''YOU MAY SAY I'M A DREAMER BUT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE." - John Lennon

Dreamer II - at anchor, Desolation Sound, BC

          I've been recently corresponding via email with a friend of mine, Larry, whom I met while living at Newcastle Marina aboard my 42' ketch, Dreamer II. Since, at age 70 now, no longer a younger man, living in a tent and riding a bicycle around in Mexico, he's thinking about buying another boat on his return to Canada.  When he writes about his memories of living on the water, his thoughts and dreams certainly resonate within my mind - the boat life was  grand!

          Everyone has times in their lives when everything all of a sudden takes a nose dive and crashes and I was no different. Working 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, an accomplished workaholic, no time for anyone including my family, there was a price to pay when everything went sideways and I paid it. Financially, I refused to go bankrupt, being a Mark Twain fan when he went bust publishing General Grant's memoirs and paid everything he owed. Although I settled all my debts, which still had me owing a whole lot of money, (mortgage companies weren't so easy) my personal life was in just too many pieces to salvage and I can take the blame for that, actually all of it. 

          Talk about being afloat without any direction, that is until I decided to break away form the so called normal life style I had been living, you know the one I mean, nice house, nice car, nice investments for retirement, stuff that eat up your whole life if you let it. Still in the red money wise, I managed to get a sign painting job worth $17,000.00 bucks. In need of a home and my upcoming almost do nothing days, I decided to buy a boat, something that didn't need to be attached, could just sail off and anchor in some unknown bay away from my remaining creditors, who never seemed to let up. However, since I wasn't able to own anything, I put it in my brother's name and then, I went from working seven days a week to two and that was usually on a weekend when most people were working. It took a year to break away, leave the guilt of being a failure in almost everything behind but believe me, it was worth it. Dreamer II was my ticket out of the rat race and boy did I embrace the life of a very poor sailor: ripped the sails, ran aground, hit rocks and even crashed into a few decks as I pretty much self-taught myself to sail a 42', 17.5 ton sailboat sporting two masts and a 6' full keel. Made of cement, she could do some serious damage but luckily for me, I never really wrecked anything not even the boat, she was still as sound as the day I bought her when the day came to sell her. During the year I lived in Gibsons, BC, with really nothing better to do than search for the meaning of life that's what I did...well...searched more for the meaning of my own life. 

          Although somewhat adrift Dreamer kept me anchored and one of the most important things I discovered was not having hardly any money to having gobs of money, I much preferred the latter. I mean, when I went down, I had a great house on a nice acreage with a helluva a view, but I never had time for the view or the people in it, I was much too busy earning money to pay the mortgage and obsessed with my business. Plus, more money just meant more costs - I wanted time to relax a little, perhaps get into my art. Actually, through every phase of my life, when things were good or not so good, I've been lucky to have my constant companions by my side - my brushes and paint - they've always paid the bills and they always gave me a sense of accomplishment - talent is a wonderful gift if you work at it.

          Ah yes, the boat life, a wonderful experience and the golden friends I made then have yet to fade away. I envy Larry as he considers buying another sailboat, letting the waves lull him to sleep and the raucous call of the morning gulls awakening him. But I don't kid myself, those days are over for me and I'm OK with that. Besides, sometimes when I sleep, I'm at the helm of Dreamer II under full sail, the breaking seas as she cuts through the waves leaving a long silvery ribbon of wake aft. Her name was apt for a dreamer like me and until I take my last breath, no doubt she will visit me...peace, eh...Trip 

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