Choppy Seas

After spending a few dreary weeks in the boat yard getting the starboard holding tank repaired, we decided we had had enough. We were sick and tired of sitting around having things repaired and not being able to move. Our few weeks living on the hook in Lake Sylvia was pure bliss compared to the drudgery of boat yards. So, with the holding tank serviceable (not 100% repaired, but repaired enough to use as long as it never fills up over 3/4 full), we decided we would not remain any longer for additional repairs. On a whim, we checked the weather and pulled out headed to Biscayne Bay. The weather had reported winds from the south with waves two to three feet high. While we would have to motor (heading straight south with a wind coming from the south isn't going to get you very far sailing), we would at least be going somewhere. Two to three foot waves were easily manageable with our boat, so off we went.

As we approached the cut to head out into open seas, we noticed it was quite a bit choppy. We took this in stride figuring it would smooth out as we left the coast. Let's just say the weather forecast had been a bit off, as the seas were more like four to six feet high with moderate chop. It didn't take long to realize we were in for a very bumpy ride. The hubby sat perched up in the captain's chair steering us along. The kids were sitting together on the port side seating area as if they were on a roller coaster. That is exactly how it felt. They were so happy going up, and then down, over and over again with stomachs turning and wind blowing their hair back. I will admit to being quite a bit frightened. We would go up and then plummet down. The waves were crashing into the boat, throwing water over the front of the bow, and sounding like the boat would break apart at any minute. I timidly asked our determined captain, "Is it going to be this way the whole way down?" He responded that he didn't think so, but it was possible. For several hours we pounded south into the waves riding the roller coaster of the seas. My fear lessened as I realized the boat would indeed stay intact and above water.

I had to repeatedly check the interior of the boat to ensure things weren't being tossed to and fro (like we were, as we attempted to move anywhere). I was pleased to see that only a few pieces of fruit had managed an escape from their holding areas. But then I saw our poor kitty huddling under the salon table with wide eyes. When he saw me he yelled and came running over. The poor little guy was absolutely terrified. I tried to sooth him, but he decided hiding was the better course of action and scuttled down into our hull. He stumbled to his litter box to void and then began to pant. I thought, "Oh no, he's going to be sick." I tried to take him back up to the salon to get him some fresh air and to 'see' the movement. He would have none of it and went to his carrier sitting on our bed. I resolved to leave him for a while to check on everything else. When I came back, the smell told me all I needed to know. Clean up would be required and some medication too. He had vomited his breakfast all over himself and his carrier. I had to clean him and his carrier up, give him new bedding, and some 'kitty ace'. The medication kicked in very quickly, and while he appeared a bit crossed eyed, he was calm and sleeping when he could in between the battering of waves (which sounded extremely worse on the inside). After several hours (where we all ended up taking Bonine for preventative measures), we decided to take the Miami cut in to Biscayne Bay rather than continue our battering in the open ocean. We arrived to our destination that evening safely anchored in Key Biscayne.

We spent a few nights in Key Biscayne before heading to Billy's Point in Elliot Cay (on the south end of Biscayne Bay). We only spent the afternoon and one night there, but it was impressive. The water was clear enough to see the bottom. There were no other boats anchored around us. It was like we were the only people on earth. When night fell, my daughter summed it up best, "Absolutely amazing." We all were humbled by the sheer enormity of the sky and stars. The next morning we continued south to Tarpon Basin in Key Largo. The water was clean and relatively warm. The kids thoroughly enjoyed snorkeling there.

We spent an entire week in Tarpon Basin. The public dinghy dock was right behind the police station (very safe). We had to walk a half mile to the grocery store a few times. I had to do the laundry by hand since there was no coin laundry nearby. We spent several days just swimming, relaxing, and doing some clean up on the boat. The last several days were very choppy. We discovered what it felt like for our anchor to 'drag', but then also the security of our anchor when it had buried itself. At night we fell asleep to the rocking of the boat and the sound of waves lapping at the hulls.

Today we begin our journey north. The first stop will be back in Key Biscayne. The last stop will eventually be the Chesapeake Bay (a few months from now). We have had relatively choppy seas today as we pound north (although no big waves since we are on the intercostal). We have finally managed to get some sailing in as well! She sails extremely well and is much faster sailing than motoring! I am happy to report the kitty is taking it all in fine this time. He even ventured out to the cockpit to spy on our determined and capable captain steering the boat ever onward to our next destination.

What's That Smell???

People will tell you that a variety of smells come with a boat. We can attest that this is very true. We've been learning about a lot of odors lately. Take the bilges for example. After they did the repairs, the bilges had some water left in them. Needless to say, after a while, they started to stink. Now the wife is somewhat sensitive to odors. Her olfactory senses are, shall we say, way above average. Those senses get even more heightened when she has a migraine coming on. Sometimes, an odor can actually give her a migraine. So, picture if you will, her donning rubber gloves, cleaners, and sponges and going after those bilges. When the starboard holding tank cracked, she was the first to detect an odor. Let's just say it also didn't take her long to find the source. Now boats live in warm damp environments. So, as with any object in such an environment, mildew can tend to appear overnight. We have employed various methods to scrub away and kill the mildew. We even joked of making a science project out of the salon ceiling. We could divide it into multiple areas and figure out which method of removal worked best!

