Frequently Asked Questions we get are:
- What's the (big) deal about sailing?
I hope these images and the song speak for themselves, and there is still so much more to it:
Photos from 2009-2012 fun experiences on our last remaining free frontiers: the oceans
- What does cruising mean?
Ref/Credit: coastalboating.net
- How did you get to that point?
Neither of us had sailing experience prior to 2009. We did not know the difference between a monohull or a catamaran, or even what a boom was.
Both of us (at times taking turns):
- read about the possibilities which quickly seemed endless: how to charter a boat for a week or 2, long-term sailing voyages by families, all the worldwide destinations...
- went to boatshows and attended seminars.
- took basic keelboat lessons on 19' Flying Scotts. Basic is the key: a tiller, a main sail, and a jib to start with.
- practiced.
- took American Sailing Association (ASA) 101, 103, 104/114, & 105 (and/or the US Sailing Association equivalent) certifications which allow you to learn the ability to skip a sloop-rigged boat up to 50ft or so in moderate winds and sea conditions; one learns: the sailing terminology, parts and functions, helm commands, points of sail, sail trim, safety including navigation rules, auxiliary engine operation, docking & anchoring techniques, boat systems, weather forecast interpretation, seamanship, navigation including chart plotting and GPS, emergency operation, etc.
- practiced by chartering monohulls and catamarans locally, in Maryland, and in the Caribbean (from 34 to 48ft).
- still read half a dozen magazines a month.
- watch videos (DVDs or on Youtube) about seamanship, anchoring, storm tactics,...and enjoy other people's personal sailing videos and blogs - which can be very informative and fun.
- read books by sailors and adventurers.
- keep dreaming and planning (we will take diesel engines and electrical systems classes soon).... our eyes on the goal the whole time, otherwise, as Henry Ford said, you start seeing frightful things called obstacles.
Voilà, I hope it inspires some of you to go at it, or anything else you might dream of.
- Why?
In my opinion, in the beginning was not the verb but the question.
In the mist of our daily routine and at our age (early 40's), the recurrent questions we pose ourselves are: - to be where I am now, have I had to sacrifice my curiosity, my sense of adventure, my dreams? Have we sacrificed qualities or merits such as disobedience, non-conformism, art and poetry, a critical mind to live a life of intellectual and physical comfort - a comfortably numb existence characterized by a big appetite for energy and resources while blind to its effects on humanity and nature? by a disconnect with nature?
Starting this endeavor with Agave seems to address these questions at their core. Simultaneously, incessant new questions create internal conflict (for me at least; I can't speak for Avi here). Here they are, and, some nights, they do keep me up: do we take too many risks (financial, physical, educational,...); should we focus more on "securing" a financial future instead (retirement, college, health/medical funds which we are kind of omitting at this point)? How boring does that sound, hein? ...which brings me right back to the questions I was asking above: are the compromise to do so worth it?
Well, we' ll find out sooner or later! For now the feeling is: better try to go at it having fun.
- How?
It's definitely a challenge to keep our consulting business running, trying to maintain a regular life for the boys and their activities that root them into their present development and their community, and a hint of social life. Our extended family life is taking a toll as they are dispersed across the planet. For now and the foreseeable future, all of our resources in terms of finances, energy, time are channeled towards this adventure. Again the theme of compromise is back on the table. The good thing about the undertaking is that it is constantly putting our creativity to the test, and there is a gained virtue in that! The more we practice developing it, the stronger it gets.
- What's the (big) deal about sailing?
I hope these images and the song speak for themselves, and there is still so much more to it:
- What does cruising mean?
- How did you get to that point?
Neither of us had sailing experience prior to 2009. We did not know the difference between a monohull or a catamaran, or even what a boom was.
Both of us (at times taking turns):
- read about the possibilities which quickly seemed endless: how to charter a boat for a week or 2, long-term sailing voyages by families, all the worldwide destinations...
- went to boatshows and attended seminars.
- took basic keelboat lessons on 19' Flying Scotts. Basic is the key: a tiller, a main sail, and a jib to start with.
- practiced.
- took American Sailing Association (ASA) 101, 103, 104/114, & 105 (and/or the US Sailing Association equivalent) certifications which allow you to learn the ability to skip a sloop-rigged boat up to 50ft or so in moderate winds and sea conditions; one learns: the sailing terminology, parts and functions, helm commands, points of sail, sail trim, safety including navigation rules, auxiliary engine operation, docking & anchoring techniques, boat systems, weather forecast interpretation, seamanship, navigation including chart plotting and GPS, emergency operation, etc.
- practiced by chartering monohulls and catamarans locally, in Maryland, and in the Caribbean (from 34 to 48ft).
- still read half a dozen magazines a month.
- watch videos (DVDs or on Youtube) about seamanship, anchoring, storm tactics,...and enjoy other people's personal sailing videos and blogs - which can be very informative and fun.
- read books by sailors and adventurers.
- keep dreaming and planning (we will take diesel engines and electrical systems classes soon).... our eyes on the goal the whole time, otherwise, as Henry Ford said, you start seeing frightful things called obstacles.
Voilà, I hope it inspires some of you to go at it, or anything else you might dream of.
- Why?
In my opinion, in the beginning was not the verb but the question.
In the mist of our daily routine and at our age (early 40's), the recurrent questions we pose ourselves are: - to be where I am now, have I had to sacrifice my curiosity, my sense of adventure, my dreams? Have we sacrificed qualities or merits such as disobedience, non-conformism, art and poetry, a critical mind to live a life of intellectual and physical comfort - a comfortably numb existence characterized by a big appetite for energy and resources while blind to its effects on humanity and nature? by a disconnect with nature?
Starting this endeavor with Agave seems to address these questions at their core. Simultaneously, incessant new questions create internal conflict (for me at least; I can't speak for Avi here). Here they are, and, some nights, they do keep me up: do we take too many risks (financial, physical, educational,...); should we focus more on "securing" a financial future instead (retirement, college, health/medical funds which we are kind of omitting at this point)? How boring does that sound, hein? ...which brings me right back to the questions I was asking above: are the compromise to do so worth it?
Well, we' ll find out sooner or later! For now the feeling is: better try to go at it having fun.
- How?
It's definitely a challenge to keep our consulting business running, trying to maintain a regular life for the boys and their activities that root them into their present development and their community, and a hint of social life. Our extended family life is taking a toll as they are dispersed across the planet. For now and the foreseeable future, all of our resources in terms of finances, energy, time are channeled towards this adventure. Again the theme of compromise is back on the table. The good thing about the undertaking is that it is constantly putting our creativity to the test, and there is a gained virtue in that! The more we practice developing it, the stronger it gets.
