Going Back into the Water

The boat has been out of the water since we got here, getting the bottom repainted so it's all clean and smooth for sailing. Not that it should make a real difference in our speed, ours is a very slow boat!

Steve has also spent the past two and a half days polishing the outer hull. He was well into his first day when the yard guy said to him, "You're doing it wrong and using the wrong stuff." But he then took pity on Steve, showed him the professional secrets of how to polish and the magic ingredient to use (ssshhh, don't tell anyone!). The hull is now so shiny the water reflects off it!

Here is Steve - post polish.

Tomorrow we start on the inside. From what I hear, it is slightly disordered since the interior repaint...

Sticker Shock

It's been about six months since we went grocery shopping in the US. Now I have to admit that when we are here on holiday I'm usually so busy shopping for our 'entourage' that I don't pay as much attention as I should to the prices of grocery items - a bit busier figuring out if I'll have the right food combinations to serve 7(ish) people breakfast, lunch and dinner for the coming week! But I was a bit surprised at the steep hike in food prices when we went to do the stock up for the condo.

I'll have to do a bit more research to see if our perception is correct, but we think prices were up to 25% higher on some items - coffee $9 per pound, bread $5. Granted the coffee was Starbucks and the bread was bakery bread, but, really, bread costs like 50 cents to make! Have prices to produce really gone up this much or is there some 'taking advantage' happening to push costs onto the consumer? I'd like to look at some of these price margins...

How to Make Your Own...

Made the mistake of reading What's in This Stuff?: The Hidden Toxins in
Everyday Products and What You Can Do about Them - amazing and slightly (okay, very) scary read when you begin to realise the cumulative contents of all the 'potions' (as Eileen calls them) that we put on every day. If patches on the skin can send medications into one's system in minutes, what can chemicals do?

Anyhow, it made me think about suntan lotion which we will be slathering on all day every day while on the boat, and insect repellant for Steve. After looking through the ingredients (hmm), I wondered whether there were more natural options and after doing some research on the web I came across a website that told you how to (gasp!) make your own. What a radical concept?!! Is it possible to make something really complex like sunscreen all by yourself? Actually, It's a really simple recipe without all the additives / preservatives which make it possible for the suncream to sit on the store shelf for months on end without going rancid. Simple and once you have the ingredients to hand it doesn't take very long to make. I have also found simple ways to make beauty products such as moisturiser, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc., and food products like mayo, butter, seasonings, French onion soup mix - the list goes on and on. It's really helpful when you run out or cannot find something - Jess called last night for how to make sour cream.

Chemicals aside, this builds upon a running conversation that Steve and I have been having about how we've lost our capability to do for ourselves. We turn to 'store bought' because we don't know how to make things from scratch. Generations before us knew how to make 'stuff'. What would happen if people started making their own again? I just like the control of knowing what the ingredients are, if something nasty goes on or in me, I'd like it to be concious choice. I also really like the flexibility of creating exactly what you want rather than buying and trying (and tossing) many products because they aren't quite right.

Sites that I love for 'How do I...' or 'How do I make...' questions are eHow and Instructables.

Florida - First Couple Days

And so it begins! After the nine-hour flight to Florida (2 books, 2 movies,
2 meals, 2 drinks, 2 diet cokes, 2 to-do lists - 0 naps) we arrived in Tampa
and headed off to Bill and Joe's to pick the car up. It was in great shape
(might be the best it has looked ever) and they were as fun and cheery as
ever. Then down to St. Pete to find the condo where we'll be staying for
the next three weeks while we do the trip preparation. Condo is very nice
(tropical motif throughout) and convenient to the marina and various boat
'stuff' stores.

The first non-travel day was spent getting groceries, checking out the boat
(currently out of the water having its bottom repainted - looks very good,
btw), checking the mail (no car or boat registration decals waiting (sigh)),
and having a Chinese. Bill stopped by with the rest of the luggage which we
couldn't fit in the car. We tried to watch An Affair to Remember, but too tired. We were sound asleep by 8:00!

Edge of a Cliff?

One of my favourites!

Major Life Change (Again)

In thinking and talking about this change we are about to embark on, I've
realised that this isn't the first for us. Although folks who know us know
we tend to operate in a constant state of change, both at work and at home.
At work, well, we do major change programmes and when the change is gone, we
move on. At home, different hotels during the week and different places on
the weekends. Holidays almost always in different places. The saying that
change is a constant rings true for us.