This past week has been especially trying in the odor department. The wife detected the smell days ago. The rest of us (being without such heightened senses), of course took a little longer to smell what she smelled. She's been going crazy trying to find the elusive odor. They will tell you, that when trying to track down an odor, to let your nose do the work for you. My wife did that very thing. She set about sniffing every nook and cranny of the boat trying to find the source of the odor. She even resorted to sniffing the rest of our actual persons! To no avail, we couldn't find the source. Now the rest of us could somewhat smell the odor. But my wife could smell it very strongly. So strongly that she was certain it was fungal of some sort.

She resorted to hand scrubbing and then disinfecting the floors. She cleaned the seats in the salon. She cleaned everything from top to bottom. She would go outside for awhile, then come back in. Immediately she could still smell it. She was certain she was beginning to go a little crazy (and, while we didn't say anything, the thought had also crossed our minds at one point or another). Finally she gave up looking and decided to try again tomorrow. She decided to set about clearing the table for dinner (quite despondent).

She came across a pile of things that needed to be placed elsewhere, and began looking around the salon shelves for a place to put them. Her eyes fell onto two grocery bags that had been tied and set on the shelves almost two weeks ago. Now, you know that mom voice right? The one you hear, with your name attached to it, that means get your butt in there immediately or you might not live to your next birthday? That voice emanated out of my wife with our son's name attached to it. He immediately popped up out of his hull and says, "Yea mom?" My wife says, "Is that your biology project sitting over there on those shelves?" The boy sheepishly replies, "Yea." My wife responds with a clipped voice, "The project that you completed almost two weeks ago on the effects of ethylene?" The boy hesitantly states, "Yes." My wife (with that deadly calm you dare not argue with) says: "Take them out now. Right now. All the way out to the trash on the dock, away from this boat. That's probably what I'm smelling." The boy (with a small hesitant chuckle) quickly grabbed the bags and removed them from the area. As he walked out the door with them, my wife immediately exclaims that yes, that is indeed the odor.

Now for those of you that don't know about an experiment involving the effects of ethylene: Ethylene is the chemical that is produced by ripening fruit. The more ethylene you can capture in the fruit's vicinity, the faster it ripens. The bags were full of bananas and apples that had been used for the experiment. Needless to say the experiment had long since been completed, and then forgotten about on the shelf. The ethylene had long since done it's job and the fruit was more of a black gooey blob that had left the bag and was beginning to roam the shelf. My wife is happy that we have finally found the culprit, and the boy will be getting a lesson in not forgetting such things (as he will be the one cleaning the fungus on the shelf)!

Boat Yards

As planned we closed on the boat on January 29th in Fort Pierce, Florida. She was sailed down to Dania Beach, near Fort Lauderdale the next day. There she sat in a boat yard until February 18th. I've heard it said that boatyards suck, but are a necessary evil. I'm not sure I agree with that as, halfway through, we were seriously doubting our decision to have all the work done right away (in a nasty filthy boatyard). There are these nasty little creatures called midges that swarm in the hundreds around warm things. We all got terribly eaten up by the little things. We looked like we had a case of measles or chicken pox. The boat has screens, but the midges are small enough to fit through them. So we had to button up the boat every evening by around 4pm to keep from getting eaten alive.

We had the bow bulkheads checked out as the starboard one was thought to have water in it. Turns out it was completely full of water and rotten foam. We now have access hatches to those areas to keep an eye on them. We had the mast pulled off for re-rigging and to check for a "soft spot" under the mast. Turns out we had the mast re-stepped for nothing, since under the mast was perfectly fine. In fact, most of the fiberglass repairs we thought we had, didn't actually need to be repaired. That turned out to be a good thing as the spot under the windlass was way worse than expected. The whole thing had to be pulled off, cut out, and repaired. It took awhile to fabricate and install a manifold plate to ensure a permanent fix. It was so rotten, the old owners are lucky they didn't pull it right off the boat!

Both engine manifolds were rusty, so we had them replaced. It should have been an easy fix except the starboard one had rusted out due to a part that fed into it being completely corroded. To get a new part was a month out, so they had a welder come by and repair it instead. It's as good as new now, but took a week to fix.

We had new electric heads installed. The port side didn't have a holding tank at all, so we had to have one installed. I swear it took them over a week to get that holding tank in and plumbed. The seacock on the port side was frozen and completely clogged with excrement. So, needless to say, the whole port side got new hoses. While wiring in the starboard electric head, the water tank vent was accidentally "bumped" and started shooting water everywhere (apparently the water tank was completely full). They spent several hours fixing that.

