Finally Here!!!

Last I wrote, I was counting down the days. I think maybe, I was at 19 days and dreaming of boarding my plane and beginning my adventure. I had my ideas and thoughts about what I would be getting into. But, even the short time that I have been in my new temporary home, my ideas or expectations have been exceeded. I can’t and really don’t want to even try to build expectations for the next few months. I’m pretty sure, there’s no way to anticipate the little things that you just have to experience in order to see how they turn out. I’m getting ahead of myself though. This is about the trip here and the first few days, I’m not ready to talk about what is to come.

So Monday, Sept 2nd, I boarded my plane in Raleigh and headed up to Chicago. It was an uneventful, if not relaxing flight. With United, I was able to choose my seat and ended up in the first row window with plenty of leg room and a nice view as we landed at night in a beautiful city. The trip started well, and I thought maybe that was a good sign of things to come. Ummm, no, it wasn’t. So, I flew United with connections on Lufthansa from Chicago to Germany and Germany to South Africa. I usually really enjoy flying on Lufthansa, but this time things were a bit different.

I couldn’t check in prior to getting to the Raleigh airport. I think it was because I had a visa and not just a passport and someone would need to verify it in person. But, because I couldn’t check in before my flight, Lufthansa wouldn’t let me choose a seat as they normally do 23 hours prior to flying. This meant that I got whatever seat I was given. Turns out I was given two aisle seats, which I hate! The first flight reminded me of why I hate them.

I got on the flight and it looked mostly full. I got to my seat and saw that I would unfortunately be sitting by a bigger lady in the middle with her daughter at the window. Little kids don’t like to sit for 8 hour flights, so I knew I’d be getting up. Added bonus, the lady in the middle kind of spilled over into my aisle seat. Right before the flight, I took some melatonin though and pretty much passed out on taxi to the runway, But…before I knew it, I was getting tapped on the leg by the lady next to me. Something about wanting to take off her coat and put it in the overhead bin. I reluctantly got up and moved as she took off her coat and opened the bin. That’s about the time I realized the flight attendant telling us to sit down. Turns out, we were still climbing. In my groggy state, I just got up without really knowing where we were in the flight. I sat back down and quickly fell back asleep. But about 10 min later, I was again being tapped on the leg. Apparently she though she should wake me up to tell me that the drink cart was coming. I gave her a look and told her I was sleeping. I closed my eyes, tried to relax, and yet again, fell asleep. It was next that the food cart was coming and she felt the need to tap tap tap me once again and wake me up. I looked at her, shook my head, and mumbled something about leaving me alone. Yes, I actually fell asleep for the third time, but o wait… remember the little kid? Yeah, she wanted up and wasn’t waiting for her mom to tap me again. The girl (about 7 or 8) crawled across my lap to get out. At this point, I kinda lost it a little. I told the mom to hold her daughter, I will move so she can get out. After moving and waiting for the littler girl to come back from the bathroom, I decided it was enough. I asked the flight attendant if there were another seat I could take. She politely took me to the next section of the plane, where pretty much everyone had their own row!!!! Sat me down in a four seat row with one other person and no one bothered me for the next 6 wonderful hours.

The rest of the flights were nothing spectacular. A plane and an airport, we’ve all been there done that. So on to South Africa, Cape Town, and the first few days…

I took the bus from the airport to the hostal that we’ve been put up in. South African’s call it a “backpackers” We are staying in a place called Never@Home. It’s decent; it has a small pool, full bar, shared kitchen, and plenty of common areas to hang out. The room we have is fitted for 8 people sharing 4 bunk beds. We have 7 in the room, to include 1 girl. I feel a bit bad for her! My only real complaint about the hostal is that the bathrooms don’t have any usable space. There are no shelves or places to put things off the floor. Only a few hooks decorate the walls of each shared bathroom.

