After years of living aboard boats from a 42 Grand Banks, then a 46 Grand Banks and finally the current Worknot a Nordhavn 50, we have dreamed the dreamers dream of living aboard and traveling WITHOUT A SCHEDULE. For the past 10 years we have enjoyed moving our boat and home from San Francisco Bay to San Diego but always under pressure to meet a work schedule. We gained coastal cruising experience and tons of "how to live on-board" experience in the past years. Now we hope to add to that experience with longer and longer journeys, farther and farther from the Southern California coast.
Our first trip after my retirement is the FUBAR, www.fubar2013.com , group trip from Ensenada to La Paz Mexico. Yes, its a highly scheduled trip but take a look at the website and you will see about 40 other like minded boaters are making the same journey. There is much to be said about safety or at least comfort in numbers. At the end of this 1000 mile trip we will be "on our own" in La Paz Mexico with the Sea of Cortez and the mainland of Mexico to explore at will until we need to return north avoiding the hurricane season in April of 2014.
We committed to the trip early this year and it forced me to put a line in the sand for a final stop working date. Without this commitment I would have extended my work life for just one more project or one more "important" event and never taken the leap. With a firm deadline for the FUBAR trip looming and money committed there was no graceful way to put off retirement any longer. Its a great way to start a retirement and change the focus of the day to day.
As the big day to shove off got closer the pace of activity reached a fevered pitch. Lists were made, accomplished, another list soon appeared. Someone would suggest you just could not go without this or that and the frenzy to find it, buy it, install it, stock spares and at some point read about how to use the newest "it" took over the day. To name a few items we added an ultra violet water treatment system, upgraded radar, second backup chartplotter, 100's of # of engine/generator spares, fuel, lube oil, filters, light weight dinghy, charts, cruising guides and enough food to last for the journey down and back. If the trip we delayed another week the waterline on WORKNOT would have disappeared forever.
We are accompanied on the FUBAR trip by Dave and Lori Martin. Dave is Mary's brother and Lori his wife. They got the boating bug from us on a trip to Catalina a few years ago, quickly purchased their own trawler and put many miles under the keel in a short time. Its great to have family to crew and share the FUBAR trip experience. Even better when they know their way around a boat! They seem to have mastered the retirement program and Mary and I are taking notes.
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