Not Just A Dream – Reflecting on Our First Year As Sailors
It’s been one year since we signed on the dotted line, hit the transfer funds button and purchased our first sailboat that we didn’t know how to sail. That last part, the part about not knowing how to sail is my favorite. Because it’s absurd.
Calculated absurdity could be used to describe most of the significant decisions we’ve made in our life.
Our first time ever on a sailboat was in January 2013 but the dream had been swirling around in our heads long before that. So, the idea to go sailing about the world wasn’t a dream born from experience but rather from a romantic curiosity for the adventure it could be.
We figured whatever we lacked in experience could be made up with enthusiasm and determination.
Once we started sharing our salty dreams, plenty of people wanted to influence our expectations along the way. We’ve heard everything from “you are going to do great, you’ll love it” to “you are going to get yourselves killed” and possibly my favorite “you don’t just go buy a sailboat and go sailing”.
Between myself and Jason I don’t know which of us is more stubborn. We’re not easily deterred once we’re on a mission, especially when that mission is following a dream. If you’ve been along for our journey, then I’m sure you’ve already figured that much out.
We took in the encouragement and words of caution in equal parts. But at the end of the day, we know our limits and what we’re capable of. For us, there were never any doubts, we knew we would push ourselves to learn and it was as simple as that. Well, almost.
In case you are wondering, I really do dream I can fly and it’s wonderfully magical. I went hang gliding once, which is as close to flying as I can get (minus a squirrel suit, which I’ll happily try given the opportunity). So, I’ll stick by my “if you can dream it, you can probably do it” statement.
One thing we forgot to mention in the video: We always had a contingency plan! If we disliked sailing for some crazy reason we could always tie up at a marina and have ocean front property for a while. We figured a sailboat is still less expensive than most coastal real estate! Thankfully the past year has convinced us to push ourselves even further for year two. South Pacific, here we come!
Reflecting on the peaks and valleys of the past year reminded us of how much we’ve experienced, learned and how much is still to come. It always seems the bigger the dream, the harder we have to work to make it a reality and the more we savor the achievement.
If you want to travel back in time to hear some of our calculated absurd ideas on what we thought sailing life would be like…and our present day responses, click over to this post: Full Time Sailing – Thoughts, Expectations & Uncertainties
Thanks for being a part of the journey and sharing in our calculated absurdities. It wouldn’t be as fun without you! And a big virtual bear hug to all of our Patreons who keep us focused on sharing the adventures instead of peddling wares at the docks. We couldn’t have shared this new leg of the journey without you.
Are you dreaming of sailing?
If you missed our sailing school episodes or want to watch us squirm as we tackle mods & maintenance, head over to the sailing page. You can use the category tabs at the top to filter down to the posts you’re looking for: gonewiththewynns.com/sailing
Looking for some of the nitty-gritty details? Check these out:
