Hello to all

[NealeinMI]

Hello,

This is my first time posting on the board.

I've been trying to talk my wife into an extended cruise to Australia with our 4 kids. But I'm not having very much luck. Although the idea is exciting to her, she is still very attached to the security of her job. So while I'm trying to convince her of plan "A", I'm taking a different tack and I'm trying to get her interested in weekend and vacation sailing.

Until then, I'll just have to be content with reading all your posts from far off lands.

Cheers,

NealeinMI

Welcome aboard. I always start with plan B because plan A is guaranteed to fail That security thing is always hard to get past. Hard to imagine living the minimalist lifestyle if you are used to life's comforts. Are the kids on your side?

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Nealein,
Welcome aboard!! This is a great forum to hang out in and read and dream.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[irwinsailor]

Hi there, Where in Mi are you?

[Pblais]

I'm taking a different tack and I'm trying to get her interested in weekend and vacation sailing.

Smart move you may live another day. Taking a family on something like that takes a lot of effort in the "crew development" department. Buying a boat, learning to sail, dealing with storms at sea are nothing with out it. You really don't want to "talk" any one into such a trip. They need to come to it in their own way.

Taking weekend and and vacation sails is just a great idea. At worst you'll have a nice time. It may grow into more but if it can happen it will happen through a gradual process where everyone gets more comfortable with the idea of being on a boat for more than an afternoon.

[NealeinMI]

I'm hoping plan B will work. I've had the dream of doing a circumnavigation for about 20 years. But it's becoming clear that it will have to wait at this stage.

It looks like, at best, I'll be sailing on the Great Lakes for a few years.

Currently land locked in White Lake, MI

Cheers,

NealeinMI

[cooper]

HI do keep the dream alive !! And dont get put off for to long. Starting to do the hard sailing after retiring is not as easy as doing it in your fourties. As they say life is not a rehersal and l have watched with great sadness countless people working and waiting and waiting... for the right time...A mutiny is no good, but it doesnt hurt to push the crew just a little to see if their hearts are in it.cheers Martin
Oh and by the way l live in Australia !

[NealeinMI]

Cooper,

You live in Australia? Where? I'm originally from Melbourne and moved to the frozen north (ie. Michigan) about 11 years ago.
I'll definitely keep the dream alive. My father always wanted to have his own boat, but it never happened and now he's in his 80's and it's no going to happen. I'm not going to my grave without doing this.

[swagman]

Welcome to the site,
IMHO a step by step approach when introducing another to sailing is vital if you want your partner to love it as much as you do.
Enjoy your time sailing locally - and look forward to hearing when the two of you decide to take the big step.
JOHN

[cooper]

HI NealeinMI
Melbourne !!Born and bred in Melbourne (top end of the city) now live in Emerald in the back of the Dandenongs. Glad to hear your conviction, it is worth it. l will try and post some pics of both the boat l have on the water and the one that l am building. The state is on fire as we speak 80 000 hectares and growing , by the weekend it will probably have burnt to the coast including the gippsland lakes. l dont think that there will be to much left by the end of the summer. (cfa.vic .gov.au) l am in a really strange position where l may have to protect my boat which is on a swing mooring, from ember atack so it dosent catch fire !! Its a weird world. Cheers
Martin ....................ps ..photo up under "sailing in the wind" of the boat that is on the lakes.

[irwinsailor]

Hi Neal. I kept my boat on Muskegon lake this season and I live in Holland. We almost live next door from eachother.

[Islandmike]

HI, good luck on either plan, if you are in a boat it is all good, Plan A, B or C!. I used to spend my summers in Houghton Lake, I loved it.

Welcome Aboard

[NealeinMI]

I saw an interactive map on theage.com.au that showed the predicted spread of the bushfires over the weekend. Fingers crossed that everything will be o.k. for you and all Victorians.

[NealeinMI]

irwinsailor,

I'm in White Lake which is just up the road from Pontiac. Isn't there a White Lake near Holland?

[NealeinMI]

I have been working (gently) on the wife. I also subscribe to world-cruising on Yahoo Groups. Recently there was an e-mail from a memeber of that group asking about personal provisioning suggestions for a Pacific crossing (Chile - Australia I think). There was a great response that had a very detailed list of items to consider. My wife and I both read the e-mail, but when I went to delete it she said I should print it out. In a sarcastic tone I said "Why, it's not like we'll ever need it?". Her response "Why do you say that? It will happen....one day."

So I'm feeling a little more confident, but it's still a long way to go.

Cheers,

NealeinMI