Well here we are 2014, a whole new year of excitement and adventure. I wanted to recap 2013 a little and reflect on where we have gone and where it looks like we are headed as a family. I also wanted to address a nasty comment or two directed my way because of the choices we have made, and finally I wanted to give anyone following the blog a glimpse into what might be in store.
First let me say this blog is for my friends, family and whoever else wants to follow along. I have received a couple messages that were off color to say the least if not just plain rude.
I dont get it. You tell us all to sell out,go cheap,go cruising ect... and you trade up..........have to work again..............delay cruising...........and stop posting. Should I go with my small boat or trade up and keep working or go cruising and not worry about having the best boat ?
Jack sorry to disappoint you. Go with what you've got, however if someone drops a great deal in your lap don't turn it away! For me I'm already out here "doing it" I am cruising in every sense of the word. I am living on my boat in some of the best cruising grounds, learning trades and building my knowledge base. Cruisers work, they cruise and they learn. Cruising doesn't always mean retired and living high on the hog. (half the retired cruisers I know here are working)
The decision we made as a family to upgrade to our current boat was just that, a family decision. We had to decide between going right now way ahead of schedule with Kainoa, (years ahead) or simply putting it off one more season and leaving next year with even bigger plans than before. Kainoa was a fine boat, but she had her limitations and there were a few things I wanted to do that she might not have handled so well. You see with Kainoa we were thinking in terms of Bahamas, Virgins etc. She was the most we could afford at the time, she would get us there just fine and we liked the boat. However Jess describes it best "Kainoa was like an arranged marriage", we liked her, but we never fell in love with her.
When I first found out Jeff was selling "Thin Line" I thought, "wow maybe one day I'll have a boat like that" and then I started remembering all the Fatty Goodlander books I read and figured I'd give it a shot. When the smoke cleared we were the proud owners of a 37 CSY Plan B. A boat capable of any dreams or aspirations we had or will have in the future. I then sold Kainoa for a price that was very fair considering the work I put in her and changed our focus from leaving this season, to outfitting the new boat for bigger dreams.
With Kainoa I used words like "cruise for a season", "Bahamas", "Virgin Islands", "gunk-holing". Words that just about any boat could do with no problem. However our Dry Tortugas trip raised several questions about the long term dream and bigger goals that were developing. You see with our new boat we are using words like "circumnavigation", "trade wind route", "Suez & Panama canal". We are thinking more long term, and officially we are finally in love with our boat. Every person in our family is excited to wake up on Thin Line every day, and we are thankful beyond words we have been blessed with the opportunity to own her. The decision was not made lightly, it was mutual and made as a family.
The other choice we made when we left Nashville was to work here and get ready instead of there. There are more opportunities here to learn skills that will help us out there on the open ocean. From heavy weather tactics, anchoring, diesel mechanic work, outboards, and most recently canvas, sail repair sewing. We chose not to work for years and then leave, we chose the pay as you go plan. Jessica is bringing home the money that fills the sailing fund and I am working both to pay the day to day expenses and also gaining valuable experience in the harbor. We both only work 3 days per week and it's hardly slave labor. My boat handling skills have improved drastically working and driving the boat in all conditions, today I was rafting up to boats in 30+ kt winds and having a blast.
Typical day at the office
In summary I am sorry if I let some of you down by not leaving this season, but I did what was best for my family and for our long term goals. I could think of worse places to get stuck than Boot Key, surrounded by friends and tons of old salty captains with advice and skills to give.
Moving on...........
Family News
My Grandmother is doing much better. She is in a rehab and though it got off to a rocky start it seems like she is moving forward. There was a small issue with her insulin and blood sugar that caused quite a scare, however I made a phone call and it got taken care of. They removed her from the sliding scale and are now doing it as needed. The problem was she wasn't eating much, so the insulin was dropping her blood sugar far to low, she had several "spells" and the final one she was unconscious and unresponsive for 45 minutes. Not sure when she will be going home, but she is at least headed in that direction. Talking to her on the phone she seems to be in good spirits most of the time, her leg is healing and she sounds much better.
Colby is still dating his first real girlfriend ( over 3 months ), he has been working every now and then with Jessica bussing tables etc. He is the first one to help if anyone needs it and has also been working odd jobs in the harbor installing batteries, watching pets and whatever else he can.
