a new backyard every time after sailing. You have the one million view on a very low budget. If you want it just do it.
What advice would you give to parents thinking about taking their children cruising?
Delos: DO IT! DO IT NOW! When you meet another compatible kid boat, change your plans and hang out together. They don’t have to be the same age. Social interactions become incredibly important.
- Colleges are going to love that your kids made this trip.
- Your family will become very close.
- This is not a vacation; it’s a way of life.
- It takes six months to adjust.
How would you recommend that someone prepares to cruise?
Gallivanter: Go now. One can never be fully prepared.
Do you have any specific advice for couples cruising?
Hotspur: Plans are good, but let your plans be loosely woven. Go with the flow - be as flexible as possible. I think that is a good recipe for this kind of lifestyle - because it is ever changing and moving, just like the tide.
How would you recommend that someone prepares to cruise?
African Innovation: Don't prepare yourself to death. It's better to just go for it, because no one ever leaves fully prepared and most of the preparations you do, you normally end up changing afterwards anyways.
What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear?
Aliana: We both agree that the fear the unknown whether it be weather related, country related or boat related most of the time its never as bad as it seems and the cruising community is a tight knit of people who are always willing to help.
Gallivanter: Go now. One can never be fully prepared.
Do you have any specific advice for couples cruising?
Hotspur: Plans are good, but let your plans be loosely woven. Go with the flow - be as flexible as possible. I think that is a good recipe for this kind of lifestyle - because it is ever changing and moving, just like the tide.
How would you recommend that someone prepares to cruise?
African Innovation: Don't prepare yourself to death. It's better to just go for it, because no one ever leaves fully prepared and most of the preparations you do, you normally end up changing afterwards anyways.
What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn't fear?
Aliana: We both agree that the fear the unknown whether it be weather related, country related or boat related most of the time its never as bad as it seems and the cruising community is a tight knit of people who are always willing to help.
Steps for today -- 8/8/2012
I've been looking at some Power Squadron courses and some first aid courses. Morgan's Cloud recommends the Red Cross' remote first aid class. I'm going to look into these further.
I'd love to try to rent a little cabin sailer on Lake Dillon for a night or 2 this summer and get the whole gang out there. Messing About in Boats talks about renting a Catalina 22 from the Dillon Marina. They only mention rentals up to 4 hours. Maybe that's good enough for our girls' first time...
I also started reading The Cost Conscious Cruiser a little online. It looks like a really neat book.
I've been seeing a lot of people, the Pardeys included, talking about just getting out there in something sea-worthy as quickly and cheaply and with as little frills as possible. I wonder if they're really on to something. No freezer; no watermaker; no generator? Sounds a little nuts, but they certainly have a point that the longer you wait to be able to afford all that stuff, the longer you're putting off freedom from the work-a-day lifestyle you're presumably intending to leave behind.
This would be awesome.
I'd love to try to rent a little cabin sailer on Lake Dillon for a night or 2 this summer and get the whole gang out there. Messing About in Boats talks about renting a Catalina 22 from the Dillon Marina. They only mention rentals up to 4 hours. Maybe that's good enough for our girls' first time...
I also started reading The Cost Conscious Cruiser a little online. It looks like a really neat book.
I've been seeing a lot of people, the Pardeys included, talking about just getting out there in something sea-worthy as quickly and cheaply and with as little frills as possible. I wonder if they're really on to something. No freezer; no watermaker; no generator? Sounds a little nuts, but they certainly have a point that the longer you wait to be able to afford all that stuff, the longer you're putting off freedom from the work-a-day lifestyle you're presumably intending to leave behind.
This would be awesome.
I'll have the fish please...
Yes, I ordered fish tacos for dinner. They were ok. Not delicious, but do-able. And that was my concrete step for today. Gotta learn to like fish...
We're in Steamboat Springs this weekend hanging out with our friend Paul from Chicago. Thus, the tiny steps. But progress is progress.
