As winter approaches it might be a good time to talk about The Dream. It's the reason we have the boat. It's the reason we sand, fix, paint, varnish, replace, rebuild, repower, pay slip fees, pay haulout fees, pay insurance fees, skin our knuckles, and drain our bank accounts. We do all of this because of The Dream. There are a thousand things waiting to destroy The Dream but if you still have the boat then The Dream is still there. Maybe you are dreaming of getting the boat or you have covered 100,000 miles already. Maybe it is not a destination you are dreaming about but rather a way of life.

         Tell us about your dream. Putting it down in black and white changes it from a dream to a goal. Scary stuff!

                                    Lee

Unlike Dick, I am new at this cruising gig. I am fresh off the hamster wheel and I can give you a coal face perspective.........it is unbelievable. There is nothing in my 60 year life that even comes close to this dream come true experience, like being inches away from a dozen dolphins diving at the bow of your boat.......watching sunsets with no land in sight........the camaraderie of the cruising community. So shed those landlubber excuses and set your sights on achieving your dream. Peter

Dream(s)

I was raised with strong Asian superstitions so very few of our friends know of our dreams. I wouldn't let John talk of our dream lest it fly away with the wind. Our families have watched us for the last 6 years preparing for our new dream.
Though, I'm sure some of them question our sanity sailing on the open ocean, we proved the WS capability and safety as we bucked like a wild bronco across the infamous Columbia Bar and up the Washington coast last summer,
I was amazed at my own ability to overcome the fear as I steered Konami across the bar all the while repeating under my breath "she can take a lot more than I can".

I recall sitting at the beach when I was 8 years old, watched the sun drop below the horizon and envisioned being in Japan watching the sun rise all in the same hour. My dream to sail to Japan has never left me. John knew he was destined to keep moving when he recognized the intense freedom when he drove away in his first car.
We're so lucky to have found each other and share the same goals.

We've been blessed with 6 sons, 3 grandsons, great careers, chased cows and shoveled the barn, flew airplanes and gliders at 18,000 feet above the desert, and sailed our little sailboats on the lake. We've worked our butts off to achieve everything we have accomplished.

We have lived on Konami over 3 years. We miss the bathroom, the standard bed, the washer and dryer, but some of our hobbies will travel with us.
I retired ahead of John, he has 8 months of nose to the grindstone left. Go Honey!

Dick and Libby have been a great inspiration to us. We want to be in our wisdom years and still sailing. The younger generations like Tate and Dani have been fun to follow, sharing the pride of similar accomplished projects.

All the single handed transpac WS sailors, Dave King on Saraband (twice), Joshua Siegel on Sunquest, Randy Leisure on Tortuga, Gary Burton on Elizabeth Ann have been our heroes overcoming solitude and challenging their skills on the big Pacific Ocean. We continue to follow other WS cruisers in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. Our WS32 will take care of us also.

We are planning our departure sometime next summer. Won't say the date and destination yet, but we're busy getting the boat finalized, spending precious time with our sons, parents, grandchildren and close friends. We hope there is enough of us left to steer the boat!

Please watch for our blog in the next few months.

John's version:
Our dream is to leave next summer, it really is an awesome boat. No drama, no passionate expressions.
Diane: "Hmmm, must be a Mom thing."

Jan. 2, 1981               The Dream

The Columbia's a river of endless flow,  and as I sit at anchor,
     I dream the day that I may go,  to satisfy this hanker.

I picture my boat a sailing, bound for a tropical isle.
     Under a full moon paling,  drifting towards time's exile. 

Together we'd cross the ocean,  to anchor off the idyllic shore.
     My life would express the emotion,  of one who desired no more.

A life of complete satisfaction.  That's how I dreamed it to be.
     And my boat can feel the attraction,  as this river flows to sea.

Oct. 24, 2014             The Dream

Thirty four years have passed since that dream of "81".  Much has changed in my life, yet much has remained the same.  The Westsail has been under foot now for over 70,000 nm, with 26 years spent living aboard.  Three round trips were made to the South Pacific with my wife, Ruth, and 8 round trips to Hawaii, amongst other things.  But that "Life of complete satisfaction" has not occurred.  Nor am I the "one who desires no more".

The dream and it's accompanying desires are as intense and debilitating as ever.  However, a few technical details are different.  "I picture my boat a sailing", is now replaced with "a 72 hour, 8 knot, Screaming, Spinnaker Reach".  And no longer is "anchor(ing) off the idyllic shore", good enough.  Now the dream is to meet your best friends, with whom you've been buddy boating, and share that anchorage with them.   "Drifting toward time's exile", must now be paraphrased to include" with the woman you love".

My blood still runs hot - but a little less so.  Some dreams were met head on and some chips were wiped from my shoulders.  The sailing will continue but changes will be necessary.  Ruth may have made her last 2000 mile crossing with our Raiatea to Honolulu beat last year.  She has left a 40,000nm wake though, and has never left any doubt as to her prowess on the boat and ocean.

The Dream still includes those long crossings and all that they demand.  The Dream destinations vary little from the "81" era.  At present there are no plans.  There are, however, no less than 3 "thoughts" that are traipsing around in my dream world.  Three adventures that SARABAND is fully up to, are still undone.  SARABAND, a Westsail-32, has , so far, done everything I have wanted to do on a sailboat, and will continue to be the boat that continues this Dream.

Dreams, of course, are primarily future oriented.  They can also be past oriented.  Referencing this dichotomy, I give a special mention of thanks to those in our family that have helped me along the way, and will also be helping me in the future:  First, of course, Ruth, and Diane & John (Konami), Shalline & Chuck (Saraband), Anthony & Terry (Gamen), Steve & Carmen (Solstice), Kate & Dan (Mithrandir), Joshua & Becky (SunQuest), Jim & Julie (Worldwind), Duke & Denise (Amable), Gary & Charlotte (Elizabeth Ann), Dan & Jean (Hunter), Randy & Dani (Tortuga),  Art & Rose (Summer Rose), Lee (Patience), Bill Andrews (Quest),  Just to name a few.

Thanks again,     Dave

The Dream... hmmm.

Its always been there in one way or another, break away and live a life free from the grind. This first came true when I worked in the Namib desert in west Africa as a ranger after serving my National service (conscription) in the Marines and then later when I left the country of my birth with a backpack to eventually end up in Oregon after wandering through Egypt, Israel and England. Raising a family brought a demanding job and all the trappings of security, a mortgage, a car payment, etc etc. Life became a race for the weekend when the job could be forgotten and dreams could be rekindled walking the trails along the Oregon coast and wondering about the distant horizon.

The Westsail captivated me, A whole new Dream in a new form, to sail my own boat somewhere exotic. Found in the desert, a kit boat that had never made it past the back yard. Inside was like a time capsule from the Westsail brochure, a new Westsail 32. We had to remove a carport and shovel away 35 years of soil and growth to get her out of that yard.

What followed was many dollars, and hours of work. Lee Perry and Dave King helped to get her in the water.... and then some. I'm sure there were times when they wondered what they were doing helping someone who probably wouldn't get past the bar in Brookings, a complete neophyte. But they did help and I'm indebted to them. I learned a new work slogan

"We will do something even if its not right" hahahahahaha

It must have been frustrating trying to help me sometimes :)

I dreamed of the Single Handed Transpac. Could I really sail to Hawaii on my own? Yes. And I could quit my job and become self employed? Yes.

The Westsail has enabled these recent dreams. It is my Dreamship and my place to dream. My refuge and my sanity.

This winter a new dream has begun. The Westsail will once again feature.

Dreams do come true.