What Was Your Epiphany?

[Amac]

I guess for me a lot of things came together at once. My former job as an airline pilot ended with the layoffs a year after 9-11, and my first marriage ended shortly thereafter when my ex-wife discovered that it was better to be married to an employed pilot than an unemployed student. Following this setback, I got about the business of rebuilding life on land. Applied and started medical school, started dating, got engaged, etc.

That second marriage didn't happen and I found myself in a place I no longer wanted to be with no reason to be there.

As you say, outside of death, taxes, and your dog there's precious little in this life you can count on. Do what you want to do now, because if you don't you might find yourself living in the land of might-have been.

[BC Mike]

You should drive up to the Vancouver BC boat show. We could have a beer and an epiphany moment. I think you are closer than I am and I have a range of mountains to cross. Epiphany: celebration of the announcement of Christ to the Magi, celebrated 06 Jan. maybe just a beer and look at boats. The word is not in my American dictionary, found it in the NZ dictionary.
Michael

[Amac]

Hi Mike,

I won't be back in the PNW before the third week of March, but that sounds like an excellent time to take the Labatt's tour of Vancouver..

[SailWiz]

Well, Here goes...I have sailed since I was a kid. My sailing was interupted by 4 years of college and 20 years in the United States Army Special Forces. No matter where I was in the world whenever I would see a sailboat as Jimmy Buffet says "I would get a lump in my throat." I retired in 2000 and have done several Jobs since. My last job was in Miami and I met a guy who owned a Pearson 365. She was totally outfitted for cruising, all the bells and whistles. We became very good friends and took several week long trips. He sailed off for the Dominican Republic and while he was gone, I started to think that maybe he would want to sell her. He had mentioned that he wanted something a little bigger. So, I asked him when he returned from the islands and he said sure! I sold my house in Ft. Lauderdale and paid cash for Trident. I had three yard sales and gave away alot of other things to Goodwill. I still find reducing my shore life property a challenge. I moved aboard last August and although I spent a night aboard when Katrina hit Miami (87kt winds)and she was thrown up on the dock during Wilma( two stern pilings snapped), nothing will daunt me and nothing can keep me from sitting in my helm chair watching the sun set. It is the singular best decision of my life. Now that I have made my first phase come true the next is to throw off the lines and set sail permanently. You all can check out my blog for more insight http://www.sailblogs.com/member/trident/

[Islandmike]

My best friend since high school, I am now 50, came down with ALS. He was told that he had 3-5 years of steadily declining use of his muscles, the doctors told him he would die. At that point he told me that he had so many things he had wanted to do in his life, he was only waiting for his kids to get older, to save a little more money, just a few more years.... He said, Mike I dont have a few more years, if you have somthing you have dreamed of doing, do it now Mike, for it may be later than you think. He died without doing many of things he wanted to do, I am not going to let that happen to me.

Island Mike

[markpj23]

Hear hear!!

[CaptainK]

I tell everybody here one thing.

This is why I'm trying everything to get back out to sea. Before I do get too old. Or probably get something, that would deabiliate me. To keep me from going out to sea. And I'm in my late 30's!!

I love the sea so much. That it's like I have become totally one with it. Even if it's during a bad storm. You just have to learn and deal with the bad storms. And learn to avoid them, if possible?

I totally fell in love with being deep out at sea, after joining the Navy. Love it. Miss it!!

[BC Mike]

There are plenty of unfortunate stories of this type. But the most common problem facing a majority of folks is living too long, that is longer than their savings. Of three 65 year olds one will live to 90.
What might reverse the trend is the current over weight status of too many people. A healthy person should be able to sail at least until they are 80. The oldest solo around trip is at age 71 I think. Call me back in 13 years.
Michael

[CaptainK]

Call me back in 33 years?

