Still Amazed

Have you ever wanted to sail around the world?  And I don’t mean on a ship, I’m talking about a sixty to seventy foot yacht.  A motorsailer of course, with twin diesel engines, sails that are easy to rig, and one with a few comforts.

Now of course there are a lot of details in arranging a world- wide sail.  First is simply the time.  You need a year or two to do it right.  Then there is the matter of money.  Sailing around the planet won’t be cheap.  Yachts capable of trans-world cruises are very, very expensive.  Figure a million or two at least.

An ocean-going seventy foot steel or fiberglass yacht, with twin diesel engines, a diesel generator, a water desalinator, radar, satellite tracking and communication systems, computers and other esoteric electronics, plus fuel, food, emergency equipment, spare parts and on and on and on, fully equipped and ready to go, is not bought for pocket change.

So, you hit the lottery

Normally your income isn’t quite what’s needed to do the job, but your lottery numbers came up and you scored a big one, a really big one, and you’ve decided to go ahead and buy the yacht.  You’ve had your eye on a gorgeous steel yacht with three nice staterooms, crew quarters, a large galley, huge lounge, and stunning bridge.

The yacht has some of the electronics already on it but you decide on a few extras.  You contract to have everything done, you fill it with diesel (did I mention that the fuel tanks hold ten thousand gallons? Imagine what it costs to fill them) and stock it with food, water, and other miscellaneous provisions.

You can’t sail it yourself so you hire a crew.  This can be both expensive (captains don’t come cheap) and not so expensive (college students who will work for a small salary, expenses, and the fun of simply doing it). You pray everyone likes each other.

So after selling your home and putting all of your belongings in storage with the exception of clothes, books, music, and a few other small items, you are ready to sail.

We’re outta here!

One balmy spring morning you cast off and head into the blue Pacific. Your crew is alert, your family and/or friends (or whoever else you managed to get to go with you) are on deck and smiling and the weather looks good for the run to Hawaii.  You’re so excited you’re breathless.

Now comes the fun part, non-stop to Honolulu.  As long as a storm doesn’t blow in across your path, the engines don’t quit, and the electronics work.  And you hope that the crew never comes to hate each other (or worse, you).

After Hawaii, where you stay for a few days, you set out for the South Pacific and from there on around the world.  You have the time, the perfect yacht, the deep blue oceans, and the wind at your back.

And of course, you blog about it the entire time and write a book based on the blogs when you return that comes close to paying for the trip….but now reality hits, my daughter wants breakfast, papers need to be graded, the bank wants to have a discussion, and I really do need to figure out what’s dripping beneath the car.