What: A new life at sea! We decided, once and for all, back in July of 2017, to sell our small farm in rural Eastern Washington and move South.
Once South, we will begin building or refitting a Wharram catamaran to cruise the world.
Where: We lived in Ford, WA for fifteen years. We moved there from Cheney when our daughter, Hannah, was less than two years old. We had pictured ourselves retiring there on our five acres with a menagerie of animals, but life changed our plans and South we decided to go.
So, South we are now, in a tiny town in Southwest Georgia on the Chattahoochee river "only" two years later! In that two years, we weathered some major life changes and did an extensive remodel (ourselves!) on our forty year old house. And next? When the house sells, we are going to find a used Wharram in the 46-48 foot range, refit her, and head to the Caribbean to get our "feet wet".
Once we feel sufficiently salty, we'll head for the Panama canal to get to the South Pacific. Our goal is to spend some time in French Polynesia polishing up our language skills.
When: Though I lost my crystal ball ages ago, I believe we will have the boat within a year. I have no idea how long refitting her will take, but we do hope to be sailing within two to three years. We have a pretty decent personal track record with our 2-3 year goals as a couple so far--so we're a good bet.
How: By selling the house and reducing our debt ceiling to ZERO. By living off the grid. By simplifying down to what we really need.
We have reduced our belongings from a four bedroom, two bath house with a two car garage and outbuildings to a 5x10 cargo trailer, a 22 foot travel trailer, and our two vehicles. We don't miss anything, except some personal space! We are building a small house on the Chattahoochee and living in the trailer in the meantime. We actually moved into it over one year ago in the midst of the remodel. It is very cozy. We have gotten very good at communicating with each other when we need space.
Why: Not to be trite, but why not? We were told recently by a friend who had just learned of our plans, "You won't ever regret it. You're not gonna look back on your deathbed and be sorry you did it."
He summed up how we felt. Life is an adventure and we don't want to just exist in this world- -We want to experience it in its full depth.
We feel called, spiritually moved, to the ocean. That is as simple as it gets, really. We are dropping out of the rat race to join the human one.
