Now

Birthday sunset... I'll take it. 

Over the last few days we have been vacillating between going big and heading to St. Thomas. We went so far as to purchase an airline ticket for a friend to come and help us make the journey. 

Then, reality set in. We do have to deal with that sometimes. 

We still have some major responsibilities keeping us locked into the continental United States. And, as much as we want to be irresponsible.... We are just not those people. 

Plus, we are still newbies at this boat thing. 

So, change of plans... Again. 

For now, and of course this might change too, we are going to be kicking in the Keys. Hubs is going to rent a car and go home to get our car. That way we have more flexibility.  If the weather isn't exactly what we want or need for taking out Airabess, then we can hop in the car and explore the Keys like everyone else. 

Work is on the horizon. It can't be avoided (for me anyway, I don't do too well without that energy outlet). We are going to continue to take care of our responsibilities and then make the journey to the islands a few months from now. 

There's a good chance we might actually have an amazing time doing it this way too. 

Hubs and I are planners. We are goal oriented. Now we have a plan. 

Ironically, now I can really relax. 

Better

We are finally letting go... I think. 

It has definitely been an adjustment period. We basically went from no time together as a family amongst all of the distractions of daily life to in each other's faces 24/7. 

Adjustment period. 

It hasn't been easy. And, we have even considered just heading home and calling the whole thing off. But, then we weighed the pros and cons and realized we hadn't even really given it a whole, honest shot. 

So, we started communicating, the way we always have. And that's when it clicked. Because that's how this crew works. 

And in letting go we get  this... 

Another beautiful sunset. Another moment to be grateful for. 

  

Down 'the Ditch'

Brand new morning. Full of so many possibilities. 

This was back in November, a few days before we spun the prop. We were so optimistic and excited and not worn out from travel. 

We've done the ICW and survived. I will never do that again. Neither will Hubs. We have both decided that if that is the only option we sell the boat and rent a car to drive home. 

It was nutzo! There were beautiful moments, cutting through to mosquito lagoon for example. 

The water was like glass, not a cloud in the sky, and dolphin (plus a few manatee) frolicking in the water. But, for the most part the ICW was just plain stressful. 

After we got past the prop debacle we had a couple of smoothish days. Up early, sail/motor for 8-9 hours, finally anchor for the night.  Then we opened 17 bridges in one day. Just a piece of advice~ don't do that. It's too much. Plus we have the slowest boat EVER. I'm sure there are lots of contributing factors- but the fact remains, Airabess is soooo slow. Like 7 knots max on a REALLY good day. So we would finally  get through one bridge which we had to idle in front of for 27 minutes because we missed the half hour opening... Because we were slow. Viscous cycle that was. We would gun it only to miss it by like 2 minutes. Or, we would take it at a steady pace and miss it by 5. 

After the last bridge (the only be we actually made) on the first 17 bridge day (we had another 17 the next), we had what Hubs thought was a 'transmission' issue. A lot of things happened simultaneously right before we went under the bridge- a weird kind of big sideways wake while going full speed (trying of course to make the opening) and then the out leg cavitated.  Though we didn't know that's what happened at the time. We thought it was the transmission. We thought we were going to have to be hauled out. I was going to get in a car and drive my butt home. 

That was probably the lowest point for me. The winds were howling, our anchorage sucked, the anchor wasn't doing what it was supposed to, I was exhausted, and tomorrow we were going to have to be hauled out. I went to sleep with my kid comforting me. Like I said, my low point. 

But finally a respite.  We woke up and everything was running the way it was supposed too. 

17 more bridges to go- oh and and we crashed the Ft. Lauderdale boat parade...

Sails

I love our sails. I love that they are different. I love that they are old (in great condition). I love that they are perfectly suited to our kaleidoscope  of a boat. 

Sailor dog?

I've introduced her before... But that's before I REALLY knew what having a puppy onboard would entail. 

Here she is.  All cute and asleep. 

Well... Don't let this photo fool you. Willow is the X-factor. 

What the hell were we thinking bringing a puppy on board?! 

I will spare you the gory details. Sufficed to say I have had wayyyyy more laundry to do than anticipated. Mostly due to our sweet pup's aversion to getting her paws wet. Yep, we live on a boat. On the water.  And she doesn't like getting her paws wet. Kind of a problem. 

Not kind of- definitely a problem. 

Thankfully, after her absolute worst inside mistake yet, Hubs found a solution. 

She needed a crate. We used it at home, and worked perfectly. No accidents. 

But up until Wednesday we couldn't figure out how to make it happen on Airabess. 

So, we moved some storage containers from under our bunk (that is completely open and has tons of room) and made a slatted closure from random stuff we had stored in the bilge. 

So far, so good. 

It's funny though because she had been try to get under there for awhile. Every night she would sleep right there anyway. It wasn't a hard sale.  

Grrr...

Well, we are in Sebastian through the weekend.  
 Not everyone is on our 'hurry up to get south' schedule.  The folks that work here already had things to do.  We are the extra.  
 
I am sure if we had had the time to take Airabess out while we were still at home we might have avoided some of the issues we are having.  Or maybe not.  
It doesn't really matter though because this is where we are and we are waiting on a guy to bring us a part. 

So, going to make the best of it.  There are some spoil islands we can dingy over to, snook to be caught, and I will be on the paddle board.  It could definitely be worse.