We moved onto the boat on February 13th (we had been spending our days at the boat, and our nights in a hotel). The boat was an absolute mess from sitting in the boat yard and having people tramp all over her. We spent the weekend finding a place for everything and washing the boat. The new starboard head wasn't flushing right (turned out to be a bad joker valve on a brand new toilet) and the water pump decided to break (we got a new one and installed it ourselves). The weekend wasn't all bad as we took the boat out Sunday to get the starboard holding tank pumped out. We moved her all by ourselves, drove and docked her like pros.

There were positives to note. The boat got hauled out for a new bottom paint job. It's hard to move the boat when people are watching and you are newbies. We drove her perfectly and even got a "nice" by a worker when we cleared the barrier perfectly. She got washed and waxed as well. We installed new carpet onto the existing shelves.We designed and installed new shelves in the port side companionway (they look built in). We designed the logo for the boat's new name, and it looks amazing on the sides and transom. It's so cool that they used our actual design when the time came:

We left the boatyard February 18th to head to Lake Sylvia in Fort Lauderdale. We are still anchored there now. We've been living "on the hook" watching the boats around us. We've seen dolphins, manatees, and sea otters in the short time we've been here. The trip down the intracoastal was fun. The kids saw big freighter ships and cruise ships up close. We navigated our first draw bridge. Our dinghy has become our "family car" and we are starting to get accustomed to our new life. The kids had a good time with the "renaming" ceremony. They enjoyed pouring champagne into the water for the sea and wind gods. Unfortunately we will be back in the boat yard next week. The starboard holding tank has decided to leak into the bilge. It is cracked. I'm guessing it was jealous of the port side...

We're On the Move

The survey on the boat happened on the 19th. We've been crazy busy since then. The good news is the boat surveyed for $15,000.00 more than we offered. At least we know we aren't overpaying. She is in above average shape and there are zero problems with the hulls.

There were a few soft spots in need of repair. These are places where winches were added and not bedded properly, so some water got under the fiberglass. It's common and an easy repair. There is a soft spot near the windlass and under the mast. These are extremely common in an Island Spirit, and not nearly as bad as most her age. These repairs are a bit more complicated (since the mast has to be removed and re-stepped), but not excessive. She has crash bulkheads up front that are sealed. These are meant to protect the boat from getting water inside should you hit something. They are designed to take the hit and protect the rest of the boat. However, Island Spirits are commonly known to have that area get water inside from another source. Since it is sealed, the water can't get out and just sits there, eventually effecting performance. While she has no damage to those areas, one of the bulkheads does have a little water in it. So we will have to cut access ports into the bulkheads and drain the water. This is extremely common on this model, and everyone ends up having to put in the access ports eventually. It's an easy fix, but one that must be done. The good part is you'll have the access ports for future monitoring, so it's a one time fix.

She is running with original rigging and sails. While they are in great shape, fifteen year old sails and rigging will be prone to failure. She is a UK boat, and the rules are different over there than here. So she only has one holding tank for one head (toilet for those not used to boat terms). The other head simply flows overboard. This is a must fix in the United States. So we will have to add a holding tank to the second head (the spot for it is there, we just have to add the tank). She has 220V AC running through the boat when she's on shore power (again, because she a UK boat), and 12V DC on batteries (standard). There are three different receptacles in the boat as well (South African, UK, and American 110V). There is also no dedicated panel for the AC versus the DC, it's just all run on one panel. It all works just fine, but we might want to make some improvements.

We would like to add some stuff to her. We want to change the heads for electric flush instead of the current manual flush. We will need to have 12V DC electrical run to the heads. So while the electrician is doing that, we are going to have the electrical upgraded so that all of the AC plugs are UK (we'll use adapters as needed). We will also have him put in a dedicated panel for the AC. Keeping everything 220 versus changing it to 110 will be cheaper, and we know we'll be able to plug into shore power everywhere (including other countries). So, we have some fiberglass, plumbing, and electrical work to be done before we move onto her. We are also considering going ahead and updating the rigging for sure, and possibly the sails depending on cost. She's also due for a polish and wax. Her bottom paint is good for another six months, but we are considering just having that done now so as not to have to deal with it later.

We close this Friday the 29th. We got them to come down a little on our original offer because of the repairs. The acceptance letter has been received and signed. So now we are scrambling to find boat yards to do repair work, and accommodations nearby. We could technically move onto her right away, and do the repairs while living aboard, but repairs will move faster if she's empty (and we don't want to live in a boat yard for a week).

So now, it's time to pack again. We've been in this vacation home for six weeks, and are more than ready to move on. By this weekend we'll be sitting in a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, making trips to watch our new boat get her work done. With any luck we can spend Valentine's day sitting on the deck, sipping some wine, and watching the sun go down while surrounded by the ocean.

A Change in Plans...

For those of you that have been following this blog, you know that our plans are to obtain a boat by March and then head to the Bahamas. From there we island hop until we get to Grenada, before July 1st (the start of hurricane season - where we have to be outside the hurricane box for insurance purposes). We were up till 2:00am the other night going over our plans.

We've been pouring over charts to figure out the best route to get to Grenada from Florida. After much researching, we've come to the conclusion that there are two ways to get from the Bahamas (a one day sail from Florida) to the Virgin Islands (the starting point to head down to Grenada). The first way involves going through the Dominican Republic and Haiti. These areas are places we were planning to avoid, since they are said to be very corrupt. You tend to have to bribe your way through, and sometimes the weather patterns fall to where you could get stuck there for weeks. This option is very unpalatable. The other option is to head out east into the ocean for a few days, turn right, and spend a few more days in the middle of the ocean till you arrive in the Virgin Islands. Sometimes this is an easy sail with calm waters, and sometimes it's very rough with eight to twelve foot waves. You would have to plan a week out in the middle of the ocean, alone, sailing 24/7, hoping you brought enough sea sickness medication for the lot of you. Needless to say, we are incredibly nervous about this option. We are new to sailing, will be on a boat we've only had for four to six weeks, and none of us are used to full time living aboard yet.

We contemplated options of hiring a captain to go with us. We could all go this way and learn from the experience. However, even with a captain, the wife and kids are unlikely to be ready for this kind of adventure just yet. We contemplated flying the wife and kids to the Virgin Islands, where they would sit awaiting the return of dad and a hired captain from sea.  However, we don't really want to separate like that (and we're pretty sure the wife doesn't have enough anxiety meds for that kind of waiting). So we came to the conclusion that we might be trying to bite off more than we can chew so soon. We aren't even sure if we have enough time to get to Grenada by July 1st. All the other cruisers left and headed that way last November. We would be pushing it, unable to stop for any length of time, to get there in time. So, all the wonderful places we want to enjoy, we would have to "pass" on our way to Grenada with plans of coming back up to see those places November 1st (the end of hurricane season). So, after a long discussion into the early hours of the morning, we have decided to change our plans.

We've always had a backup plan to go north on the chance we were unable to procure a boat in time to get south. So we've decided to switch to our backup plan. We will sail around in Florida, maybe go to the Bahamas and back in March, and make our way up the east coast to get north of the hurricane box instead (North Carolina). We could spend the summer up in Chesapeake Bay, and see some of the various sites along the east coast (like Washington D.C. for example). This allows us to "take our time," since we will be in no rush to go that direction, as it is much shorter. It will give us time to get used to living aboard full time in a familiar country, and gain some experience sailing. We have more time to get our Coast Guard paperwork for international travel (another one of those things that might not arrive in time to go south). We can even keep our cell phones, and have more consistent internet to finish the school year.

In October, we could then make our way south again to Florida, and on to the Bahamas. We'll have lots of time, to take as much time as we want, to stop and see things along the way. We will have over six months of experience sailing and living aboard before we "head out into the ocean" for a week to get to the Virgin Islands. Once we get there (planning on mid-December), we can take our time island hopping and cruising the Caribbean till we need to be in Grenada next July 1st.

One of the many goals of this lifestyle switch was to live without schedules or being rushed. Pushing ourselves to make the trip to Grenada would be the opposite of that. The last thing we want to do is push ourselves into a situation where we are anxious and over stressed. So while we are desperate to get to that pretty blue water in the Caribbean, we're going to take our time and head north first, giving us more enjoyment in the long run. So the adventure is still on, you'll just be getting posts from inside the country for a few months longer before we head offshore to the blue yonder ;)

We found our boat!

It's official, we made an offer on a boat. Technically we made the offer before Christmas. But with the whirlwind that was the holidays, I'm just now able to post about it. She's a 2001 37' Fortuna Island Spirit Catamaran (the second boat we saw, that we all fell in love with). She has been well maintained and never chartered. The current owners are only the second owners she has had. The first owners sailed her from Capetown to Trinidad in 2004, and she was purchased in Trinidad by the current owners in 2005. The current owners have sailed her extensively in the Caribbean and the Bahamas for the last 8 years. She is designed to be sailed single-handed with all lines leading to an electric winch to haul the mainsail as well as the dinghy on the davits. She is self sufficient with regard to power and water. She boasts tilting solar panels, a wind generator, and a water maker. She is probably the most spacious catamaran for her size with excellent turn of speed. She has been found to have very comfortable live aboard space comparable to anything in the 40' range and larger without compromising sailing ability. She is completely outfitted for a circumnavigation. She comes equipped with everything we had on our bucket list for a boat (that we assumed we would have to buy and add ourselves), plus a lot of extras. She even comes with two folding bicycles, a pasta maker, and a sewing machine (not sure what I'll do with that)! This boat is in impeccable shape. We thought we were on a boat that was less than five years old, that's how nice her owners have kept her. The current owners countered our offer, and we accepted. Our inspection is January 19th. Provided she inspects well (and we all are very confident she will), we close on January 29th. Her current name is "Cloud Nine." While we love the name, there are over 80 boats already registered with that name (in different ports). So we will be going with our original naming plan. For details on the name and how we came up with it, see my previous blog "The Name." Apparently we have to pick a home port to list with her name. We are thinking of going with Palm Beach. So she will be "Liliana out of Palm Beach." Below are a few pics of her (which don't do her justice at all) along with a floor plan. A lot of people have trouble picturing what she looks like inside, so I thought showing a floor plan would help. I will try to get better pics of her at the inspection, especially inside pics.





For anyone interested, here is her listing (it will be gone by the end of the month):
http://www.multihullcompany.com/Catamaran_for_Sale/FORTUNA_ISLAND_SPIRIT/CLOUD_NINE

The Traveling Has Begun...

We took off from Texas, on schedule, on Dec 1st. The picture above is us at one of the various rest stops along the way. The cat did beautifully on the trip. I didn't even have to medicate the little guy. He cried at first, but then promptly used his litter box (which caused us to have to stop to clear out the stink), and then went about investigating the vehicle. He settled right down and enjoyed the ride. We arrived in New Orleans later that evening and enjoyed the next day showing the kids the French Quarter, riding the trolley, and of course eating beignets!

We headed toward Tallahassee after that, but stopped along the way in Pensacola to look at our first boat. It was a 38' Leopard. The kids seemed to like it, but I definitely did not get warm fuzzies about it. After a night in Tallahassee, we arrived in the wonderful warm climate of Orlando. We settled in for a week of fun at the Hard Rock Hotel in Universal Studios!

We went to Universal Studios purposefully to enjoy the two Harry Potter areas. We did see the rest of the two parks, but most of our time was spent in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. We had soooo much fun! The kids got interactive wands that worked all over the place with the different spells and wand movements. We ate at the Three Broomsticks (twice), and at the Leaky Cauldron. We had lots of butterbeer and gilly water. We went into all the shops (Ollivanders, The Weasleys' Shop, Madam Maulkins, Borgin and Burkes, Dervish and Banges, The Owl Post, Magical Menagerie, Honeydukes, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, and the Quidditch Shop). We saw a wand choose a wizard, rode the Hogwart's Express (multiple times), and watched the dragon over Gringott's Bank blow fire. The whole experience was amazing! The kids rode every ride in both parks (including the water rides), but rode the Harry Potter rides several times (Flight of the Hippogriff, Dragon Challenge, Gringott's, and The Forbidden Journey). The weather was warm and sunny the whole time. We experienced both parks several times, over several days, both daytime and nighttime. We could not have asked for a better trip!

 

We left and arrived in Melbourne on schedule Dec 10th. This is our new temporary home until we find a boat. It's quite nice to have sunny weather where people are still using swimming pools! The kids are back into school work for a few weeks before Christmas, and we've unpacked and settled in for our six to eight week stay. We headed out yesterday to see more boats. Along the way, we had a bit of snag in our plans:

We were about halfway to our destination when we needed to stop for someone to use the restroom. Fortunately we stopped when we did, or we would have been stranded on the highway. No sooner had we stopped the Durango, when it decided to blow a radiator hose (we think anyway). There was smoke and a nasty smell. Roadside Assistance came in very handy, and had a tow truck there within a few hours. The kids and I got stuck stranded at the rest stop, while my husband went with the truck and obtained a rental car (the tow truck could only hold two people). We had luckily packed a lunch for the day (because we were sick of fast food), so we were stranded with lunch, a place to use the restroom, and warm sunny weather. It could definitely have gone worse!

The day got better though. Once we had the rental (and the Durango safely with the dealership) we continued on our way. We saw a wonderful Island Spirit 37. We all fell in love with her. She is in incredible shape for her age. We are wondering if perhaps we have found our boat. We shall see....

One Week to Go...

days to go!

Well, we have one week to go until the big adventure begins! We've been living with a card table and four chairs as our only furniture since November 11th, when we put everything into storage. We were sleeping on mattresses on the floor until November 18th, when Salvation Army picked them up (Salvation Army doesn't pick up during the week of Thanksgiving, so we had to let them go sooner). The hubby and I managed one night on a pallet on the floor, before we went and retrieved the blow-up bed from storage! The kids don't seem to mind sleeping on the floor, but our old bodies didn't care much for it! Thanks goodness we only have four more nights on the blow-up bed! We'll be in a hotel the last weekend here, so I can clean our apartment before we turn in the keys. The kids get to go to their grandparent's house tomorrow night, so they get a real bed (not to mention TV and internet) before we do ;p

Storage, and the donation pick-up, happened with zero issues. So we've been sitting around finishing up schoolwork before Thanksgiving break. We're taking almost three weeks off for the move to Florida, and a week in Orlando to enjoy Universal Studios as a mini vacation. I've started cleaning already, but there is only so much I can clean until the kids get out of here (or I just have to clean it again). We are looking forward to getting to Saturday, to the hotel, so we have TV, internet, and beds again for a little while.

We've already been in touch with a boat broker. He has a few catamarans lined up for us to see on our way to Florida, and of course a whole bunch more when we get there. With any luck, we will have a boat lined up by mid-January, with plenty of time to head south before hurricane season. It has been really nice to be able to focus more on boat related stuff, and less on the stuff here. 

The hubby only has a day and a half of work left. Everyday he gets home, he throws away a pair of pants and a shirt that he will never have to wear again! We are getting very excited as everything falls into place as planned. We sit around our card table talking for hours about boat stuff. It's turned cold here, so we watch the Florida weather (where it's twenty degrees warmer) to make ourselves feel better! We can't wait to roll out of here in a week! If you see a black Durango hauling a tiny U-Haul trailer east out of Dallas next Tuesday morning early, it might be us! If you hear a squalling cat coming from the back of the Durango, it will definitely be us! Wish us luck, 'cause it's too late to turn back now!!!

Laundry...

 Sundays are typically laundry days at our place. There's just one little problem with this particular Sunday: I have no washing machine and dryer (they went to their new home last week), and I have no vehicle (we sold our second car, and the hubby has our only vehicle at work). So, what to do? Well, I loaded the week's worth of laundry into a large laundry sack. Then I grabbed my phone, keys, water bottle, and a roll of quarters. Then....we walk. When I got the laundry sack load onto my back (backpack style), my son said I looked like I had a bag similar to what he imagined Santa would lug around!

A week's worth of laundry is a lot heavier than one imagines, especially when trekking a ways with it. The good part: You get quite the workout, and all of your laundry is done in about an hour and a half (instead of the all day laundry we're used to). Fortunately the laundry room was deserted on a Sunday morning, and I was able to use as many machines as I needed. We left the apartment at 9:30am, and we were home with the clothes put away by noon! The bad part: You have to lug your dirty laundry there, and then your clean laundry back. It's also $1.00 for each wash, and $1.00 for each dry. That's $2.00 a load! I'm gonna have to stock up on quarters!!! We gotta get used to it though, because you don't have a washer and dryer on a boat ;p

Meet Tiger

Many of you, that have been reading this blog, know of the story of our precious Lily (of whom the boat will eventually be named after). You can read about her here: The Name

This story, however, is about another kitty. It begins for us in March 2011. It was a crisp cool day, and a daughter headed out to visit her recently widowed mother. The widow called prior to the departure requesting the daughter bring some kitten food with her, as a surprise had showed up on the front porch steps that morning...

There were always wild cats roaming around the widow's house, and she was constantly throwing out scraps to feed them. There was one wild cat among the rest that did not shy from people. She was a grey and white tabby colored cat that was always too skinny (even when she was pregnant, litter after litter). To my knowledge, she was never given a name, but could always be found hanging around the front porch looking for food or attention. The widow had not seen the cat for awhile, but had heard the mews of kittens under the house (indicating yet another litter had recently been born). But it had been a few weeks since she had heard any mews, or had seen the mother cat. As was common in the woods, predators often found their prey at their weakest, and nature is often cruel. She had assumed the mother and the kittens had fallen prey to some other animal, as she had lost chickens recently too. You can imagine the widow's surprise, as she left her empty porch that morning to get the mail, and returned to find a single kitten placed on the top step to the porch. The kitten did not shy away from the old widow, but instead stared at her with wide eyes. The kitten was only four to five weeks old, and could not have managed to climb the tall steps on it's own. The widow looked around for signs of the mother cat, but found nothing. It would seem the mother cat had left her kitten, this last lone kitten, upon the steps of the porch, trusting the widow would take care of it. We will never know why the mother cat abandoned her kitten, as she was never seen or heard from again. The old widow picked up the kitten, took it into the house, and placed it in a box with water and bedding. She then called her daughter and asked her to bring some canned kitten food with her, when she visited that day.

The daughter arrived with her husband and children a few hours later. Everyone loved the little kitten, and watched it get all messy while it ate the canned food. The children, of course, wanted to take the kitten home, but the daughter already had two older cats at home. She told the children it would be better to leave the kitten with the widow, as she could use something to take her mind off of her recent loss. So the kitten stayed with the old widow and learned to love her as it's new mother. The kitten was named Tiger. He was a brown and black tabby colored cat, with a shorter than average tale. He had a white chin, solid black on the bottoms of his feet, and a black tip on his tail. He adored his new mother, the old widow. He came when she called, he slept by her side in the bed, and followed her everywhere she went. He feared everyone except the old widow. When others would visit, he would hide and even sometimes hiss at them. Tiger would live with the old widow for a year and a half, before his life would change.

The old widow's health was declining, and it was unsafe for her to live alone anymore. So in September of 2012, the old widow decided to go live with her daughter and family. Tiger was loaded into a carrier, and driven to his new home, along with the widow and her possessions. Tiger spent all of his time in the two rooms that had been given to the old women for use (a bedroom, and her own living room). The poor scared cat never left to visit the rest of the two-thousand square foot home. When others would come into the area, Tiger would hide. Tiger was forced to meet two new cats, the older cats that belonged to the daughter. Tiger didn't like them very much, and made it clear they were not allowed into his area. He stayed loyal to his owner, the old widow. He stayed with her night and day, whether she was awake or asleep. Tiger spent eight long months, living in this new life, before events would change again.

