Spin My Own Dreams

Hi, my name is Ali and as you can see, this is a blog of my travels.  That’s me on the left after my first Sydney to Hobart (very happy day for me!)

So a bit about me, I am a freelance IT consultant, I love IT  and am lucky to have worked with lots a interesting companies and people over the years since I started in 2008.

2007 was the year I woke up as an IT Director, aged 34, single and realising my whole world and identity was all about my work.  I had been successful in my career, which was great, but didn’t really have anything else that I was truly passionate about.

Then due to what could be described as, a series of unfortunate events, work just wasn’t enjoyable anymore, I was in an extremely stressful situation which hit me hard, emotionally and mentally and I couldn’t see clearly to find a way out, I was extremely unhappy but realised I was simply not prepared to allow that to carry on.   In my twenties I traveled round the world on my own, and always loved Australia it felt like home away from home, so I booked a holiday as far away from my situation as possible to have a long think and make a plan to sort my life out…

It was on Shark Island, on 26th December with my best friend (aka wifey!) Jess that I guess I had an epiphany and realised what I wanted to do.  I wanted to compete in the Sydney to Hobart, it looked so exciting and tough and just what I wanted!  I had no idea if that was even possible, I assumed it was ridiculous to think I could just jump on a yacht and do one of the toughest offshore races in the world….. but I was determined to find out.

So, I googled away and first hit up came a company in the Isle of Wight, Global Yacht Racing.  I quickly phoned up and arranged a visit, got in my car with another best friend Helen and drove all the way from East London to East Cowes.  There I was greeted by a interesting looking sailor (bit like a pirate without the eye patch!), with crazy hair and an

earring.  Anyway, we chatted and the next thing I am a fully signed up customer, not only for the Hobart but a load of training and the Round the Island race, Andy being the consummate sales person and me being easily pursuaded it didn’t take much selling.  Andy did try the sales pitch on Helen but she wasn’t having a bar of it, good try though!

Next thing I’ve left work, I have set-up a Ltd company, a brief stint contracting to get some money (yacht racing ain’t cheap!) and then take a year out to well and truly follow what I hoped would be my new found passion…..

This was my first blog about that adventure – http://sydney-hobart-adventure.blogspot.co.uk/

That was then followed by more adventures, not just sailing as I found that freelancing gave me all the freedom I wanted to love and enjoy my work, and follow my dreams and passions, traveling and yacht racing all over the world  – https://incatrails-oceanwaves.blogspot.co.uk/

So this is my third blog, about my third big adventure since finding sailing, after my third long term contract!

Finally, why the name…. Spin my own dreams… well I am now 44 and happily single but I believe the term for that (given my years!) is or was spinster…  I googled it… its pretty negative in the dictionary and wikipedia and thankfully no longer really commonly used.  Anyway, needless to say I don’t have any cats, and I don’t particularly feel old, but in my google search I particularly liked the urban dictionary description of ‘being a lady who can spin dreams of her own, and have the freedom to make them true’ which I guess I feels a bit more like how I am living.  There is so much freedom to do what you want in life if you put your mind to it, that its mad not to grab that whenever you can.

Anyway, I hope you find this interesting reading, as much as I enjoy writing and having the adventures themselves…..