Sailing Away

My good friend Dan is leaving solid ground in a week. I find his story very inspirational.

I know Dan from when I worked at BSM. He was a fellow programmer. When we got to know each other better, we learned that we were both into music. Dan plays guitar and mandolin, and he's also a good singer. He and his friend Chris do a few local gigs as well as open mic nights around the valley. For a while, I played the keyboard with them.

After Dan was let go from BSM, he struggled to get by with miscellaneous programming jobs, and he was growing more and more dissatisfied with his lifestyle. He felt that it didn't make any sense that he should have to work so hard and be so stressed out. It was then that he realized that the main cause of his struggles was his possessions. It wasn't that he was stressing out over putting food on his table. Instead, he was working hard to pay for a mortgage, a car, a motorcycle, his land in Arkansas, and other debts. And maintaining these possessions wasn't really bringing him any joy.

It was around this time when Dan learned about the sailing lifestyle. Apparently, there are many books and blogs documenting the lives of those that chose to leave dry land and live on the ocean. The expenses of living on a sailboat are drastically less than that of living in a house, plus the lifestyle is completely different. Whereas paying off a mortgage can mean hours and hours of sitting at a desk, staring at a computer for decades, sailing the world is an adventure beyond what many will ever experience.

So Dan decided to make a commitment: he would learn how to sail, buy a boat, sell off as many of his possessions as possible, and begin his new life. And now he's at that last step. He's still going to be a computer programmer, but of course he'll be coordinating with his employers over satellite phone or free wifi connections at ports. And he won't be working quite so many hours, because he won't need to be making nearly as much money to survive. It won't be easy by any means, but he'll be seeing the world and challenging himself as never before. He's starting off with a Caribbean tour, and then he wants to cross the Pacific.

I really admire Dan's resolve and courage in this huge decision. I'll really miss him. He'd better keep up his blog!