Some Background - why Sailing?
I have always loved sailing. I grew up in Orange County, California and had the opportunity to learn how to sail at the SeaScout base in Newport Beach. They trained us in Lido 14 sailboats and we once crewed the famous Argus Tallship over to Catalina Island.
When I was about 20 years old, on a visit to the Bahamas with a buddy, we made a promise that we would someday return via sailboat to truly explore the over 2000 islands and atolls that fascinated us.
Our relationship subsequent withered and we lost touch after he got married and moved to Colorado, but the promise remained and somehow lived on.
Later, when I was 26 and had the chance to sell off my half of a mortgage lending and escrow business to my partner, I took it.
As a result, I found myself with a little cash (I think it was about $15,000) and in a position to be able to take some extended time off. I was as yet unmarried so decided that, if ever there were to be time to make a trip such as this, that time was now.
I decided to fullfill the promise
So, I bought an old Ford F150 pickup truck, packed it up with what I thought I'd need and headed out alone, driving from Mission Viejo, California to Miami, Florida. I had no plan, per se; only that I would try to buy a boat once I got to FLorida and sail it over to Florida.
There were many adventures on this trip, and suffice it to say that I did, in factg, fullfill the promise and sailed single-handed around the Bahamian Islands for the better part of a year. Along the way I learned what it meant to be thrown overboard while the boat is on autopilot under power (I swam real fast), what it meant to be dismasted and also that Loran (my sole means of navigation) doesn't function at all in the Bahamas (doh!).
I learned a lot and had tons of fun on that trip and, although I eventually returned to the workaday life, sailing continued to be a part of my life over subsequent years.
Check out this startup I did some front-end work for a few years back. Type in the name of any artist you're into and you will be listening to them in seconds!
When I was about 20 years old, on a visit to the Bahamas with a buddy, we made a promise that we would someday return via sailboat to truly explore the over 2000 islands and atolls that fascinated us.
Our relationship subsequent withered and we lost touch after he got married and moved to Colorado, but the promise remained and somehow lived on.
Later, when I was 26 and had the chance to sell off my half of a mortgage lending and escrow business to my partner, I took it.
As a result, I found myself with a little cash (I think it was about $15,000) and in a position to be able to take some extended time off. I was as yet unmarried so decided that, if ever there were to be time to make a trip such as this, that time was now.
I decided to fullfill the promise
So, I bought an old Ford F150 pickup truck, packed it up with what I thought I'd need and headed out alone, driving from Mission Viejo, California to Miami, Florida. I had no plan, per se; only that I would try to buy a boat once I got to FLorida and sail it over to Florida.
There were many adventures on this trip, and suffice it to say that I did, in factg, fullfill the promise and sailed single-handed around the Bahamian Islands for the better part of a year. Along the way I learned what it meant to be thrown overboard while the boat is on autopilot under power (I swam real fast), what it meant to be dismasted and also that Loran (my sole means of navigation) doesn't function at all in the Bahamas (doh!).
I learned a lot and had tons of fun on that trip and, although I eventually returned to the workaday life, sailing continued to be a part of my life over subsequent years.
Check out this startup I did some front-end work for a few years back. Type in the name of any artist you're into and you will be listening to them in seconds!
Labels: Bahamas, sailing, Sea Scouts
posted by The Norrell Family at
Friday, April 06, 2007
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