Luckily I got in to Cape Town around 10 am and to the hostal by 12, so I had some time to rest up, meet the rest of the crew and get ready for the first day of class. Everyone else was either there or also came in that day. We all were able to meet up and we quickly started talking about where we came from and what kind of experience (or lack there of) we each have. The first person I met was Triston. A young 20 year old who will be turning 21 during our mileage building. We’ll find some way to celebrate this hallmark moment…probably by throwing him in the water with the sharks. He’s an easy going guy that has spent the last year teaching English to elementary aged kids in Cambodia. He’s from South Africa, but flew to Cape Town from Cambodia. The next guy I met could probably pass off as my brother (we look a lot alike). I was walking down the stairs when this dark haired, bearded guy was coming up. He recognized me by my WhatsApp picture and said hello. He told me his name was “Mokol” or something… I asked him to repeat that and he once again said “Mahcool.” I looked at him, very puzzled and asked for him to say it just one more time. Again, he repeated something that resembled “Mahcool”, but this time followed it up with “ya know, like Mahcool Jackson”. Ahhhh, yeah, ok, Michael. Looking back, of course he was saying Michael. It takes a few days to get used to the different accents, but I hear it now. After that, I met Allan, D’evon, Wickus (pronounced Vickus), and Carmen (or Hoops). Tristan, Wickus, and Hoops are all 20, Michael is 31, Allan and D’evon are, I don’t know…older… haha, and I’m 39 (not the oldest). So we have a good spread of vibrant youth and aged maturity. But in the end, our group is meshing really well. The biggest problem we have right now is that there is a tractor that drives around our room every night. Not naming names, but we have an individual who could wake the dead with his snoring and we’ve all taken to wearing some type of hearing protection to bed every night.

I’ll talk about this small part of the course we’re going through in Cape Town next time. It’s STCW and a requirement for people working on boats. But, we’re only half way through and I think grouping that together may be a bit simpler. The last thing I want to touch on is simply those “expectations” I talked about in the intro.

I came here thinking that I would meet good people, sail a bit (2500 miles), and experience a new and beautiful country. Those were the expectations. So far, in just 5 days, I have met people who will undoubtedly be life long friends, I have laughed, and cared for, and enjoyed a group of people that I would have never met if not for this trip. I can’t begin to explain how good it feels to be in a place where we don’t judge each other, we don’t criticize, and we support without even knowing because we all have the same or similar goals. A simple example of this would be the other night. Hoops had some friends in town and asked me if I wanted to hang out with them. She hadn’t seen her friend in a long time and she didn’t have to invite me, but knowing that I didn’t know anyone here, and I would probably appreciate getting out of the room, she did. We ended having a relaxing time at her friend’s pool and then decided to head out to an event going on in town. The event where we went ended up making me feel a bit uncomfortable because it was something out of my comfort zone (part of this trip is expanding my views) I texted Michael and told him that I felt a bit out of place and if he was free, it would be good to have another guy to hang out with. He dropped everything and headed out the door without even a hesitation. By the end of the night, we were all having a great time and I was happy to be there with those two people. No matter how short a time you know someone, or what your backgrounds come from, friends come from unexpected places. You just have to get out and meet those people. Do your adventure, get out of your comfort zone, explore the world and yourself, and find those friends you never knew you had.

The Time is Near

Counting down the days… 22, 21, 20, 19… today, it’s 19 days until I get on my plane. They say, don’t rush time. Well, I think someone says that. I realize that the days will go by, time will continue, and soon enough, I will be boarding my string of flights that will ultimately end with me in a country I have dreamed of visiting since I was young. Wait, wrong word choice. At 39, I am still young and I am not waisting my youth before I am old.

The time now, is boring though. I’ll be the first to admit that this blog won’t have as much content or draw of dreaming and beautiful beaches. I’m currently dog sitting for my ex-wife while she is in Ecuador, hiking the mountains and jungles surrounding the capital city of Quito. She’s having a good time. I’m spending my days picking up dog poop and going to the gym to keep from going stir crazy.

So, topics I do want to cover though… My Visa, flights, and gear

My visa was taken care of rather quickly. I mentioned in the last blog, that for a South African Visa, you actually have to go to one of the embassy offices in LA, Chicago, or DC. This can pose a problem if you don’t live around the area. The good news is two fold though. First, they get processed rather quickly (though they never called or emailed to let me know it was ready) and second, you can provide a self addressed envelope from UPS or FedEx so the Visa can be mailed back to you. So only one trip. The one problem I did run into though (other than not contacting me) was that I applied for a “Retired Person’s Visa” which would be good for 48 months. I supplied all the needed documentation and met all the requirements. However, when I picked up my Visa, it was only the “Visitor’s Visa” and will expire a few days after my trip. This isn’t a major problem as I don’t believe I will need a longer duration, but I am pretty sure I am going to fall in love with South Africa and it would be nice to be able to go back without having to reapply for another Visa up in DC.

