by Michele | May 5, 2012 | Preparation Stage
I have a confession to make. I’m afraid of water. Growing up, my whole family was uncomfortable when in the water. I didn’t learn how to swim until I was eight years old, and I’m sure that Carter will be a better swimmer than me by the time he’s five. I don’t even like getting my face wet in the shower…yea, it’s pretty stupid I know.
A year ago, Dan started talking about getting our SCUBA certifications. Kyle and Becca, his brother and sister-in-law, had already gotten theirs and went diving in Mexico for their honeymoon and had really enjoyed it. The idea of scuba diving made me want to hyperventilate… which is somewhat ironic considering that I’ve willingly jumped out of a plane three times and I would have no problem doing it again. I just don’t like to be underwater. But I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet; if Becca could do it, then I could do it.
For the most part, our class was uneventful. I wasn’t even the worst one there! The only problem that I had was taking off my mask underwater and having to clear it again (see above statement about getting my face wet.) It was time for our certification dives at Haigh Quarry in Kankakee, Illinois. I wasn’t too worried, because I knew I could do everything. Unfortunately, I had decided to buy a new mask from our dive shop and hadn’t tested it yet. Bad idea. As soon as I would go under water, my mask would instantly start filling with water. I am ashamed to admit that I started freaking out, not quite hyperventilation, but definitely freaking out. I was done with this. Luckily, our instructor that day noticed my problem and traded masks with me so that I could complete my dives. Poor guy had to wear a pink mask all day.
I’m happy to report that while I’m not entirely cured of my fears of the water, I do really like scuba diving. Diving in the Caribbean was one of the most amazing things that I have experienced. For now, I’m happy to just go diving with Dan. I’m not interested in starting Divemaster training like he is until I am significantly more comfortable. However, there is something to be said for facing your fears. The confidence earned is definitely worth the cost.
by Michele | May 4, 2012 | Preparation Stage
 You think a giant mechanical shark was scary? Just wait til you have nightmares of monster waves eating your tiny sailboat in the Southern Ocean. |
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So recently, Dan and I found this fantastic sailing blog called
Windtraveler, written by a couple from Chicago who is living the dream of sailing their boat
Rasmus on the open seas. (Actually, they are currently back in Chicago for a pit stop while they have their baby girl, but that’s irrelevant to this particular post.) So anyway, I’ve been reading their blog from the beginning and found a post about the movie Deep Water about the Golden Globe solo circumnavigation race in 1969. Windtraveler highly recommended the movie as “gripping” and says “there is definitely a lesson to be learned from Donald Crowhurst, may he rest in peace.” Well, I’d say I learned about 2 main lessons from the movie:
1. Never, for any reason, allow your husband to sail the open ocean without you.
2. Ever.
I mean, seriously, I don’t think I have ever watched or heard or read of a story that was so devastatingly heart-breaking. I mean, you could not make up a story so tragic as the story of Donald Crowhurst. Not to beat down on Brittany from Windtraveler or anything, but you could have warned me that I am going to have separation anxiety from my husband for weeks now, clinging to him like a two year old who thinks his mommy is never going to come pick him up from day care. Why? you may ask. Well let me give you a little breakdown of the solo race around the world.
Of the nine contestants, 4 didn’t make it out of the Atlantic, 1 got just past the Cape of Good Hope and gave up after having 27 straight days of terrible weather, 1 got 1100 nautical miles from the end before sinking his boat, 1 decided he would rather leave his family in France and keep on going around the world*, 1 committed suicide after losing his mind, and 1 finished. Not a great outcome if you ask me.
The movie focused mostly on the experience of Donald Crowhurst. He was left in an absolutely tragic state of trying to decide between death by drowning and absolute financial and reputational ruin after his boat started taking on water in the beginning of the race, and in the end he chose both. Truly, though, the real lesson that I took from his story was this: there is nothing so tragic as losing your life because you are afraid of losing it. You have to face your problems head on, even if there is nothing scarier that you can think of doing, especially if you have someone you love who will face them with you. It is always better to stand with your family, rebuilding out of the rubble, than being alone in the end.
So there you go, maybe I did learn something from this terribly depressing movie. (But seriously, Dan is never going to do a solo circumnavigation now.)
*So I know a lot of people are inspired by the writing of
Bernard Moitessier, but couldn’t he have just gone back for his wife and then gone to Tahiti? I mean, really.
by Dan | May 3, 2012 | Preparation Stage
Good bye awesome car
Yesterday was a sad day in the life of my car ownership… I just sold the best car that I will ever own (previously of My Car and I went Diving fame). Car ownership and cruising don’t exactly go hand in hand, do they? Let me say that I like cars. I like driving, I like racing (not NASCAR, that doesn’t make sense to me), etc… I had a Saab 9-3 Aero with a 6 speed manual transmission. The engine was V6 Turbo Charged. That’s 276 screaming horse power in a sedan. I actually never lost a race, even against BMWs, Mercedes, Porches, Corvettes, and other less worthy challengers.
Hello future
It just wasn’t to be, however. Finance guru Michele figured out that we could save an additional $13,000 before our cast off if we traded my car for a cheaper one that we paid cash for. That $13,000 is around a year’s worth of expenses while cruising. Needless to say a year cruising the ocean beats a year cruising my 9-3 Aero to work any day… but it was still hard to drive off the lot leaving it behind. It is one thing to know and understand that following our dreams will require us to get rid of pretty much everything we own, but its another thing altogether to put those words into action. It’s bittersweet. I feel awesome that Michele was able to figure out how to save an additional year’s worth of expenses without needing to wait any longer before we cast off.