Comfort with different levels of change varies by individual. For me the
above is what I would consider constant, but low level change. In Six Sigma
terms it would be called common cause variation, a certain level of constant
variation which occurs within the system (of our lives). What we are about
to experience, I would call special cause variation or a significant,
unusual level of variation caused by a significant occurrance within the
system - we're about to toss our consistent, fairly predictable (albeit
constantly changing) lives up into the air. We've finished jobs, rented out
property and are moving to a sailboat - if that's not a major life change, I
don't know what is!

But, in thinking about this, it isn't the first time either one of us has
done this. In 1993, I started a home business, sold the house in Maine and
moved to Clearwater - all worldly goods in a U-Haul and no home lined up.
Left the States in 2002, with Jess (it was her idea, by the way) and moved
to England, not knowing a soul and all worldly goods in 18 2x2 cardboard
boxes - it was the best thing I ever did. Steve has had similar
experiences.

Changing my life (or lifestyle) in a major way has been incredibly positive
and that's why when people ask, "Are you excited?" and, "Are you nervous?" I
can answer both with a big YES! The nerves are mostly from worrying about
forgetting things (like my vitamins sitting on the counter up North (sigh)).
And it is exciting, because I know how great it can be.



And in this economy - bonkers!

Next Big Step - Done!

Things are all done at Highcroft (sigh) and we're now moving between
locations. Note to self: Next time we pull up stakes to go on a big
adventure let's take a little time between finishing work and going to get
ready for the big adventure! Whew!

Think we're there though, three huge suitcases packed with everything we
think we could possibly need (in addition to everything on the boat already,
may be a space issue before we go!). Today was my last day with some of the
best people I have worked with so far!

This weekend is going to be spent down in Windsor with Jess which should be
lots of fun!

Getting Ready to Go

Getting everything ready to go - house, office, files, computers, and phones. Think of the 12 Days of Christmas:

12 (times 2) inches of paperwork
11 loads of laundry
10 bags of trash
9 cables and adaptors
8 attempts at computer backups
7 'would you pleases'
6 page To Do List
5 Leaving Do's
4 loads of dishes
3 huge suitcases
2 copies of everything
And a slightly crazed, very nervous, but ready to go, future sailing devotee!

Thanksgiving (A Little Bit Early)

When we announced we were going sailing, the response from our UK relatives was, "But what about Thanksgiving?!" So we did what we've done every year and took a little liberty with the date, moving it back just a tad so we could have the big dinner before we left.

Seventeen people were around the table this year. This is the square table that Steve made last year which seats 18, 5 and 5, 4 and 4. It's great because you can have a big group like this and still talk to everyone at dinner. Attendees this year were Eileen, Julie, Andrew, Sue and Mark with Ellie and Louis, Sharon and Chris with George and Harry, and Kath and Jack.

There was a little panic over the turkey, when Steve and Jess went to a different market stall to pick it up than Eileen had ordered it from, but it all ended well with a 20+ pounder going into the oven. There was lots of stuffing, roasties and mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, and (of course!) sweet potatoes with marshmellows. That light meal was followed by three different kinds of pie, pumpkin (Julie's favourite), pecan and blueberry.

It was so nice to see the whole family before we head out sailing and no better excuse to do so than Thanksgiving!

Steve's Welsh Dragon

Steve is wrapping up three years spent building his shared service in Wales, winning the European Best New Shared Service award (for the second time) along the way. This Welsh dragon was a leaving gift from his management team along with this poem:

Steve

He came to us from Lancashire
and built up a head of steam.
Took on the job of building here
a shared service team, lean and mean.

He ducked and dived round Westminster
those bunny holes to avoid.
To achieve this mighty task of his
his skills were well deployed.

They said it wouldn’t happen
in this far off distant place.
The race it was too sporty,
and the people off the pace.

He warned that in a minute
all matters would abound
But kept us in formation
with a plan pristine and sound.

He calibrated actions
to tackle issues new.
Then fastened down the cockpit
while his new creation flew.

We went to the Czeck Republic
and came back with a prize
Which raised the profile of the task
in everybody’s eyes.

Now three years on and job achieved
the crew a thousand strong,
Steve bids farewell for pastures new
his sailing to prolong.

But Katherine needn’t worry
when they break down in the Med,
For he’ll get those pistons pumping
with his engineer’s head.

From Newport docks to Florida
he’s set his course to be
Shared Service Head to Yachtsman now
he’ll sail on every sea.

