PLANS...PLANS...PLANS?!??

Well there's an old saying among cruisers that the best kind of plans are written in sand at low tide and generally, we like that philosophy. But every successful endeavour has some planning and so here's our thinking about how we got to this point and what may (or may not) occur over the next several years.

Actually we've done a lot more planning than we like to admit to and it all started about twenty years ago when the idea of going cruising full-time began to take firm root. We knew that we'd have to work hard and live frugally if we were to position ourselves financially to retire early (Editor's Note: I tell Cindy that she's young enough that she's not retiring, just quitting); buy a suitable blue-water boat; and equip and outfit the boat with the necessities and comforts that we would need.

During our first 5-year plan, we sailed our first keelboat "Nymbus", a Grampian 26, at every opportunity seeking out both good and bad weather to hone our sailing skills. While not a fast boat by any stretch of the imagination we plodded along for a few years on the club race course trying to build new skills and greater confidence. We took every available weekend and vacation opportunity to sail and while career responsibilities prevented us from going too far a-field in search of new cruising grounds we did manage to take that boat into every harbour on Lake Ontario where there was sufficient depth for her. We threw ourselves into projects that we had never before attempted and went through a steep learning curve about how to develop and maintain an efficient cruising boat. Nymbus was a forgiving boat both in terms of its sailing characteristics and as a teacher of the basic skills cruisers require.

Throughout our second 5-year plan, we fought rampant "2-foot-itis" and continued to make Nymbus an outstanding pocket cruiser. We retired as much debt as we could; paid off the boat; and, as we bought new equipment for her made sure that everything we bought was oversized and could be transplanted to our retirement boat. We began to get a good sense of the kind of things we were looking for in the next boat and slowly starting looking for boats that possessed the characteristics we wanted in a price range we could afford. For 3-4 years we walked the docks at every marina looking at boats, scoured broker's listings, and started travelling throughout the eastern seaboard looking for our retirement castle.

Early in our third 5-year plan we found and bought a 1984 Alberg 37 yawl that had just about everything we were looking for in a blue-water capable cruiser. We have read several authors who encourage readers to buy their boats shortly before their departure. We never agreed with this approach because over the years we have watched too many new cruisers rush through final preparations as they hurry to leave only to encounter extensive problems with the boat and its systems shortly after they shove off. We thought it much more prudent to buy the boat several years in advance and take your time researching, installing and testing new systems and equipment so that when you finally do leave any unpleasant surprises should be minimized. We purchased our retirement boat in 1998 and have spent the last 12 seasons refining her into, what we believe is, a fine example of a capable cruising boat. During our early years with Leeway we systematically renewed all of her underlying systems (electrical, plumbing, engine, shaft & propeller, rigging, additional fuel & water tanks, etc) often having to forgo some of the more 'sexy toys' and cosmetic niceties but created a sound foundation upon which to continue building.

Our fourth 5-year plan concentrated on positioning ourselves in a financially advantageous position for early retirement, and on creating a comfortable cruising home for ourselves that would allow us to be self-reliant during our cruise. We installed a large battery bank, inverter, wind & solar power systems, large alternators and new sails & reefing as well as creature comforts like TV/DVD, stereo, cockpit enclosure & cushions, propane heating & cooking, new upholstery & sleep systems, new refrigeration, and home-like decorating touches. We seemed just about ready to go but, as the old saying goes "the best laid plans of men & mice".....this phase of our plan came to a conclusion just as the economic downturn of 2009 occurred which had a rather devastating effect on our (and everyone else's) investments. And, so being prudent, we decided to put off leaving until things settled down a little.

And, that's where we are right now. Just about ready to go but not ready to cut the ties just yet. We've pushed back our anticipated departure for a little while in order to recoup some of our investments and to maximize Cindy's pension benefits (Editor's note: The problem with marrying a younger women is that her pension isn't ready when yours is). When the new departure date will be set is unknown right now but it will be sooner rather than later.

FUTURE PLANS

So what's on the agenda when we do manage to slip the dock lines? Well, unlike what we often did during our careers, we are not going to announce goals to everyone as a way of forcing ourselves to achieve them. We will do only what is fun, what continues to be fun and new things that might fit into the fun category. So while we'll share with you what we think are our plans they are subject to change (and as they say in business) ...without prior notice.

One of our underlying principles is 'we're sick of cold weather' and so we're heading to where it's warm. So, initially we are heading to the Caribbean and think we'd like to explore it for 2-3 years (or perhaps longer). Right now, we will likely spend our first full season of cruising in the Bahamas and as the season starts closing move through the Turks & Caicos to spend hurricane season in Luperon in the Dominican Republic. In the 2nd and 3rd seasons we'll push further south through the Leeward & Windward islands so that we can get a better look at many of the islands that we've briefly glimpsed during winter holidays. During some of our past adventures, we both fell in love with backpacking as a way of seeing the world, and would like to position the boat to serve as a home-base to travel inland throughout various Central & South American nations during the off-seasons.

Also, lurking in the back of our minds is a love of Europe and the Mediterranean. We've trekked over wide areas of Europe and North Africa with our trusty backpacks and would love to visit by boat. If we find that we have had our fill of the Caribbean we may think about cruising in the Med. Whether that involves a crossing of the Atlantic or putting the boat on a transport we don't know right now, but imagine the opportunity to immerse yourself in all those fascinating, ancient cultures from the deck of your own boat. We suspect that after being out there for a few years that the possibility of an Atlantic crossing might well be within our comfort level. Who knows? And, how will we make the decisions? Remember - if it looks like it'll be fun then we'll do it.

When do we plan to stop? We jokingly say that 'when Wayne starts drooling on himself and the kids have to put him in a nursing home'. Currently the plan is to stay out as long as our health stays with us and we're still having a blast. We're still much too young (at least in our minds) to think about what we'll do after our sailing days.

We'll keep you apprised of our thinking as it develops, but right now that's the current state of our plans. And don't forget, it's all written in sand at low tide.