June 12, 2015
Well, I finally made the decision to sell the Westsail. This was a painfully agonizing decision, and one that I still (sort of) regret. When I look at the bigger picture, however, I know this was the right decision. Realistically, this project had a completion date some 6 to 7 years out, and this timeline interferes with so much: time spent with my kiddos, a potential move to a larger home and renting this property, my career has me traveling more often, etc.
I am a bit of a perfectionist, and so the idea of finishing out an interior, and systems, to meet my requirements made perfect sense to me. Plus, I just love having a project I can walk out the back door and immerse myself in - shedding the stress of work. Coming to grips with not finishing a boat to my specifications / wish list of features is difficult, but the tradeoff is worth it. The Westsail was meant to satisfy my need for a project, and be that boat to sail off in during retirement. As it stands now not much has changed, those two goals were just slightly modified. The plan remains for post-career voyaging, but will be in a finished boat needing only minor refitting; the plan for a project remains as well, it just morphed into a Cape Dory Typhoon. The 19' Typhoon will be kept in the water with plans to sail her as much as I can with the kids.
So, I have years to plan the boat purchase, but more importantly, more time on the water with my kids...and maybe raising crew for the post-career adventures!
