About 3-4 years ago, Erin gave me a piece of paper for my birthday. It was a printed course description for a Captains License course, commonly referred to as a "6-pack". A 6-pack is the first level of commercial licensing with the Coast Guard and is essentially a license that allows you to take up to 6 people out on a boat for hire. This license is what most people get when they want to start doing small charters on their vessel. I was super stoked that not only did Erin recognize my desire to be on the water, but that she saw some value in it for me and/or us. Unfortunately, after looking into it, I found that I lacked "recency" with regards to my sea-time. In order to take the course and exam, you have to have at least 90 days of sea-time within the last 3 years. Even though I had been sailing my small sailboat quite a bit, it wasn't enough to qualify. I was bummed, but it got me thinking about other things that I might be able to do instead that would give me formal water-based training.
After searching the Internet and learning about the various training programs out there, I came across the Certifications offered by the ASA (American Sailing Association) and the Bareboat Charter Certification course in particular. It's not a license, but merely a certification that deems you worthy of chartering/renting out a boat anywhere in the world. The certification consists of 3, 3-day courses, starting with Basic Sailing and ending with Coast Cruising and an overnight trip. I then did some more research and found an upcoming Course offered in Richmond at Tradewinds Sailing Club. I called my good friend Joe who I knew would up for an adventure, and within a few weeks, we were signed up and sailing.
The certification was spread out over a period of about 3 months, and we had a blast. Sailing San Francisco Bay, grabbing beers at brewpubs in the evening between class and just hanging out being sailor dudes again. This course is what really turned the pages and got me thinking about "careers at sea" (or at least "on the water". At this point in my career as a business owner, I had no reason the explore a job on the water, but I knew in the back of my mind that I couldn't be a bike shop guy forever. At the very least, I knew that retirement might have me sailing tall ships for fun or even better yet, living on a large sailboat with "me lovely sailor bride"... :-). Still not sure at this point if Erin believes that living on a boat is going to exist in her future, but I'm slowly developing a plan that will ease her into the idea, even if its just for a few months.
So, Bareboat Skipper certification complete, Joe and I agreed to continue sailing as members of the sailing club and we chartered out a few boats throughout that year, bouncing around the bay whenever we could. I brought employees and friends out for sailing, and even let the kids take a day off from school so they too could be sailors in the Bay. We would typically hit Tiburon and tie up for lunch or coffee, then maybe pop over to Angel Island to look around. We had a few windy days that gave us some "white-knuckle"- do we have the skills for this?" Rides across the bay. We lived to sail another day.
That winter (Dec. 2010), Joe and I got invited to help a friend bring his 43' boat up from Oxnard to Richmond. "Hell yes we will go!", and we were soon on a train heading south for yet another Joe and Mike adventure. It was only a 3-day trip, that we ended up shortening due to favorable winds, but we had a good time, and again, I was able to solidify my passion for the water (despite getting hammered from high winds and a little sea-sickness).
So, I guess in retrospect, I have to really thank my wife for dangling that initial carrot in my eyes a few years back, for helping me get "feet wet" again. It was enough to start the gears in forward motion and get me thinking about other things out there. I really loved the bike industry, but it nowhere neared the amount of passion and enthusiasm I have for boats and waterways, nor the amount of childhood memories and experiences that I've had over the years. I've been around water on and off almost my entire life, so it definitely feels like a home coming.
I was telling my friend Melanie a few weeks back, that I've been having way more déjà vu's since I started this new path, and that it finally felt like I was back on the natural path.
Off to bed. Thanks honey!
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