Flights haven’t been a big deal as I have had my reserved for a while now. A few things I am seeing though may help others out in the future. For example, the flights to get from the east coast of the US to Cape Town take roughly 2 days. I will leave on the evening of September 2nd and won’t get in until around noon on September 4th. The flights and subsequent layovers can be pretty lengthy. I have also looked into changing my flight as I will be getting in on the same day that I actually need to be there. I wouldn’t mind being a tourist for a day or two and getting some rest prior to class starting on the 5th. However, the cost to change a flight (for my flights) can range anywhere from $555 to a few thousand dollars. This can get expensive, so if you’re thinking about going, make sure you have your dates set before purchasing tickets.

Lastly, gear, this part is pretty short. I have the needed gear…foul weather, warming layers, boat shoes, but as the time to leave approaches, I am starting to think of other gear that may be worth having. Some I have, some I have been purchasing along the way. Items that have come to mind are things such as, a good pair of sunglasses that I won’t mind losing (not $200 Oakleys), light weather rain gear, a good hat with neck coverage, long sleeve t-shirts with SPF protection (I found SPF 50 shirts on Amazon), and a couple of headlamps with red light filters for getting around the boat at night. A big thing has also been my choice of luggage. I wanted something that will hold everything I need for 4 months, but also want it to fold down small after emptied. Being a former Marine, the first thing I thought of was a sea-bag. After 20 years, mine is pretty torn up, so I did go to E-Bags.com and got a nice zippered Everest duffle that should fit the bill. I’ve used a few Everest bags in the past and they tend to hold up very nicely. I know there’s more that I am still missing, but I’m sure being in a coastal town with a lot of sailing schools, I’ll be able to find the gear I need.

Is it still 19 days? I’ll enjoy the relaxation for the time I guess. I’m ready to go though…well, I don’t have my bags packed, and I still need to complete a few self-imposed tasks, so maybe I’m not that ready. But I want to leave NOW!!!

Back to Work…for a while

Coming back from Antigua, it was hard to get back into the office and focus on the boring tasks of creating policy, writing administrative instructions, prepping for higher headquarters inspection and so on and so forth. I immediately started planning another trip and am patiently waiting for the 4th of July weekend where I will be flying off to Puerto Rico. My hope was that it would break up the time between coming back from Antigua and heading off to South Africa.

To further help get through the time, I scheduled a few SCUBA course and have now finished up my Advanced Open Water as well as my Rescue Diver certifications. I also am heading up to Baltimore Maryland in July to dive the Baltimore Aquarium.

But I digress, it’s work work work that I am focused on… umm yeah, sure.

The secret at work has been out for a while and I find that pretty much everyday, someone is coming up to me to ask about my sailing trip to South Africa. Even my barber said that her partner now wants to go to a sailing school. He’s a bit older than me, but I told her to go for it. After all, it only takes doing for an adventure to start!

I put together all the paperwork, photos, notarized documents, and money for my visa. I went to the South African embassy yesterday, but got there pretty late and couldn’t figure out where to park. Weird thing on that, and a note to anyone who would like to visit South Africa for more than 90 days, if you need a visa, you actually have to visit the embassy office in DC, Chicago, or Los Angeles. If you’re in a state like Texas or Florida, the trip to get to the embassy is annoyingly far. There are companies that claim to do all the paperwork and submit on your behalf, but of course the price on those isn’t cheap. One more added cost to an already expensive trip.

I got on the computer this morning (instead of working) and checked out the Google map of the embassy area. Looks like I know where to park, and should be able to get there in time next week.

I’m also trying to convince my son that it would be a great idea for him to come with me. Maybe not the full 4 month Yachtmaster Offshore course, but the Coastal course or even the Steward/Hostess courses would be good for him. He just graduated high school and like most 18 year olds, is trying to find his next stage in life. I’ll update on that decision.

So not much excitement this month. I’m ready to go, just a few more weeks until I quit my office job, take off the tie, and run away from DC traffic. O how I can’t wait!!!!