We now have one major To-Do List item checked off: pay off one of our car loans. We plan on doing the same with our other Saab 9-3 (yes, we used to own two…) in the future, but paying cash for our new GMC Jimmy kind of knocked our savings down temporarily. We will probably get nearly all of what we paid for the GMC back when we sell it, but we don’t have the cash to buy another car immediately. One car payment down, one to go, and a future to look forward to. Follow your dreams. Follow the Horizon.
by Dan | May 2, 2012 | Preparation Stage
As you might know, I am lucky enough to have recently purchased an awesome SCUBA gear package… in this series I will review some of the stand out items in my new SCUBA set. First up is the SUUNTO Zoop dive computer. It is SUUNTO’s entry level computer that replaces their popular Gecko line. Despite the low price, this thing does everything a recreational diver needs. It supports both air and nitrox (you can even set your O2 mixture), not too bad for less than $400. It is based on the Suunto Reduced Gradient Bubble Model (RGBM) algorithm which is on the conservative side.
My first experience with the Zoop was in St. Kitts and I was pretty impressed. Never having used a dive computer before, it was very easy to understand. Current depth, non-decompression time remaining at current depth, and dive time (among other things) are all prominently displayed on the huge screen. You can set depth alarms to alert you when you are going below your planned dive depth as well. I didn’t know it had this feature when I was in St Kitts… the coral ridge very gradually sloped downwards and let’s just say I was at 85ft before I knew it. The menus take some getting used to, but the computer comes with a handy water proof menu “map” in case you absolutely have to make an adjustment when diving.
The Zoop comes standard as a wrist mount. Its huge, however. I opted for the gauge mount (with retractor) version to keep things more streamlined. The Zoop has the ability to connect to your personal computer with a not-included ridiculously priced ($100!) usb cable. I haven’t purchased the cable yet due to the stupidly high price. I work in IT and I know you can buy usb cables for under $3… I feel like the cable should have been included for free in the first place.
Overall I’m happy with the computer. Are there better ones? Sure. Better value? I don’t think so. Maybe if I get into technical diving or other crazy things I will look into a high end computer… but this will work for years to come. It definitely beats using dive tables.
Looking for your own Zoop? Go to your local dive shop or [amazon_link id=”B004060D8Y” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link].
by Dan | May 1, 2012 | Preparation Stage
Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
– Nobel laureate Andre Gide
Uncertainty. It scares people. A lot of people spend a good portion of their lives trying to reduce or eliminate it. In general, people want to feel warm and cozy in their lives. Risk is to be minimized, chances not taken. Michele and I can’t do that. We both know people who are happy with that life, and that’s great for them. It’s just most definitely not for us.
A lot of people think we’re crazy for following our dream to sail over the horizon. One of the first questions they ask is what happens if something goes wrong? I always tell them something will go wrong. The question is better phrased “what will you do when something goes wrong?” We’ll do exactly what we have always done. Deal with it and persevere.
We have been sky diving, scuba diving, rock climbing, and many other “extreme” activities… yet we don’t think of ourselves as “extreme” or adrenaline junkies or risk seekers. We know our limits and (usually) stay within them. I don’t see the point of not pushing yourself, however. How do you know you won’t like skydiving? Try it.
Do you have the courage to lose sight of whatever shore you are clinging to? I hope so. Grow in yourself and seize the opportunities life gives you. Follow your dreams. Follow the horizon.
Follow the Horizon is participating in National Blog Post Month (NaBloPoMo). NaBloPoMo is for bloggers who commit to post each day in the month of May.
by Michele | Apr 28, 2012 | Preparation Stage
So why can't I go in again?
Carter is our smallest-in-stature, biggest-in-attitude crew member. I’ll refrain from any 2-going-on-20 cliches, but this kid definitely thinks he is running the show around here (and he might be right!) He loves all things “boy”- trucks, cars, trains, and of course boats a.k.a “buhts” to him. Since he was only about 2 months old, the best way to get Carter to relax has been to take him outside. He will be in a terrible tantrum mood, but as soon as you get him outside he will play peacefully for literally hours.
Carter not only has the love of the outdoors going for him, he is completely obsessed with water. Talk about a boy meant for the ocean. He’ll splash in anything he can find: pools, ponds, dog dishes, and (as a mother I am ashamed to admit) the occasional open toilet. Yuck. He will even pour out drops of juice on the floor just to rub them around on his hands. He LOVES water.
One of our biggest motivations for wanting to live on a sailboat and travel is to give our son the opportunity to grow up with an open mind. To experience humanity instead of being just a passive member of it. To learn by touch and feel instead of by being told. Carter may not want to live on a boat for the rest of his life, and maybe we won’t either, but that’s not our ultimate goal for him. We want him to know that anything is possible, no matter what his horizon is.
We are normal (well ok, not so normal) people that have a dream to see the world and live life as it was meant to be. We both have successful careers in the healthcare industry, even in this terrible economy. We want to break free of the current cycle of trading time for dollars and dollars for more and more things we don't need. So, we have decided to forego the fruits of our economic success and "retire" well before we are 30 and set out to see what is over the Horizon.