I remember the moment I started feeling really weary. We had spent some time in the more isolated and beautiful…
This week my thoughts flow toward the idea of transition. This week approaches the Biblical time of Shavuot, some may…
This spot on the water marks the place we’ve been the longest anywhere since we started our journey south. It’s a funny feeling. I was getting into the groove of daily travel. Waking in the early morning, pulling up anchor and setting out to a new place, the accomplished feeling of once again dropping that anchor in a place your eyes have never wandered, wondering what each new day will hold.
The day started out blustery and cold and didn’t get much better. But we were excited to officially pass mile zero on the ICW; it meant the prospect of warmth! We were even more excited to be traveling with two other boats, s/v Solstice and s/v Totem. Although Solstice and Totem had become world travelers neither of them had traveled the ICW before so it was new to every single one of us.
It was a long three weeks at the dock in Norfolk, Virginia. Not because we weren’t enjoying our boat or the area or the people, but because I (more than my husband, surprisingly) was anxious to literally and figuratively “untie the dock lines” and trade the comfort of the marina for the wild unknown of travel.
I’m the first one to wake up every morning. I emerge from our nest of blankets and sleeping bags, all piled high, five sleepy people snuggled in one room at the close of each day. The dawn awakens me. It’s cold so I slip my socks back on my feet and peek out one of the port windows surrounding our cabin. The water beckons.
We awoke with newfound energy. We had sailed for two days now and we were beginning to grasp how our routine was supposed to go. We had a quick breakfast again and started early as the sun was rising. We make a habit of listening to the weather forecast the night before we sail. It said it was going to be 3-4 foot seas with wind 15- 20 knots with gusts up to 30 knots, which wasn’t as calm as the day before but good for sailing since the wind would help us gain speed!
Our first voyage as a family on s/v Gromit! We were all excited but nervous as well. It would be the first time for everything, so we didn’t really know what to expect, but Mike’s dad joined us for the cruise so we would have extra help if we needed it. His many years of sailing was great to have on board.
We left Holiday Point Marina in Edgewater, Maryland (just outside of Annapolis located on the South River) bound for Solomon’s Island.
We have had one busy week!
Every day has been packed, quite the opposite of what most folks think of as the “cruising lifestyle”. But we are preparing for a trip, buying food, setting things up (and figuring them out) for the first time, everything takes four or five times as long as they should.
When God gives you a $34.00 plane ticket, you take it.
Four years ago I was preparing to get on a plane for fifteen hours. I was a nervous wreck. Literally, I was a trembling mess. Earlier I had clearly heard God tell me to let go of my fear of traveling, but as the day to leave approached, it seemed as if the fear only grew.