THE 'GLEDA' PROJECT

I know there must be folks out there who are thinking that the 'Gleda' Project has died. After two years of intense activity focussing on the build, 2009 turned out to be a year of huge change. Partly from necessity and partly from desire I made the decision to stop building the boat and to start building a future. A future where I had control of my destiny and the freedom to choose my direction.

I have invested a huge amount of time and effort to get to where I am now and although I've had feelings of doubt and guilt about my decision I now know  that it was absolutely the right one. If I hadn't made it then I would at best have ended up with a boat I couldn't use or at worst I would never have completed her.

I've gone down many blind alleys this last six months or so but, with perfect timing, my direction is becoming clearer and I now know what I need to do. I am incredibly optimistic going into 2010. a new decade, a new start, an exciting future. My new blog www.lifesteading.com gives me a better platform to talk about my plans away from 'Gleda' so please pay a visit if you're interested.

My plan for 2010 is simple:

1. To become self sufficient financially
2. To create more build time and more flexibility to work when it suits me
3. To significantly advance the build with a view to getting 'Gleda' on the water in summer 2011

For now I'd like to thank you all for your continued support and wish you all a Very Happy Christmas if you celebrate it and a Very Happy Holiday if you don't.

May 2010 be as exciting for you as it will be for 'The Gleda Project'

Cheers!

I may have been a bit premature with my thoughts of getting back to building Gleda. Since my major worklife change a few weeks ago all my time and effort has been dedicated to building my business, with little room for anything else. It's cool though because I know that I am absolutely doing the right thing to secure the future and safeguard the project. If you're interested in seeing what I've been up to then head over to my other website www.affiliateafloat.com and have a look. I am convinced that an Internet based business is probably the ideal way to earn a decent living whilst long term cruising. It's my intention to find the ideal combination of activities and then put together a course that others can follow easily. I know there must be many people out there who are holding back from pursuing their dreams because of the fear of financial insecurity. I'm going to show that it's possible to overcome that fear and create the freedom needed to get out there.

I'm beginning to accept that because of these other commitments I may not make any more real progress on Gleda for the rest of the year. We'll see how it goes but if that's the way it has to be then so be it. Either way 2010 is going to be incredible!

Well I've worked my last Friday and tomorrow is my last Monday. I can't wait to get started on this new chapter and really get things rolling. Many many thanks to Paul, Adrian Hall, Chris, Adrian Honeybill, Dave, Thomas, Martin and Jacques for your comments on the changes. I'm grateful to you all for re-confirming that I'm doing the right thing. Today I've continued sorting the barn out ready to re-start, specifically I've completely re-built my epoxy shack and am now confident it will provide a cozy little shelter from the forthcoming Winter weather. It's a shame that I've not been able to make the most of the very dry, warm September we've had but that's just the way things fell.

I've waited a long time to write this post...... For nearly three years now I've been trying to sustain progress on the project whilst balancing the demands of full time employment, family, friends and a 'normal' life. For the most part I think I managed fairly well but, as regular readers will know, this last 6 months or so saw things change. It started with frustration at lack of progress and developed into a burning desire to change things. I realised that if 'Gleda' were ever to be finished and, even more importantly, if I was ever going to go sailing seriously, then I had to achieve two things. I needed more free time and I needed more money. Not much to ask for eh?!! It would probably be easier to find the Holy Grail! My old self would have said "dream on.... and keep buying the Lottery tickets because there's no other way sunshine". Well I've changed, I'm no longer prepared to accept that, I'm no longer prepared to be one of the 'unlucky' ones watching with envious eyes those who have it all. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I can get to where I want to be, it's just a matter of wanting it badly enough.... and I do!

So how do I get more time and more money? Well time is fairly easy isn't it? Where do most of us spend the bulk of our waking hours? Working for 'The Man' so as to have enough money for shelter sustenance and maybe a bit of pleasure. Now I know that's not true for those who have a vocation and truly love what they do, but I submit that the majority of us would quit tomorrow if we had enough money in the bank. How did we get to a point in our civilisation where it's considered admirable to defer real freedom to enjoy life until the age of 65 or later! I thank Tim Ferriss for illustrating this point so well in his book The 4-hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich. In the book he describes retirement as 'Worst-Case-Scenario Insurance' - Here is the exact text:

Retirement planning is like life insurance.  It should be viewed as nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worst case scenario: in this case, becoming physically incapable of working and needing a reservoir of capital to survive. Retirement as a goal or final redemption is flawed for at least three solid reasons:

1.  It is predicted on the assumption that you dislike what you are doing during the most physically capable years of your life.  This is a non-starter, nothing can justify this sacrifice.
2. Most people will never be able to retire and maintain even a hot dogs for dinner standard of living.  Even one million is chump change in a world where traditional retirement could span 30 years and inflation lowers your purchasing power 2-4% per year.  The math doesn't work.  The golden years become lower-middle-class life revisited.  That's a bittersweet ending.
3.  If the math does work, it means that you are one ambitious, hard-working machine.  If that's the case, yes, what?  One week into retirement, you'll be so damn bored that you'll want to stick bicycle spokes in your eyes.  You'll probably opt to look for a new job or start another company. Kind of defeats the purpose of waiting, doesn't it?

