Monday, October 28, 2013

Unexpected Conveniences.

by Riley
photo courtesy of my friend James
Funny, I never have this problem with Allison...
docked at Carolina Beach State Park marina
Southport, NC
View from our slip at the Provision Co.
So, I've come to realize that there are some things that just might be more convenient for us while living on a boat than they ever were on land. We made it to Southport today, at the mouth of Cape Fear. We made the short trip from Carolina Beach, where we stayed last night after being joined for the day's sail by my buddy James and his wife. But, to get to my point, last night I was really diggin' a pizza. So I got delivery from Papa Johns, something I could never do back home (we lived so far out in the country, there was no such thing as "delivery"). Today we tied up at the Provision Company, a restaurant that allows free overnight dockage with a meal. I toured just about the whole town, on foot. It was fun. Came back, took a power nap, then went and found a Napa Marine for a part I needed.  Then this evening, we needed dinner. Back home if we didn't cook it, we could figure on at least a 30 minute drive, but when you're tied up to the dock, it's just a 50 yard walk. So convenient and great food to boot.

Tomorrow I plan on sailing offshore from Cape Fear to Little River Inlet. I'm excited!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

A Week on the Hook.

by Riley

heading out of Mile Hammock Bay this morning with a few other sailboats. and a dolphin, too!
coming into Wrightsville Beach
our anchorage at Wrightsville
A week on the hook. That really isn't a long time but still, it's an achievement for us.
Right now we're in Wrightsville Beach. We got here Friday after a one night stay in Mile Hammock Bay. Mile Hammock is within a military base with a lot of training activity. Other than the sounds of bombs, and personnel zipping around our sailboat on fast inflatable skiffs, it was a pretty relaxing anchorage. We were also invited over to another boat for drinks that evening. The next day, we arrived here.

My friend James, who was a great help in the refit of Winbrandt while we were at the boatyard, came down to visit this morning. We met at the dinghy docks about 7:30 and man, it was cold on that ride over there. There was frost on the ground. After a warm breakfast, he took me to get a few parts I had been needing but was in too much of a hurry to get before we left. Later this afternoon, Allison, Gidget and I went to the beach and hung out. I'm just now finally starting to trust my anchor. I had been having a hard time letting the boat out of my sight for very long.

All in all, life aboard is just getting better. Hey, it might even warm up in a day or two.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Three Days.

by Riley

Beaufort, NC

Three days at anchor. Not a lot, but I have to say, I get restless easily, even though I've been in a new place everyday. We are currently in Beaufort, NC. We've traveled about 20 miles a day, just trying to figure things out. I hope to be at about 40 miles a day soon. It's been a little chilly the last few days, making it kinda nice for sleeping, but slow going in the morning. I'm still in the learning process of anchoring. It took me two tries today, I was a little too close for comfort so I pulled it up and moved and am glad I did.

When Allison and I went ashore today, I was able to get charts enough to get us to Florida, hopefully without getting lost. I have a GPS but my faith in it isn't the best; paper is easy to read and doesn't have glitches. While at the dinghy dock we met some other cruisers. So apparently when cruising, you're supposed to have "boat cards" to trade. You know, name, which boat, contact info, etc. I kinda knew this, but it fell between the cracks on the to-do list. So needless to say, without one, I looked like a newb. Since it was so obvious, one seasoned cruiser asked us, "how long have you been cruising?" I replied, "three days," which sounded kinda funny and took some of the pressure off. It was fun talking with new people, but I'm afraid those darn cards are going to get me in trouble again.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

We're Gone.

by Riley


We'll we're gone! It was a lot of hard work to get here, but hopefully it will be worth it. Sunday after church we threw off the dock lines and headed for warmer waters. There are so many unknowns, so I'm a bit nervous and probably will be for a while, but we're going to try and live the dream.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Time Has Come.

by Riley

Well, the time has come. I'm dictating this to Allison as we are driving down the road, headed to live aboard a sailboat. At times I thought this day was never going to get here. And the amount of work that needed to be done too great to accomplish. Now I've found myself homeless and jobless, with no other better place to be than floating down the coast. I've always lived a life of very little change. I grew up in the same house all my life. And when I moved out to live on my own, I moved three miles away. I've had the same job since I was 15. Now I'm leaving behind all I've ever known to chase an idea that constantly has me wondering if it really was such a good one to start with.

Yesterday, as I left the house that I built and had put so much work into, I really felt the sense that my life was making one of those large transitions. The house was originally built to be a rental, and now it has become just that. While I have no clue what direction things are going to take, I feel a combination of excitement, anxiousness and fear for the life we are getting ready to live.

So here I am, with everything that we (hopefully) need for two people and a dog to live, all in a few tupperwares in the back of a pickup truck.

Did I mention it's a really small boat?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...