And when the anchor’s lowered
off his Caribbean isle
Please raise a glass and think of us
in Newport with a smile.

Farewell

Sharing What We've Learned

"We have stories to tell, stories that provide wisdom about the journey of life. What more have we to give one another than our "truth" about our human adventure as honestly and as openly as we know how?"

Rabbi Saul Rubin

Focused on What's Important

"If people are highly successful in their professions they lose their sense. Sight goes. They have no time to look at pictures. Sound goes. They have no time to listen to music. Speech goes. They have no time for conversation. Humanity goes. Money making becomes so important that they must work by night as well as by day. Health goes. And so competitive do they become that they will not share their work with others though they have more than they can do themselves. What then remains of human being who has lost sight, sound and sense of proportion? Only a cripple in a cave."

Or perhaps a person in a cubicle?

(The quote is by Virginia Woolf.)

Gloom and Doom or a Wake Up Opportunity to Assess What's Important

Have been watching the market bouncing around and the media's creation of an emotional frenzy over the past few weeks. There is definitely a lot that needs to be fixed over the next several years and people have made financial decisions that will need to be recovered from (both as businesses and individually), but since gloom and doom sells rather than leadership and 'here's what we can do about getting ourselves out of this', that's what the media focuses on. I read somewhere that we should be informed, but actually I don't want to be inundated with a constant minute by minute flow of how terrible it all is. I'll stay informed, but at this point I want to focus on the self-leadership (in the absence of any other) route and move forward.

For us, this is a wake-call, one which we've been hearing the gentle tones of for a couple of years. It's now a smack up side the head saying, 'Hey, pay attention!' If it is possible to step outside the frenzy, it is a clear time of reassessment - of what is important. It is an opportunity (all Pollyanna comments aside) to take a breath, step (or be pushed) off the produce / consume treadmill, turn off the autopilot for a while and think about what we want (as individuals) want rather than what businesses, government, advertisers want for us.

The treadmill and autopilot. I haven't been to a gym in a while, but did you ever notice that once you get on a treadmill it is almost impossible to get off? The only way to get off is to leap off (usually painful) or stop the machine. It's an interesting analogy for what's happening now. We get on the treadmill, start walking or running, turn on the autopilot (because being on a treadmill is really boring) and we can't get off - until the machine stops.

We've been making the 'planned leap' off the treadmill for the past two years knowing that it would create a significant change in our lives. Using the analogy above, what could be perceived as painful is the adjustment in income, radically different than before, but a planned leap is less painful than an unplanned one or being pushed. No matter which way one gets off the treadmill, once one does, you shut off the autopilot and begin to look around, to think, to become more creative.

Motivation for the leap. Every year since we've been married, Steve and I have an annual planning session where we sit down (often over a period of days) and identify the most important areas of our lives and what we want to accomplish in those areas in the coming year. There's usually about 8 consisting of our relationship, family, business, finance, etc. It is a focused and concerted effort both at the beginning and during the year to make sure that the things that are important to us make the agenda. If we didn't do it, then what others want for us (others who have no value or importance in our lives) get what they want and we don't. The key point here is that we've had to plan in our relationship, family and friends and fun things to do and actively project manage those activities to make sure they get done.

Stepping off the treadmill for a minute, do we want our relationships to be activities on a project plan? Do we want to have to fight and strive to make time (and energy) for an evening with friends? I can remember one year thinking that I had so much on workwise that I only had enough time to work on three of my 'important areas', relationship, family and work, and that friends wouldn't make the agenda. That was a wake-up call in itself, friends didn't make the agenda! Something needed to change.

If we only have a finite number of hours in this lifetime (just had a birthday and I'm counting!), do we want to spend them on a treadmill? Maybe this is a really good opportunity (setting the financial woes aside for just a few minutes) to assess, are we simply on the 'work till we're exhausted, collapse in front of the ads on TV, which send us to the mall to buy a 'treat', which we have to work until we're exhausted to pay for' treadmill? What portion of our lives are dedicated to that treadmill and is that what we really want?

For us the answers are no and we want a lot more than that! We've thought about this a lot and we want all those other areas of our life to have just as much (or more!) in them than the work area, we want family, friends and fun to be a core part of our lives, rather than activities on a plan or not even making that year's agenda. It's not often we get the opportunity to pause, step off the treadmill and think about what we really want.

