Where and when are we going?

Departure time

By Scott Buckley (Captain)

I know to some it looks like we are going on a long vacation, however it is much more than that.  We are changing one life style with another.  From a work a day lifestyle to a cruising lifestyle that more resembles a Gypsy's than anything else.  From a lifestyle of comfortable means with tightly packed events to a frugal, slower and simpler lifestyle that is rich with experiences.

Today is 12-Sept-14 and in about 3 weeks the 1st mate and I will quit our jobs and will be ready to "untie the lines".  The thought simultaneously exhilarates and terrifies me but I am sure once we get started I think the butterflies will settle down.  I feel like we are sufficiently ready this time and have been living on the boat for the last 10 months and thus our confidence is much higher than it was last November when we were scrambling to sell the house, cars and everything else we owned and finish all the projects on the boat before the winter closed in on us.

Because we had tried to leave last year and aborted to wait 10 months we have had to eat a great deal of crow, but what we are discovering that few people really understand what we are doing.  We get a lot of questions about what we are doing and they can be difficult answer because the question comes from a different frame of reference than what this endeavor of ours is.

The questions:

When are you leaving?  Sounds like a simple question but for cruising is dependent primarily on the weather, and a few other factors.  We have no plane tickets with a date on it.  No reservation at a resort.  No time off from work scheduled.  We are leaving when conditions are favorable.
 When will you be back? This is the most difficult question because it lays bare the fact there is no plan to return by some date.  We are making a decision to leave and not be a part of their life and their daily routine and the likelihood of meeting again may be remote.  The realization that our fun lunchtime conversations will no longer be something to look forward to.
Where are you going? Again a difficult question to answer because there are so many destinations.  The real answer is: we are headed out there to see what we will see, to experience what we will do and to feel what we will endure.

The rub:

It often feels like we are betraying our friends because the answer to the question of when are we coming back feels like abandonment.  We will miss them as much as they will miss us and perhaps we will miss them more without all the distractions of a land based life that diverts your attention away from the more thoughtful things. 
I get disbelief from the people that I work with questions like:  How can I just quit?  Who will do the things I do?  Who will check their work? Who will they brain storm with?   I will miss it of that I am sure.

As difficult as all of these things are the 1st mate and I have worked all of our lives for this adventure and it is time.  It is time before it is too late.  I often tell the people that are trying to wrap their heads around what Tamera and I are doing, that we may end up old and poor but we will have some good stories to tell.

The answers:

When are you leaving?  When conditions are favorable for passage making.
When will you be back? When the wind and fortune bring  us back. 
Where are you going? Someplace new to us.  I hope we like it.