THE PLAN (vague but vibrant)

My girlfriend Katherine and I are aware of our inexperience and we are aware of the challenges we will face on the ocean so we are motivated to take all the classes possible and to enable ourselves to sail away.

The plan has already started since Kats is a licensed VHF radio operator and I will soon be also.

05/09 I am enrolled in a CPR and First Aid on water class.

06/09 I will be on a 33 foot sailboat named Night Image from June 10th to July 10th.

07/09 Kats and I are taking my parents to a 5 day class called elementary cruising offered by Voile Mercator.
07/09Kats, my sister Eve, and I will then take the intermediate cruising class in the Golfe Saint-Laurent offered by the same school.

08/09 Kats and I will sail in Quebec every occasion we get through August and September.

10/09 We will leave in October for France to attend L'ecole Des Glenans for 7 days.

10/09 Then I will cross the Atlantic with L'Ecole Des Glenans to reach Martinique during Kats finishes her fall semester.

12/09 This will be the end of training and the beginning of our adventure. Kats will meet me in the Carribeans after Christmas and we will start looking for a boat to purchase, refit and sail up to Annapolis for tuning and final preparations before the Eastward Atlantic crossing leading us into the Mediterranean.

01/10 Intense preparation of the boat and the crew for departure.

05/10 Planned date of departure from Canada to the Azores and from there to the Straight of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea and millions of people to talk to and about.

links to schools and cruises we will go to and on to prepare:
http://www.sauvetage.qc.ca/nouvelles.asp
http://thegreatescapes.googlepages.com/home
http://www.croisieremercator.com/
http://www.glenans.asso.fr/FR/welcome/index_welcome.php

THE GOAL

The goal is to help people as we travel around the world

The goal is to show that helping is not harder than not helping

The goal is to inspire others to help as well

The goal is far from being reached

But the process is what we are seeking not the results

We started here... on a completely still Lac Saint-Jean in Quebec.

We then sailed on the beautiful but often calm Lake Norman, NC.

And our goal is to sail the Seven Seas.

WHERE THE STORY BEGAN

Last summer (2008), my parents, my to-be girlfriend, and myself went to Lac Saint Jean to visit my sister. Once there we opted for an afternoon cruise on the lake. Marc Gagnon then took us on his boat to see what this lake was all about. The truth is we shared a lot and greatly enjoyed swimming in the cold water, but there was no wind.
Final results: we motored around for a couple of hours and never hoisted sails, And I fell madly in love with sailing.

Since then I have read a few books or let's say I have read every sailing book I could put my hands on, and I have been planning with my girlfriend to sail around the world.

Click this link to see more pictures of Lac Saint Jean
http://www.voilelacst-jean.com/