We didn’t realize it at the time, but Phase 1 began in the Fall of 2008. Geoff had just wrapped up a long term software project that spanned several years, and was planning to scale back his full-time management and engineering position in the company to pursue new opportunities, and interests.  One Fall afternoon in the Cedarburg library, a book with a sailboat on the cover caught Geoff’s eye. The book, “The Embarrassment of Mangoes”, follows a Canadian couple who equip their sailboat and sail out from Toronto, through the Erie canal, inter-coastal waterway, and after a year and a half, made it as far south as Trinidad. Geoff passed the book along to Michelle as a fun read. Michelle shocks him by saying “We should do this!” 

That got us talking a lot - “Can we do this?”, “Is now the right time?”, “Are we crazy taking our perfectly fine (comfortable) family lifestyle and trade it in for living on a sailboat full-time and all the changes that entails?”, “Can we afford it?”, “Do we sell the house?”

Michelle and Geoff bring up the idea of a family adventure to the boys over dinner. Jerome instantly guesses that we are thinking of “sailing around the world” and says something like “you guys are nuts”. Miles is ready to get going. Geoff visits Alec in St Louis to see what he thinks of the plan, which is “You and mom are crazy ... but I’m in!”  Alec will complete his senior year in the Spring of 2010. He plans to meet us on the boat for our final preparations and head out after hurricane season for at least a year, prior to starting college.

There is a lot to learn and figure out - homeschooling, fixing engines, provisioning, learning everything about the boat, safety, weather, navigation, fixing refrigeration systems, wiring, etc... Geoff is soon reading anything and everything about boats, and passing certain books off to Michelle. 

Travels, sailing and adventures are the topic at many family meals  :)

Geoff signs up for a diesel engine class at MATC - our local technology school in Milwaukee.

Michelle and Geoff take first aid and CPR. 

Michelle begins research on home-schooling.

Miles starts selling his “goods”.

We are constantly reading blogs of other families that are currently on the water, and researching boats.

Also in order to buy and equip a sailboat big enough for five and then to live on it we need to sell the lifestyle we have at present . So that means selling our much loved house.  But as we continue to reassure Miles and Jerome - we love this home, not because of the house, but because we love all the wonderful, special, fun, crazy, loving times we shared here.

Moving from 10 years of accumulated stuff in 3800 sq.ft. to 500 sq.ft is a major downsize. So, Everything Must Go!  We plan to get a mid-sized storage space, to keep some of our nicest furniture and boxes of photos, but the rest is going on Craigslist and Garage sales.