[delmarrey]

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the kind words. You sound like you must be in your 20's. If so, great! You have lots of time to acquire knowledge and experience. I use to sail small Inerlakes up on Lake Mead. Had a great time camping out on the shores.
Take some lessons and read lots of books. Get some of that Coast Guard training (courses). Buy a small (trailerable, but big enough for two) sailboat and start getting that valuable experience. Lakes are a bit differant from offshore but it's a good start.
As for building your own. Wood is becoming more economical these, again. With the new epoxy systems they're just as good as fiberglass/polyester rigs, if done right.
The best to you & yours on your adventures. And before you do that proscessing ship trip, personally talk to some people that have done it a time or two. It's a rough and tumble job with long hours. And make sure it's a worthy vessel with a seasoned Captian................._/)

Food for thought:
I find myself drawn to a definition of seamanship penned by Captain
Lincoln Colcord, a ship captain from Maine. Having spent his life at
sea, Captain Colcord defined seamanship as "an attitude and way of life,
which face facts, which deal in realities without evasion, which know
that the only failure is dishonesty and that error is truth betrayed."

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover"

- Mark Twain