This is our view this evening. West sunset, a calm anchorage, just south of NYC at Sandy Hook. How did we get here—living on a boat?
Debbie and I discovered sailing together. It fit us both well. I love to fix problems and be challenged and Debbie loves to travel. Living on a boat even she gets to be the homebody she loves to be and still see the world. Therefore – a sailboat.
I am writing this five weeks after moving out of our condo in Chicago. We packed everything away and flew to Norfolk, VA to meet our new home and Amy and David, the wonderful and soon-to-be previous owners. It took me five weeks to write this 5 because wee we are still adjusting to this intense change in our lives.
While we have owned two boats and chartered catamarans multiple times, this feels very different. First, we do not have a home dock to retreat to and second this is OUR boat now, with all the responsibilities of taking care of her. And this is not just any boat, this is THE most well-equipped Helia 2014 there is. That means there are systems-lots of systems— to understand and maintain, like making desalinated water and managing solar power so we can live mostly off-grid. This is a boat that went around the world, came back, and was refitted so that she is ready to do it again!
The learning curve is steep. But we can do it. And the adventures will be worth it. There will be easy and there will be hard. I think of it as an eternal adventure. Sure, we could fly some where amazing, spend time there and then fly somewhere else. But this, this experience will pull together our skills and give us experiences that will hopefully create memories we will have forever together.
We hope you enjoy the ride. We are taking you with us.
Set A Course 