I can honestly say that I have desired to sail away on my own sailing vessel for as many years as I can remember. Since I acquired my first sailboat in 1978, I have pursued this mode of transportation as a fun, leisure activity. It was not until 2005 and a trip to Mexico in December to crew aboard a friend's Cal 46 that I had a change occur. We gunk-holed down the Coast of Mexico from Mazatlan to Barra and I discovered that this is what I wanted my retirement to contain a lot of.
It's a long way from those humble beginings sailing a 22' Columbia sloop around Lake Mead with my headsail upside down, to now managing my Endeavour 40 on the Pacific with all its varied systems and nuances. There has been a lot of water under the keel. As I now prepare Avalon Blew III for her 5-6 month, 3000 mile voyage North, I am humbled by the magnitude of the task and the excitment, anticipation of what lies ahead.
I have observed that everytime that I return from the Ocean, my World changes. The Ocean has a way of putting things in perspective. Solitude at the helm at 0300 making 5kts witnessing Pleiades and Orion rise from the East is simply magical.
Stay tunned. Departure is near. Let this life's dream/adventure begin/come true.