I also put a used copy of Lin and Larry Pardey's The Cost Conscious Cruiser priced at $2.50 in my cart on Amazon. I'm saving up to actually buy it. I'm cost conscious like that.
We're in Steamboat Springs this weekend hanging out with our friend Paul from Chicago. Thus, the tiny steps. But progress is progress.
I also put a used copy of Lin and Larry Pardey's The Cost Conscious Cruiser priced at $2.50 in my cart on Amazon. I'm saving up to actually buy it. I'm cost conscious like that.
Eyoni
What a fascinating boat. 39 feet, aluminum, flat-bottomed with a centerboard. She draws only 3 feet with the board up. You can beach her standing upright for low tide to perform minor maintenance, then sail her away when the tide comes in.
I got into interviewwithacruiser.blogspot.com today. Really great information there. Not a lot of other progress to report today, but I did spend 5 hours on the road today turning things over in my mind. Slow but steady wins the race, right?
I've been thinking a lot today about just how to do this -- how to swing the finances? how to execute on the plan? strategies for success?
Probably the biggest thing that occurred to me is this-- I want to take specific, concrete steps toward voyaging with my family every day until it happens. My intention is to do that and blog about each day's progress.
Another strategy that occurred to me is to envision us in the midst of glorious success -- say, making landfall at Hiva Oa after a 3-week crossing from the Canal -- and working back from there. What will we have done in those 3 weeks? What challenges will we have encountered and overcome? The girls will have had a great experience and will be starting to be distinctly salty. They will have learned about astronomy, navigation, physics, history, finances, sealife. We will all be new shellbacks. How will we have prepared? What will we have brought along? What will we have purchased and repaired and planned and done in advance? It's not that I expect to be able to plan the thing in minute detail, just that I hope that by looking at it from another angle I will have shed light on aspects that I might otherwise overlook. So maybe I'll attempt a series of posts about the crossing I hope to make and see what comes of that.
Still no brilliant insights on swinging the finances, but I do have a number of half-baked ideas swimming around. In a post in the not-too-distant future, I'll get them down in writing which will hopefully help me bake them a little more. In the meantime, here's a great collection of real cruisers' accounts of their expenses: http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2011/04/cost-of-cruising.html
So, today's concrete steps? It's early days, so I'm going to go ahead and take credit for reading through Behan's account of the 20-day crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas as having been highly instructive and inspiring. Also, lots of informative browsing and data-gathering on the web today. And, of course, writing this post, an exercise which, if nothing else, bolsters my resolve, but hey, maybe some financing could someday come of having written this here little blog.
Finally, some more great new links I've come across today:
Probably the biggest thing that occurred to me is this-- I want to take specific, concrete steps toward voyaging with my family every day until it happens. My intention is to do that and blog about each day's progress.
Another strategy that occurred to me is to envision us in the midst of glorious success -- say, making landfall at Hiva Oa after a 3-week crossing from the Canal -- and working back from there. What will we have done in those 3 weeks? What challenges will we have encountered and overcome? The girls will have had a great experience and will be starting to be distinctly salty. They will have learned about astronomy, navigation, physics, history, finances, sealife. We will all be new shellbacks. How will we have prepared? What will we have brought along? What will we have purchased and repaired and planned and done in advance? It's not that I expect to be able to plan the thing in minute detail, just that I hope that by looking at it from another angle I will have shed light on aspects that I might otherwise overlook. So maybe I'll attempt a series of posts about the crossing I hope to make and see what comes of that.
Still no brilliant insights on swinging the finances, but I do have a number of half-baked ideas swimming around. In a post in the not-too-distant future, I'll get them down in writing which will hopefully help me bake them a little more. In the meantime, here's a great collection of real cruisers' accounts of their expenses: http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2011/04/cost-of-cruising.html
So, today's concrete steps? It's early days, so I'm going to go ahead and take credit for reading through Behan's account of the 20-day crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas as having been highly instructive and inspiring. Also, lots of informative browsing and data-gathering on the web today. And, of course, writing this post, an exercise which, if nothing else, bolsters my resolve, but hey, maybe some financing could someday come of having written this here little blog.
