I originally was getting off work early Friday to go to the Annapolis Sailboat Show, but it was cold and rainy Friday and Saturday. Monday being Columbus Day was a holiday for me, so it made for a perfect day at the show. Weather was in the 70s and clear sunny skies. Perfect for walking around at the docks and checking out all the amazing sailboats! My brother Brian joined me and we had a great time.

I didn't see any killer deals. I never found the $90 foul weather gear deal that many people talked about. It sounded like a very good deal since most sets started around $160 from what I saw. I ended up not buying anything, but enjoyed talking with many of the vendors, for example I got more information about taking care of my Awlgrip painted hull, upgrading my furler, and talked with one of the Westlawn yacht design instructors (career I dreamed of pursuing when I was younger). Then of course, I loved looking at all the amazing sailboats! Wow, there were so many! I think the most impressive was the 80' Oyster Yacht named Sarita from London. Who has $7 million to spare? I wouldn't mind living on that and traveling the world! Brian and I lucked into being the last two people allowed to tour aboard. You would definitely need a crew to run one of those. Something a bit more practical, but still way out of reach would be an Island Packet in the 35-40 foot range. I also liked some of those catamarans, but you don't get to have fun heeling. They were huge though, tons of space!

Here is a variety of photos I took.
The 80' Sarita with Brian on the bow:


Check out the retractable boarding ladder:


I love the wood work on these boats:



I forgot what year exactly this boat was from, but I think it was from the late 1800s or early 1900s.



Going to the sailboat show also got me thinking about changing careers some how into the sailing/yachting industry. I just love being around boats and the water. Being able to have a job that relates to my passion sure would be nice. IT (Information Technology) isn't my passion, I like some of it, but it cannot compare to my passion of sailing and boats. I talked with one of the Sun Sail representatives about her job. In some ways working at a yacht chartering company sounds fun, maybe starting out in a local office. Then if I wanted to pursue a major career change, get trained to actually work on the yachts in the exotic locations, maybe become a captain. Right now it is just an idea. I have done a lot of sales work in the past, so it should not be that difficult and chartering yachts sounds like it could be fun.

The other career I was thinking about is becoming a yacht broker, but I'm not sure how to start out in that career. I'm doing some more research on this. I have done car sales in the past and I think selling sailboats, yachts, and boats would be much better than cars. Plus you do not have the typical car salesman stereotype.

My current job is ending because of the lost government contract but hopefully I will be finding something new soon. If I had not just bought my place earlier this summer, I would have a better chance of pursuing a career change right now. When I know my job is ending and I don't have something lined up, it is stressful and gets me wondering what I really want to do and where I want to go in life. I am sure something will work out in the end, but until I have something lined up, I'm going to be a bit more stressed and I will have to hold out on any boat expenses.

If I had enough money saved up and didn't own my place, I could better outfit my boat for cruising, let my job end and then set sail for a year. I could go cruise down the intra-coastal waterway, to Florida, cruise all around. Now would be the perfect time while I'm young, single, with no family. Oh well, it won't happen anytime soon unless I win the lottery. I would also want to take some more advanced sailing courses before I took on that adventure. If I did decide to just go for a year, I bet that would make my sail blog a lot more interesting with all the places to go and situations I would run into!