I guess it's time I jumped into this conversation
:
The way I see it, every one of you is right. Each of us has our own definition of sailing as a sport, a hobby, a lifestyle and/or a passion. And each of us enjoys sailing the way we have defined it.
As I have explained in the past, I started Escape Velocity's rebuild maybe partly out of necessity but mostly because I thought the investment of time (moreso than money) would net a boat that would greatly exceed the sum of her parts. It would be uniquely and quintessentially mine from stem to stern, from keel to masthead. That's my goal.
Do I miss time on the water? Sure. But when I had a fully functional boat (pre-Matthew) I never was able to get out as often as I liked. Life interfered. I also have a rather unique career where time off allocation is much different than most people and I currently live a lifestyle that on one hand restricts my time at home but on the other hand gives me blocks of time to make real progress on projects that can't be completed in a day or two. There's a real sense of accomplishment, for example, when I was able start and finish painting the hull in one go, rather than having to do a small piece one or two days at a time.
Another consideration is my somewhat unique status re: the marina. Although the marina has now changed hands and will be rebuilt, we are over two years into not having a functioning marina. It has been a real hardship here for the people who want access to the water. Available slips have been hard to come by, and the remaining local marinas all have their ups & downs. For us on this island it has always been about close access. For me the marina is a 3 minute trip in the golf cart! That was nice before (and will be again soon!) but after Matthew there was a severe shortage of available slips locally. Some guys had to move their boats as far as Charleston. A 4 or 5 hour roundtrip just to get to your boat really takes the wind out of a day sail! For me, however, it has worked out well. I have even declined a slip in the first rebuild phase - we'll get around 20 wet slips to start - because a. even though I could put the boat back in the water now if I wanted to it really doesn't do me any good, and b. I would rather see the first set of wet slips go to the people who can use them now. Our local boating community has taken a hard hit and I want to see my fellow boaters come back so we can start rebuilding our sailing community.
Finally the time vs. money issue: I get it. I really do, but: My goal has always been long-term, to have a boat ready and capable of cruising (remember, I'm planning central and south Pacific). I have always planned an early retirement so I can go and enjoy my cruising time while I am still (relatively
) young and healthy. I'm trading time on the water now for a (yes) lengthy rebuild, but the alternative, to me, doesn't work. If I had just gone out and bought a replacement boat I would have to work at least 3 or 4 years longer to pay for it. As it is now (barring any world-wide crisis) my timing is working out that the rebuild will be complete just about the same time I hit my financial goals and can sail over the horizon sipping a rum & coke. And when I go I'm not planning to come back! A replacement boat blows that plan out of the water (so to speak!).
I conclusion, thanks for all the support, advise, tips and encouragement. I deeply appreciate everything you guys say. Now it's time for bed! Hopefully tomorrow I can finish up the first of several updates to my activities the last few months.
Cheers,
Mark
