Soon to Set Sail for the Long One...

[Martin J.]

Hello fellow sailors
A few words to tell you a bit about me and my future trip to Australia.
Got interested in sailing at the age of 12(my dad was building a steel hull sloop in our back yard near Montreal)
5 years later we put her in the water and sailed her south via the icw. After that I got into girls and forgot about sailing. Got married had 2 unbelievable kids, moved to Toronto and when they turned 5 and 6, I bought my first sail boat, a CS 22 swing keel sloop(5000$). Sailed every weekend from friday to sunday all summer. Crossed Lake Ontario a few times and got really hooked on cruising. In 2002 we sold the house, bought a 1969 30' Dufour Arpege sloop(15K) and took off for over 2 years. Coastal cruised all the east coast and most of the Bahamas. After that I decided to go back to work until I was 45 and than to go sailing around the world. Bare boated a few cats in the bahamas in the last few years...
15 years later, I'm finally turning 45, both kids are in university, my parents are still healthy and my girlfriend is all in for the trip!!
The countdown is on...12 to 24 months before take off.
Step 1: Finish off our land deals right now...house rentals, house sales, business sale, etc.
Step 2: Find the right boat(which I'm actively searching for) 38 to 45’ Cat in the 175 to 250K price range.
Step 3: Take her around the Caribbean for 1-2 years to get her and the crew ready for the Pacific.
Step 4: Cross over via Panama, Marquesses, FP, NZ and Australia.

Super charged up for the next few years to come.
It's nice to be back in the loop and can't wait to be back on the water.

Cheers and happy sailing to all. ))

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Martin J.

Hello fellow sailors
A few words to tell you a bit about me and my future trip to Australia.
Got interested in sailing at the age of 12(my dad was building a steel hull sloop in our back yard near Montreal)
5 years later we put her in the water and sailed her south via the icw. After that I got into girls and forgot about sailing. Got married had 2 unbelievable kids, moved to Toronto and when they turned 5 and 6, I bought my first sail boat, a CS 22 swing keel sloop(5000$). Sailed every weekend from friday to sunday all summer. Crossed Lake Ontario a few times and got really hooked on cruising. In 2002 we sold the house, bought a 1969 30' Dufour Arpege sloop(15K) and took off for over 2 years. Coastal cruised all the east coast and most of the Bahamas. After that I decided to go back to work until I was 45 and than to go sailing around the world. Bare boated a few cats in the bahamas in the last few years...
15 years later, I'm finally turning 45, both kids are in university, my parents are still healthy and my girlfriend is all in for the trip!!
The countdown is on...12 to 24 months before take off.
Step 1: Finish off our land deals right now...house rentals, house sales, business sale, etc.
Step 2: Find the right boat(which I'm actively searching for) 38 to 45’ Cat in the 175 to 250K price range.
Step 3: Take her around the Caribbean for 1-2 years to get her and the crew ready for the Pacific.
Step 4: Cross over via Panama, Marquesses, FP, NZ and Australia.

Super charged up for the next few years to come.
It's nice to be back in the loop and can't wait to be back on the water.

Cheers and happy sailing to all. ))

G'Day Martin, and welcome to CF. You sound like you have a workable plan, good background, reasonable schedule... what could possibly go wrong?

Only time will tell, and the folks here on CF will be happy to help should you need it. We will certainly be happy to tell you where you went wrong (joke).

Keep us informed of your progress.

Jim

[delmarrey]

Martin,
Welcome to the forum. It's amazing how girls can get one side tracked. Same happened here.
I'm cheering you on.

[Martin J.]

Jim...the one real lesson I've learned in my 9000 miles or so(not very much but enough to learn a few lessons) is that if you even think about something that might go wrong or break!!! Fix it now because you can be sure that if you don't, it will break in the worst possible moment in the future!!! This being said...it's not what will go wrong with the plan, the boat, the weather, the relationships or whatever else that arises. What matters is how well prepared and determined one is to face the unavoidable storms which will come up on his/her path...
I'm happy to be here and to be able to read all the wonderful stories and experiences lived by all and to share whatever I can to give back to the forum

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.

[chubby]

just an fyi..
i have 38 to 45’ Cat in the 175 to 250K price range....that will more than likely be available in the next 12-24 months..

just saying
^_^