On our way...

[luilui22]

Hey, my name is Luis and i am 15. I guess i can say that i have had a rough life with 25+ back surguries. I was born with congenital scoliosis and i just had my last surgury a year ago now. My family feels that we need a break.

My parents always had this dream of sailing for a few years. We used to have a fishing boat when i was younger, but sold it because we did not have the time to use it. We have nothing planned besides my sister, age 12, and i continuing school. So we decided to begin to work on going sailing.

I have been doing homeschooling for 2 years and plan to keep it that way while on the boat. My sister will begin homeschooling when we leave.

We plan on selling the house, my dad retiring in the next few months, and buying a 40-45 foot Sailboat (or a Catameran). We would sail for at least a year and if we like it, then we will sail another year. After that i will be heading off to collage. My parents joke around that they will just drop me off at collage and just continue sailing (or at least i hope they are joking).

I am eager to begin sailing, but my sister seems to be able to wait. I have not gone to a regular school for 2 years, so i only have a few friends in the neighborhood. My sister is still in a school, and is begining to seem like your average teenage girl. She wants to go sailing but she doesnt want to loose her friends. I think it through more. What other chance will we have to do this. I will be heading to collage soon, then my sister later on. This is an oppertunity to have a big family adventure.

My mom has been reading tons of books on sailing, we have rented movies on sailing, and my dad has taken the lessons already. We have gone to boatshows since the past summer. We have rented a sailboat for a day every now and then to get the feel of it. My parents were very impressed to see how well i can steer to boat. My sister would lay in the front of the 27 foot boat and just relax in the sun.

We are now in the process of cleaning up the house and putting it up for sell. A realter is coming tomorrow to check the house. Hopefully we can put it on sell next month. But now with the economy falling, who knows how long it will take to sell it. The sooner we sell the house, the soon we are on the a sailboat.

[BlueWaterMD]

Welcome, and good luck with everything. It sounds like it will be a real adventure!

[sailingdog]

Welcome to the asylum. I'd recommend you read the POST in my signature to help you get the most out of your time here. Your parents may not be joking, depending on how much they come to like the cruising life.

[teshannon]

Welcome Luis and best of luck with the upcoming adventure.

[Giulietta]

LUIS is a winner!!!

Good luck, given your situation, a cat is a good choice of boat..

[N0NJY]

Best of luck, Luis - when I was 10, a cousin and I pulled a "Tom Sawyer / Huck Fin adventure".

We road a raft a lot further than we intended, in a river that was a lot higher than we thought, and spent a few days.... out along that river making a journey from Kentucky into Tennessee.

Got our hides tanned after they picked us up (we hadn't thought about HOW to get home...... hahahahahaha)

But, it was an adventure I'll never forget. I hope yours is even better (without the spanking!)

haha

[SteveRobison]

Good luck Luis, I hope it all comes together for you and your faimly Fair winds.