Sailing Antigua, The Lazy Way

I got on a plane the morning of May 2nd and headed from Washington DC to the island of Antigua. In honesty, I didn’t have any knowledge of Antigua nor was there any real draw that made me excited about visiting. It simply is, another beautiful Caribbean island settled nicely among the other beautiful Caribbean islands.

But, once the plane descended over the white sand, rolling hills, and relentless blue water, I realized that I was about to fall in love yet again. You see, it happens, every time I step foot off the plane, every time I am greeted by a friendly islander, every time the salt air and tradewinds tap me on the shoulder and welcome me to what I feel is home, every time, I fall in love again and again.

The island life; the let stress go, worry about nothing, never watch the clock; island life has got to be the best life I have lived.

I spent two days wondering the island and lounging on the beach. It’s what everyone does on vacation. One thing I actually had to do though, was go see a doctor. My sailing school, and working on yachts in general, requires a medical physical called an ENG1. Though there are medical facilities all around the world who can perform a physical, trying to find a location that performs this exam can be rather difficult. In the states, I only found a location in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Luckily, I’m in Antigua and there just happens to be one doctor on the island that is authorized to conduct the physical. I found out first hand that this is probably the most basic physical you will ever have, so it’s strange that I couldn’t just go to any random family practice doctor. But, lucky or random or whatever, it’s done. It cost me $200 but it’s good for two years. And now, I’m signed off to go sailing!

Though I’m getting ready for sailing school, Antigua was all about vacation and after finishing up the two days on land, I boarded an amazing 60 ft catamaran sailed by a Tradewinds Cruise Club team of two and felt myself instantaneously relax as a beautiful young first mate handed me a cocktail and introduced the four other couples we’d be sailing with.

The first evening we sailed out of Jolly Harbour and anchored in a little cove just across the way. Dinner was served, pork medallions with vegetable side and sweet potato puree. To say it was delicious is an understatement. We woke up the next morning, for me that means 6am on the dot, to a Caribbean sunrise that I’ll challenge California to try and produce better. A bit more sailing to Deep Cove, which oddly enough is only about 9ft deep, where we snorkled a wreck, swam, paddle boarded, and took a hike up to the ruins of a small hilltop fort. Closing the day down, we enjoyed cocktails among new friends. Monday and Tuesday brought with them a continuation of island breezes, swimming, and sailing. We finished off Tuesday evening by meeting our sister ship on shore for a bonfire, sundown cocktails, and making even more new friends. After dinner, that night was the most peaceful sleep I had gotten and it made my 6 am wake up something to look forward to.

I don’t wake up that early by force, my vacation days on the boat gently rock me awake when the sun starts peaking through my window. I put on a sweatshirt and head up to the fly bridge and watch the world slowly come alive. It’s usually around a half hour later that the captain and first mate start performing their morning routine and prepping for the day. At about the same time, if there are other boats anchored by, one by one sleepy eyed sailors, holding their coffee cups, start popping out of their hatches to join each other in their own routines and preparations. As the morning progresses, each boat starts to pull up anchor and head out in their chosen direction to find their next little adventure. Sure beats getting in the car and joining the rush hour commute.

This week on the boat covered seven days and included three dives, plenty of snorkeling and paddle boarding, we enjoyed the sun and sea spray as well as a few sun burns and a bit tanner skin. It was a needed vacation and new memories were made. I hope one day, I’ll be able to be on the flip side, helping others enjoy their sailing vacations as much as I have.

Final Decision

Do you ever have those moments when you look back and you think that something was such a long time ago, but it felt as if only a moment had passed by? It was 2012 that I was sitting in a wood hut in Afghanistan, during a 6 month deployment, thinking about sailing away. Seven years ago, I made up my mind that my future would include sailing and travel. I have a saying that I truly believe in, “it only takes doing for an adventure to start.” So many of us keep dreaming, keep thinking about someday and sometime and next year. I’m still dreaming, but this year is my someday, sometime, this year! It’s official…I’m giving up the traffic and office way of life in Washington DC; this former Marine Corps Captain is heading off to South Africa to become a Sailboat Captain.