We should, hopefully, be making our way (at least to an anchorage) by Monday afternoon.

Reality happens.

So, today wasn't so smooth sailing.  It was a crash course in... this is what could happen.  So, tied up at a marina for the night, hoping the prop guy is able to help us tomorrow. 
And it's okay because if something big was going to stop working, the best place for it to stop working is when you are at a marina fueling up, right?!....

We have had the most amazing couple of days.  The weather has been perfect, making good time as we make our way south, rocket launch, sundowners in the most ideal anchorage (deep water, no wind, no current), basically all of us were starting to relax.

Well, about that.  Maybe we should have waited a little longer, or maybe it was time for the universe to shake things up a bit... and so it did.

We pulled up the anchor this morning about 8 and motored back onto the ICW.
I should have known that the bliss of the last couple of days couldn't last because, well, it just doesn't.  You take the good with the bad.  I thought we had already dealt with the bad for awhile... not so much.  It was waiting for us in the channel to the fuel dock in Sebastian.

At the same time the the dock hand threw me the line to tie off, Hubs shouts, "We lost reverse!"  Of course he is joking.  He has to be joking, because why and how did we all of sudden lose reverse.  Then he shouts, "Nope, not just reverse, our prop spun off."  Mind you he is not freaking out as I would have been.  He just says it, like, hey look at that bird over there.  Like it's no big deal. 

I didn't realize that he was serious because, well, he didn't sound serious.  And, he has a tendency to not be serious. 

Well, he was.  Serious.  And I think he was freaking out a little bit, but well... Our prop spun off.  Damn.  Damn, damn, damn.

Fun times here on Airabess today.  Great fun.  And tears.  Because then Hubs says, "That's it ladies, dream over,"  Well, I took him at his word because I have no idea what the hell is going on.  I'm good in the galley.  I can throw some lines, but I know absolutely nothing about engines and propellers.  NOTHING. 
Then, well then he disappears into the office with the marina guys and I am sitting in the cockpit crying afraid to go in and see Coco because I don't want to upset her...

Finally, Hubs comes back and informs us all is not lost (this family leans toward the dramatics when we there is a loss of control)... it's just going to be a day or two to fix us up.  And we should be on our way maybe tomorrow.

Thankfully the whole prop falling off happened where it did and not while we were making our way under a bridge. And while Hubs and the marina guys moved the boat and got us situated Coco and I watched a dolphin feed, then later she was able to get face to face with a manatee. 

There is always a silver lining.  Today was so super stressful.  It was trying.  It was not all sunsets and clear water.  It was hard.  But, we are going to make the most of it... .like we always do. 

Now, that's what I'm talking about!

We got up really early this morning. Too early. Like 5:30 in the morning early.

Yesterday we had to have WiFi (for Coco' school), and we wanted to assess the boat, our stores, and ourselves~ soooo, again we tied up at a marina. This will not be the norm, but as we have such a steep learning curve, we are biting the bullet occasionally in the beginning to make sure we have it together. And actually, our confidence has benefited from it.

The super-stupid early rise was because we had to meet a dock hand at 6:30 to fuel up, pump out and get out before the tide was an issue at 7:30. Most people don't need 2 hours to do this.... we have a dog and a kid. Things take longer. We actually made it on time this time because the kid was still asleep.

Once we were past the inlet the fog cleared and we were able to open the sails.

I have to say~ I love that our sails our not white. They are Tanbark Sails, so they are this beautiful rust color and when they are fully out they are a sight to see.

Once through Haulover Canal we had the most idyllic sail cutting across the Indian River to Titusville.

It was made even more spectacular by the manatee and dolphin sightings all along the way.

Coco and I sat on the bow and watched the world go by. It was magnificent. She was even quiet for about 10 minutes, and if you know my girl THAT is a miracle.

We were going to keep south past Titusville, but remembered there was a rocket launch that evening. So, we got a mooring ball, hopped in the dingy, and went to the grocery store. We made it back for dinner and the launch.

A completely full day that had us in bed by 9. Again, something that never happens to me.

Taking a beat...

Finally~ we are back in shorts. Still sporting the long sleeves in the mornings, but the days of doubling up our socks and layering is OVER!

There were a couple of times during the first few days of this journey south that I was questing what we were doing. There was a nor'easter. So it was cold (the wet kind which is worse), gale force winds, and white caps in the ICW. Everything was wet. We hadn't prepared for the Arctic front that was making it our way.... Needless to say~ not exactly the adventure I had in mind.

I was miserable. But, didn't want to be the one to say it. Then, we found the leak that we had addressed a couple days before was still there. It wasn't a huge deal. Easy fix. Just tightening up a hose clamp. But all of the clean towels I had stowed away (yes, now I realize probably a pretty dumb spot) were soaking wet AGAIN. I kind of lost my cool and let all the angst of the weather and struggle out. It wasn't pretty.

Thankfully Hubs (who was also feeling a lot of the same angst) made and executive decision and decided that we tie up to a marina for 2 days. Not exactly the way we had envisioned setting out... but sometimes a mental health day is in order. And yes, fully aware we just began our expedition, but we also had been working our butts off for years to get to this place. We hadn't stopped to take a breath in a really long time. We just dove right in head first to this lifestyle... we needed a beat. So, we took it.

It was just what we needed.

Now, we are making our way down 'The Ditch” with clear minds, and realistic intentions.