Dark Angel's Crew
Captain Dave
The sailing bug bit me when I took my first 6 week Sea Cadet sailing course. Racing Albacores and occassionally Petrols, I was always a part of the team to beat. I toured the Caribbean aboard HMCS Annapolis, which, in retrospect, was probably not the best view of this paradise.
Traditional Ninpo Jiu Jitsu and Sea Cadets saved me from the challenges my childhood presented and helped me to build the confidence to keep trying, even when I fail.
After watching Romancing the Stone I realized I could live my dream of living aboard a sailboat and writing a grand science fiction novel. Alas, I didn’t know how to make that happen. Life got in the way of both writing and sailing, so I struggled to live a normal life with over 50 different employers over the years. Owned my own businesses, experiencing both success and failure. Even tried to build a happy family. I don’t think I was ever cut out for a normal life. I never felt like I belonged in the relationships or jobs I took on.
I never saw sailing or the Caribbean again until I met Lisa. We pulled one another out of dead end jobs and dead end lives, visited Cuba with our children, vacationed numerous times in Jamaica, sailed Hobie cats and partied on party cats. She showed me a side of life I never imagined existed. She helped to raise my brilliant, beautiful, capable daughter. She has a knack for making dreams come true, and making good things happen.
I’m mechanically inclined and an adrenaline junky. I LOVE to go fast. I’ve raced just about everything from cars, to snowmobiles, sailboats, powerboats, trucks and motorcycles. Now I live on the slowest form of transportation I could find.
After 3 years of planning we sold the home she made out of the house I built. Now we live the life we dreamed. It’s surreal. It’s terrifying. It’s amazing. We work hard to play harder.
First Mate Lisa
I’ve always had the travel bug.
I’ve always wanted to keep moving and experience it all. I get bored easily and I HATE being cold. I am solar powered, and live for warm sunny weather. I’m a summer girl.
Born the youngest on the family farm, I love horses, and even had my own donkey, Lulu. Riding a horse at full gallop is a rush that can’t be duplicated. I’m a bit of an adrenaline junky, even to the point of jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft at 3000 feet, solo.
I admit, I hate being told what I can’t do. I have fought every obstacle in my path. From my strained childhood, moving around so much I rarely completed a year of school in one location, to the poor decisions I made as a teen and young adult, I paid my dues. I’ve been burned in the corporate world, but I learned from those lessons, and with Dave’s encouragement and coaching, I now own my own business and live a life others only dream of.
I crave to lay my hands on the world around me. Not just animals, but structures, even the pyramid at Chichen Itza. I like to explore everything in my world. From ancient structures, to sandy beaches, to wildlife. I’m a hedonist with exhibitionist tendencies, preferring class over trash. I find beauty in the world all around me, and beauty needs to be shared. I’m determined to explore nature, warm beautiful places, and beautiful people. Sharing everything with Dave takes life up a level. He encourages me to be myself in a way nobody else ever has.
I never dreamed of sailing before we began planning this adventure, and now I’m the very competent First Mate and co-owner of my beautiful catamaran home. This life isn’t for everyone. It requires a level of risk, trust and sacrifice that most people will never accomplish. There are huge sacrifices. My kids, my family and most of my friends don’t get it. Even the government can’t figure us out. I can’t just drop by the local government office to change my non-existent address. You don’t have to be crazy to do this, but, aw who I’m I kidding? You gotta be nuts.
Life under the magnifying glass has it’s challenges, but it’s so cool to be able to share all of this with you!
