Dreaming the Blue Dream

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Writing it down helps to keep the dream real.

Writing it down helps to keep the dream real.

One thing we’ve learned about making dreams come true is that you need to work at them. Dreaming is one thing; making a dream into reality is quite another and it’s sometimes hard to stay focused when other stuff interrupts. We found early on when we were planning to buy a sailboat that the best approach was to put things down on paper, develop a timeframe and work at keeping ourselves on track. We did it for Nine of Cups and we’re doing it for Blue.

It’s definitely not as complicated a plan as our 5-year plan for selling up and sailing off into the sunset. We intend to get on the road with Blue within the next year, but still, somehow, that seems a long way off. We don’t have careers to contend with, but getting Nine of Cups ready for sale, moving her south and actually selling her is a big hurdle to jump, both time and dollar-wise

I invested in a new notebook … 25¢ at WalMart … and we wrote down our new timeline. We add details and tweak as we go with frequent reviews.

  • September: while in Las Vegas, do a Blue layout and drawings; order parts for Boston delivery

  • October: house sit in Boston; work on Blue in Lin’s driveway; return to Cups late October

  • November: Finish work on Cups at Atlantic Yacht Basin

  • December: Boston for the holidays; more work on Blue?

  • January: Return to Cups; sail her to Florida. Find a marina; find a broker or sell ourselves?; complete any last minute Cups’ projects; return to Chesapeake to pick up Blue.

  • February/March: Live on the boat and work on Blue whenever/wherever possible. Rent out a workspace, maybe?

That’s as far as we’ve gotten because much depends on when Cups is sold. We’re still working on Plan B.

Simultaneously, David has his own notebooks going: one for Nine of Cups and one for Blue. He tries to share his time equally, so there’ll be no hard feelings between the two, but completing Cups’ projects is obviously a priority. We also have asked ourselves just how complete Blue has to be before we can start our land travel? More questions and answers to be discussed, but the more we talk, the better for actualizing the dream.

In the meantime, it’s important to reward ourselves and keep the dream real. I’ve ordered free road maps and state guides for every state willing to send them … which is 39/49 (no Hawaii, because Blue will never go there), plus Canadian provincial maps … 6 out of 13. A road atlas just isn’t good enough. Of course, we’ll rely on GPS and Maps with Me once we’re on the road, but on-line and downloadable maps just don’t cut it in the dreaming/planning phase. I need something more tangible. It’s not unlike downloading cruising guides and country info in years past.

Part of my notebook is Blue's budget and a good portion is also devoted to detailed info by region and state.

I'm slowly developing Blue's Bucket List for the next few years. Any suggestions?

Yup … keeping the dream alive and well and on track is half the fun of making it real!