Mom's View of Life Aboard

Sarah's always hungry when
she wakes.

    
     Well here I am finally sitting in front of the computer entering my 2 cents on living aboard our boat and our journey toward our final goal the BVI’s. I did not really know what to expect once we entered the big old Atlantic but I now have a better respect for the forces of nature and the power of the water in motion.  

A proud moment!

    
 The scenery on the journey down the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Canada has left me in awe. I am thankful for the opportunity to have shared seeing it with Jon and the girls. The American portion of the trip, although less spectacular from a scenery point, has been filled with new experiences from sailing on the Atlantic to parking the boat in tight spaces with pilings to dealing with constant tidal changes.  The kindness of the people we have encountered has been refreshing whether it’s the girl checking out our groceries in Annapolis, the cab driver who took Jon on several rides to pick up marine supplies or the friend of Jon’s who so kindly allowed us to use his dock and condo facilities for several days. WOW! Great folks here.

     For the passage planning, skilled boat handling and incredible boat repairs I must say a huge thanks to Captain Jon. For the great support, helping during late night watches, exceptional cookies and brownies I say thanks to Sarah and Nicole. Finally I have to thank the boat for she has safely delivered us to each of our destinations, something for which I am grateful!

Nicole's plants have
survived so far!

     At present we are anchored on a beautiful little creek, Fishing Creek, where we just watched a rain storm pass through. We are anchored alongside Raftan and another family of five from Montreal who Raftan met while in Annapolis. They are doing the Intracoastal down to Florida and then to the Bahamas. I am glad to be anchored for the day as the wind is kicking up its heels again. It seems to me that every time we decide to sail on what Jon has dubbed “bonus sail days” the wind likes to play its game of sending us 20 to 30 knots of wind much to the Captains delight, but from my perspective I now prefer 0 to 15 knots as sea sickness seems to be my best friend lately. Oh well time to try out all those sea sickness remedies we have purchased.

     I have really enjoyed cooking on the boat but the one thing that is challenging is the time it takes to get stuff organized to cook. Since things are stored in tight spaces everything takes time to locate. We all agree that the food eaten after a day’s sailing tastes better than ever before. I have been using our little propane stove for dinners and baking and have had pretty good success. We are eating foods similar to those at home with not much sea food as of late.

 

 

     Tomorrow we head to Solomans Island on the Patuxent River. We hope to explore the town and soak up the atmosphere of the Chesapeake Bay while there. All in all I am finally relaxing into the boat lifestyle and am very happy to have the opportunity to do this journey.

Love to all at home,

Terri