Meeting and Greeting

[taunyamc]

Hi Everyone,

I've been a lurker here now and again - looking up things but not an official member of the community. My partner, Rusty, has been a member here for some time. We've been building towards our cruising dream with practicing on smaller boats, other people's boats and I did a term abroad through Sea Semester - which included an intensive nautical course.

We're totally ready to be cruisers, but we have to wait for his retirement. Unfortunately, we don't want to wait, so we sold the house and bought a boat. I'm tasked with bringing it home (you won't hear me crying .)

I posted a message in crew wanted, because I'm looking for some people to come enjoy the voyage with me... but I'll post a little bit more about me here. I'm just finishing up getting a dual bachelor's degree at Portland State University in Biology and Psychology. I have four daughters, three of which are still children. The teenager and the littlest who is 9, have decided to make the trip with me. the oldest is employed and can't be gone that long and the middle loves her school and wants to hang with dad and my partner. It all works, cause I don't think I could handle the two youngest together at this point - they tend to fight.

I'm super excited about the journey - we're getting a snooba for the trip and we'll be island hopping this winter in the Caribbean - what a lovely way to spend the season! I can't wait to introduce my daughters to the tropics, boat kids, and the amazing things they will see and experience.

Hopefully a couple of you will be joining us on our journey... Can't wait to meet you and get to know each other better.

Fair winds!

Taunya~
s/v On The Bright Side

[monte]

Welcome aboard the forum. Good luck with the crew

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Taunya.

[Waterway Guide]

Welcome aboard, Taunya! Enjoy your shakedown-home cruise...and good luck with the crew.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy Taunya and Welcome Aboard the Forum!

I read your Crew Wanted posting. And noted you had taken the training in the Caribbean and the Sea Semester. Not many folks get that kind of opportunity, and I am sure it must have been fun for you.

It sound like your future voyage will be a very special time. I can imagine if I had children how excited I would be to share that kind of experience with them. Lots of potential to see new things, learn much, and have fun together as a family too.

There are also some "social groups" that are more focused on special interests, and as I saw, they can be fun for their members. I am not a member of those groups, but you should be able to find them if you do some exploring of the forum website, look for "groups." Here are two from the many you might find appealing:

Cruisers & Sailing Forums - All Groups

Mermaids Group
It is for women sailors and boat owners. It has 206 members. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...oup%7E%7E.html

Cruising with Kids Group (58 members)
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...with+kids.html

Best wishes for a safe and fun voyage for you all.

Steady

[taunyamc]

Thanks for the welcome Steady. I find it interesting that not many are familiar with the Sea Semester program or realize how rigorous the training was. Unfortunately, I can't say it was exactly "fun" - but I learned tons and I really value that I was fortunate enough to have the experience. Even so, I realize I still have lots more to learn and am eager to get started doing so on my journey to bring our boat home. I'm so excited.

Thanks for sharing the groups about women and kids, I didn't realize they were here - I haven't explored the forums that thoroughly.

Taunya