Tom and Rose married in 1989. Our dream to purchase a sailboat and go cruising really came into focus on our last Bahama vacation in 1993. We purchased our first big boat in 1995. We sailed her for 3 years on Lake Superior and then sold it to some friends in 1999. We then bought our present boat "Sojourn" from Tom’s former co-worker. She is 1985 Alberg 37 sloop, built in Whitby, Ontario. She is #239 out of 248 built during a twenty+ year run.
Each year we have upgraded and added enhancements, as she was pretty much a bare bones boat when we acquired her. This has truly been a labor of love, with lots of elbow grease to get her and us ready for this adventure. We have made upgrades to the electrical system, added refrigeration and MANY other creature comforts.
We have truly enjoyed our Lake Superior cruising grounds, each year taking a 2-3 week trip, crossing the lake to Canadian waters . These trips, and weekend sailing in the Apostle Islands have helped us greatly in gaining skills to prepare us for our journey. The pristine cruising grounds in Canada will be missed, but other sights, countries and waters beckon.
In 2003, we started a cruisers group of like minded sailors who were also attempting to nourish their cruising dreams. This group has provided education, laughter, motivation, support, networking and great friendships. It helps keep our collective dreams alive.
Our friends and family have endured our many sailing tales and many have joined us aboard Sojourn to get a taste of the many joys sailing has to offer. Our emotions have been from one extreme to the other and everywhere in between, planning for and working towards extricating us from our land based possessions and responsibilities. In some fashion, it feels like we are moving to another world, aboard our own spacecraft, with unknown destinations awaiting us.
May your spirit and ours continue to connect during this journey. This forum will be but one way we can share ourselves with you. You all are very important to us.
Live Slow Sail Fast
Rose & Tom
3 responses to “Our Cruising Dream…..”
It has been and adventure watching prepare for this.
Fair winds and God\’s Speed.
Very nice. I really like the ability to add the slide show. I have been messing around with the one from google but have not yet been able to add a slide show. Check it out at http://johesa.blogspot.com
The pictures really make you want to get started on the next journey. We are very spoiled sailing around Lake Superior but I\’m sure there are going to be many new destinations waiting for us over the horizon.
Bill
We\’re so excited for you folks. Thanks for sharing so others like us can start realizing a little bit of our dreams through your travels. Let the journey begin!
Bill & Judy, Jubilee