We all make choices in life that are right for us, ours was to move on a 40 ft sailboat with our 5 year old grand daughter. We gave up a dirt dwelling home that was stability for our family, knowing our dream was to wake up to gorgeous sunrises and end our day with water filled sunsets.

We had a 5 yr plan, sell our home and move to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and pursue our search for a boat. We sold our home in one day, found a rental and started our search, three years later we found our dream boat. We had done our homework and knew a Gozzard built boat was the one for us, we found a Bay field 40 cutter/ketch that suited all of our live aboard needs. Side by side quarter berths and a full head with a huge 2 seated shower. So , again we got rid of everything we owned and moved on the boat names Adventuress.

Did we think of living aboard during the Winter, of course not. . .did we stop to think about the water being turned off on the docks. . .of course not. We were the only liveaboards during the Winter at this marina, we were on our own with a 5 yr old!

We moved on our floating dream home in mid October, the rains came as well as 40 mph winds. . . we learned to quickly how to pull the boat over and quickly jump aboard before the winds took her to the other side of the dock. The next step was to tie bungee lines to the pilling across from us so that if our grand daughter slid across the finger pier she would shoot back on our boat, ( never happened but we were prepared).

Our grand daughter was attending a private school 50 miles one way from the boat at that time and my husband was working in Washing , DC. He left the boat at 4:30 am and we needed to be exiting the boat by 6:45 am. Never once did we consider low tides or high tides, and they came.. . .Ava ended up missing 32 days of school that year, thank goodness it was kindergarten. Along with high winds came two snowfalls of over 1 ft. each time. For heat we used an electric ceramic heater, warming blankets for our berths and two little electric boat heaters one at the bow and one aft. The boat stayed a balmy 58 degrees, which is quite warm in such a small space.

I can honestly say the only hardship we encountered during that Winter in Maryland was cooking. The snow acted as an insulator so we were snug and warm, but when you are used to cooking on a gas grill you need to have an alternate plan. Neither of us had used a 2 burned propane stove, we learned quickly . . .however I went right out and bought a griddle and a crock pot. . .we were back in business.

We knew the only way to learn the In's and Out's of  our sailboat was to move on her full time, Ava saw this as an adventure and was completely happy. Our meals were simple, we had warm clothing hanging everywhere, not to mention our two cats that lived aboard also. We shoveled docks instead of sidewalks, we walked to the bath house to take showers in 32  degrees and below at night, we were in bed at 7:30 in the evening. We carried  4, 25 gallon jugs of water to fill our tanks once a week,(100 gallon tank) and never ran out of water.

We learned to live in small surroundings with a TV that got very few channels, we read and put together many puzzles and laughed a lot.There is not one inch of our boat or one sound that we can not tell you what it is.

We have now owned the boat for 3 years and love every experience, our plans are to head south next Winter. . .but we still have a few Maryland Winters to conquer.

. . . and so the work begins. To recap our life on a sailboat. . .no matter where or what we call home, it is an Adventure. When we found Adventuress, we knew she was meant for us, but did not know if she was ready for us! My advice to anyone buying a boat, plan to stay on board before you take off, get to know the in's and out's, there are noises that you think only Jaques Cousteu could explain, they become second nature.

Picking up your feet as you walk down the dock,(not strutting like you own the Titanic) there are boards that need to be fixed that you aren't necessarily looking for. Tides become your main focus, on a day to day basis, they are not your friend, unless you are secured to a floating dock. Weather, (that is a topic alone) condensation is something you would not even consider, however if you have ever owned a Jeep you know what I am talking about.

Privacy. . .there is none so get used to it. It is so important for you to like the humans you share your living space with. Storage, boats have plenty you just have to learn organization skills. I can tell you, those who live and travel to warm climates have it easy. Clothes can be rolled and stored in multiple places, we live in Maryland so layers and huge coats are not easy to roll and store. We had two huge snow storms, over a ft of snow each time. There were four wind storms with gales over 65 mph. , we hardly left our berths. You still have to eat , learning to prepare food during these conditions is an art.

Pre pairing the boat for a Winter on the hard is a sad time but every so often it needs to happen. Since the boat fared well on the Sassafras River there is  minor cleaning to be done. I popped barnacles off the instant the boat was pulled. Painting and waxing will be done rather quickly, the teak we stripped during the Fall is waiting to be finished, the new scroll work for the bow is being made, and a full Clorox cleaning below is on the list. By May she will be ready to be moved to her new/old home with us back aboard.

