chicknwing
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2008
- Messages
- 411
Light cracks the dark sky as a cool tropical breeze brushes your face. The colors are pale at first and as time rolls by they become vibrant shades of reds, blues, purples, and orange. The gulls chirp and the wave?s crash against the boat as you sit with coffee in hand, and watch the sunrise over your quiet anchorage. The colors of the sunrise give way to blue clear skies and crystal clear water. The day passes as you lay in your hammock. As the sun begins to fall and the sky responds with more vibrant colors. You lounge on the deck with a cocktail and watch the greatest show on earth.
The lure of the Ocean and all of her vast unknowns left me years ago after I got out of the Navy. For my entire life I have always been in touch with the sea. I was born on the largest naval base in the world. I have always lived an easy hour drive from the ocean. I?ve lived on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. I spent four years in the Navy, aboard a Guided Missile Destroyer DDG-62. I still make regular visits just to smell the salt and listen to the seagulls, waves, and wind. I always enjoy my visits with the sea, and I always wish my stays could be longer. Recently, the calling of the winds and tides have sailed into my life. I?ve been bitten by what I call the Blue Water Bug.
I asked myself where this came from and I have few answers. I know this all began back about four years ago when my wife and I cruised to the Bahamas. We vowed to return and to live ?the life? for the rest of ours; but we had no idea how to go about it. Then a couple months ago we were talking about getting started with new project boat we have been looking at for a year. When my wife asked how big a boat we would need to go from Florida to the Bahamas, I had no idea so I started by searching Google. As one can imagine I got more than a million hits. I ran across an article here that seemed to provide some sound general advice. We again turned to Google and searched ?Blue Water Cruising? we came up with over a million hits. One in particular stood out as a great reference source, Trouser Rollers; after days of reading and talking with my wife we decided to look carefully at the pros and cons of living life cruising on the ocean.
So far we have about ten books on our coffee table dealing with various aspects of sailing and cruising. I have another 59 on my shopping list. I have spent much time reading and taking notes. We have researched many topics of concern for living life aboard. In all of my reading one common theme continues to come up. ?Get out and do it now, don?t wait?. Could it really be that simple? I realize procrastination is the killer of many dreams. But how does one abandon the life you know and set out into the great unknown. This was certainly easy for me years ago when I had but myself to be concerned about; but having to be concerned for the welfare of a wife and children makes this a decision one must weigh carefully. I suspect this is a topic for many more hours of conversation, and many years of learning; which is great for me because I love to learn new things.
The lure of the Ocean and all of her vast unknowns left me years ago after I got out of the Navy. For my entire life I have always been in touch with the sea. I was born on the largest naval base in the world. I have always lived an easy hour drive from the ocean. I?ve lived on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. I spent four years in the Navy, aboard a Guided Missile Destroyer DDG-62. I still make regular visits just to smell the salt and listen to the seagulls, waves, and wind. I always enjoy my visits with the sea, and I always wish my stays could be longer. Recently, the calling of the winds and tides have sailed into my life. I?ve been bitten by what I call the Blue Water Bug.
I asked myself where this came from and I have few answers. I know this all began back about four years ago when my wife and I cruised to the Bahamas. We vowed to return and to live ?the life? for the rest of ours; but we had no idea how to go about it. Then a couple months ago we were talking about getting started with new project boat we have been looking at for a year. When my wife asked how big a boat we would need to go from Florida to the Bahamas, I had no idea so I started by searching Google. As one can imagine I got more than a million hits. I ran across an article here that seemed to provide some sound general advice. We again turned to Google and searched ?Blue Water Cruising? we came up with over a million hits. One in particular stood out as a great reference source, Trouser Rollers; after days of reading and talking with my wife we decided to look carefully at the pros and cons of living life cruising on the ocean.
So far we have about ten books on our coffee table dealing with various aspects of sailing and cruising. I have another 59 on my shopping list. I have spent much time reading and taking notes. We have researched many topics of concern for living life aboard. In all of my reading one common theme continues to come up. ?Get out and do it now, don?t wait?. Could it really be that simple? I realize procrastination is the killer of many dreams. But how does one abandon the life you know and set out into the great unknown. This was certainly easy for me years ago when I had but myself to be concerned about; but having to be concerned for the welfare of a wife and children makes this a decision one must weigh carefully. I suspect this is a topic for many more hours of conversation, and many years of learning; which is great for me because I love to learn new things.
