Wrapping Up Sailing in May!

This was fun and I hope you are thinking with a bigger sail about how you can make your sailing dreams come true! I got an e-mail from a woman who shared with me that as a young woman she loved to sail and as she got married and had kids, she didn't have time to get out as much as she would have liked. She missed it so much, she started to resent some of her responsibilities of daily life. Her husband encouraged her to go out for the day on a charter and guess what happened? She was miserable! She said she must be getting old because as much as she loves the water and sailing, she didn't enjoy it like she used to. She assured me she would go out from time to time as a passenger with her family, but she no longer has any desire to do the work sailing requires. Ultimately, she was glad she went out and realized she loves her life the way it is and doesn't miss the past like she did. I see that as a success story. When our dreams don't come true, we wonder, "What if?" Find out and either way you will feel good knowing you want to keep working to bring that dream to life or put it to bed for good. All good!

Write About Sailing

If getting on the water is not possible right now, start a "I Dream of Sailing" blog or journal. Write about what inspired you to want to sail, what were your early experiences that fueled that passion and why did you stop pursuing the dream. Were there people who were instrumental in encouraging or discouraging you? While you get all of this in writing, look up different avenues, or Orange Roads that you might like to take in the Sailing world. Keep in mind, creating a life that includes your dream can manifest in ways that have nothing to do with actually being on a boat. I would venture to guess however, that ultimately you do want to be actually sailing.

If you take the time to journal your dream and the journey thus far, you may find the inspiration that rekindling those early feelings creates is enough to fuel you to take action faster. Whatever that action may be, I know it will be worthwhile!

Sea Scouts BSA

Sea Scouting had its beginning at a camp fire in England when Lord Baden-Powell voiced the hope that older Scouts would be interested in learning about boat management and seamanship. He stressed the need for young men to prepare themselves for service on their country's ships.

Sea Scouting in America was founded in 1912. That year, Arthur A. Carey of Waltham, Massachusetts, had Sea Scouts using the schooner Pioneer and was appointed Chairman of the National Council Committee on Sea Scouting. That summer, Charles T. Longstreth organized a Sea Scout patrol on his yacht in Philadelphia. Both of these men prepared pamphlets on Sea Scouting and Carey's Cruising for Sea Scouts was the first literature related to Sea Scouting.

Now a branch of the Boy Scouts of America, the Sea Scouts allow girls to sail though some organizations are not co-ed. This is a wonderful way for a young person to work toward making a nautical dream come true, but there is something in it for the adults, too. There are opportunities to volunteer with the kids while they learn all the ins and outs of what it takes to man a sail boat. As part of the program, the kids have to plan a weekend outing determining what they will need for rations, safety gear, etc. They learn about working together and handing situations as they arise without the option of simply quitting and going home.

There are Sea bases in California, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virgina, and Wisconsin. To learn more, visit the Sea Scouts web site.

*Photo from the Sea Scouts home page.

Work For A Sailing Organization

The 34th America's Cup will be held in San Francisco, CA in 2013. Leading up to the big event there will be lots of preparation going into getting ready. If you live in N. CA, this is an incredible opportunity to get involved with a world class organization. You will work really hard, but I bet you will learn as much or more. Not only will you get to be a part of something that could possibly be a one once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but think of the amazing people you will get to meet. That is my favorite part of volunteering, making new friends who enjoy the same things I do, and you know when you are all doing it for free, it's a real passion inside all of you. I applied to be a volunteer for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, UT. In the end, they had too many volunteers so the fact that I was not local (living in CA), they gave all the positions to those people living in UT. I would have loved to work the Olympics! I was most excited about meeting people from all over the world.


There are also paying jobs with these kinds of massive events. If you have a specific skill or talent, reach out to the management team and let them know. It may be worthwhile to contract a local professional than to travel with someone and bear all the travel expenses. If you are interested in this event, you can visit the 34th America's Cup web site and submit your resume.

Everywhere Has Somewhere to Sail

I did some homework and learned that unless you live in the middle of the desert, you have a lake near you where you can sail. Not only is there likely a place to sail within a few hours from where you live, there also may be a sailing group or club.


One group in the San Francisco area, OCSC Sailing is a San Francisco Bay Sailing School and Club. Of course, here in California we have a whole coast of water to sail on, but there are lakes and reservoirs all over the United States. Do a search and find a sailing club or association near you and find out about taking lessons, renting a boat, or joining a team. My friend Mike races on the bay with a local team. This was one of the Orange Roads Mike took to get him back in sailing swing! Not only does Mike race, but he saw his dream through of living on a sailboat. Now he is working on another phase that I will share before the end of the month!

Small Strokes

Not too far from where I live, there is a small lake that offers kayaking on an hourly basis. I love the water and though I don't long to sail, kayaking was really fun. The day we went, it was a summer evening, warm, and it was just getting dark when we returned from our tour of the lake. I can't wait to take Mason now that he is big and old enough to captain his own kayak! Finding things to do that are similar to the main idea will acclimate you to so many nuances of the general field -- in this case, boating.

I realize that one may have to make some major changes in their life to make a dream come true, and relocating could be an option. Orange Roads don't make it easier or less expensive to make your dream come true, but they are avenues. The trick is to see them as adventures and not obstacles!

Make A Collage

Be it sailing, racing, writing, singing, or underwater basket weaving, if you want it to be a part of your life, create it. Making a collage is an excellent tool to help you visualize your dream life. If you can put all the images together in one place and then put that collage where you can see it every day, you will be planting seeds in your subconscious. Without realizing it, you will see opportunities to let your dream into your life in ways you never imagined possible.

Some people call collages Vision Boards, and that's okay. To me, the difference is that a vision board is more broad covering many aspects of the life you are creating, but if you want to make one for just your dream, I say do it!

There are many benefits to cutting and pasting images and creating a collage, but for now, just focus on your dream to sail. Make more than one, big and small so you can put them in multiple areas where you live and work. The more visual reminders you have of where you want to be, the sooner you will be there!

Still Too Much!

Okay, I hear you! "I don't live near a lake and I don't have the cash right now to travel to take sailing lessons. Because of my current situation, it seems impossible for me to make sailing a part of my life." The Intentional Winning in Life way of thinking always finds a way.

Start small and simply make a list of all the ways to bring sailing into your life, don't let any considerations like time, money, or how close you live (or don't live) to a lake factor into the equation. Go back to my final post on all the Orange Roads to working with animals, you will see how many possibilities there really are. Put everything on your list from making the list, to creating a collage of every aspect of sailing, to even decorating a room in your house with a sailing motif. The idea is to get you thinking sailing, opening your mind to other ways to bring this dream back to life, all the way to just being stimulated visually with images in your home or work space. I will never believe that there is no way to get started, I simply know there are too many ways to get the ball rolling. So hop to it! Get going! You can do it!

Start Small

Instead of looking so far ahead to oceans and 40+ foot yachts, look for a place you can learn to sail a Laser - a little single person sailboat.

These boats are simple to set up, rig, and operate. My friend Julie has one and she encourged me to take it out. Let me be the first to tell you, I am not a sailor! That being said, my hubby Dave went with me and though it was tight with two of us on the boat, it really was easy - and fun!

More often than not, we need to build our confidence at the proper gradient. If you get into the advanced study of something too quickly, you could become overwhelmed and suddenly feel like you can't do it, or maybe it's not the right thing for you after all. I believe everything can be of interest if you are open to learning about it and learning at the proper speed.

Speaking of speed, these little sailboats can really fly! Don't be fooled by their miniature size, if you have some wind to play with, play you will! These boats were designed to teach a beginner and to win races for the most advanced sailors.

You can learn more about Laser Sailboats here and as far as getting out on the water in one, look for the recreation centers at a lake near where you live and ask them where you can learn to sail.

Make It A Vacation.

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I have friends who sail and part of living their love for the sport is to vacation on a sail boat.

I did some on line research and one of the websites I found easy to navigate and was chock full of information is SailingVacations.com. There is a place on the site for people wanting to learn to sail -- you! The only thing about this site I didn't like was I couldn't find actual prices, even on the page that says "Pricing."


If this is something you would like more information on, I would be happy to get the information from my friends regarding how they arrange their sailing vacations (yes, some of my friends have done this more than once!).