[troyboat]

My wife and I read Dave and Jaja Martin's book Into the Light. It killed me. These two sailed with three kids to Iceland,Spitzbergen and points inbetween. We decided then and there we were going to sell our rental, unload the house we own now to rent it out and buy a sailboat to live on. I'm a carpenter with almost 30 years of experience under my tool belt and the Admiral is an awesome seamstress. My feeling is that we will be able to feed the cruising kitty anywhere we go. I also worked with my best friend rehabilitating a 33' Gibson houseboat with all the bells and whistles so I have some experience with boat systems as well. I'm an anti-government type of guy so between taxes and the propaganda my kid gets force fed at her public school I've had it. I don't want my kids to grow up thinking the only way to be happy is to have the latest plastic gegaw. My oldest is 7 and it might already be too late. We expect to be using sea legs by the end of this summer.

[ssullivan]

Troy...

I think you'll find a lot of "us" out there in the cruising community. It's actually the only escape from what I like to call The Matrix. (Western culture/society) Hope to meet up someday. We share similar views.

[PBzeer]

I didn't so much have an epiphany, as I had just had enough. Though I have always been attracted to sailing, it had been over 30 yrs since I had done any. Moving back to Indiana from Alaska to take care of my Mom was not something I wanted to do, but family is family. After she passed away, I bought a Mirage 5.5, to see if I still enjoyed sailing as much as when I was young. Within 3 months, I had bought a Hunter 26, so I could have a boat I could spend time on, and try to decide if that is what I wanted to do. Needless to say, the answer was yes.

Last fall, as I was researching retirement, I realized, I didn't have to wait any longer to go. It would mean a bit of a financial hit, but it seemed worth it. Next month, I'll complete the purchase of my new boat, and cast off the docklines for as long as I am able to stay out there.

What makes the cruising life most appealling to me is that out there, you HAVE to deal with reality. Not fancy ideas that didn't work the other 6 times they were tried. And, you are judged not on what you have, but who you are, and that can't be faked.

[Steve Rust]

Read Robin Lee Graham's book Dove as a teenager. Have had a sailboat ever since starting out with a Sunfish. Finally burned out on the so called "American Dream" and find myself barely able to tolerate the mass commercialism, consummerism, political corruption, and the fellow cogs in the machine that surround me. The boat seems more appealing than a unibomber style shack in the mountains.
George W. Bush and the rise of the so called "Christain" Right only add to my desire to flee.

[Wahoo Sails]

Hey Steve,
RE the last line in your post ... we're headed to VZ later this year, 3 others in our little Marina headed to Honduras, one to Nicuaraga and one under way to Guatamala ... all for the same reasons!
Bob & Lynn

[sluissa]

My realization that i wanted to cruise wasn't as dramatic as most of yours. I was simply a college student(still am, I decided I wanted to cruise just a couple of months ago.) with no idea what I wanted to do, or why I was even dealing with the stress that is living in modern society. I'd always loved the idea of being on your own, not having any safety net to catch you incase you fall other than what you might rig up yourself. My first idea was to live out somewhere in the wilderness, I didn't care at the time, It was probably just a combination of wanting to be somewhere else, and being sick of living with my family.

I don't know what brought the topic up, or why it stuck with me, but my father mentioned that one of his coworkers was a liveaboard. I did some research, and found that it might be cheaper than getting an apartment(at this point I just wanted to move out and was looking for the cheapest and fastest route possible.)

I looked around at the prices for boats and realized they were way out of my range and dropped the idea for a short while, but it kept popping up in the back of my mind. I ended up doing more research, which led me here and to a couple of other forums. I found a few books and read them Reese Palley the author of more than one of them.

The idea of going where you wanted to, when you wanted to, and the whole time making decisions that actually had a direct impact on you(and anyone else on board) drew me into the idea of cruising.

My whole life has been just following the instructions of my parents and teachers. While I believe they raised me fairly well, I want to choose my own paths now.

Currently I'm still stuck at home, shopping for boats I'll have no chance of buying until I'm out of college, which I'm also stuck in, since Florida, in all their generosity has granted me a 100% scholarship to go to college to prepare me to become, as Sean would put it, part of the matrix. If it were up to me, I'd give up college and go to a vocational school, take some welding, plumbing, electrical and carpentry classes, but alas, I'm still following my parents directions at the very least for the next 3 years.

Oh well, with luck, I won't be stuck here forever. Until then, I'll amuse myself with my new,( cheap, cause it was scratched, so I could afford it,) kayak.