Pu'uhonua

We were shopping for a house this past year and had found something that we thought would work for us. It was going to give us more room than the current place, and it had a floorplan that we liked. Kris was ready to sign off on it because it had a retreat off of the master bedroom, which she imagined as her safe haven from a hectic world of me and two little girls. Also, it was new construction. If you know her, you know she's a particular girl and likes things just so. She spent the afternoon today (a Sunday) blowing the pine needles and leaves out of the driveway and vacuuming her roadster's interior. The latter task gave her the chance to use the shop vac; possibly the gift I've given her that she has enjoyed more than any other, with the exception of her extra-large red Coach purse.

We named the house we are in now the Hale Nani Mino'aka, which is Hawaiian for House of the Beautiful Smile and describes how I felt about Kris and our new home together when we moved in to this place 2 1/2 years ago. Although it looks small from the angle in this picture, especially dwarfed by the McMansions we are trapped between, it has a 100 ft. driveway and plenty of room inside.

However, like I said, momma likes new stuff, so we began our search for a new retreat, which when we found it, we were leaning toward naming Pu'uhonua, Hawaiian for Place of Sanctuary. So, there we were, all set up to make the move to the new retreat when the builder filed for bankruptcy protection.

We had made an offer and they had accepted, but we'd given ourselves extra time, planning on closing in 45-60 days. Kris had a bit of a breakdown and cried it out on a Friday night and we spent the weekend hashing out our options and deciding how and what to do. I called on Monday and told the realtor we were going to withdraw the offer. We were able to back out of the deal, since the situation had changed with the builder, and that was the point we started asking ourselves what we really wanted to do with our future.

A couple of the places we looked at were very nice, lots of room, great neighborhoods, and the sort of houses where you end up for the rest of your life. That's where I get stuck. It would be great to move into some place, live on a hill, hoity-toit with neighbors and friends and live the good life, but then what do you do after a year or two has gone by? You're still there, god willing, and a long life ahead of you. That is where the dream of the s/v Clarity starts.

We have talked about looking for a resort in the South Pacific that we could run as a couple, or possibly moving back to Hawaii and living working there, but, still, there you are and the rest of your life is coming at you down that same one-lane road. I want to sail away. I love Portland, I love Hanalei, and I love my friends and kids, but I also know that there is a world out there that I belong too and I want to go be part of it.

Now more than any time it's possible to stay connected to family and friends with email, blogs, etc. Why not take advantage of that and go live our life traveling? That's where this adventure began. The first thing we worried about was leaving family and friends. We aren't leaving, we will just be living in another home. Now, rather than live our life on that one-lane road, waiting out time, we are sailing away and we expect you all to plan the occasional trip to share in our life. We'll supply the accommodations.

Swell blogger

I started following Liz Clark's adventure on her Cal 40 "Swell" after reading about her in one of my surf magazines. She's a cute little surfer girl, but no lightweight. She knows her surfing and writes honestly about her struggles with backside barrels on Tuamotu reefs, amongst other adventures. She gets down and dirty in the maintenance of her 40+ year-old yacht and she is doing a ton of solo sailing, making stops at isolated reefs all around the Pacific.

I love her blog and find her pictures outstanding! Tons of great shots at sea, as well as in places like Kiribati, Bora Bora, Tuamotus, on and on. She's got a great eye, capturing the beauty in details of local life, realistic shots of the daily life in the boatyard, alongside postcard-worthy images of islands adrift in amazing seascapes. AND the girl can write. I predict a successful book in the future.

What, no running and diet information?

Yeah, so I've changed course and added a partner to this blog. Meet my wife, Kris. Can I get a 'Vive la France'?

I met her when I was forty and married her when I was 43. I took her to Hanalei and woo'ed her and then brought her back a year later and married her on the beach at sunrise.

She makes me happy and she likes to sail. So, we are going sailing.

What about the boat? That's coming, hold on. First of all, the name, sailing vessel Clarity, comes from a moment of, well, clarity that my wife experienced a few years ago at the Seattle Boat Show. She was a member of the Columbia River Yacht Club at the time and went up to Seattle with a few fellow sailors. They were power boaters and had all met on some of the cruises the YC sponsored.

Kris and a couple of the other girls worked their way through a couple of Lemon Drops when Kris had one of those moments of pure insight that we all experience at a time or another in life. As the moment of realization swept over her she said, "It's amazing the clarity one experiences after fourteen Lemon Drops."

Shortly thereafter a tattoo followed, and continues to follow her around to this day. It's the chinese symbol for clarity, or clear blue water.

There it is. The name of our boat.

So, what kind of boat is she? What was her maiden name, you ask? Ms. Hunter? Mademoiselle Beneteau, perhaps? Maybe a Grande Dame? Or a Taiwanese Hylas by way of Boston?

Well, the short answer is I don't know. I'm leaning heavily toward a Catalina, somewhere in the 37-47 range, but I haven't bought a boat yet.

As far as the original intent of this blog, I had set out to create a log of my attempt to change my life after three years of struggling to recover from a car accident. The goal hasn't changed, but the means have, I guess. The quote on our masthead (!) is from that self-professed non-navigator, Captain Ron Rico.

I admire a man who ploughs ahead with the intention of making a memorable journey taking precedence over the desire to plot a specific course. Yes, this may appear foolish to some of you. In that case, plan your plans, plot your course, and let me know when you set sail. We'll be out there, because if it's going to happen, it's going to happen out there and we'd love to meet up with you and share our excellent whiskey sour recipe.

So, stay posted as we make this journey from our current indentured homeownership to a life of cruising.