We're are close to changing our lifestyle drastically. Our new home will float and will move around the world. We're almost ready to begin our circumnavigation of the earth. We look forward to sharing our adventures with our family & friends via journal entries, pictures, and videos.

We've decided to begin our web page now, while we're still on land and getting ready to sail. When we look back to this time a couple of years from now and remember everything we went through to make our dream come true, this blog will give us and those around us a perspective on what we accomplished.

Aside for circumnavigating the globe and living aboard a sailboat, we plan to use the marine environment to conduct rigid research and development for alternate sources of energy, concentrating on solar, wind, and ultra-low diesel engine generators. Eventually, we will bring our products to the international consumer and commercial markets for profit.

Daniel has been planning this voyage for virtually all of his life. I'm not a sailor, but I will learn. Daniel is an experienced navigator and started his sailing experience at age 14. I feel safe with him. I've always loved the ocean and I can swim like a fish, but I won't deny that initially the idea of living on a sailboat for an extended period of time, leaving my family and friends behind, living on a reduced income, and the possibility of encountering big waves (and crashing into a large boat in the middle of the night) was not my idea of fun.

But something has changed within me. Daniel's enthusiasm for discovering new places - and in such a unique way - has inspired me. I look forward to sailing by his side and learning and mastering something new that I would have never thought of doing on my own before.

One of my biggest passions in life is traveling and learning about new cultures. The other is reading. Soon, I'll be able to do both... at my own pace, with no timetable.

For the last 15 years, Daniel has been relentlessly researching bluewater sailboats. It has now been over 2 years since we found the right one. She was in a very sad and sorry state in a little marina in St. Petersburg, Tampa. Today, she is almost ready to cross the Atlantic.

She's a 55' Tayana Staysail Schooner, the "G. Maria." Based on her history, she's always been solid, safe, and beautiful, but she was neglected for a few years and needed a lot of cosmetic work and deep cleaning. Aside from getting that done, Dan has done a complete retrofit, including updating all the electronics, replacing all the rigging, and fixing things like the refrigerator and freezer, both heads, the plumbing and electrical, etc., etc. He's put in countless hours of work that will be detailed in another blog entry. I think the G. Maria now looks magnificent, especially after her brand new paint job.

I'm definitely a dreamer; so it's a good thing that my sailing "dreams" have some base in reality. Other than playing around on Chatfield Lake, Colorado, where we've spent many hours on a 25-foot Catalina, I had not had any other sailing experience until my 2-week crash course when we moved the G. Maria from St. Petersburg, Florida to Miami. Our plan was to move her to Deltaville, Virginia, to a friend's marina so she could begin getting refitted. And that we did. During that voyage 2 years ago, I was reassured of her dependability. Even in her almost abandoned state, she performed and handled extraordinarily well. Without doing anything more than having the engine and basic systems checked, getting rid of the barnacles stuck to her bottom, we embarked upon her first trip after her years of non-activity.

For the first leg (St. Petersburg-Miami), it was just Daniel, a friend of ours who used to sail in the Red Sea as a child (ie: decades ago) and moi. We had food, drinks, and life vests. What else could we need? As we were leaving the marina, though, a little song came to my mind... a song about a "fateful trip" and a guy named Gilligan...

We made it to Miami safely. I remember we had some engine trouble, but as I understand it, it wasn't anything major. The worst that happened was that we were "stranded" in Key West during Fantasy Fest (Halloween) while we waited to get the problem fixed. We had a couple of days of lying around, reading, drinking, and consuming large quantities of seafood.

As I think back to that experience, I feel I did very well - considering my inexperience. Everything was new to me. I was screaming like a kid when I spotted dolphins swimming and crossing over underneath the bow as we left St. Petersburg. I was humbled at night, as I lay under the darkest of skies and the brightest of stars. But I never felt out of place. I knew I could do this thing. (As we get closer to our goal of crossing the Atlantic, I try to remember that feeling). Luckily, I did not get sea sick during that trip, even when we were sailing fast once we hit the Gulf Stream and experiencing 10-12 foot seas. I'll admit I was a bit scared, but okay after I (sort of) understood the sailboat wouldn't break in half.

One good thing is that Dan and I discovered I am actually quite a good cook in high seas! I loved cooking on the boat, even more than on land. I'm actually looking forward to my new position as cook. Actually, I prefer chef. I've already read and collected a few dozen recipes created specifically for sailors. I'm even cataloguing them according to weather conditions. Yes, I won't be making Bouillabaisse in a gale.

The G. Maria was built in Taiwan (I'll have a separate blog entry detailing her history, which is very interesting) to her owner's specifications. Her previous owner (an accomplished deep sea diver) sailed her all over the world. Now, after months on the hard in Virginia, and hundreds of hours getting refitted, she is ready to go! She'll be celebrating her 25th birthday next year, hopefully in South America.

In the meantime, I find myself daydreaming when I'm supposed to be working. I stay awake at night going through "checklists" in my head. Making lists is a big part of my life. They've always helped me, but it turns out that at the end, I always forget to do something anyway. But I can't help myself right now, so I'm making checklists for things like provisioning, clothing, what we'll actually take with us from home (very little), where and how I will store everything, daily menus, etc., etc.

I had another reality check about living aboard when we took a sailing trip to Greece in 2007. The owner of the marina in Deltaville and Dan's good friend, Chris, is Greek and he goes back to his sailboat there every year. He graciously invited to sail some Greek islands with him, and I'm more than glad we went. During 12 days, I received lesson after lesson on that boat. I remember I learned that you don't need much on a boat, like you need (or have) on land. I took way too many clothes and shoes, something I'm taking into consideration when packing today. I also learned how valuable water is on a boat. I had a difficult time with that one when bathing and cooking. I also started to learn how to move around in small spaces, but this after many bumps and bruises. We had a magnificent time sailing the Sporades Islands, north of Athens. That trip made me appreciate our much larger and much more comfortable sailboat. I was nervous about using up all the water during the trip, so I ended up taking bottled water showers on deck. I did not see this as a lifestyle for me. I'm forever thankful my husband has invested and installed a water maker in our future home.

This site is a work in progress while we continue to prepare for "D Day" - this Spring (2009). I won't say "goodbye" to my family, as I plan to make trips back home, as necessary. The idea I can get on a plane to see my family is very comforting to me. Aside from getting mentally ready, I'm making checklists and re-reading the numerous sailing, living aboard, crossing-the-Atlantic, etc. books I bought a couple of years ago. I'm also spending hours and hours reading blogs and researching websites by people who actually are sailing and living aboard. But in the end, I guess there's so much preparing one can do... Once the G. Maria receives it's final approval by the boss, we're outta here. I will have to learn as we go along.

Wrightsville Beach, NC