Thoughts on Living Onboard

Labour Day weekend. Leaving Friday after dark we made a quick crossing to Kerr Bay. Out of CBYC we almost hit a buoy due to the poor night vision of our captain :P It was a bit unsettling after that and although our passage was quick and smooth I got to thinking about how intense our ocean passage will be. So exposed.

Saturday was sunny with an overlying haze from the humidity. We swam, washed the boat, napped, read and ate tasty meals of hotdogs, burgs and veggies. It was a relief to have this weekend of relaxation and good sailing after the emotional chaos of the past week. Nice to fall gently into a routine onboard.

Sunday and Monday mornings brief storms blew overhead. We had a great sail to Prinyer's Cove in Prince Edward County Sunday. Dad was finally able to take a break from using drills and screw drivers to test out things like "heaving-to" (a useful storm tactic) and creating a pulley attachment for the anchor (to allow for smooth anchoring if waves are coming from a different direction than the wind).

One notable thing about living on a sailboat...frequent encounters with spiders! Learning to co- exist appears to be the only option. Luckily none of us are really afraid of them...minus one encounter with a massive dock spider at Beaurivage Island a few weeks back. Mom and Dad were pretty freaked and I was the one who had to go below to see if it was caught in one of the window screens. It was! We managed to prod it overboard, after which it proceeded to skim across the surface of the water at an alarming pace. Yikes.

Since we left the dock and in spite of a small knot of tension in my stomach, I keep having the most wonderful thought: that right now in this time and place I am exactly where I want to be. Nothing will ever be perfect in this life. Or even in this lifestyle. But I can feel the intense truth of that one thought, and it is comforting.

Until next time when we leave on our greatest journey yet,
Nicole.