I can honestly say, I would not change one thing about our experience. The name of the boat was going to be, Running with Scissors, appropriately so. This is how we handle everything, take off running and learn as we go. Adventuress was and is her name, life is an Adventure and we welcome every obstacle, ( wish we didn't have as many) and share the outcome no mater how big or small.

Now that Spring is in our back yard the work will begin, we know for sure there are new friends awaiting us at every anchorage and we value the friends we have already made living this phenomenal  lifestyle. . . .

Fair Winds To All. .. .

    

As another sailing season comes to an end, and this usually coincides with the Annapolis Sailboat Show,( unless you are venturing south for the Winter by boat) it finds me sad. . . .almost to the throws of depression. The boat show is always a successful venture for us, Ava gets a new piece of jewelry, I usually get some kind of outwear, today being no exception. . . plus a hat with Adventuress monogrammed on it. Papa leaves with some tool to make Winterizing the boat easier and many business cards that will never leave the expo bags we are given at the gate.

Many are surprised at my Love for a sailboat, when did this happen and where did it come from. . .not sure exactly. . .my days of being held prisoner in Catholic school comes to mind or the fact that my grand mother said I was going to be an Adventurer. What matters is, I am surprised myself as to how my entire mind set changes when I am around the water and a sailboat, a slow mode of transportation. . . amazing.

What I never thought about was how difficult it would be to change from land living to water living. High tides,Low tides, small spaces(which don't really bother me), low lighting, Boat Cooking! How many of you see a sailboat on the water and think of the living space below, I can honestly say I never did. I thought of the feeling you must get sliding through the water. Having a sailboat as your home is quite an adjustment.

The boat is our Home, although we live in a very nice apartment(condo) so that Ava is able to attend school and play sports, Adventuress is our Home. The Winter will bring a slower pace life for us, even though we did not get to spend as much time on the boat this Summer as we would have liked due to the battery issue. Come Spring we will have the chore of stripping the paint and repainting the bottom of the boat, staining and varnishing the wood trim and updating various extras.

Come April we will be moving to the quaint little town of Rock Hall, 5 1/2 hrs closer to Annapolis than we are here on the Sassafras River. Adventuress resided in Rock Hall at the same marina we are going to for 18 yrs. , we will be in her same slip and the strange coincidence  is the previous and only owner of our boat has her new boat 10 slips down named Adventuress also. We are taking Adventuress home!

I will update this blog with progress on the various changes we do on the  boat and of our trip to the Chesapeake Bay.  I am sure it is going to be filled with my usual antics. . . .Until then. . .I pray for Snow this Winter!

Work is taking longer than we expected on Adventuress, the 1 yr mark is coming close before Papa retires and our adventures on Adventuress begin. We knew when we bought the boat it had years on her and updating was going to be an every day thing, we did not expect all 3 batteries and starter to go at one time(in Oct. 1 yr after purchasing her). I learned that buying batteries for a boat were not the same as batteries for a car or flash light, these need to run for days with out a generator to charge and not corrode. The search for the right batteries started in Jan. 2012 as I started my search for curtains and updating the main cabin,quarter berths and head. The galley is the galley and there is not much you can do there. While Papa was searching battery options he looked at 2 other Bayfields being updated in the Annapolis area and got an idea of what needed to be done to Adventuress. He had already fixed the water tank problem we had the entire yr. we lived on board so we thought we were ahead already. The work began to build a battery box and make an opening in Ava's cabin to easily access the cockpit locker when we discovered a battery box had been built, but was covered due to the previous owner buying to large of batteries to fit. Me, not knowing anything about the workings of a boat,could not understand what was taking so long. We knew the cost was going to be around $2,000.00 or more for the batteries we needed for our planned lifestyle, Papa being the sole supporter in this venture searched every nook and cranny for a better deal. The deal was 2 miles from where we are now residing. The work began on installing the batteries, with a side job of de nesting while putting up the Main sail. I can say, 1 month and 2 nights mixed with a lot of aggravation on my part, we should hear Adventuress purring by Friday night. In the meantime, we had a wicked storm 2 weeks ago that has done minor damage to the wood and fiberglass on the exterior of the boat. When the storm came up it sucked the water out of the river ad had the boats laying on there Starboard sides, as the water returned many of the boats hit the dock being right sided ours being one of them. I plan on stripping all the wood on her withing the next month so this has given me a head start. As for the fiberglass and chipped paint she will be pulled at the end of the summer for cleaning and new paint. Our plans for travels on Adventuress were cut short this Season with maybe a couple day sails planned but our outlook for the future has not. In closing, I can't blame storms or previous work for our delay. . . .the blame falls on us not realizing the upkeep on a boat is an every day project. . .we got to comfortable living on land again. Thank You Captain Kevin for your Diligence, your Patience and Your Love. . .We May Not Have it All Together, But.. Together We Have it All!

