Windhorse Sailing

Many thanks to all the people that sent me supportive emails all along. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am. I kept writing to let my family know where I was and what I was up to even if couldn’t talk to them on the phone. The purpose of the website was to assure them consistently that I was OK. It was a pleasant surprise to me to know that word spread and so many others enjoyed reading my logs. Thank you all.

I apologize for my negligence in not keeping up the site all these months. I have been home and in regular contact with my family, so they haven’t needed to check the website. As far as writing, I have been working on compiling my stories in a book format. (I don’t expect to publish, though anything is possible.)That has not been easy. I have had to answer some tough questions about why I did this trip and what I got out of it.

Why I did it requires a lot of soul searching; something I may not be very good at. I busy myself with doing something, plowing straight ahead. Stopping to question why isn’t natural to me. So I will need time to answer that. For now I will say I went big. I didn’t know what else to do. The industry I expected would provide me a lifelong career became besieged by regulation and automated competition. It was time to choose another direction. I decided to pull all the safety nets. I removed myself far from anything that could be thought of as a “comfort zone.” I started from scratch. It was a road less traveled strategy, and it has made all the difference.

What I got out of the experience is immeasurable. I learned that I have no limits. I learned that if I try I cannot fail. I sowed some wild oats. I learned to believe in myself. And I realized the girl I am going to marry. I and those around me will benefit from the experience for a lifetime. I am encouraged to keep exploring life. I am sure that rounding Cape Horn will not be the only interesting thing I have to talk about. Life is only going to get more exciting.

For the time being, plans for this site are up in the air. I may hand it over to a friend’s adventure, but I am advised to keep it for use as a blog, should I ever write a book. We’ll see. Check in now and again and feel free to offer any feedback.

Many thanks to all my family, my friends, everyone I met along the way. Special thanks to all who joined me on Shangri-La, Stevo and Francis, Gavin, Dr. Dirk, Gigi and Kelly, Dan and Joey. And very special thanks to Elvia, my fiancé, without whom this journey would have less meaning.