Bull Canyon

Reading was a challenge at times when both were around a couple of years ago

4-25-13 (Last week)  I woke up at 5am this morning and couldn't go back to sleep.  Getting up and doing something was not appealing so I read instead.  Generally when I wake up in the middle of the night like this (and 5am is still the middle of the night for us) I find if I read a bit, then I can go back to sleep.  However this time I couldn't.  My current book "Bull Canyon" had me wrapped up.  I was 80% of the way through reading it so I plowed ahead to finish around 7am.  Then I laid quietly reflecting and thinking about the book and our current life.  The life half way between land and sea - in flux.
Bull Canyon was written by Lin Pardey.  She and her husband Larry are lifelong world sailors, adventurers, authors, advisers, heroes and legends.  I will let you research them more on your own if you want.  Suffice it to say that most sailors -inland, coastal, world or armchair have heard and probably at least read an article or two by them at the very least.  We have two terrific DVD's -"Storm Tactics" and "Getting Ready to Cruise".
"Bull Canyon" is Lin's latest book, released in 2012.  To be honest, I wasn't terribly interested in reading it.  I am into stories about sailing, travel, far away places, not living in a stone cabin in the boonies without power, struggling to build a boat from scratch!  Whatever.  However, I bought it anyway via the Kindle - price was right.
Tom read it a month or so ago.  "You really should read it."  Then a couple of weeks ago at our joint garage sale I heard him tell fellow sailors "it's a good book.  Very motivating."  I finished up my current book "Nica's Dream" and thought what the heck.  It was easy reading (unlike Nica's Dream where I constantly had to look up words - thank goodness Kindle has this feature).  It was entertaining and the characters interesting.  I like Lin's style of writing as she paints a very detailed picture without being overly wordy.  However, it wasn't until I well over half way through the book that I really started to get into it.  I was cheering for them to complete the boat.  I understood the distractions of the people and place they were.  I felt the pull of two different worlds as they worked to get back to the sea and their life adventuring while feeling comfortable in the home they had established on land.
Yesterday was not a very productive day for me.  We have SO much to do to wrap up our land life and move aboard and I was very frustrated with myself that I didn't accomplish much.  I vowed last night to do better today.  As I lay there reflecting this morning on what I had read, I found renewed focus to move ahead towards our next phase of life.    

Rear View Mirror - The Right Way

2004 after passing ASA 101, 103, 104 - on our way

1-1-13.  Read all the magazines, books, blog and such about cruisers out cruising and they will all tell you the same thing....there is no right way to do it, just do it.  But most then go on to say "but here is how WE recommend you should do it."  I am not going to do that here.  I am just going to tell you how and why we did it the way we did.

2005 s/v Ad Astra -Panama City FL

We decided to go ahead and purchase s/v Honey Ryder well in advance of our castoff year for several reasons.  First, was the feeling that we had outgrown Lake Perry.  I don't say that to sound snobbish or a know it all.  We certainly enjoy ourselves and the sailing community that is there.  But we felt like we were no longer growing our sailing skills to the level necessary for our cruising plans.  We knew we needed experience with tides, currents, navigation, coastal weather, storms, various marinas and such.  On Lake Perry there are no navigation markers, tides, currents, and such.  We also wanted time and more importantly $$ to make the boat our own.  Boats cost money.  Upgrades cost more money.  Unexpected items cost even more $$.  While we are short on time on the boat as commuter cruisers, we do still have income coming in to pay for expected and unexpected items.  Another KEY element is access and exposure to a whole different level of boating/cruising community.  The marine industry experts we have deal with so far have been good and in many cases great.  The knowledge of other cruisers we meet is vast and they are so willing to share whether it's to loan a grinder, or help us tune in our SSB or share their various routes and waypoints.  Knowledge like that just can't be gained by reading still more books, blogs and magazines or sailing around Lake Perry.

2005 s/v Ad Astra -Panama City FL

In the past, Tom kept asking Kansas sailors that have left to sail on bigger water "when do you know you have outgrown the lake?"  Finally I said to him, "you kept asking and I think ultimately that means we have."  He agreed.

2008 soloing s/v Ad Astra out of Rockport TX -expanding our skills

We say it often now.....the time for reading it over.  The time for doing is here.

Rear View Mirror - Freedom

1-6-13

I have been reading some new sailing blogs recently.  These are blogs of cruisers that have just castoff or are about to castoff.  All of these blogs talk about Freedom in one form or fashion.

"I'm free.  I resigned from work today."  OR "I'm free, as today was my last day of work."  OR "We're free from dirt dwelling because we moved aboard today."  And of course "We're free!  We left the dock today."

All this freedom talk got me to thinking more about our specific cruising plan and freedom.  While we are not there yet in terms of the steps above, we have accomplished one very important freedom and perhaps one of the most important freedoms for us.  At the end of 2011, we became completely DEBT FREE.  This is a pretty big freedom and one that basically opens the flood gates to whole new possibilities and freedoms.

How specifically did we do it?  Hard work, good jobs, saving, investing, living well below our means, and no kids.  Raises were put towards our long range plans vs upgrades to a new house, or granite this and stainless that, or new cars, or designer this and that or more... stuff.  We still took vacations, went to concerts, ate out and such but always with a careful eye toward our long range plans.  Our drive to become debt free became our secret status symbol if you will.  Polite society tells us we shouldn't talk about money or brag.  However,  we think this is something worth sharing.  Maybe others will think about following suit.  This doesn't mean you have to cast off to go cruising.  To each their own.      

So, yeah...."We're FREE."