I should really say "the adventure continues" as the past 3 years has been the biggest adventure/undertaking of my life !!
3 years ago Robert and I purchased this huge, old sailboat. On kind of a whim, I should add, as I had only been on a sailboat once before on one of our first dates. I met Robert through Match.com and I remember saying something to the effect "I want to meet someone adventurous, buy a sailboat and sail around the world" really meaning I just wanted to meet someone different that might want to try new and fun things and live life to the fullest.
So after only a couple of emails he excitedly wrote back "Sure we can buy a boat and do that. I will start looking". Yikes! We waited to buy the boat 3 1/2 years into the relationship and for the past 3 years we have put most of our time and money into outfitting The Blue Dolphin sailing vessel for long distance travel over the high seas.
I have never worked so hard! From the very first night on the boat it has been a grueling, expensive learning experience. I knew NOTHING and now the more I know the more I realize I don't know! We have replaced just about every mechanical, electrical, and plumbing part on the boat and the few left will probably need it soon.
If we had had a decent survey ( like an inspection when you buy a house) I am sure we would never had purchased this boat. But we have perservered on when I think most would have given up.
One of the best things about living on the boat you plan to take cruising is that you really learn to know your boat. I wake up in the middle of the night hearing small noises and you NEVER ignore a strange noise on a sailboat. Stopped up toilets, broken plumbing, water up to the engine in the bilge, leaks, worms eating the boat, dry rot, electrical problems- the list is endless. I quit saving all the repair receipts. I don't want to even know how much we have put into this boat-it might make me ill.
So why do I keep doing this. Shouldn't I be living in comfort and style by now after working so hard all my life? Instead I opt to live in a small, dinky space with no storage, a minature refrigerator, stove and an apartment size washing machine that will hold about 2 towels, a bed that is impossible to make as one side is against the bulkhead (fancy word for side of the boat) and I need a step to get up into it. I tell people it is like living in a motor home on the water only the marine envirnment is very harsh (like the time all our clothes had mold on them that were hanging in the closet). Now all my clothes fit in 4 drawers. Robert only gets 2 drawers.
Well, with all this complaining you probably think I should hate this lifestyle but I LOVE IT. I have met some wonderful cruising couples that have become close friends. I think this is the best part and I hear this all the time from other cruisers. I love living on the water. I feel more at home here than I have ever felt anywhere else in my life.
We decided a couple of years ago that we would take off cruising someday and with the recession hitting so hard, Robert out of a job, Me being off almost 2 years with 2 rotator cuff surgeries we said now is "someday". We leave Oct 26th from San Diego with the Baja ha ha boat rally. Over 190 sailboat all traveling together to Cabo San Lucus. Most go further south or sail the Sea of Cortez until the hot summer months or head to the South Pacific. We plan on leaving Cabo San Lucus shortly after arrival and sail to La Paz Mexico for Thanksgiving, then to ??????????
We don't really have any plans. We just want to go with the flow. See how we like it. I will try to keep this blog up so our friends and family can keep track of us. I hope we get lots of visitors along the way :) Wish us luck :) Here we go!!!!!!!!!!
3 years ago Robert and I purchased this huge, old sailboat. On kind of a whim, I should add, as I had only been on a sailboat once before on one of our first dates. I met Robert through Match.com and I remember saying something to the effect "I want to meet someone adventurous, buy a sailboat and sail around the world" really meaning I just wanted to meet someone different that might want to try new and fun things and live life to the fullest.
So after only a couple of emails he excitedly wrote back "Sure we can buy a boat and do that. I will start looking". Yikes! We waited to buy the boat 3 1/2 years into the relationship and for the past 3 years we have put most of our time and money into outfitting The Blue Dolphin sailing vessel for long distance travel over the high seas.
I have never worked so hard! From the very first night on the boat it has been a grueling, expensive learning experience. I knew NOTHING and now the more I know the more I realize I don't know! We have replaced just about every mechanical, electrical, and plumbing part on the boat and the few left will probably need it soon.
If we had had a decent survey ( like an inspection when you buy a house) I am sure we would never had purchased this boat. But we have perservered on when I think most would have given up.
One of the best things about living on the boat you plan to take cruising is that you really learn to know your boat. I wake up in the middle of the night hearing small noises and you NEVER ignore a strange noise on a sailboat. Stopped up toilets, broken plumbing, water up to the engine in the bilge, leaks, worms eating the boat, dry rot, electrical problems- the list is endless. I quit saving all the repair receipts. I don't want to even know how much we have put into this boat-it might make me ill.
So why do I keep doing this. Shouldn't I be living in comfort and style by now after working so hard all my life? Instead I opt to live in a small, dinky space with no storage, a minature refrigerator, stove and an apartment size washing machine that will hold about 2 towels, a bed that is impossible to make as one side is against the bulkhead (fancy word for side of the boat) and I need a step to get up into it. I tell people it is like living in a motor home on the water only the marine envirnment is very harsh (like the time all our clothes had mold on them that were hanging in the closet). Now all my clothes fit in 4 drawers. Robert only gets 2 drawers.
Well, with all this complaining you probably think I should hate this lifestyle but I LOVE IT. I have met some wonderful cruising couples that have become close friends. I think this is the best part and I hear this all the time from other cruisers. I love living on the water. I feel more at home here than I have ever felt anywhere else in my life.
We decided a couple of years ago that we would take off cruising someday and with the recession hitting so hard, Robert out of a job, Me being off almost 2 years with 2 rotator cuff surgeries we said now is "someday". We leave Oct 26th from San Diego with the Baja ha ha boat rally. Over 190 sailboat all traveling together to Cabo San Lucus. Most go further south or sail the Sea of Cortez until the hot summer months or head to the South Pacific. We plan on leaving Cabo San Lucus shortly after arrival and sail to La Paz Mexico for Thanksgiving, then to ??????????
We don't really have any plans. We just want to go with the flow. See how we like it. I will try to keep this blog up so our friends and family can keep track of us. I hope we get lots of visitors along the way :) Wish us luck :) Here we go!!!!!!!!!!
