Into the sunset and off the edge :-)

sailmed · 12-29-2011, 08:06 AM

Greetings my friends!
I thought I would pop in for the technical aspects - and to make friends along the way...
A little history - I'm the typical nomad...
I started out living on the road at 16 and soon went from a tent on the back of the Harley, to a pickup w/ a overhead camper and trailer by 18. In the early '70's - having survived the Marines - I knew the house routine would never do, so I tossed the Harley in back of a truck and towed a Holiday trailer. At some point I thought the Airstream might be the way to go... Well - After a year of waking to sore neck - I started my first Prevost conversion - with the hydraulic loading door in the side for the harley.. LMAO. I think that of the land vehicles, she was my favorite....
Someplace during the conversion - thankfully about the time my wallet was thinning out - A nice gentleman took a look at my woodwork and asked if I had time to help build his sailboat...
I think life tosses curves at us every once in awhile - just to see who we are... Anyway... What started as a part time job to get thru college, turned into the love of my life.... When I graduated I was soon working as a firefighter/medic and building sailboats...
Eventually I was offered more than I could refuse - and I sold my sweet home on wheels - complete with teak and holly interior ;-)
I found a sweet sailboat, big enough to carry the Harley... hahaha - and having seen enough "we were going to..." - I headed out to sea....
I travelled the Caribbean for 25+ years working as a ships engineer and keeping everyone else's boats working - raised 2 wonderful children into great adults - and returned to the states to play Firefighter / Paramedic once again....
I retire in 7 months and will head back to sea... so while I'm redoing the ships systems - using mostly the same exact parts we use in the RV's - I thought I would jump in...
Besides - I'm sure that when I get too old to sail I'll be back in a bus - until I'm too old to drive - and then I hope to park someplace comfortable and have lots of friends. ;-)

So...
Here we are!
Sea ya,
Michael