In 1950 the author started a small business to make yachting cushions with the anticipation that he would be able to spend a lot of time around boats. As the business faltered, he made a pledge not to go sailing until financially independent. The business evolved into other textile products, became successful, and after eighteen years he felt comfortable in buying his first boat and going sailing.This is the story of how through thirty plus years he worked his way up from a 22 foot Ensign to a 56 foot Erwin with many boats in between. In the process he made many trips from New England to the Caribbean and became a serious ocean racer participating in several Bermuda Races, SORCs, and a Trans Atlantic Race to Spain followed by nine months in the Mediterranean cruising with his family.Anyone who has a love of the sea and boats and sailing will enjoy riding along on this seemingly never-ending adventure. There are enough sea stories here to keep any sailor, armchair or windblown, happy for a long, long time.