If I were interested in integrating sailing into my life, I would take this kind of vacation. It would serve multiple purposes; I would be having a great time, I would be finding out what it is really like to live on a sail boat, and I would have the chance to find out about other professional opportunities. I call this Orange Road a win-win-win situation!

Orange Road Number Fun!

Learn to tie nautical knots! If you have an interest in sailing then this will be something fun to learn. What are the different knots and what are they used for?

The Bowline makes a reasonably secure loop in the end of a piece of rope. It has many uses, e.g., to fasten a mooring line to a ring or a post. Under load, it does not slip or bind. With no load it can be untied easily. Two bowlines can be linked together to join two ropes. Its principal shortcoming is that it cannot be tied, or untied, when there is a load on the standing end. It should therefore be avoided when, for example, a mooring line may have to be released under load.






The Anchor Hitch, or Bend is also known as the Fisherman's Hitch, or Bend. It is an excellent knot to use for attaching an anchor line to an anchor. Logically, as a knot to attach rope to an object, it should always be called a hitch. However, the name Bend derives from a time when when it covered "tied to" and was not restricted to joining two ropes.

You can find many knots and animated how-tos at Animated Knots by Grog.

Sailing As A Way Of Life?

Where does one start? I answer this question easily - Learn! Okay, maybe that's elementary but the fact of the matter is, even if you are already making your living on a sail boat, there is still something for you to learn. If you think this is what you long to do, find out.

It's no secret that I feel that two main components of making your dreams come true are to get educated and volunteer. I am not a Sailor but I am certain that there are many ways to be involved in the field of sailing. I've got some of those ideas up my sleeve for this month, but if this is your dream, you need to find out what exactly it is you want to do, and how you go about doing that.

Have some fun, take classes pertaining to areas of the profession of sailing including some that you feel you don't want to do, you may find there is more to it and you are interested. Either way, you will have learned something more or new and that will put you one step closer to your dream - in fact, you will have brought the dream to life by simply taking the class!

Through taking classes you are positioning yourself to have many opportunities present themselves to you. From meeting other people who share your love of sailing to finding out that there are jobs you could do that not only pay good money, but you would love to do! When was the last time you hopped out of bed excited to get ready and go to work? Even if you like what you do now, wouldn't it be great to love what you do? I say, "Yes!'

Let's get to it, Orange Road number one is learn all the avenues available to you in this field and get signed up for a class. It's the first step that will set you sailing into so many other navigable waters!

Welcome to May!

This month we are going to look at Orange Roads for the dream of Sailing. I have many friends who love to sail and several who would like to make their living on a sail boat. I've done some homework on this one and I beleive, one way or another, we can put you on course to be sailing off into many beautiful sunsets!

Just what is Intentional Winning all about? It's about making your dreams come true by taking the paths in life you had not considered. Some might call it getting there in a round about fashion, but I call it taking lifes Orange Roads.

So many of us had dreams when we were younger that for this reason or that, we let go of pursuing. Even as adults, things come up that seem exciting or worthwhile, but we believe we aren't qualified, don't have time to learn, don't have the money, or simply don't feel we can reach the goal. Whatever you think, you're right! So if you don't think you can do it, maybe you could think about it in a way that does seem doable to you. Just maybe, there is another way to bring that dream into reality.

Here's an example: Let's say your dream is to go from San Francisco, CA to New York, NY. Most would agree that the fastest, most direct route would be to travel eastbound on highway 80 in one strait shot - the pink road. You'll see a little piece of green on the pink route which is a planned detour where there's a break in highway 80. As we do this, plug in life goals and normal activities that come along the way such as going away to college, getting married, having kids, changing jobs, etc. If you think about each of the events in your life that stop your progress to your dream destination, it's easy to see how we get stalled and eventually "settle down" in Anytown USA along the way. If you look closely at a United States map, you will see that there are hundreds of other roads to get you to New York from San Francisco - the orange roads. Will it take longer? Yes. Will it cost more? Possibly. Will the journey be full of surprises? Absolutely! When you realize that all those other roads can get you where you want to go, you can see that not only can you make your dream come true, but you may also find other things that make you happy and bring you joy along the way.

As you can see, we are defining IWIL each month. Do you have a Dream Not Come true? Share it with me and let me show you some of the Orange Roads you can take to restart the engine on your dreams and start feeling their joy this very minute!