Sea Casa

January 1st, 2013

Early morning talks on New Year's Day.

Today is a new day. This year is going to be an adjustment for both of us, starting a completely new lifestyle in our 60's. Sheesh!! Are we completely out of our minds? We talked about this last night, while listening to the sounds of fireworks at 2:30 a.m., wondering how long we'd be able to sail. Will our bodies give out on us or will we sailor up and find the strength to sail for a long while? We hope the latter of course.

We've noticed an interesting phenomena on certain sailing sites. It seems quite a few younger people are trying out the boating lifestyle; having their children and remaining live aboards. I say bravo!! Seems like it would be tough to do, yet certainly they have the stamina, strength, and youthful wisdom to let go and do what feels right. "Go with the Flow".  

Is it easier to start a new life at a younger age? Oh my goodness, absolutely!!! Another thing we discussed this morning...why can't we be 20 years younger so we can have more time to sail while younger!? A ridiculous thing to wish for maybe, can't turn back time and all that, but at 2:30 a.m., thinking about what we could do now with our younger bodies seemed perfectly logical to pout about. The aches and pains that age doles out, makes everything a little harder to do, and pretty much ensures that the younger a sailor is, the more apt they are to jump around a boat...while the elders more slowly and cautiously do what needs to be done. 

But, isn't that just the point? Whether young or old, just "git er' done!" We will see how well we git er' done in the next year. A little time and experience under our belts will give us the heads up. Paul and I consider this a challenge and a joy, and it will definitely be that, in more ways than one! Paul mentioned, and I agree, that this experience will likely keep us younger because we'll be learning new things about boating on a daily basis, we'll be seeing beautiful sights, meeting new people, expanding our brains and hearts. With this concept in mind, we consider this a do-able and much welcomed journey for us.  

Yet another topic this morning...there are so many things to consider when moving on a boat. Knowing we have to outfit her, the list of things to buy just keeps getting longer. Which items on our "boat priority list" should come first? We keep rearranging the items, not exactly sure which ones should come first. Such as, material for reupholstering the settees, life-jackets, fenders, another anchor, dinghy/motor, fire extinguishers. Yep! There are many things that we won't be able to buy all at once. Just one or two things at a time. Don't panic, just BREATHE, and let it happen naturally. My thinking is that once we are in our new home, we'll just automatically fall into the rhythm of what is needed to make this boat our home. 

One thing that needs mentioning here is how incredibly open, helpful, and kind other sailors are to new boaters. They are more than willing to give a multitude of information without any reciprocity necessary. The idea being..."Pay it forward". I read about that in the book "A Sail of Two Idiots" by Renee Petrillo, and she's absolutely right on the money. Always happy to offer help, sailors have to be some of the friendliest folks on earth...a great group of people with which to be associated.

It has helped to read from a variety of  sites geared for sailors. Lots of good advice, different perspectives, ways to do-it-yourself. Several people we've met online who have informative blogs, have given us a helping hand by guiding us to certain sites for camaraderie within the sailing community. A wonderful blog to check out is

(http://lifeafloatarchives.blogspot.com/)

These kind folks have a lot of information coming from 10 years of living onboard their boat. Thank you, Dan N Jaye for all your help. I hope we get to meet sometime in the near future. So jealous you both got to dress up and be pirates on the "Black Pearl" aka: "The Bounty". What a thrill to remember before that beautiful ship and two of it's sailors sank into the deep from the storms of Hurricane Sandy.


For those of you who are beginning boaters like us, another helpful site is:

(http://www.sailnet.com)

Lots of topics for consideration, and people there who will give you answers to questions. Careful though, every answer leads to new questions exponentially!

Happy New Year everyone!
Diane and Paul