I've been thinking about making this post for a few months. Over those months my intentions have grown stronger and I feel it's time to share with the group...
I'm switching gears in life. Gonna shake it up a bit and pursue what's seemed like a pipe dream. More fantasy than realistic expectation. You only live once! Might as well start making up reasons I can do it, instead of making up reasons why I can't.
I'm going to sell EVERYTHING, buy a sailboat and sail to as many amazing places the world over as I possibly can, for as long as I am able and interested.
I live in California, but I'm looking at boats for sale as far up as Canada. I estimate it will likely take at least one year to get to the point of being ready to shove off into adventure. And my goal is to shove off no later than Sept 1 2026.
Without going into detail about every possible place, the rough layout of the adventure will be California to Baja Mexico, then West to the South Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, South Asia, Islands of the Indian ocean, Madagascar. Taking my time and going wherever the wind takes me, it may take five years or more to get to that point. But from there, it's a choice between continuing South around South Africa, across the South Atlantic to Brazil, and North up to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Eastern US and cross the North Atlantic for a European tour, South into the Mediterranean... Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, etc. OR, go the other way around and head North from Madagascar, through the Suez Canal, do the Mediterranean, up to the Norther EU countries, across the North Atlantic, down the US coast, Bahamas, Caribbean and beyond.
Once everything is bought and paid for, monthly expenses should be quite manageable. No car payment, no car insurance, no mortgage/rent. Mostly just food, fuel, maintenance, and VISA/immigration fees. My intention is to financially support the adventure through documenting the adventure on a YouTube channel. I don't expect to become YouTube famous. But, I'm fairly certain I can be interesting, entertaining, and charming enough to attract sufficient cashflow in the venture. Might help get the channel off the ground if I can find an attractive woman (or three) to join me.
In researching how to create a successful YouTube channel, they say it will take 100 videos before money starts to roll in. Yikes! I better get started now!
So, why post these intentions here? After so many years, I consider some of you friends. If you're wondering if you're one of them, the answer is yes. And yes, I still intend on participating and contributing to this forum. And yes, I intend to meet up and visit any and all of you sprinkled throughout the world.
Regretfully, there are some speaker projects that are going to get abandoned in this shift of intention. If any of you reading this are near Lodi, CA (I'm not stuck again, I swear), I'll gladly donate all the lumber needed to make four 30" wide T39's out of 5 ply Douglas Fir (lighter than Baltic Birch), which is already cut down to rough dimensions and labeled. As well as enough 1/4" Baltic Birch and 1/8 flex ply, cut down to rough dimensions and labeled, to make four light weight DR200's. I have drivers up the wahzoo and will be posting them up in the classifieds section soon. 3012LF's, S2012's, Beta 12's, Neo drivers for DR200, enough mid-range drivers for a home theater of TLAH's, SLA center, and Surrounds. I'll also have M32C mixer with stagebox, many amplifiers, wireless IEM's, etc. It's all gotta go. Let me know if there's something you're looking for... Driverack VENU 360, rolling 4RU Gator Racks, Gig bag full of cabling and misc gear... tons of stuff to get rid of.
My hope is to find good homes for all this stuff and to share the adventure from here on out with anyone who's interested in following along.
Any and all questions or comments welcome. Are any of you guys experienced sailors? I am not (yet). LOL
I've never had any tattoos. I've always wanted one, but could never think of something I'd want to have on my body forever. I like the idea of them signifying an achievement and look forward to earning my turtle, first of several Swallow's, an anchor, and possibly a fully rigged ship. Prior to the existence of the Panama Canal, my great grandfather sailed from Denmark, around Cape Horn, to San Francisco. He had a HUGE fully rigged ship tattoo across his chest. He wasn't the type to show it off, but I remember seeing it as a youngster. Now I understand why.