PLAN D
Oh my I might have to revamp the home page - at this rate I will run out of letters in the alphabet! As you notice the webpage is no longer titled Andiamo (Italien for Let's Go). Andiamo has been renamed Kindred. As my new plan is to head to France this fall to investigate the possibility of opening a hostel along one of the pilgrimage routes, I have chosen to call the webpage Allons-y - (French for Let's Go). I will try to be more regular in updating the blog and post some more photos. This is my way of avoiding Facebook. I also had a story published in the latest issue of Reved and they used my photo for the front cover! You can view it on line at www.reved.net. It's a great local news magazine that highlights local artists.
PLAN C
As of April 4th, 2012, Andiamo has a new owner. In a unique act of closure, she has returned to Bainbridge Island where we purchased her. And she was purchased by a man who had often sailed her with the man we bought her from. It was not as hard as I had expected to let her go. I think I was afraid that I was also letting go of Jean-Luc. But it was just the dream that I was letting go of, Jean-Luc is still with me and I know for certain now that he always will be. As for this website - I'm not sure. Maybe I will rename it. As for my future - I'm not sure. I think I will pursue the idea of opening a hostel along one of the pilgrimage routes in France. But first I am going to enjoy my summer in Canada as I begin to put the pieces in place. Stay tuned....
PLAN B
Well I figured it was time to revise the home page as my life has been revised somewhat. I'm choosing to continue with the website as Andiamo is still in my life, as is Jean-Luc but just not in the physical form. As most of you know, I have continued to live on the boat since Jean-Luc died and have, slowly, been learning to sail. I think I have spent as much time off the boat as on it in the last 8 months and I haven't done as much sailing as I had planned. I think I owe it to myself and to Andiamo to spend one more summer with the her before making any decisions. This sort of sounds like my time in Whistler - one more season and then I'll move to Vancouver. Twelve years later I was still in Whistler so we'll see......
PLAN A
For as long as Jean-Luc and I have been together (over 9 years but who's counting) we have talked about and worked towards our dream of living on a sailboat. It's not just talk anymore. On October 22nd, 2010 we took possession of a beautiful 1986 Cape Dory 330 sailboat which is located on Bainbridge Island just across from Seattle.
Our search for a boat started from our living room in Revelstoke, British Columbia where we scanned yachtworld.com daily - boat porn we called it. Jean-Luc had his spreadsheet on displacement ratios, sail area, capsize and comforts ratings, etc. and I would look at the pictures and decide if I could call this one or that one "home". If you ever read the book - Motion on the Ocean - the author describes her and her husbands search for a boat and you could easily insert our names. Our real search began when we sold the house and quit our jobs in July 2010. We spent a month visiting our families and then built a bed frame in the back of our trusty (but leaky) old pickup truck and headed for the coast in September 2010. Sounds like something 20 or 30 year olds would do, not mid to late 40 year olds. We started in Vancouver and then scoured marinas on Vancouver Island between Victoria and Comox. We then headed to Washington.
Our route looked like someone who couldn't make up their minds on where to go and our choice of boats was the same. It was a great learning experience. I love the look of boats with lots of wood but do I want to spend all my time varnishing instead of sailing? We originally were looking at boats with heavy displacement and full keel but would we get frustrated in their ability to sail in light winds. There are pros and cons to just about everything on a sailboat and every kind of sailboat. Unless you have sailed a lot and know what you want it can be quite confusing - and everyone has an opinion about what is right or best.
One day we saw an ad for the Cape Dory. We made arrangements to see her, had a look and then continued on with our search. We were thinking about heading south to California as fall was upon us, the nights colder and the days wetter. A little voice kept insisting that maybe we were passing up "the" boat so we decided to have a second look at the Cape Dory. We spent the next couple of hours in the library putting numbers to things that we would want to add or change to the boat. I don't think either one of us were thinking of making an offer that day but that's exactly what we did and here we are - living on a sailboat.
This website will be my attempt to keep family and friends updated as to where we are and what we are doing. Don't worry if there isn't a change on the website for a while - either nothing is happening worth writing about or we're having too much fun to take time to write. Am I nervous - you bet. I've taken a giant step outside my comfort zone - no regular paycheque, family and friends are a long way away, the floor of my house is constantly moving and I know nothing about how to sail. I thought I knew a little but defining what is port and what is starboard doesn't count for much. At the same time I am so excited to be on this journey - every single day I learn something new, meet someone new or see something new. And Jean-Luc? You'll have to ask him but I think I can safely say he's found a new challenge to embrace.
