There’s an old saying that goes “Never say Never”. 

It’s intended, I suppose, to acknowledge that you really never know what’s coming next; where life will lead you, what obstacles and opportunities (which is which, anyway?) the Universe is going to throw your way. 

I’ve been horribly lax about the blog this trip, and the phrase “Publish or Perish” applies in blogging as well as in academic circles. If you don’t post, your followers drift away to greener pastures as surely as tides rise and fall.

Still, for those few who have stuck with us and might be wondering what’s up, I thought I’d take a few minutes – anchored out for a couple days while yet another nasty weather systems passes by – to offer up some thoughts and revelations.

Revelations I: Self-isolating when you live on a cruising boat is very little different from normal Cruising. We worry a bit more about protecting ourselves from the virus because we’re a long way from home, and getting to the ER if we needed to could be a real challenge. Otherwise the lifestyle is it’s own form of isolation anyway.

Revelations II: Being unable to go ashore is very different from not FEELING like going ashore. We’ve often just stayed on the boat, day-after-day, not going ashore because we didn’t feel like it, but that has a distinctly different feel when compared to we CAN’T go ashore because everything is closed – including docks and marinas and boat ramps. Right now we’ve been on the boat continuously for 16 days, and it’s been cold/blustery/wet for over half that time, so we’re cohabitating in a room that has less than 50 square feet of open space. Neither of us has taken a full, normal-length stride (or a real shower!) in over two weeks. Sure, the whole country is confined to their homes – but those homes are mostly 2000 square feet or more. This is different.

Revelations III: This isn’t fun, mostly. Sometime early in our adventures Nicki stated “I don’t do Endurance Sports.” In truth, I don’t either, although I think at one point my tolerance for situations requiring Endurance was higher than hers – and certainly higher than it is now.
But like it or not, the cruise north has become one long challenge of endurance. The weather has frequently been abominable; access to simple things like toilet paper and tofu is a distant memory; and we the crew of Sionna have become chronically weary. Certainly there are moments and days when the weather is lovely and our progress is smooth, but those have been few. That, combined with the limitations of this dear old vessel, whom we love like a sister, have led us to acknowledgement of the fourth Revelation.

Revelations IV: We three (the boat and us) are done long-distance Cruising.
Sionna has many fine attributes as a vessel and floating home, but her design was never intended to cross oceans, and that limitation has become obvious these last few months, even to someone as deep in denial as yours truly. Yes, she’s strong, and she would survive a storm at sea, but her ability to keep moving in adverse conditions while keeping her crew healthy and reasonably comfortable is simply lacking. She wasn’t built for it. Local cruising, a month or two, a few hundred miles from home? Of course. (Canadian Maritimes, anyone?)

And finally, Revelations V: Community matters.
With the Rehab of our house in Maine, Nicki and I became home-owners for the first time in our relationship. With that responsibility comes the desire to begin integrating fully into the community that surrounds our home. Nicki can build up her fitness class business again; I can find more outlets for my music interests (Guitar, Ukulele and vocals, if anyone’s thinking of starting a band!); the house can get finished and my workshop/boat shed built…
Above all, we can start living in Rockland as though it’s home, rather than just the place we go when we aren’t “home on the boat”. Sure it’s cold in the winter. But it’s heaven in the summer, and contrast is the seasoning of a happy life.

We’re headed home, and home we shall stay – except for the occasional Home Exchange, if that works out. 

Provence, France, perhaps?

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Or three, or… I really haven’t been counting. But in these troubled time, we’ve been cruising in an entirely different way, yet again. Avoid the towns and cities, avoid (mostly) the places where Cruisers tend to congregate. Avoid, even, the friends we would love to see and spend time with.

Two days ago we blew (literally, it was howling out of the northeast that day) through Charleston, SC without a backwards glance. If you’ve followed us for a while, you know that Charleston is where I (Keith) had my second eye surgery back in November of 2016. We got to see quite enough of Charleston then, thankyouverymuch.

We would have liked to see more of Georgetown, SC this time, but we spent only one quick night at anchor, did a nessesities shopping (there is STILL no toilet paper in the stores, people!) at Food Lion…

Oh, discovery time!! Both Food Lion and Winn Dixie grocery stores carry REAL Liverwurst, not that nasty crap you can find at Hannaford and Publix. If you’re a fan of Liverwurst as one of your earliest childhood memories, you’ll understand my excitement. If you can’t stand the stuff, I pity you, but that leaves more for me!

Oh, and flowers. It’s spring, of course, so things are in bloom, the wild creatures all have but one thing on their collective minds, and the weather is – on the whole – mild. When Nicki and I made our southward pilgrimage in 2016, we called it the “Til the Butter Melts” tour, since we were trying to find warm weather. This one we were calling the “Azalea Tour, because we were resolved to move north no faster than the Avalea’s were blooming, thus experiencing an endless Spring.

Looks like we’re just about on schedule.

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