Peyton and Colby both had a great Christmas and there are a ton of kids in the harbor. There were over 17 stockings hung in the marina office for the kids. The kids (and some parents) spent a Saturday decorating them, building gingerbread houses and then going to Peyton's 9th birthday party. Peyton has been working here for almost a year now. Every Monday she sweeps the floors, cleans the laundry room and picks up trash. The Harbormaster pays her 5.00 out of his own pocket and I'm sure he would triple her salary if she asked, she has him wrapped around her finger like she does me. The staff at the city marina had a couple shirts made for her that say "Boot Key Harbor Junior Assistant" and she wears them with pride!
Peytons other gift from City Marina
BOAT STUFF
I have finally finished converting the boat from Fluorescent lighting to LED, which is a project I did on Kainoa. I learned a few things the first time that helped me make some different decisions. Our main lighting consists of 4 of these fixtures and our berth lights, reading lights and other lights are all Sensibulb LED's. The reduction in power consumption is amazing! I have been fixing wiring and small things throughout the boat as well as making lists, yep back to list making! New boat, new projects.
The new boat was in desperate need of sail covers for our main and staysail, not a cheap thing to buy, canvas work is expensive. I found (thanks to a friend) a Sailrite zig zag sewing machine on Craigslist hardly used for only 400.00. I was less than 24 hours away from buying a new one for more than twice that when this one came up. The machine is capable of repairing not just canvas, but also zig zagging for sail repair. They are a HUGE tool in the arsenal of a long term cruiser, my sail cover project alone will more than pay for the cost of the machine. Sew (haha) I am learning as quickly as I can how to run the machine as well as the craft of working with canvas. The first day I had the machine out there were no less than 3 people all jumping in to help me get started, sure makes the learning curve easier! (another reason Boot Key is a great place to be while getting ready)
There hasn't been much to report as far as sailing goes, the weather has been less then stellar. Boats waiting to leave for the Bahamas have been stuck here for quite a while. One boat headed to Guatemala has been here almost a month past the time he wanted to be, due to weather. The past couple nights have been gale force winds (over 40mph) and cold. Now while you may not feel sorry for me dealing with 55 degree weather, realize that even if it's 5 degrees outside where you are chances are it's not that cold in your house. If you cut off your furnace and let the inside temp drop to 55 you'd be cold too, problem is I don't have a furnace so I'm just SOL. Keeping that in mind yes I'm complaining about being cold at 55 degrees, I don't have any escape from it. (or pants!)
REFLECTING ON 2013
A lot has happened in the past year and almost all of it was good. We made it to Boot Key on a new boat, renamed the boat, did a ton of work, learned as we went and then sold it. I've picked up several new skills either from working on Kainoa or from hanging out in the work room. Looking back on what I knew one year ago, today I can see how little I knew last year at this time. It's amazing when you use immersion to learn, just how quick things happen. This is one of the reasons we wanted to build the sailing fund here, instead of doing it in Nashville.
Best of all we now have "THE" boat, the boat we will go to sea with. She is strong, capable (more-so than us) and will carry us safely wherever our hearts desire. It is far nicer than I would have ever thought I'd own and I feel blessed everyday to be her captain. It's been a great year, a year of growing, learning and dreaming bigger dreams.
PLANS
As I mentioned above our plans have changed as the time has passed. We started small but things have grown as our little adventure progresses. We are now looking at leaving next year and instead of a season spent cruising through the Bahamas, we are trying to plan for a bigger trip. I am about to use the C word, keep in mind it's a big word with a lot involved, but we are going to give it a shot.
Circumnavigation
We are in the beginning phases of working out how to make this happen. We have the boat, we have the desire and we will see how things develop. This is a whole new ballgame when it comes to our plans and we might be bitting off more than we can chew, but we are going to try and make it happen. At a minimum we will be doing the Bahamas and down the entire southern island chain this year, or we might give a trade wind circumnavigation a shot if we can make it happen. This is no small undertaking, however none of this has been. I am trying to cram a lot into the next year and it's also another reason we chose to stay this year and also purchase "Thin Line" The thought of attempting this scares me just as much as excites me. I don't believe it's a matter of if, but when it will happen.
Growing, learning and dreaming bigger dreams, that is our goal for 2014.
Happy New Year (A week late) ;-)
S/V Thin Line Crew
Sounds like Jack needs to figure out his own life rather than relying on you to tell him how to live it. Also sounds like Jack is jealous. Enjoy the Thin Line, I loved spending time on that boat.
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