Going Sailing - The Categories

Over the past two years we've spent a lot of time getting ready to go. We read books, went to boat shows, tried lots of things and made lots of mistakes. I think we learned a thing or two along the way (and not just about sailing, but about ourselves). The preparation for sailing has evolved into categories, one of which I've already talked about - communications. The others are:

Finances
Boat
Sailing skills
Live aboard a boat skill
Affairs landside
Securing future income
Mental preparation
Research
Physical skills

Living Consciously (v. Unconscious Living)

...and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Thoreau

Labyrinth

"I don't see why we have to be so quiet, it's only a goblin city."

Sir Didymus

The Way to Go!

Going Sailing - Communications

A huge area of concern for me in Going Sailing is communications - how will we keep in touch with Jess, Claire / Chris, both families and friends from a sailboat and locations which will range from marinas, anchorages in populated areas and deserted islands in the Bahamas? If I can't keep in touch, I'm going to worry and fret, but the challenge is to keep in touch without it costing more than our monthly Spending Plan*. Hour long mobile calls from the Bahamas to the UK will add up to a significant amount very quickly!

Our Communications Plan focuses on an approach of being able to communicate from anywhere, but in the most cost efficient manner possible. So what does that look like? For us, it is location dependant.

The locations we expect to be in are:

Marinas - Seldom and not for long.
Anchorages in populated areas - Quite a bit
Anchorages in unpopulated areas - Also quite a bit

The technology we expect to use:

Cellular - Local (pay as you go) and international (scaled back calling plan for emergency use only and for when we're back in the UK)
Skype - Voice over IP or Internet phone. Free calls worldwide to other Skype users. When we have an Internet connection, we'll talk to our kids / family using Skype. That's where we get to have those long chatty 'phone calls'.
Blogger - Using text email (via Sailmail and a Pactor Modem), a text or text / picture from a mobile phone or a WiFi connection to post where we are, what we're doing and share photos. We'll also be 'dual blogging' with Eileen, Steve's mom - we post on ours what we're up to and she posts on hers what she and the rest of the family are up to
Google Earth - A map on our blog to show where we are and stops along the way
Animoto - A slideshow 'animator' for pictures turning static photo albums into lively 'shows' with music to match
Picasa - Free downloadable software from Google to manage, edit and store your photos online
Sailmail / Pactor Modem - Old style text only emails via our HF radio from anywhere

Locations and associated technology:

Marinas - Easy to access WiFi, but with an associated cost. Can also get off the boat and take advantage of WiFi access at local businesses. We can use any of the above technology from a marina.

Anchorage in a populated area - Depending upon our access to a signal (Steve is installing an antenna for me to boost this) it will either be all of the above technology or text email to the blog and family / friends via Sailmail.

Anchorage in an unpopulated area - No WiFi here so Sailmail will be our only option!

Hopefully this will provide the 'anytime / anywhere access' we are used to at a reasonable cost.


*Spending Plan - Budgets suck! They're boring and focus on what you can't have. Budgets are about deprivation and saying No. Spending Plans are a conscious decision about where to spend one's money. They are proactive, positive and all about saying Yes. I can get excited about a Spending Plan, a budget just makes me feel constrained.

It's Time to Get Serious Now!

All of a sudden October 27th and Going Sailing seems really, really close! Our trip has always seemed like something off in the distance, but now it's becoming very real!

It's not like we haven't been preparing for it, the plans and to-do lists have been created and checked off consistently. New lists and new checks each month. I think because we're now working on the 'What Must Be Done Before We Go List' the minimal amount of time we have remaining has suddenly become really clear!

We have done a lot of preparation in quite a few different areas - first and foremost financially, building our sailing skills, mental preparation (the physical will happen when we get on the boat!), communications (of which this blog is a part of). We've spent quite a bit of time working on how to create a gourmet lifestyle on a shoestring budget (which has been very interesting, but I think we are there!).

Today I started packing. My to-do list is 4 pages long (single spaced, double sided). I'm going to be really busy between now and October 27th!

Birthdays!!!

Part of the fun this time of year is celebrating our bithdays! This year a joint celebration was held at Northcote Manor and it was fantastic! Not bad for turning forty-mumblemumble and forty-mufflemuffle!

The Whole Trip

Here are the photos from the trip. What a fantastic experience (even with the rain!)! Blackburn, Belgium, France, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. And back again!

450 Miles of Rain

Full on rain for the past two days. Not too bad for us as we have all the gear (yes, I can wear 7 layers of clothing and still move), but it puts a damper (pun intended) on the photography - and there's fall foliage to get pictures of!