Greeting! It's an honor to be amidst so many folks living out my dreams; it makes it feel like it's just about in reach...but still 10 years away!
My wife, our three
children and I are currently experienced "daysailors" with just a few longer cruises under our belt (hope that doesn't discredit me at all...) living in
Florida at our fourth duty station with the Air Force. We've towed
Sundae, a 1977
Catalina 22, everywhere from
Georgia to
Alaska and points in between finding unique sailing experiences at every turn.
After landing an assignment on the Gulf, we decided to step up to a bigger
boat. With our Dave Ramsey lifestyle, we could only afford a well-loved 1976
Irwin 28. This has given us ample opportunity (while not deployed) to experience longer periods of time away from the marina while teaching our
kids more about teamwork and the world that is out there to explore.
Ten years from now, we'll hopefully be retiring with some savings and a nice little pension keeping us afloat. The ultimate dream (for now) is to start the first year of
retirement in
Maine and sail through the ditch up to
Alaska where we'll leave our "second home" in a safe harbor and spend up to 5 months a year cruising AK and the Pacific NW. That is, of course, a LONG way off and we are in no position to be as adventurous in our
current position.
The next step is to figure out just how much we want this dream, so I am hoping we will be able to find a way to rent/buy a three-stateroom
liveaboard for at least 6 months at our next assignment, staying close to home and
learning more about maintaining that lifestyle.
I am going to hop on over to the
Liveaboard forum to ask specific questions, but I welcome your comments, feedback, salutations, etc.
Sincerely,
David
Currently at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan