Before The Leap

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

I've started this blog to document what for my family may be a grand experiment that ends in a completely new approach to life or dismal failure and the return to "reality." About six months ago, my husband and I decided it was time to embrace the lifestyle we wanted and move our two kids to a 30' sailboat we keep in the Keys. Full time. For the next year, if we can stand it. Yes, living aboard on a 30' boat. Crazy, but we are going for it. So we put a plan in motion and here we are just two weeks from his last day at 'the job' and a couple weeks more from actually stepping foot on the boat.
So many loose ends remain, but I'm not deterred. We've been steadily ticking them off the to-do list for months now, despite medical issues, family emergencies and life in general. At some point, you just have to jump. While everyone else is caught up in the pursuit of "more," we are trying for "less." It's a lesson we want for our kids too. We're looking forward to a summer -- a year, maybe -- of experiences you can't get from the Disney Channel. If we make it through the tropical months, we'll be homeschooling the kids in the fall, hoping to take advantage of the flexibility that a non-traditional education brings. Ultimately, the idea is to make the boat -- and the requisite sailing experience -- the focus of our life, something that's difficult to do from three hours away.

We've owned our boat since before our son was born, yet she's been under sail with one of us at the helm only a handful of times. Time, distance, fear all combined to keep us at the dock. Not that that's all bad -- as parents and hopefully responsible sailors, we owe it to our kids and to the people who would have to come rescue our sorry butts in an emergency to be prepared. And that's what this year is about.

So, we're on the cusp. The real challenge for us, for everyone

August 6, 2012: Day 1

Here it is, two months plus since my first optimistic post, and we've finally moved onto the boat! What happened? Life. Business meetings, travel, family commitments. There's a great line in a Beatles song that fits right about now: "Life is what happens when you're making other plans." But here we are, at the satisfied end of our first full day as boat dwellers. It wasn't without hitches.

Last night when we arrived, we spent so much time stowing all the provisions and equipment that a life connected to the water requires that we missed the Sunday night get-together with our boat neighbors. Thankfully, it's a weekly affair, and we're planning to be regulars. Then our marine air conditioner decided to call it quits. Sure, it was of questionable pedigree and landed in our posession for a cheap $100 and a bottle of rum, but it gave us a few good years of dedicated service before finally emitting its last cool gasp just as we decided to rely on it for real. But no worries, a jury-rigged window AC we lovingly call Mr. Frosty got us through that first night. My husband has promised many, many favors of a private kind for having the forethought to throw it in the car as a back-up plan! Here's a look at the frankenfix that solved our AC problem...thank goodness for ginger ale and duct tape!

Today a spare with a wiring issue was quickly repaired by the resident mechanical genius (my husband John) and put into service for our second full night of comfort aboard. Just like the pirates did, as John would say!

The kids sleep in the V-berth; for the uninitiated, that's the pointy part of the front of the boat!! It's a tight squeeze, and we probably have less than a year before Ian stops putting up with bunking with his little sister, but we make it work for now. Hey, you can do anything for a year, right?

In between air conditioner repairs was a full day that really served as proof of concept -- three laptops, 2 iPads and one radio likely spiked more amps than this 30-year-old boat has seen in some time, but all performed beautifully. The kids, kept down below by severe lightning and rain squalls (on our first day, no less!), were blissfully watching Disney Channel on the newly acquired iPads that were procured primarily for school use but will serve us well for entertainment, we've decided. (Photo below: Ian and Eve on their iPads with Mom's and Dad's laptops awaiting use.)

Several hours of work later, I made a grocery store run -- you still have to eat in paradise! -- and upon return, we set out for our family exercise. John and I ran, and the kids biked. Running past an active military runway is a good reminder of the many people whose service and sacrifice allow us to have this amazing experience, including the man I have shared this journey with for nearly a quarter-century. It's also a good lesson for our kids, whose cries of "The sound of freedom," whenever the jets scream overhead makes our hearts swell with pride.

The day ended with a family swim and search for cool sea life, followed by steak under the beach tiki hut, courtesy of my son Ian, who not only suggested the dining spot but expertly cooked the steak on a transom-mounted grill while John focused on solving the AC crisis. I could get used to this.

Rockstar Rocket enjoying his trip down to the boat!