Oh my I might have to revamp the home page - at this rate I will run out of letters in the alphabet! As you notice the webpage is no longer titled Andiamo (Italien for Let's Go). Andiamo has been renamed Kindred. As my new plan is to head to France this fall to investigate the possibility of opening a hostel along one of the pilgrimage routes, I have chosen to call the webpage Allons-y - (French for Let's Go). I will try to be more regular in updating the blog and post some more photos. This is my way of avoiding Facebook. I also had a story published in the latest issue of Reved and they used my photo for the front cover! You can view it on line at www.reved.net. It's a great local news magazine that highlights local artists.
PLAN C
As of April 4th, 2012, Andiamo has a new owner. In a unique act of closure, she has returned to Bainbridge Island where we purchased her. And she was purchased by a man who had often sailed her with the man we bought her from. It was not as hard as I had expected to let her go. I think I was afraid that I was also letting go of Jean-Luc. But it was just the dream that I was letting go of, Jean-Luc is still with me and I know for certain now that he always will be. As for this website - I'm not sure. Maybe I will rename it. As for my future - I'm not sure. I think I will pursue the idea of opening a hostel along one of the pilgrimage routes in France. But first I am going to enjoy my summer in Canada as I begin to put the pieces in place. Stay tuned....
PLAN B
Well I figured it was time to revise the home page as my life has been revised somewhat. I'm choosing to continue with the website as Andiamo is still in my life, as is Jean-Luc but just not in the physical form. As most of you know, I have continued to live on the boat since Jean-Luc died and have, slowly, been learning to sail. I think I have spent as much time off the boat as on it in the last 8 months and I haven't done as much sailing as I had planned. I think I owe it to myself and to Andiamo to spend one more summer with the her before making any decisions. This sort of sounds like my time in Whistler - one more season and then I'll move to Vancouver. Twelve years later I was still in Whistler so we'll see......
PLAN A
For as long as Jean-Luc and I have been together (over 9 years but who's counting) we have talked about and worked towards our dream of living on a sailboat. It's not just talk anymore. On October 22nd, 2010 we took possession of a beautiful 1986 Cape Dory 330 sailboat which is located on Bainbridge Island just across from Seattle.
Our search for a boat started from our living room in Revelstoke, British Columbia where we scanned yachtworld.com daily - boat porn we called it. Jean-Luc had his spreadsheet on displacement ratios, sail area, capsize and comforts ratings, etc. and I would look at the pictures and decide if I could call this one or that one "home". If you ever read the book - Motion on the Ocean - the author describes her and her husbands search for a boat and you could easily insert our names. Our real search began when we sold the house and quit our jobs in July 2010. We spent a month visiting our families and then built a bed frame in the back of our trusty (but leaky) old pickup truck and headed for the coast in September 2010. Sounds like something 20 or 30 year olds would do, not mid to late 40 year olds. We started in Vancouver and then scoured marinas on Vancouver Island between Victoria and Comox. We then headed to Washington.
Our route looked like someone who couldn't make up their minds on where to go and our choice of boats was the same. It was a great learning experience. I love the look of boats with lots of wood but do I want to spend all my time varnishing instead of sailing? We originally were looking at boats with heavy displacement and full keel but would we get frustrated in their ability to sail in light winds. There are pros and cons to just about everything on a sailboat and every kind of sailboat. Unless you have sailed a lot and know what you want it can be quite confusing - and everyone has an opinion about what is right or best.
One day we saw an ad for the Cape Dory. We made arrangements to see her, had a look and then continued on with our search. We were thinking about heading south to California as fall was upon us, the nights colder and the days wetter. A little voice kept insisting that maybe we were passing up "the" boat so we decided to have a second look at the Cape Dory. We spent the next couple of hours in the library putting numbers to things that we would want to add or change to the boat. I don't think either one of us were thinking of making an offer that day but that's exactly what we did and here we are - living on a sailboat.
This website will be my attempt to keep family and friends updated as to where we are and what we are doing. Don't worry if there isn't a change on the website for a while - either nothing is happening worth writing about or we're having too much fun to take time to write. Am I nervous - you bet. I've taken a giant step outside my comfort zone - no regular paycheque, family and friends are a long way away, the floor of my house is constantly moving and I know nothing about how to sail. I thought I knew a little but defining what is port and what is starboard doesn't count for much. At the same time I am so excited to be on this journey - every single day I learn something new, meet someone new or see something new. And Jean-Luc? You'll have to ask him but I think I can safely say he's found a new challenge to embrace.