New friends and new found jealousy

Today we had guests on the boat, new friends and a very like minded family. Nick, Stacy and their son Ethan are about to do the same thing Jess and I are planning to do with our kids. On February 29th they embark on their adventure, leaving possessions, family and the "normal" life behind.

They are where we will hopefully be 2 years from now. They have solid boat, a solid plan and the what appears to be the desire for something different. The sailboat is really just the tool, the vehicle used to get to the place where the next adventure or challenge is. To be honest, I'm jealous of where they are in the journey. I only wish we would have known them more than a month before they set sail.

The first response when you tell someone you plan to get on a sailboat and see the world is one of complete fear. "You guys are going to die out there, think of the kids" Well the truth is we are doing this because of our kids. The lessons my kids will learn about being self sufficient, problem solving, and just independence in general are ones most kids don't get. My kids will embrace change, challenge and fear, using it to their advantage to either overcome things in life or to achieve them.

I know not everybody will understand our reasons, but please know we have them. The only thing that keeps people from doing amazing things in life is fear.. Me personally, I'm afraid of not doing a whole lot more than I am of doing.

Nick & Stacy (& Ethan) we are proud to know you and can't wait to follow (and learn a thing or two) your adventures..

Follow their blog here http://svnightmusic.wordpress.com/about-us/

Cory, Jess, Colby & Peyton

When in doubt, sail it out!

So the person I could most accurately describe as my best friend Ty and I were working on his boat. He has an outboard engine that won't start due to stale fuel, even thought it is pretty much new. We actually removed his engine today and decided we were going to sail his new boat sans motor. 

I thought, "they did it without an engine long ago, we don't need one" I figured we could scull the boat with the rudder and also paddle with an oar we had to get out. Well about the time I took off the dock lines and pushed off, then jumped on the boat, we got what could only be described as an unfavorable gust ;-) This lead to a couple brief butt puckering moments and an emergency landing on the last dock before we would have beached on the rocky shore *whoops!*

We managed to retry our little venture and used a small battery operated trolling motor to give us a shove out on the lake. The weather was pretty favorable for a first time sailing and though we had a few doldrum moments, we sailed along well. 

When the time came to return to the marina we decided to sail this bad boy all the way in.. With a combination of sheer luck, good wind and my wicked awesome skill (sarcasm) we sailed it right into the slip without any use of an engine. Simply sculling and sailing.. End result was a great first time, no damage to anyone, the boat or an ego. A good time was had by all !

Now Ty owes me lunch for the Giants winning against the 49ers, life is good!

At work today but we will be at the boat all weekend. Saturday we are meeting with a local couple that are leaving in February with their young son to go sail. Virtually the same story as us they sold everything and are sailing away. Can't wait to finally meet them. Posted from my IPhone

Solar flares, or just no hair?

Later on after we got home, Jess said "wow you really got some sun on your head didn't you?" Up until that point I hadn't noticed nor did I really expect to be sun burnt, I was only out sailing for a few hours. Sure enough a quick inspection revealed a bright red scalp.

So then I read about a huge solar flare that was causing airliners to detour flight paths to avoid massive amounts of radiation from this solar storm. That's it! It had nothing to do with the fact that my hair is thinning, it was the solar flare!

Needless to say, a hat will now be worn at all times while sailing ;-(

Thinking, writing & sailing

Well today was a great day to spend out on the boat. Assessing things, finding those that need to be addressed, planning, fixing and just enjoying life. I spent today thinking about writing a book, working on my blog and sailing with one of my neighbors.

I saw Jim walk down the dock and struck up a conversation that lead to a 3 hour enjoyable sail on the lake. Jim is an older guy that owns a Catalina 27 2 slips down from my boat and he has been sailing pretty much his entire life. Exactly who I need to learn a thing or two from!

While the winds were variable the weather was stellar, is this really January? lol

Took some more pictures of Windsong, most of which are repeated in the photo section but I thought I'd throw a couple up here.

Follow Along

We created this site for friends, family and anyone interested to follow our journey. Follow along as we discover, struggle, live and learn all while preparing our boat "Windsong" for the journey of a lifetime.