Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do
than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.        
                                                                                                                 - Mark Twain

We started our cruise and began living out the Dream on 11/08/04. To read the occasional updates and changes to the Dream please scroll to the bottom of the page.

As the proverbial  story usually begins, ‘It was a dark and stormy night…’

It was the last week of June 2001. We were sitting in our living room, I was watching the travel channel and Damon was surfing the net. It was nearing midnight when we were startled by the brightest flash of lighting and the loudest explosion of thunder that we had ever heard! Then… blackout! We sat in the dark for what seemed hours! Then we heard it! Drip! Drip! Drip! How could this be!? The house wasn’t even two years old yet! A door way in the living room in the middle of the house leaking!? We went up into the attic. In the darkness it looked like a strobe light thanks to the lighting. A hole! 3” in diameter! We had been hit by lighting! We grabbed buckets and started placing them strategically  to catch the rain coming in.

When the electricity and the satellite TV came back on, there on the travel channel, were two people walking down a deserted beach. “That’s where I want to be!  So let’s go ahead and do it!”  Damon, looking at me with these big green eyes replied cautiously, asked “Do…what?”   “Let’s get a boat and go!” I replied. You could have knocked Damon over with a feather! He’d been trying to get me to do this for years!

So that's how it started. Two weeks later we were in Kemah, Texas looking at boats. We knew that we wanted a boat that was capable of taking us around the world, somewhere between 32 to 40 feet in length. But that's all we knew. We started our search with the brokers and visited a dozen boats during our first weekend there, but we didn't see any that ’felt right’

We spent nine months traveling to Kemah on the weekends from our home in Austin. We saw hundreds of boats, including a Kaddy Krogan 38, a Mariner 39, and a Pacific Seacraft 31 Mariah. They were nice boats, but they just didn’t fit the bill for our needs. After nine months of wondering if we would ever find the ‘right’ boat, we made a trip to see Jim Stevens at Higgins and Smythe Yachts. There at the dock she sat, seducing us. Within a matter of seconds after stepping aboard, Damon and I agreed that this was the one. As we wondered around on Bruadair, the feeling was right, we had to have this boat. We immediately made an offer and signed a contract, and then headed back to our home in Austin. About half way home, Jim called with good news, the offer was accepted and in a week we had our new home.

We closed on Bruadair on March 28 2002, and by this time we had sold our rental house and most of our belongings. We had a private estate sale with our friends, followed by a garage sale, and lots of donations, and put our last home up for sale. Our plan was to move to the boat with only what we could fit on the boat, nothing more. We didn’t want anything in storage, so the few items we couldn’t part with went to our families.

In October 2002 Damon retired and moved aboard Bruadair, and I joined him in January of 2003. We had sold our last house, and soon I joined Damon on Bruadair where we became permanent live aboards. Our family and friends have been very supportive with our plan, and we couldn’t thank them enough.

So now the work begins. I’m working at West Marine, so the discount on all the boat stuff we need or want really helps. Damon retired when he moved aboard the boat in 2002, and spends most of his time working on our boat or helping friends out on their boats. Our dream is to have the boat paid for in the next five years, gain as much experience on our boat as possible, get the boat outfitted, and go cruising. We both have areas that interest us, including transiting the Erie Canal, cruising the East Coast, Caribbean, South America, and on to the South Pacific. We realize that in five years when we’re ready to retire and sail away, our plans and desired destinations may change, but as long as we can set sail over the horizon, we’ll be living our dream.

Updated 03/04/04
We have now had Bruadair 2 years, and have not regretted our decision to sell everything, move aboard Bruadair, and change our lifestyle.  We have had an incredible time living in Kemah. We know so many people that we can hardly go anywhere without seeing someone we know. The people are friendly, and always willing to give a helpful hand or a bit of advice. We have spent the last two years getting to know our boat and how she handles. We have also upgraded many of our systems to meet our personal needs, and kept up with the usual maintenance and repairs.

Our dream remains the same, to sail away, visit new places, and meet new people. One of my goals is to transit the Erie Canal or the Tenn Tom Waterway. One of David’s destinations is the Caribbean. We have not yet set a date of when our adventures will begin, but do hope that it will be within the next five years. Our only obstacle to leaving right now is paying off the boat, then it’s off!!!! Our tentative plan is to spend a year on the East Coast, then the Caribbean, South America, Belize and Costa Rica would be nice, then thru the Panama Canal. From there, where not sure yet. As things always do, our plans and time frame will probably change at times, but the one thing that won’t change is our desire to leave.
-Damon

Over the next four months as we get closer to our departure date, we will continue to update this web site so that you can follow our progress. Anyone interested in crewing with us to Tampa, or any portion of the trip, can contact us via email at thecrew@bruadair.us .

So, since many of you are asking, here is a tentative plan for our cruise. We will leave Texas for Tampa, and because of the time of year we will probably transit the ICW to New Orleans, then cut straight over to Tampa. We plan on staying in Tampa for two weeks or so, then make our way to Isla Mujeres Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula), down the coast of Mexico through Belize and on to the Rio Dulce Guatemala. We will stay in Rio Dulce for hurricane season, maybe a bit longer, and decide where to go from there. But of course, as all good sailors know, plans are subject to change. Be sure to keep checking back for more updates!

Updated 08/31/07
How time flies, it’s been almost three years since we left Texas to live our dream of cruising. The dream is still strong and we’ve learned a lot in the past few years. While we have many places on our list to visit we’ve realized that our particular style of cruising is, well, slow. We could have been around the world by now if we wanted to but then we wouldn’t have really seen much of anything. We’re comfortable with our pace, it works for us. It allows us to see more of the places we visit and meet more interesting people. We’ve adpated to the cruising lifestyle very much and while there are occasional challenges such as dealing with officials or getting supplies it sure beats working and living the rat race. Our dream still lives strong and our plans change often but we plan on continuing our cruise and hope to cross into the Pacific within the next year. From there, who knows......

Sunset before the Christmas Parade of Lights 2002, Clear Lake TX

Copyright S/V Bruadair 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.
No reproduction with out expressed consent in writing.