Old post revisited...

[Frank]

I was searching for a totally different post but came across this...
I posted it first back on Dec. 10/2006
Almost 13 yrs later, I feel exactly the same...

"Hat's off to Craig and Rose.  They have a beautiful,fine sailing vessel that both have worked on to prepare for this adventure.They are 'OFF'. Connie has done the same.(speaking of Connie..where is she now) Many among us have plans to go "someday".Many keep putting off their plans because of one thing or another..often these plans don't seem to happen.Yet...I truly believe that if..IF.. we CHOOSE to make them happen...they will.

Greg on flicka # 278 has been planning to 'sail around' for quite a while now. He just posted this on the flicka site   .. .........
"I have just this week been diagnosed with terminal cancer. So, my
beloved Flicka must transfer to another diligent owner. Who shall it be?
Needless to say, my dreams of cruising with her around the world have
been trumped by my failing health.  -Greg, sv Someday #278 "  ...........................                   

   I post this only as a reminder of how fragile life truly is and how little control we really have..no matter how much we 'think' we are in control. We all put off our dreams. Point is...we CAN"T.  This isn't a dress rehearsal...this IS the final scene.  We will NOT get another chance at today..at 'NOW'.  Cheers to Craig and Rose, to Connie, for the choices they have made and the dreams they are fofilling. They are living TODAY.....not 'someday'
""

That was over 12yrs ago...
Let's all look back over the last 12yrs...
How many lost dreams?
How many fofilled?

Life truly is about choices

[Captain Smollett]

Let's all look back over the last 12yrs...
How many lost dreams?
How many fofilled?

I prefer to think in terms of "changed dreams" than "lost" ones.

In the last 12 years, I lived three years on a boat - which I loved - and have largely given up on the idea of doing so again as a permanent lifestyle.  But since, I have also pursued and accomplished some things I always wanted to do but didn't because I thought I was not "good enough" at that task.  In at least two cases I can think of off the top of my head, I was wrong in the negative thinking for sure.

Sailfar has always been a source of inspiration for me personally.  Craig and Rose's trip especially so since I got to meet them personally and hung out some the night before they left. 

Thanks for posting this.

[Frank]

Yes John, life does evolve and plans do change.
A friend and I were talking yesterday about aging and "finals"...
Years ago I was passionate about snowmobiling.
Sold my last sled a while back... was 18yrs old and only 800 miles on it.
Book closed.
He was a passionate down hill skier. Raced in events for 30+ yrs. Sold his skis.... Book closed.
We went on sharing things that we used to do and now no longer even think about.... Life does change and evolve.
I was saddened last year when my good trailersailing buddy Rick sold his suncat. End of an era for him....and for "us". We had shared many adventures over the years. Rick now does the airstream camper thing which his wife also loves. Good for them!
I question how much longer I can cruise the PNW. Although I truly love it out there, my arthritis and the wet, cooler temperatures cause me to have painful evenings. Not bad moving during the day but wow, Laying there trying to sleep aches! (Yes I take Glucosamine,Tumeric and Tylenol arthritis) Point being that I realize my days are numbered cruising out there..
In the end, I think it matters less if we do all we hoped to do as it does that we are passionate about what we are doing now.  Life without passion is dull.

[Godot]

Life interferes. Plans change. But the dream lives on.

For me...I thought I'd be heading out in my thirties.  Now, it looks more like mid-late fifties. Not what I wanted for that dream; but it allowed me to pursue other interests, and career opportunities, as well. Some for good, others not so much; but that's the way things go.

But the long, slow slog of prep continues. I've been working diligently on the boat over the past months. The motor is out, the engine and engine room are being worked on, unused old thru-hulls are being closed up (finally!). Further interior mods take place. I hope to launch in four weeks. I won't get to the rigging this year. Hopefully next year I'll get that done. New sails probably the year after that. At which point the boat should be pretty darned, go almost anywhere, seaworthy. A few years to get to a point of early retirement where I'll keep "adjusting" the boat to my personal preferences, and hopefully, a couple decades late, I'll cut the lines for awhile.

It's risky, though. My wife is not fully onboard with the whole thing (even though she new about it when we met...sigh...such is the way of things). Who knows what personal issues may arise. Sickness. Death. Financial turmoil. I do worry sometimes that the current plan, which looks good on paper, might get derailed by unforeseeable events. Fingers crossed it works out.

[Bubba the Pirate]

Thanks, all you guys. I needed to know that lots of us are facing things and carrying on.

I left my Westsail tucked away in Florida in October to come back to Michigan and help Mom and Dad thru some health issues. Mom passed away about two weeks ago. Dad is understandably bewildered. I've committed to being here until the Fall to help him get organized and get his feet on the ground. My sister is here in town, but with a family and a house and a job etc. I didn't want all the work to fall on her. Hopefully Dad will be reasonably self sufficient in a few months.

I did buy a little daysailer up here. She will be my therapy for the summer.

Thanks for letting me throw my hat in the ring with the other changed plans and dreams still being worked on.

Todd

[CharlieJ]

I think most everyone who reads here knows my life , particularly the sailing part, has been on hold since late 2017, which is when my back began to really go bad. Had the surgery in Feb 2018, and it's a long, slow process getting back, particularly for us older folks. I now tell the TSA folks about the rods in my back before entering the xray machine!!

Taking a fairly hard fall a few weeks ago has not helped.

Both my boats suffered some damage in Hurricane Harvey, and I have not been up to the repairs til just recently. I have begun repairs on Necessity, my 21 footer, so hopefully I can do the BEER Cruise with her this year. That's the goal. Then Tehani gets her turn:)

[Crazer]

I'm muddling along, trying to get some sailing adventures in by the time I'm 30. I feel the responsibilities of adulthood nipping at my heels. A lot of my problems have been of my own making, for a while the path wasn't clear and as a result I bought a couple boats in a row on the basis of a fantasy about restoring an old boat that just doesn't work in reality at this stage in my life. Now I'm on my third boat in as many years and finally feel like I'm on the right track. The plan is go to Bermuda and then do an Atlantic circle, sailing across to Europe, down to the South Atlantic, back across and through the Caribbean and back up to the Chesapeake. The newest boat is a Cape Dory 28 that was being refitted for serious ocean sailing before the owner got sick and moved back to Europe.

Thanks for starting this thread, and thanks to you all for sharing your experiences.

[Captain Smollett]

Mom passed away about two weeks ago.

My condolences.  My Mom passed away in late March.

[Bubba the Pirate]

Thanks, Cap. And to you as well.