And the quest begins in earnest!

Rob and I have been looking at boats for about a year now, long before we were even talking about making this happen by the end of 2011.  But, to us, that was "boat porn", something to drool over and wish for - not something that you actually get to have!  So, we'd go to Craigslaist and BoatTrader.com, looking for what we can afford; actually, I guess our looking and dreaming is what made this a reality for us.  You see, two years ago, Rob told me that when buying a boat, every foot over 30' will cost about $1,000; that would mean we were looking to pay $30-35,000 - NOT a reality for us.

However, what we have found is that a used boat that maybe needs to be sanded and polished, have the underside scrubbed, and get some elbow grease behind a scrubbing pad will run $6-11,000 for the size we want.  Alright then, that is something we can afford!
  We have three cars (not one that will bring more than $6,000, mind you), a 23' sailboat, and a household of furniture to sell; we know how to live cheaply and enjoy making homemade food and spirits (beer and wine, nothing that blows up); and I know how to save money... well.  Now, I really wish I knew how to invest in order to make our measly amount of money grow, but saving will work for now.  Especially considering what we can save up now will get us what we want and where we want to be... for a while.  But, money-making is for another blog!

We found a boat that looks beautiful, has everything we need/want, is in our price range, and makes me happy! http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1991-Custom-Sloop-99051003  Great!  Now, we know a couple of things: 1) We still need to sell all the previously-mentioned items to have the money to buy a boat. 2) We will not buy a boat before we see it, walk on it, touch it. 3) We don't want to drive from Texas to Florida in the hottest summer in 31 years to see a boat before we talk to someone about it.  So, Rob called the guy and found out the boat does not look exactly like the pictures - she will need some love and may need a bottom job (about another $1,000 if someone else does it).

Armed with this knowledge and the new information that there are boats up and down the west coast of Florida that aren't being posted where we have been looking, we have made a decision: we have to go to Florida within the next month.  With that decision made, Rob started searching out boats along the coast from Texas to Florida on Craigslist and found much more than we have found on sites where you have to pay to advertise.  So, by the end of August, we will have made our first trip to Florida - one of only two I am hoping to make like this! http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Wait, am I trying to complain about going here?!?!

On the home-front, we have packed a little more, we will have another garage sale in another 100+ degree weather day tomorrow, and we have bottled the wine I brewed with another batch of Rob's beer about to be bottled.  The cats have been fixed, vaccinated, and introduced to having water all over their bodies (the girl, Madame Curious, was much more accepting than the boy, Baron von Munchausen).  We are seeing family and friends as much as possible, especially now that the blog has been launched and we are getting more invitations all of a sudden!  And, I have begun the distance brainstorming session of ways for me/us to make money while sailing; you see, I would LOVE to put the degrees I worked so hard for to use and contribute to my fields of study.  I'm just not sure how to... yet!

And, finally, on the sailing front: Rob and I raced Wednesday night with the other sailboats around us and ended up bailing out of the race.  1) Our bottom is dirty. 2) We are not a racing boat, we are a cruising boat. 3) We suck at our starts. 4) Due to 1-3, we were already WAY behind every other boat out there. 5) This HUGE gust of wind that threw everyone off and was the topic of most post-race conversation had us uneasy enough that we decided we just wanted to stroll on in instead of sail under pressure.  We know that we aren't good racers, which doesn't bother us because we have no intention of being in a hurry once we set sail for the Caribbean.  However, we know that we have to be good communicators and calm sailors in times of emergency in order to remember what we need to do.  That's really why we like racing: it just gives us a little experience in pushing as hard as we can so that we will know how to if it's ever needed.  Besides, what sailor doesn't want to sail?!

Last night, one of my oldest friends told me that, while telling someone about how crazy Rob and I are to be doing this, the person said, "You sound jealous..."  My friend, Tasha, said, "Of course I'm jealous: when I was unemployed, I was almost suicidal!  When Cory's unemployed, she decides to sell everything and go sail around the Caribbean!  Who does that?!?!"  Although I almost had tears falling from laughing so hard while we joked, it got me thinking: is this really that crazy?  Because, even with the tingles of fear that ripple in and out of my stomach sometimes, I know that this is just RIGHT!

In my mind, that makes it so.