In June of 2013, the old widow's health had deteriorated to the point that the daughter could no longer safely take care of her properly. So the old women loaded her possessions into the daughter's vehicle, and was driven to a nursing home. Tiger stood in the hallway and watched the old widow leave. The old widow never looked back, or even told him good-bye. From Tiger's point of view, for some unfathomable reason, his second mother had abandoned him. He was lost. After two long years of knowing nothing but the old widow, Tiger was alone. He cried day and night. The daughter would go and sit with him in the empty bedroom, and talk soothingly to him. After a time, he let the daughter pet him, and he slowly began to investigate the rest of the house. He learned where he fit with the other two cats in terms of hierarchy. He quit hissing at everyone, but stayed skittish. He would let the daughter sit next to him and pet him, but that was as close as he would allow. Then a very peculiar thing happened, Tiger found a friend.

The daughter had two children, a boy and a girl. The children loved their cats, and were constantly seen petting or holding them. Six months after the old widow went away, the second oldest cat  (Lily) suffered a stroke. So in December of 2013, after fourteen years as a member of the family, Lily passed away. The boy, who did not like the old widow (nor was he ever liked by the widow), had refused to tell Lily goodbye upon her passing, as he did not want her to go. In his grief, the boy's attention focused on someone else who understood his feelings, Tiger. This unlikely pair (one who adored the widow, and the other who loathed her) had formed an unspoken bond. Tiger would play with the boy, let the boy pet him, and even allow himself to be carried by the boy.

In the summer of 2014, the daughter and her family decided to move and set their life up to be able to travel. Prior to their move, their other older cat passed away. Tiger was now the only pet left. The daughter and her husband considered finding a new home for Tiger, as it would be considerably easier to move and travel without a pet. The boy would not hear of such a thing. He was adamant that Tiger must go. It was explained to the boy that taking a pet with them would be very expensive. The apartment they were moving into would be five-hundred dollars up front, with a pet rent every month (not to mention the costs of traveling). When the boy was asked if the cat was worth all of that, his immediate answer was "Yes." The daughter and her husband could not look into the eyes of their son, and take away someone that was so dear to him. So Tiger moved with the family, into a small apartment.

Tiger learned to live happily, with the daughter and her family, in a small apartment for a little over a year. He allowed everyone in the family to pet him. He was no longer skittish and afraid. There were even moments where Tiger would sit in the daughter's lap and purr. He spent is awake time playing  and his sleep time curled up wherever was comfortable. Tiger quit hiding, and lived as one of the family. Tiger was re-trained to use a litter box more suitable for traveling. The time to travel was about to begin, when the exorbitant costs of traveling with a pet surfaced. It was expensive with all of the vet fees, hotel fees, import fees, etc. Documents needed to travel to other countries were both expensive, and difficult to obtain. The thought of finding Tiger a new home surfaced again, but only briefly. The daughter (who, no doubt, was born with entirely too much empathy) could not abandoned Tiger. Tiger had been abandoned twice (one from each of his 'mothers'). The daughter could not stand the thought of Tiger being abandoned again. The circumstances, that placed Tiger where he was, were not his fault. He was merely a victim of events that he had no control over.  Tiger had survived those events, and was now a member of a new family.

So, when you think of us traveling the world with a cat, do not question our motives. Tiger will go where we go, and he will learn yet another new set of circumstances. Tiger will become a boat cat and travel the world with his family!

Meet Tiger:

This is how he sees himself ;)

Just 1 more month!!!

Time is seriously flying! We officially have only thirty days until we're out of here! The packing is going well. I managed to get the entire contents of the apartment (that are being permanently stored) into an area that is 9-1/2 feet by 7-1/2 feet. The trick is to stack things up high. The good part is that I'll have a few extra feet of storage if I need it. The majority of the stuff being donated is gone. We have a few boxes left that are being picked up (along with the last of the unkept furniture) in two weeks. Now I'm simply down to two piles: the boxes with contents that will not be needed until we have the boat (aka the 'boat boxes'), and the boxes with contents we will use in Florida between now and the boat (aka the 'Florida boxes'). Every week I find something else we can "do without for now" and box it up.

We have all ensured our vaccines are up to date, and gotten additional typhoid vaccines. Even our cat, Tiger, has his appointment set to get all his vaccines and health travel paperwork. We all have passports ready to go (including the cat - yes - a pet passport). My husband is counting down his rapidly dwindling work days (only 27 to go as of now). We are reaching the point that excitement is beginning to mount as the "getting ready" is winding down.