A little back story may be in order. About 13 years ago, I stepped foot on a sailboat for the first time. I was in San Carlos, Mexico with Jessica, my best friend and the woman I would later marry. She introduced me to something she loved, and I immediately fell in love with it as well. Fast forward to 2012, sitting in that wood hut in Afghanistan, while surfing the internet, I found the amazing logs of a boat called Ithaka on the Boat US website and got lost in the stories of a couple who sailed the Caribbean for about 6 years. After reading all the boatlogs and corresponding with the woman who wrote them, and who happened to be working for Boat US, I ended up writing an article for the magazine. I was so excited to write about something I enjoyed so much. I was also very scared that putting those words out there would somehow hold me accountable for starting my adventure and that I’d just be another dreamer if I didn’t follow through with what I wrote. For the record, I am just another dreamer, and dreamers are an important part of our world. Dreamers who can put those dreams into action, create change and change is good.

Over the years, I’ve owned a boat, took some basic courses in sailing, done some day and weekend trips, and have gone on some amazing charter vacations to locations that I hope to one day see again. No where on earth do I feel more relaxed, more at peace, and more in tune with who I am than when I am on a sailboat. It just feels right.

So, after years of dreaming, continuing to work, and coming to the realization that plans don’t always work out the way you…well…planned, I’m in the position to actualize my saying and start my adventure by dropping everything and doing.

When I first started thinking about how I could make full-time sailing a reality, I came up with several different possibilities. 1) Use my 401k and military retirement to buy a boat and finance my adventure, 2) Find a position as a Charter Captain, 3) Win the lottery, 4) Sail while finding odd jobs here and there (maybe writing?) 5) Join a crew. As the planning started, I flushed out which options I could actually do. As stated before, things don’t always work out the way you think they will. Along the way, Jessica and I were blessed with the adoption of a wonderful young man (Michael) who has and will, for the better, continue to change our lives forever. As I write this, he is 17 and a few months away from turning 18. He is an amazing person and is working hard to find his way in life. On the flip side, Jessica and I also split up last year. It was amicable and we continue to be the best of friends. Though, now I can’t get her to go sailing with me. With the financial responsibilities of those events, the first option of buying a boat and running off isn’t feasible. Option 3, winning the lottery, well…I’ll keep wishing on that one. For stability sake, that really only leaves the options of finding a position as a skipper or joining a crew. Either way, a bit more formal education is in order.

Throughout the past six years, I have researched various schools and what the different certifications entail, which is more accepted throughout the industry, and what the difficulty in obtaining those certifications buys you. My understanding is,that the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Yacht Master Certification is more accepted worldwide for sailing than going through the individual courses of American Sailing Association(ASA) and then getting signed off by the US Coast Guard. One individual made it very clear in my mind when he pointed out that the US Coat Guard Captain’s license is for a boat. A person could have a Captain’s license and never have sailed a day in his/her life. With that in mind, I looked at RYA Yacht Master Fast Track schools and primarily focused on three locations: Spain, South Africa, and St Maarten. There are plenty more locations out there, I was just drawn to these three over others in places like Australia, Britain, Amsterdam, etc.

Though it would be cool to spend 3-4 months in the Caribbean and get to sail around St Maarten again, this is where the difficulty of the course comes into play. The tidal range in the Caribbean is basically zero. That means that the requirement of mileage building in tidal waters that RYA requires would be rather difficult to meet. The hard choice came down to Spain and South Africa. There were a lot of contributing factors(reputation, length, language, cool accents, etc), and both seem to have amazing all-inclusive schools. The major difference is the exchange rate between the American Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), and South African Rand (ZAR). USD to ZAR is currently at .072, which saves a few thousand dollars and is hard to overlook when a Fast Track course is going to set a person back $8k – $12k USD. And hey, if you can sail Cape Agulhas, you can sail anywhere…right?

With my choice made and decision set, I have signed up with Sail Due South out of Langebaan South Africa. Not only do they have the all-inclusive education along with room and board, they also came highly recommended by an excellent captain I had come to know and sail with. I will be heading down to Langebaan in September to start my adventure and I don’t think I could be more excited. Until then, I need to finish working on my travel visa, find and buy some solid wet weather gear, figure out where I am going to live when my lease is up in June, and o’yeah…go on a sailing vacation with Jessica to Antigua.