Checking the wheels.....

Did a little exercise today.  I looked up the varied costs of renting yachts/sailboats as well as the training that would be needed to head-off to the horizon with the best chance of success.  the process was supposed to show how it could cost less than you thought to "live your dream".

It was rather surprising how much simply rent is on those boats!

I now understand a little better why all the people I have seen who set out sell off everything and go.  Unless you have a lot in cash set aside, holding onto your house and other things of modern life in north america is going to be almost impossible.  A solid cruiser (used) costs between $150k and $800k, and these are not the mega-yachts,  just solid proven cruise designs.

Blech.  Putting wheels to this plan is going to be tough.

Not impossible though.

It seems to me that as a working class we are given "freedom" which simply means we get to choose our masters and which suburb we will live in.  Oh, we can make a shift, but it will require a lot of nerve and a willingness to discard a lot of the blue-collar mantras we have been raised and trained in.

But what is the alternative?  Hope to hit the loto?  Working extra hard will get one a bit more money, once the tax man has his cut.  But there will not be much left of me to enjoy any kind of change after a couple years of doing that.  I think that the only real way to transition is to decide to do it and then push through.  Build the new support system you need as you lay the groundwork.

So for a support system, some have used the mass market of the 'net to raise funds.  They post articles, videos and sell seats on the boat for different legs of the cruise.  I'll have to ask my future crew if they would be OK with that, but that could be a wonderful idea.

We could give someone the chance to "live the life" for a little while without having to jump off the proverbial bridge.  HD camera gear and drones are affordable enough that the whole thing can be documented for others to live vicariously along side us.  A satellite or SSB radio link would allow others to suggest research options at the destinations through e-mail, or the posting of pictures/video very close to the time of the events shown.

Things to consider for sure.

I'm going to try and do at least one thing every day to step towards the goal.  Tonight, I chose to go into work to deal with a breakdown.  It interrupted my long weekend, but it gives me extra $$$ and time off later that I can use to move ahead.

I do so want to meet my old friends out on the water someday.  :-)

Baby steps....

So, where to start?  I could start with more research, though that feels more like a stall tactic.  What is it I really need?

1. Decide to set out.

2. Set up some means of supporting the project/myself.

3. List needed goods/equipment/training

4. Schedule classes/get equipment.

5. Move ahead.

There, a start at a list.  #1 will be tricky for me.  Often I will "decide" to do something and then set myself up so I can back-out for whatever reason I would like.  Truly, this is how it works but there are things that can be done to make it more difficult.  Blogging about it to the world could help, if anyone actually was following the tale.  Announcing to friends and family what your plans are could help also.  Really, both are attempts to make me accountable to someone else for the decision I have made.

An attempt to embarrass oneself into motion.

Well, whatever works.  Or doesn't.  I'll let you know.

For number 2, it would be nice to have a house that we owned and could rent out for revenue.  Not really likely since we will need the $$$ from the house to buy the boat.  One option is to find a job that I can do from anywhere.  I'm going to take a weekend class on voice acting to see if that is even a possible direction.  My wife can write, so she should be set.  Our daughter doesn't like the idea of leaving the city of her birth and all her friends.  I can understand that, and she will need to be home-schooled during this adventure.

For goods/equipment/training, I'm looking at the voice-over class as well as the various sailing training classes available.  There are also blogs and websites of others who are doing this already who are willing to help with the nitty-gritty lists.

This is a start, and it no doubt will change as time goes by.

.....baby steps to the elevator.......

Germination

As I stand in the elevator lobby on the 5th floor I gaze out over the city.  As far as I can see there are rooftops, representing hundreds of thousands of people like me who are going about their jobs today, paying bills, buying groceries, hoping to have a week or two off at some point to relax.

    Just as my view is hemmed in by the two wings of our building, my view of available "responsible" options for the future seems narrowed down.  After all, I'm already 47 with a family and a mortgage.  I have a stable job, with money going into a pension for that grand "some day" when I can "relax".  I have the usual concerns about car and house repairs and maintenance, nutrition and exercise.

Maybe it is just that "mid-life" thing, but I'm really questioning why I'm living in this particular place and time, and what exactly I am working toward.  What happened to the ideas and wonder that I felt when I was little and watched the National Geographic specials, or Wild Kingdom, or Jacques Cousteau?  Back then, I had thought that someday I would be out there looking and doing those things.  Why do I find myself somewhere so far from that?  Perhaps because I have never decided to actually head that direction.  I think now that I fell into the trap of believing all the lists of "required" qualifications; that in order to do those things I had to have some external entity approve me for it.  But really, all those approvals are by people just like me.  There is nothing more special about them or any divine blessing that gives them the stamp of approval over me.  The only reason they can do that is that I comply.  Why do I do that?  Why do I fall in line so easily?  Am I so desperate for validation by the social structure that I am willing to limit my individuality to the marketing schemes I am told to?

Frustrating.

Frustrated.

How can I teach my daughter that the world is a wide and beautiful place to explore while living a life in a trench?  I can see the world out there, as big and as wondrous as ever.  I find I talk myself out of change, because I don't see the answers right away, because I can't guaranty my plan of going from A to B.  But the truth is that there is hardly any more risk in change than to stay where I am.  I know this, but it still feels like a mountain sits in the path.  Maybe it is because I have a wide range of skills that this is so frustrating.  Most jobs require the use of such a narrow skill set that after a few years our other knowledge fades away due to atrophy.  For some reason mine seem to linger, and beat on the cage walls, constantly wanting fresh air and to be fed.  I don't want to wake up one day and find I'm one of the bitter and grumpy old tradesmen with a drinking problem.

I'm far more than a job title.  I'm far more than another taxpayer, or a gym member, or a "like" on a facebook page.  But no one will ever know unless I get up and walk that direction.

So, where to go from here?  Out.  One step.  Then more.  How?  After all, I don't want to be foolish.  Do I?  Why?  Why not?  A plan is in order I think.

So, I would like to sail out to some of those pacific islands that I used to see in the documentaries and write up a "where are they now" article.  I will, of course, check to see if it has already been done.  But reef surveys will be increasingly valuable as the planet keeps changing.  So, how to set about it.

Well, I would need a boat.  I would need some means of support.  I would need equipment.  I would need to brush up on my navigation and radio skills.  I also need to document the whole journey, from now until I either accomplish it or fail.  This will let others see either how they can do it, or how not to do it.

I have seen other do this, so I know it is possible.  I have not heard of any tradesmen doing it, at least not yet.  Possibly because most of us are not known for our ways with words.  This will be good then.  If few ever record the journey, history will never know that it was made, and others may accept the trench as inescapable.

The biggest challenge is the decision to set out.  It is much easier to commit to a different rut in the trench and call it "change".  It feels much safer.

Saner.

This idea looks more like a psychotic break than a change of direction.  It might not work.  Then again, it might.  Regardless of what happens, I'm not getting out of life alive so in the end there is nothing to lose and much to gain.