When I was growing up as an impressionable tween of the 70's there were three men who had a huge influence on me. Every Thursday night for years I was glued to the television waiting on The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. I loved the vibrant video of the reefs and the animals he showed us and lived for the day when I could see them for myself. By 5th grade I wanted to be a marine biologist and specialize in sharks. I loved the show. I had always loved the water and being in the water. I eagerly anticipated our yearly family vacation to the beach. While I was at the beach I was searching the tide pools and finding animals from urchin to hermit crabs preparing for my adventure at the ocean depths and dreaming I was Jacques Cousteau.

I was introduced to the second person when I was about 9. My brother got one of his albums and told me he thought I'd like the music. It was an understatement. The album was Back Home Again by John Denver. I love acoustic and folk music so I loved it for the sound, but even more for his message. I was highly influenced by his love of nature and his conservation efforts. I grew up in Southeastern Tennessee. We lived near a creek at the foot of a mountain in the Appalachian Range. My summers were filled with tree swings, jumping from rocks into the icy cold waters and body surfing the small rapids. I am a self proclaimed Tree Hugger and I owe much of that to John Denver. I'll rock out to Sweet Child of Mine, dance the night away to Put a Ring on it and I'm all over No Shirt No Shoes No Problems; but I'm always going to turn to Denver when I need direction. If you've never listened to Rhyme & Reason or Poem, Prayers and Promises do yourself a favor and find them on YouTube.

Knowing those two things you'll understand that I got a special high last Saturday when I got to fulfill a lifelong dream. I got to sit on the bow of my own sailboat and belt Calypso at the top of my lungs during our trans Tennessee River crossing (aka motoring down to Aries for dinner at a top speed of 4.5 knots.). The only dolphins splashing at our bow were in my mind, but it was it was still thrilling to feel the wind in my hair and smell salt air. Wait, maybe that was fish I was smelling! Maybe next time the wind will blow and I can repeat my epic adventure under sail. Calypso is the song Denver wrote to honor Cousteau and his crew so it has a special place in my heart as the intersection of two of my heroes.

The last man on that list was my dad. There is no way in this brief post that I could begin to tell you about him. He was just a great man and I got from him my patience, perseverance, dry sense of humor and sense of adventure. I lost him just over a year ago after a short battle with cancer. I hope in future post I can adequately introduce you to him, though it's hard to really convey his essence in writing. He had an odd sense of humor and he liked to tease everyone. He spent his whole life trying to make our lives better; me, my mom, brother and sisters, niece and nephews, and my boys. We were his world. I've often said that the greatest lesson he taught me was that love is an action. Anyone can say they love you, it's just a word. He didn't say it, he lived it. You know if someone loves you by the way they treat you. He was just a great man and after I lost him I thought of how much he had given me and what he wanted for me, for my boys. He wanted me to have a great life, he worked his whole life to give it to me and I'm not going to waste it.

I love my job and when I do shed my land life I'll be more than a little sad to leave it. I work with wonderful people and I love my work. I even like the company I work for. I don't want to look back, though, and think of all the things I missed out on because I was working. In high school I was swayed from my calling by a boy. When I headed to college the ocean seemed too far away, so I'm not a marine biologist. I'm a geek. I found though that when I look at what I think will really bring me joy, it's a life on the water.

My husband shares my love of all things water. It's how we met, but that's a story for another post. With little effort I've convinced him that we should shed our worldly belongings and take to the sea. About a year ago we bought our second sailboat. We've had other boats and we've rented boats and gone diving in the Keys, but our first sailboat was really small and we didn't keep it long. We have lots to learn, like how to sail. We also have two boys, our oldest is about a year from graduating. The younger has two more years after that. We haven't set a definitive date of departure. While my dad gave me a sense of adventure, he also taught me responsibility. I have a little time to get my boys settled, time to learn to sail. I also want to learn some life skills that I think will come in handy in the cruising life, like making bread and cheese.

So this is your invitation, an invitation to join us as we go from Zero to Cruising, as we go from a house on two acres with a pool to a 31' to 45' sailboat and all that entails. Come see all the bumps and share the joy of our milestones. One to get ready, two to get set, three to sail!

Fair Winds
Sherry