Greetings all,
I’m writing from our box strewn house as we enter the final week of our transition from landlubbers to sailing family. I started sailing on a leaky M scow called the “Nosebleed” back in Wisconsin. Later, after moving to Idaho, my wife and I bought a Catalina 22 and started racing with SISA, the local sailing club in Boise. We stopped sailing for a time when our children were young but then reconnected with the purchase of an O’day 23. We began to do more cruising than racing with our O’day and slowly started laying the groundwork to take that next big step! About a year ago we decided to work towards pulling the plug on my 18 year career in the semiconductor industry and set out on a 1 year sailing sabbatical. As I make the transition from failure analysis to failure avoidance my posts will document our journey and I hope to provide useful information about the process of turning the dream into a reality.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain
Truansea 
Great intro Mark. Love it. And though I’ve said it before, I admire the vision, focus and tenacity that has enabled you to turn your dream into a reality. You are an inspiration to us all.
Paula
How exciting and what an Excellent Blog! Looking forward to your updates and best wishes to you and your family.
Kind of funny when I think back to that 8 or 10 foot aluminum boat we borrowed many years ago. I would have never guessed 😊.
So VERY excited for all of you!!! I cannot wait to get updates to the blog. ENJOY YOUR ADVENTURE AND NEVER LOOK BACK!!
What a perfect quote! Have a wonderful adventure. Suzanne
Mark, keep up the pictures. You have done more in the past month than we have done in a year… keep it going.
Mark, I forgot to ask you – how were you teaching Loretta to bow? She has tried several times but I don’t know how to cue her. She is so sweet and really wants to teach me but I need a bit more instruction from a human! She is doing great – getting peppy and frolicking in the cooler weather (even over the river rocks!!). We adore her! Thanks – Teresa
Mark, David misses your guy-bonding talks. Call him next time you are sitting outside drinking lots of wine! What? No time for drinking wine?! Too busy doing boat repairs? That’s ok, call sober.
What an awesome adventure for you and the family Mark. The boys will learn so many real world lessons during this time that would never be possible in school. I look forward to more updates and really enjoyed the posts so far. I can’t imagine what kind of trouble you and I would have had on this type of trip.