The Texas heat has broken, and fall has arrived (which for Texas means dreary rain and cloudy). This only makes us look more forward to heading East and then further South. People have begun asking the same questions as before. I direct them to my blog (I get kind of tired of repeating myself all the time). I've even taken the time to make what I call "pre-boat" cards. When we get the boat, we will have "boat" cards made to give to friends as we travel (and collect theirs at the same time). But, since we don't have a boat yet, I've made cards to give to people here, so that they can stay informed as time goes by. Here is what our "pre-boat" card looks like:

Some of you will remember the picture from when we went to the Abaco Islands over Spring Break ;)  We have purchased an inReach so that we can plot our location as we travel. Eventually the Facebook page and blog will have a map showing where we are (for anyone interested). I'll do my best to keep things updated as we move along (provided there's internet)! In the meantime, we took the kids out for their last "trick or treating" in the old neighbor last night. They made out like bandits, and we only have a month to eat all that candy ;p

60 Days to - "The Plan"

As of today, we officially have exactly sixty days until we head out to begin our adventure. We've given ourselves a timeline on when all of our stuff has to be either stored, packed for moving, or gotten rid of. Of course, we've already begun said timeline. Every weekend we pick a new room in the apartment to cull through and decide what we're doing with each item. We've decided, when things are sitting around in closets and cabinets, that they must use the dark quiet places to quickly breed additional useless items. We sold our house last year and "downsized" to half the living space. We literally got rid of a room full of boxes and furniture back then. Yet somehow, we still manage to take an average of six boxes/bags of useless crap out of the apartment EVERY week!!! Seriously, where is it all coming from??? Anyway, for now the focus is on permanent storage.

Storage will contain the furniture and boxes of things that we won't be actively using, but want to keep. The storage unit is a 10x10 (which means it's actually 9'6" x 9'6" - I know because I measured it). So somehow we have to cram all of the "kept" items into one room. Fortunately, our current unused dining room is exactly 9'6" x 9'6". So (being the OCD person that I am) I have begun filling "storage" into the dining room. So far I have crammed two twin beds, a queen bed (with bed slats), five bookcases, a dresser, three desks, a tv stand, a full size keyboard, two shoe holders, two suitcases, a christmas tree, three christmas ornament/decoration boxes, four barstools, a box full of the camping/fishing stuff, and a wardrobe box (containing the only clothes to be stored) into a 9'6" x 5'4" space. That not's bad considering I only have a TV stand, a TV, and several boxes to go. I should still have plenty of room to get it all in there. Working as a loader at UPS years ago, and all those hours of playing Tetris, are actually paying off:

Now many people (who have suddenly realized we are seriously leaving) have been asking the same question: So, what exactly is the plan? (I mean seriously, like we wouldn't actually have a plan. This is us after all - of course there's a plan. There's even a backup plan at each step - that I won't go into just now). Anyway, here's "The Plan":

• Move stuff into permanent storage two weeks before Thanksgiving.
• Have Salvation Army pick up the remaining large "get rid of" stuff one week before Thanksgiving (because they are closed the entire last week of November).
• Sleep on the floor, eat off of paper plates, and finish packing the week of Thanksgiving (we'll spend Thanksgiving outside the apartment at friends' or families' houses).
• Move into a hotel room the last Saturday of November for three nights while we pack the trailer, clean out the apartment, turn in keys, and drop off the last few boxes at storage/donation.
• Roll out of here (with us and the cat in the Durango - and the trailer in tow) on December 1st.
• Arrive and spend two nights and a day in New Orleans enjoying the French Quarter and eating beignets.
• Drive all day and spend one night in Tallahassee.
• Drive to Orlando, drop off the trailer, and put the contents of the trailer into a small storage space until needed (this will be the stuff we won't need until we're on the boat).
• Enjoy a week in a hotel, in Orlando, spending ample time at Universal Studios (we've already done Disney World, but have never been to Universal Studios).
• Drive on to Melbourne, Florida and arrive at a rented vacation home (furnished of course).
• Spend the rest of December, and most of January, finding and buying a catamaran.
• February and March will be used for any repairs or changes we want to make on the boat, and retrieving our stored stuff from Orlando.
• By the end of March, the Durango will be turned into the dealer (it's on a lease) and we will sail away South towards the Bahamas!
• Island hop south through the Caribbean to get to Granada before hurricane season starts. - Then the world is ours!!!

Now of course this sounds very simple when listed out like this, but keep in mind that the entire time we will have the cat with us, and the children have to continue with schoolwork. We've already devised a "portable" system for all of the school stuff. The cat will be visiting the vet prior to leaving to get all of his vaccines up to date, and I will obtain plenty of "kitty valium" while I'm there. Of course we have already made all of the hotel arrangements at all stops (including pet fees) and have the vacation home rented as well. We also have already obtained our new permanent address and phone number (through a mail handling place that caters to travelers) which will show us as Florida residents even when we aren't there. It will also serve to show we are not "homeless" ;p

As the time flies by, the excitement is building, the contents of the apartment are shrinking, the Texas heat is beginning to break, and the unavoidable stress is attempting to mount. We are already currently sleeping on mattresses on the floor and our clothing is stored on boxes. However, we are all hanging in there keeping the end goal in mind. We use a lot of sarcasm and humor to deflate tense moments and keep each other hanging on and moving forward. So far so good, and look out Florida, because here we come!!!