By the way I read Tim's book some time back and it's really thought provoking. Although there's some stuff in there that may be difficult to go with, the basic thrust of his theories, as can be seen from the text above, actually fit perfectly with those of us contemplating a long term life afloat. I recommend it, without doubt it was the starting point for where I am now.

Anyway to get back on track, the answer to finding more time was obvious..... give up the day job.  That leaves a bit of a glaring problem however, I don't have money in the bank.  That led me to start thinking about alternative ways to generate income that allowed more flexibility, and did not demand my constant attendance or attention.  This is what I have been working on over the past months and although I have yet to earn a penny I now know what I need to do and more than that I know without doubt that it will work (more on that later).  All that was required was for me to take massive action and make it happen.  So, last week, I gave one months notice to quit the secure, well-paid day job!  I can tell you that it was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, my self belief is high, but a decision like that is contrary to every rule in society's book.  If people doubted my sanity when I announced I was building a boat they now have no doubts that I should be sectioned immediately! Strangely once the deed was done, my overwhelming feeling was one of relief.  At last I was free to be honest and open about my plans and to focus on achieving them.  An hour later, however, there was an unexpected twist. my employer, who to their credit, claimed understanding and acceptance of my reasons for resignation, suggested that a compromise could be reached.  The end result is that I have signed a new six months rolling contract to work part time three days a week.  To be honest, it was a bit of a no-brainer and works well for both parties.

So there we have it.  A new chapter commences.  I have shifted the balance towards my final goal, and I am free to make the best use of my time and free be more open about my plans.  There are some scary times ahead and I'm under no illusions that it will be easy, but as I said, my mind is set and I will get there.  If you've read this far, you have my thanks for your interest.  Over the next few weeks, I will be working towards the change and I can promise many interesting things ahead for those that choose to follow me.

Wow! I can't believe it's over two months since I posted here and that during that time I've passed the 1000 day mark. It's incredible how fast the time has gone and I apologise for my absence. I'm itching to tell you all what I've been up to but I need to hold back for just a little while yet. Suffice it to say that I haven't been idle and although work on 'Gleda' stopped dead, work on 'The Gleda Project' didn't. In fact I've made some real progress that has bought my target closer. Sorry to be vague but I'm sure that you all appreciate my reasons.

I've so immersed myself in other things that I've not had time to keep in touch with my many Wharram friends around the world, again I apologise, I've taken steps to make sure that doesn't happen again.

It was particularly encouraging to hear from Beat on Aluna and Dave on Dragon from Hawai and Huahine, Society Islands respectively. I can't tell you how much of a boost it is to hear from guys that built T38's from scratch and are now out there doing it. Any niggly doubts about what's possible are well and truly blown away.... Thanks guys, fair winds.

Also great to see and hear from other T38 builders. Adrian Hall is making a great start and Martin Hivon has got the end in sight. Warren Matthews' blog has been particularly interesting not least because of the disaster that befell Creed's T38 and the subsequent discovery of serious defects in his own T38. I've been silent for many months since the original firestorm around Creed's refusal to accept delivery from Raoul Bianchetti but I would encourage anyone who has any interest to head over to Warrens blog and read the whole story. It should act as a dire warning to anyone considering a 'professional build' to restrict themselves to those reputable builders out there with a good track record and a real understanding of Wharram boats.  I pity anyone out on the water relying on a vessel from RB's yard. If these two T38's are anything to go by God knows what defects are hidden away on other boats he's produced. Warren and Creed are switched on, knowledgeable guys which just serves to illustrate what a class act Mr Bianchetti must be as they still got fleeced. History shows though that even the best con men get caught eventually, I hope that justice catches up with this particularly nasty piece of work soon.

Anyway I fought through the cobwebs and ventured into the barn today to re-acquaint myself with a sorely neglected Tiki 38. I'm a ways off making any real progress with the build yet but I've set myself the task of getting everything ready to roll when I can. The place is a tip and desperately in need of a mega clear out and re-organise, so that's what I started today. My epoxy tent was in a sorry state due to the ravages of recent strong winds so I emptied it out and started re-building it, this time with a solid timber wall on the most exposed side. I spent a good 4 hours on this and will continue as and when I can.

Thanks again for your patience, please keep visiting. I promise more regular updates and some exciting news soon.  Cheers