and baby makes 6! » Archives » To sail on a dream

My life is never boring. Well, sometimes it is, but Bill always comes in and shakes things up a bit.

I had in my head the numbers 2009 as the year we would sail offshore and expand our exploration of the Gulf coast to include Florida and Mexico. I targeted May 2009 as the goal to get ready for the Regatta de Amigos, a sail to Veracruz, Mexico.

Bill has been throwing out little hints……….little hints that made me know that I had hooked him, and just had to slowly reel him in. I mean, come on. We are talking about sailing! How could the man not cave! He has been spending much time at the boat, fixing things, outfitting it with new hardware. He got the GPS for Christmas, and there is talk of buying all new sails with our first bonus check.

This year the plan has been to take a summer trip to the 4 corners (Utah, Colorado) to revisit the sufferfest that was our honeymoon and 1st anniversary. Instead of biking in the desert for 20-40 miles and biking 12,000 foot mountain passes, we would hike with 4 young children, and outdo any suffering that physical endurance had thrown out to us in the past. This was to be a trip of mental endurance. It was a trip that Bill was thinking would be worse than sticking needles in his eyes.

Little things he has been saying over the last few weeks have been picked up by my adventure radar, and when you string them together, well…..

This weekend, he mentioned that he wanted to take the boat out on an extended trip soon. I say “Like a weekend along Padre?” and he replied “That and maybe Mexico.”

I need to repeat that………..”THAT AND MAYBE MEXICO”.

No details yet. No firm plans. No dates. Just idle talk about what kind of food to bring for a long trip (2 weeks? 1 week?…not sure how long he can take off of work…but we will have no ice or refrigeration for the duration so meal planning is important) and some internet browsing for more hardware, sails etc.

We have also come to an agreement (dudes, mom totally had dibs on naming the boat)) on a name for the boat. It is so very cool, and fits so perfectly. It defines my life and all of my dreams of the ocean that I had as a child. When we get it put on the boat I will share it with you. Hint: the things that you’ve shown us

Our family is going to freak. If you receive hell for some of the choices you make in raising your kids, imagine how us loading 4 kids onto a boat and heading out to sea for 2 weeks is going to go over with everyone who loves them??? The safety issue is going to give many people sleepless nights….myself included. The only assurance I can give people is that we have a sound boat. In the coming weeks and months we will be taking her out on the Gulf for some mini-trips to see how she handles big waves and heavier air. It will also lend us some info on how well the kids will do with seasickness. This is a biggie. 4 seasick kids barfing below deck while Bill and I try to manage anything remotely difficult on deck might prove to be our undoing.

Another note of assurance is that Bill knows his stuff. He knows how to sail anything. He understands the wind and the currents. He has a handle on mechanical repairs etc. Not to mention he has already made a Gulf crossing on a sailboat to the exact location we are talking about heading.

While the kids and I were in Ft. Worth over the holidays, Bill took this 31 ft boat out sailing singlehanded. For those who don’t sail, this means getting in and out of a dock by yourself (which is a feat all its own) hoisting sails (NOT roller furling), trimming them and taking them down single handed. It is not rigged yet for this. Sure, it is easy on a sunfish, or even a 24 footer, but our boat is large. The mast height is huge and towers above the other boats of comparable size. When he told me he went sailing by himself I was like “Shut up! No way, are you serious?”

It was easy for him.

My point is, I trust him. I wouldn’t trust anyone else as Captain of our boat and life.

As things progress, I will post them here. If When we do this (plans change on a dime around here), I will probably write about the preparation and our plans, and of course we will bring you right along on the voyage.

Any questions?

Edited to add: Bill was just home for lunch, and I asked him if he knew any cruising websites we could get on to make some lists of what we will need etc for such a passage, and he replied “Yes. El sitio de los estupido”. Yup. That about sums it up.