Well, the big day finally arrived. Friday, May 14 was my last official day at work for the next several months. Unfortunately, for the last few days of work, I was really sick with a bad cold so that dampened my enthusiasm for finally arriving at the finish line.

Many of my colleagues in the Atlanta office arranged a little send off for me and I am deeply touched and grateful for their caring, their friendship; the thoughtful gifts and the best wishes. The cake was awesome too!

I have been really fortunate to work with a lot of great people at CH2M HILL. They have made the work and the challenges a lot easier. I will miss the routine and their daily companionship–almost enough to make me want to come back to work (but not just yet) 🙂

I turned 58 earlier this month and as I reflected on my age I realized that I have worked non-stop for 40 years. Where did all those years go? There have been a few very short breaks while I was in-between jobs but this will be the first time that I will have more than a couple of weeks off at once. It’s exciting and intimidating at the same time.

Now it’s time for me to start my “new” career…. boat scraper and painter; renovator; mechanic; plumber; sail rigger and finally, at long last–voyager. I think I’ll start by trading my briefcase in for a toolbox!

Several people have asked me about the name of our boat. Ananda translates from the ancient Indian language, Sanskrit, as “ultimate bliss”. My wife Catherine’s passion is yoga. She tells me that the purpose of yoga is to remember and celebrate our true nature, Ananda, which is joy or bliss. The boat truly is a special place of bliss for me 🙂

Our last boat was called Navasana which refers to “the boat pose” in yoga. We recently learned from an Indian friend that Navasana can also mean “humble or modest abode”, which was fitting for that particular boat because it was quite small.

We put Ananda on the transom last spring. When we were ordering the stencil I did not realize that the size of the letters was going to be so large in relation to the space on the transom. The name is probably about 50% bigger in size than it should be, but what the heck, people coming up on our stern will be able to figure out who we are pretty quickly.

Plus, in life, it’s important to go for as much bliss as you can have!

I am planning an ambitious cruise for this summer–from Goderich, Ontario to Saint Andrews, New Brunswick–a distance of approximately 2,100 miles. However it will probably be a fair bit longer when you factor in the side trips and all the tacking 🙂

Saint Andrews has a special meaning to me because I grew up there as a kid and spent many hours playing on the shore dreaming of adventures at sea. On top of that, my sister Jane and brother-in-law Blaine live in Saint Andrews along the shoreline in the Chamcook area and I should be able to bring Ananda right up close to their house.

I plan to cast off from Goderich around mid June and arrive in Saint Andrews around Labour Day. Catherine and Emily will be with me for portions of the trip.

Chris and Joan Cavanaugh will be joining me in Montreal and we will sail together to Halifax. This will probably be the most challenging part of the journey and I am excited and grateful that they will be with me for that time.

I am hoping that other family members and friends will be able to join me for portions of the cruise. Over the next few weeks I will be posting a rough timetable of the week to week segments of the journey.

Wally – March 29, 2010

Welcome Family and Friends to Ananda’s Cruising blog site. I have set up this site so you can follow the adventures of Ananda over the coming months. I hope you enjoy the site and that you will stay in touch with Ananda and her faithful crew.

Wally