Just wanted to introduce myself since I imagine I'll be around here for a while. I discovered this forum yesterday while doing
research on the viability of what I want to do and y'all seem like a pretty solid group (either that or I still have enough
salt in my veins to fit in haha).
Anyway, I got mostly all my
experience on the
water through the Army as a watercraft operator. 5 years working on the
boat and cumulative 3 years sea time. Not a lot, I know, but enough for me to miss being out of sight of land and the feeling of true freedom that comes with it. I just forgot about it for a little while. I recently got back from a
family trip to the beach and it reminded me of a dream I had since given up on as being prohibitively expensive, which I have since learned isn't exactly true through
research and looking at
boats for sale online. Not going to open that can of worms here, will absolutely have any potential
boats checked out by people who know more than me before
purchase.
I'm an
hvac technician by
trade,
learning refrigeration currently. Next I'll be doing loads more research and getting experience/knowledge in every system my future
boat will have so when things go tits up I can at least do the
work myself. If my time at sea with the Army is any indication, things will never break in port. They all have some sort of
gps so they can break when you're farthest away from safe harbor, and since I'm starting out solo I need to be as self sufficient as possible.
Right now I have a rough outline of a plan to be refined as time goes. Get on the waiting list for a local marina that allows
liveaboard so I have a place to
dock when I get the one. Closest body of
water is Lake Travis, which would be sufficient to get
experience handling a sailboat in calmer waters since as of now all mine is
power driven. There are also a few clubs around here where I can take
classes. I'm taking all the
classes. When we were crossing the
Med there were a few days our boat was going backwards at "all ahead full" and I got a healthy respect for what nature can throw at you.
Blue water over the bow
ramp of an LSV is rough. Exciting as hell, but rough. When I'm tested on a solo trip I will not be found wanting. Bowditch will become my bible again. Then once I get some more savings, move off the lake to Port Aransas. Continue plying my
trade to build more savings while taking longer and longer trips in increasingly rougher seas where I can possibly fall back to
safety if it becomes too much.
End goal is
circumnavigation at least once. I'm done being strapped to a daily job where I'll look in the mirror 10, 20+years down the line when I'm in my 40's/50's and wonder what the hell I did with my life. All it is, is grinding away so I can continue the cycle until I'm too old to
work. That's just not gonna work for me.
Fair winds and following seas
Linear Mode
Recent Discussions