Almost there

It is hard to believe it is mid-April already, next weekend Papa becomes a Captain after many hours of hard work. I never really knew what it took to become a 100 ton captain but it is evident it is something I will never achieve. Some ask, Do you really want to? YES . However, I am lacking the attention span to accomplish this, so I am content now to be Second Mate to Ava's First. Ava is actually a better sailor than I am, kids have no fear. I am assigned to the Galley when we take off, I wear my sailing gloves per chance I am needed on deck( hasn't happened but I am ready). Once the batteries arrive(4 in all, weighing over 650 lbs) we can move the berth cushions and new bedding on, sails are cleaned , mended and ready to pick up. We will more than likely commission Adventuress in early June after the holiday weekend. Clothes and Shoes are also a big part of the move in process, then food, funny how that pecking order works. Our chores will then be to strip,sand and repair the teak around the boat. We will also be pulling her out of the water for 2 weeks to clean and paint the Hull , which is long overdue. This Summer will bring new adventures as well as 2 weddings and our daughter coming home for a brief visit from LA.(not a fan of the boat). We are also moving into a new condo mid May. The boat will be home June through Oct, freeing the Condo for family visits. For many who have followed my Blog know our Winter in the current apt. was a disaster. In all fairness this bldg. is 42 yrs old with NO updates. When it was cold we had no heat and had to use the equally dis funtioning oven , but never at night or when we were away. From Jan. on we have had Internet for 3 hrs a day, even though we pay for it 24/7. Hot water was and still is hit or miss, having to cancel many Dr's appointments due to unsanitary conditions. Mold worms live in our bathroom walls and make an appearance daily, a broken washing machine on our floor was a missing convenience. I can honestly say, Living on Adventuress during the Winter months were a pleasure compared to this. Ava will attend a private school come August which is between the boat and here so overnight stays on the boat are a happening thing during beautiful fall nights. Public school did not work out, Bullying was the main issue and I am shocked at how rampant it is in the schools starting at young ages. This new school will prepare Ava for Boat Schooling come Jan. 2014 when we plan on making our first voyage south. It is definitely an exciting time!

"We all carry bags. At times your bags will be lighter than mine. Or mine will be lighter than yours. What's in your bag may be similar to what's in my bag or very different, however, all our bags are uniquely ours. While some may argue that your bags are lighter than theirs, they have no idea how heavy your bags are for it is not their bags. What's important is how we carry our bags. Whether we drag them with us in despair and frustration or we lift them as we climb, happy to be on the trip, is key to how we travel through our journey. No matter how many bags you or I carry, in this world, no one is bagless." ~ Chizoma Cluff

As the Sun sets each day it brings us closer to the goal we had set 38 yrs ago. Papa will be commissioning the boat in the next couple of weeks to begin a new sailing season, to only be slowed down a bit when we haul the boat out of the water to clean and paint the bottom. We are planning this to be a 2 week process at the most. We decided to do this during early Summer when most boats are in the water, to give us more room to work. Ava will be going back to private school next August, this will complete her formal school years for a while. She will be entering 2nd grade at Red Lion Christian Academy in Delaware, 3rd grade we will start the process of Boat schooling. Her grades are out standing however she requires a disiplined setting in the classroom, boat schooling is quite different. Her subjects are set according to the course of our travels and less disipline required. Papa will be semi-retired as of next August, staying with the company he is with now on a schedule that suits our sailing schedule and the economy. I will be going back to work in the Fall(yes after a 7 yr. hiatus)to acquire people skills. . .not sure what I will be doing but it will only be temporary. After 9 days of no hot water in this Winter apt. we will be moving to a new Condo in May. We found out it was a nicer living on the boat in the winter, we were never with out heat or hot water. Many exciting things happening this Spring and Summer starting with papa's graduation from Captains school in May, 2 weddings this Summer, many sailing trips and a visit from Sheana(our daughter who lives in LA)in August. Daily trips to the boat are on my agenda now getting her prepared for our return. .. . Happy Spring!