Snow and Sunshine

We are ever moving forward. Some days are a crawl and others seem to be a sprint. Recently however it seems like we have gone backwards. Despite our dreaming there has been little visible forward progress, but what lurks below the surface? The current. The ever-present force that moves the unseen. These last few weeks Hannah and I have been diligently working to set ourselves on the path of success. While on our worldly adventures we still plan on working. This may be easier said than done. I currently work as a firefighter specializing in wildfire. Turns out there are very few forest fires in the middle of the ocean. However, having the ability to put our home offshore still puts me in a position to be dispatched during these emergencies. Hannah is a mental health professional and will have the ability to work remote form wherever our adventures may take us.

Over the lase few weeks we have been working diligently on our certifications and continued education to be able to continue on this path. Hannah has notified her current employer that she does not intend to renew her contract after this year and is starting to eye jobs with more opportunity to work remote. My job as an engine captain will also have to evolve. While I love what I do it may be time to transition to an overhead position granting me single resource opportunities.

What is single resource? On wildfire its positions which are filled by a single person in a supervisory or technical position. These range from radio operators and communication technicians to strike team and taskforce leaders, division supervisors and incident commanders. Some of these seem a little daunting to me right now but starting Monday (3/21/22) ill be starting a strike team course. Strike team leader is a middle management position in charge of a group of like resources, like engines or dozers. It’s the next upward step for me as I currently captain an engine. So moving forward ill trade the engine for a sailboat and spend my fire season leading a group of engines. Doesn’t sound so bad, does it?

In the meantime, we are also focusing our learning on sailing. We are looking for a smaller boat to be able to practice and build confidence on. In the future we will blog our origin stories as it pertains to sailing and the dream of an unconventional life, but fore now the next step is to acquire a learning platform. Colorado affords us the pleasure of fairweather sailing on its lakes and reservoirs but only during the warmer months. Currently every place we could sail on is iced over but this gives us a bit of time to find a boat. Fingers crossed that amid our snow and sunshine we find something, and if the Endurance can be found in the snow, why cant we?