Thursday, December 27, 2012

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





9 comments:

  1. Today is the first day of our blog. We're figuring out how to edit and fix things...t's our first blog together! This will be our live-aboard journal where we will be posting our errors as well as our accomplishments. Hopefully there will be lots of posts from others who will let us know their experiences that we may learn from them as well. We hope to see lots of our family and current friends on here, and many, many new sailor friends.
    Drop us a line. Would love to hear what you all have to say about provisioning strategies, where to store food, how you stock your refrigerator, how to cook on different types of stoves (I'll have an alcohol stove/oven), how to keep pests of your boat, etc, etc, etc. I know everyone has different boating experiences, and hearing about them helps us all learn new ways of dealing with boating dilemmas.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes! It's working! Tomorrow I'll add some links to the Raft-UP, who recently did stories on provisioning, on clothing, and some other realities of our liveaboard lives.

    ReplyDelete
  3. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! YEEEEHAWW!!! Nice one guys!!
    Let me say that you won't need as many clothes as you think you will.

    I have recently discovered that coconut oil cures a lot of dryness issues. It is my miracle bathroom and beauty product now.

    Exercise: well you could certainly swim in the ocean eh!? and Pilates. YouTube Pilates. I have a routine that has helped me lose weight and tone up that is so simple. All you could possible need is a yoga matt.

    'One hand for the boat, one hand for you.' I met a lovely experienced lady with a broken arm and she gafawed that this was a rooky mistake.

    I'm so super excited for you!!! YAAAYY!!! Perhaps you will find it wise to have a meeting of the board to christen the boat under the Costa Rica corp.

    Rainbow light 2013 hugs of delicious manifestation to you and everyone you know and are soon to meet! HUUGSS!!! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ellen,
      So good to hear from you! You sound happy and full of energy, as usual! Yes, I think I'll definitely be doing swimming and Pilates! I have my yoga mat ready to go. :) Another woman boater sent me a video of her exercising on her boat, and it helped me to see how I can do it in a small space.

      Hope all is going well for you. I see you have a new site. Is business good for you? Have a wonderful, prosperous, and happy year, Ellen.

      Hugs back at ya!

      Delete
  4. Hi Diane,

    What an exciting adventure for you guys! I had read about an artist that lived on a boat and had an online shop where she sold her art. She would just send out the goods when they boarded. The lifestyle sounds pretty amazing! Have fun and I will certainly be following your blog!

    Ana Maria

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great to hear from you Ana Maria!! That's an interesting story about the artist who lived aboard a boat and sold the art online. I may get back into watercolors, oil pastels, etc., but can't do any stained glass...takes too much room and too many tools.

    Is your jewelry selling well? Are the Artisans of Houston still meeting? Would love to hear updates about what's happening with you and all our AoH friends.

    Wishing you the very best...enjoy your year!! Sell Well. :)
    Diane

    ReplyDelete
  6. Somehow, I lost Rebecca Sweeney's exercise site that I had posted on the blog earlier. So, here it is again.

    https://www.facebook.com/StrengthPLUS.ca/info

    Rebecca is younger than I, so has more energy to do a seriously high intensity workout. I will probably be able to do some of these cises, but will have to tone them down for my level of strength and agility.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Greetings from Aotearoa New Zealand (Auckland - City of Sails!)
    Hi Diane and Paul! We met on Pinterest Diane so here I am checking you out - you boat people! I wish you much fun and frolic on the high seas and I know you will enjoy the contacts you make with your blogging. Take good care out there and don't forget it's great sailing down under! :-) Mary Queen of Hearts

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Mary, you made it here! It's so good to hear from you. We definitely need to stay in touch...because if Paul and I ever do make it over that way, we'd love to meet up with you. It would be wonderful to meet in person and to admire your beautiful country. Take care, Mary, and thanks for dropping in to our blog.

    Diane

    ReplyDelete