Safety First

I am humbled. 

The ocean is vast. She is great.  She doesn't care when her depths are shallow, or when they are fathomless.  She just undulates and breathes her breath. You are not a factor. You are lucky if you can move about her surface without mishap, without fail. You honor and respect her majesty. You bow to her power. 

There are times when you and your vessel return to a safe port and respect her wishes. 

You listen and learn from her. 

I wonder sometimes how often we would pause if it was just Hubs and me. If we didn't have Coco.  

I think we would we be a lot more reckless. We would charge head first, holding hands, and press our way through... Anything. 

But, it's not just the 2 of us. We have extra special gargo. 

There is Coco. 

So, we are more cautious. Our anxiety and fear is exponential.   

That is why today we turned back. 

We could have forged ahead and consequences be damned. 

But... Coco... Sanity and self preservation. 

Our Coco.  She was just happy with the pool on the other end of our meltdown.  

*We were well on our way to crossing the Bahamas Banks. We turned around and headed back to Bimini. This, we are learning, is part of cruising. The weather window that was predicted was inaccurate. We were in a position to turn around.  So we did. Safety first. 

Yes, we are completely deflated. We had hoped to be on our way across the Banks. But also, YES, we are content to be at a safe marina... As it was our only other other option. 

Taking stock. Licking our wounds. Feeling grateful for honest, human responses.  

To being free and being real!*

Home

I spent my last day in St. Augustine having lunch with a dear friend followed by a concert with my kiddo and another dear friend. Not a bad way to say goodbye to our hometown. There was, of course, a ton of running around finishing things up. That's not what I will remember though. 

I will remember the farewell hugs and dancing my booty off. 

The following 2 photos courtesy of Jana Vallone. 

Friday morning we woke up early and mopped our way out of the house. Someone else lives there now. So strange and I obsessed over it the WHOLE way down to the Keys. Once here though I had other things to focus on, adjust to and obsess about. 

FYI you can pack all of you necessary belongings into a shoebox size car and move. It's not exactly comfortable, but we did it. 

So we are here and plugged in so we can put everything back together. 

We had planned on doing a few things pre-splash.... But the boatyard launched it earlier than they were supposed to. We will see how that effects us moving forward. Probably going to have to beach it, unless Hubs can do the chores underwater. Time will tell. And now we have that in abundance. 

Getting what we need

Not really feeling like going to shore... But we have a little person on board who is desperate after a day or two to be around other kids. I can't say that I blame her. But that means I have to motivate and head to shore with her. 

It's not just hop on the dingy and go. It's get everything we might need in our backpacks (today that includes schoolwork, shower stuff, snacks, and paperwork for me). It means getting the boat organized (I hate leaving things in disarray...which happens quickly in a such a small space). It means being fed and dressed and... Well you get the idea. 

It's not always like that. Today it is. It's been cold and rainy so it seems like everything takes longer. It's definitely not like just leaving the house. 

But, we are here. In the marina common area. Coco's working on schoolwork, and I, now that I've finished my work, am free to peruse the Internet thanks to the convenient wifi. 

These days come and go so quickly. It's easy to forget how hard it was to get here. I wonder what she will remember. Will it be the friends she made? 

The excursions we went on?

  This is the dolphin research center. We went ahead and became members for the year since we plan on being here for awhile... And this girl is obsessed with dolphins. 

Evening rituals? 

I wonder.... 

Sometimes I want to not do anything. I just want to be. But, it's not about just me, or Hubs. It's about giving our girl adventure and experiences. 

So today we went ashore. Oh, and we left Hubs on Airabess. 

Which means I was solo driving the dingy. Not might favorite thing to do... 

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. 

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.

Today was a good day...

Hubs and his nephew getting stuff ready. 

 She was so very excited.  I think she is more ready for a big adventure than we are.... but right now they are all big to her.  If only she really knew what was in store. 

Good-bye marina....







                                Hello wide open(ish) spaces!






We looked at Coco's photos when we got home (I really need to load some) and the view from her lens was priceless. She wanted to take everything in... and did.

 Yep, that's hubs and yes, the steering wheel is behind him.  We did not design it that way.  The guy who owned the boat before us came up with that brilliant idea.  And we had so many of his brilliant ideas to fix~ this one hasn't been addressed yet.  It is going to be really fun when it's my turn at the helm, as I can't even see over the electronics box.  It will be pretty funny to watch though....

Me and the nephew.  We were really glad he was there with the extra hands (and eyes).  I am a complete novice, and a blind one at that.   Not to mention I was jacked up on nervous energy.  I know it wasn't that far.  And I know that people motor under a bridge everyday... but I/we never had.  Plus, there was the excitement of actually moving on the water.  I can't tell you how much I prefer to not be tied up.   I really didn't realize how much until we were.

The following pictures are pretty self-explanatory.   Some very kind (boat friends) took the photos from the bridge.  

We had to circle around for 30 minutes to wait on the next bridge opening... good practice for the captain who hadn't had much chance to actually captain the boat.

 And, although he doesn't look it... my Hubs is really stoked.  Today was a good day.  It is a day that we will remember as one of many firsts.  I have said it before, but it bears repeating... I wouldn't want to be on this adventure with any one else. 

Let's go.

 

Another step closer.  I think she was ready.

Marina life is....

...Not the life for me. 
It was a great transition for us.  We worked out some of the kinks safely tied to the dock.  It was determined how much electricity we would really need and use and what our water intake was.  And, we learned to simplify even more. 

Being at a marina was eye-opening.  We chose one that allowed 'work on boats'.  So, that is what we did.  But, it was confining.  It felt like being on display.  Any move we made someone was witness to.  Not that anyone cared... or was really paying attention.  It's just that is  not what we want out of boat life.   We don't want to be tied up to land.  We want to be surrounded by water.  We want the freedom of the open sea and air. 

So, as soon as we could... meaning we had our solar and wind power ready, a functioning galley and head, etc...  we made the move to a mooring buoy.  Not exactly a great escape.  But, the next step for us.  And that's okay, because it's our path and journey.

Moving to the buoy would prove to be another adventure all together...  Actual nautical navigation, bridge openings, and tying up to the buoy (I have no depth perception...).   We are definitely on a learning curve.  But that's okay.  It's fun this way!

Fingers Crossed

      
Well, we set a date to at least get her wet.  Fingers crossed we will motor over to a marina end of this month or early next.  SO MUCH to be done to make that happen. 
We have been knocking out some major stuff though.  Or maybe it feels major because it is such tangible- visible progress.
The bottom is painted.  Deck boards are down.  Propane housing reinstalled.  Electronics box installed.  Steering complete.  Lockers painted and sails and anchors put back on boat.
Just walking out to the garage and seeing things moved out feels good. 
Yesterday the hubs didn’t have the best day on the boat, but not all days are good.  It is getting hot here again, hence the race to get in the water.


That was last year (April 2012).  Crazy.  So much can happen.  So much did happen. 

Back to the Present

At the marina, doing the home school thing.