Finally, some more great new links I've come across today:
- http://forgeover.com/about-the-crew
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-do-you-need-to-go-cruising-start.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2012/02/sailing-farm.html
- www.theplastiki.com/
- http://interviewwithacruiser.blogspot.com
S/V Totem from Mexico to the Marquesas Islands in 20 days
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/getting-away.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/rendezvous-in-big-blue.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-3-finding-our-rhythm.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/four-days-down-how-many-to-go.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-5-light-air-is-heavy-on-gear.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-6-getting-bounced-around.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-7-oh-no-oh-yes.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-8-water-water-everywhere.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-9-troubleshooting-radio.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-10-getting-into-itcz.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-11-passing-halfway-mark.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-12-blogs-of-other-boats-crossing.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-13-itcz-times.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-14-bubble-boat.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-15-no-boat-fever-here.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-16-shellbacks.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-17-radio-woes.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-18-semi-typical-day-on-board.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-19-things-have-been-better.html
- sv-totem.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-20-land-ho.html
More inspiration
Here's a great article (A movable feast: For some, the world is a classroom) about homeschooling and exploring, and featuring the crew of S/V Totem and S/V Excellent Adventure, among others. This really spoke to me:
With kids, life goes by very quickly,” said Jamie Gifford, ... co-captain of S/V Totem. “We’ve spoken to empty-nesters who regretted not spending enough time with their kids. We’ve never met anyone who regretted spending too much time with their kids.And this from Jamie Farmer:
I also found out that a lot of the curriculum from sixth, seventh and eighth grade repeats. I asked why, and teachers told me that ‘the kids are so distracted, so we repeat information and hope it sticks.’The article says, "After doing some research, Farmer discovered that she could cover the entire seventh-grade curriculum at home with her daughters in about two to two and a half hours a day."
Farmer says:
We read all our history out loud — they love that and beg for more of that — and we read great works of literature too. We read ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ and I can’t believe how much parenting came out of that. Within the first 20 pages, we had discussions about the dangers of gossiping, the role of women, courting versus marriage, the appropriate age for dating, the appropriate way for a boy to treat you. If they had read that in the classroom, we would have missed all of that follow-up discussion ... That was really a surprise to me, an unexpected gift.”From Loreen Hudson of the Excellent Adventure:
Our entire lives began to focus on things that were urgent but not important. There’s some meeting at work, or the car needs to [have its emissions checked], or one of the kids has an appointment — all of it seems urgent, but none of it is important. And then you realize it and you say, ‘AAAAAAAHHH!!’Finally, from Behan Gifford, also of the Totem:
Really, truly, anyone can do this. Mostly there are just mental hurdles to overcome.
Big excitement on the Northern Passage!
Bruce, Jen, and the kids encountered rough seas in Cook Inlet on July 13 (or maybe 7/31) and lived to tell the tale. Awesome!
The comments are kind of funny too. Jen's mom is just about ready to call up NOAA and lodge a complaint about the weather.
Makes me realize another thing that needs to go onto the To do list: I need to seek out experience handling a vessel in rough conditions. I wonder if there are training programs for that. Can you recommend any?
The comments are kind of funny too. Jen's mom is just about ready to call up NOAA and lodge a complaint about the weather.
Makes me realize another thing that needs to go onto the To do list: I need to seek out experience handling a vessel in rough conditions. I wonder if there are training programs for that. Can you recommend any?
Regrets
I was recently reading an article about people's biggest regrets in life, and realized that we are absolutely doing the right thing! One part of the article that especially spoke to me was
I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me…When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made".
Jacob and I discussed sailing the world (he has always loved sailing) on our 1st date. It has always been a dream. It is unconventional, and scary, and most likely going to be expensive, but I can not imagine regretting it. I want to spend my best years with my family, seeing the world.
When Jacob and I moved to Alaska, it was also scary and expensive, but it turned into a wonderful adventure. An adventure that brought us closer together. I'm excited to have adventures like that again!
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