Whew, where to start. The past two months have been a whirlwind. It’s fun to talk about the possibilities of taking all your money and buying a sailboat to go around the world in, imagining beautiful beaches and exotic lands. But when that bank account hits zero and your repair list stretches out the door, the reality of this monumental task hits home. The past two months have been one big, big reality check.
At this moment, I’m on a plane that just left Puerto Rico, leaving behind my hopes and dreams in the form of a 42 ft sailboat laid up on the hard in Fajardo. I’m staring down at the blue of the Atlantic dotted with whitecaps, thinking ahead to 5 months from now when hopefully (hurricanes please stay away!) We’ll return and traverse these waters at a much slower pace, beginning our adventure in earnest. I look down with mixed feelings though, many questions remain. Will We have enough money to make it happen? Can we get all the repairs done to launch Heritage? What’s going to break next? Will we be ready once we’re out in the big blue water? The endless problems, worries, and variables are enough to drive us crazy! But I feel strangely enchanted with this new life.
Nothing has come easy the past two months for Alyssa and I. Every problem has multiplied into a hundred more, each further past our skill set than than the last. I find myself trying to become a master of many fields, my stumbles along the way impeding plans and making every project a test in patience with my foolish sense. Somehow though, this state of constant flux suits me well. Being constantly overwhelmed by the projects and possibilities ahead reminds me to stay in the moment and not to take life too seriously. At the same time, in the rare moment when a project goes right, the feeling is magnificent
Alyssa may not feel the same way as sometimes frustrations lead to hopelessness but to her credit she always stays by my side with a smile. It doesn’t help that I’m often horrible at explaining what we’re doing as I’m still trying to figure it out myself. She must feel like a passenger in a runaway train at times!
If all this sounds much more like endless boat maintenance than the cruising dream of endless beaches and adventure, it’s because it has been. There is a joke in the sailing world that that the definition of cruising is boat maintenance in exotic ports and that has become all too much of a reality. I believe there is hope on the horizon though and can’t wait for this fall to be here so that we can sail for it. All the hard work we put in buoys my belief that our vessel and crew will be up for the challenges ahead and will find the great adventures that we’re searching for.
