Reality Has Set In

We have done it! We moved out of the house at midnight last Thursday. Actually a day late! The past three weeks have been sheer hell. Let's just say that at least 17 of Murphy's Laws came into play at various points. We slept on the floor for about four hours a night for a week. The Internet got cutoff when the new owner scheduled his installation so I couldn't take care of banking, address changes, etc.

The real problem was once again the stuff! I had been giving piles of stuff away every other week all summer and still had too much. After the movers made two trips to the storage warehouse and we had an estate sale, we ended up with a self store locker for the rest. I don't even know what is in it anymore. The whole ordeal was overwhelming and exhausting.

The final straw was when we about to leave the house to sleep at Heather's before an early flight to Annapolis, Dennis discovered that his passport and immunization papers were locked in the storage locker -and it was closed until 9:00 AM. Our flight was at 8:05 AM! We were on it without the passport. Fortunately, our friend Richard had said let him know if he could help while we were gone. Well little did he know how soon he would be called into service. The passport is now on the boat. Thanks RLB!

Fortunately one of our great crew members, Ron, got to the boat two days ahead of and was busy getting her ready. I brought too much stuff (there is that word again) and am having a terrible time stowing it all. Think about it: going from a walk-in closet and eight drawers to a 12" hanging locker and three 12" drawers for your clothes! I am shoving things in every little nook I can find.

We could write a book of what not to do. We are where we are and ready to sail around the world for the next three years. Our new address is at Pointe aux Barques, MI when we return. Dennis retired yesterday so there are many new adventures ahead. Life is good!

40 Days of Rain & Our "Ark"

This is Herrington Harbour North in Tracy's Landing
at noon! Note the dock lights are on because it is so dark!

We just spent four days (it seemed like 40) in Annapolis preparing for our departure to Portsmouth, VA, for the start of the ARC Caribbean 1500 Rally to Tortola. Unfortunately, the weather was a disaster - four solid days of rain. This did not make loading the provisions and equipment pleasant! It also rained most of the 10-hour drive back home as well as a good portion of the drive to Maryland. We felt like drowned rats all week-end. All of the shipping boxes were a soggy mess and our clothes were wet.



Sherry, Paul from WCC and Dennis at Annapolis Boat Show

And it was a mess for the Annapolis Sail Boat Show. Usually it is a perfect fall weekend for the show. As a result of the sloppy weather, we only spent four hours there, but we accomplished everything on our list. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise as we were not tempted to purchase more "stuff!" Trillium is filled to the gunwales and there are still items that need stowing.

We had a chance to meet the World ARC coordinator, Paul, and talk with him and Jeremy about the two rallies. We also reconnected with Mia and Andy who run the ARC Caribbean 1500 Rally.

Stowing everything become a real challenge.
In many cases, it is putting a square peg in a round hole
 that doesn't have any depth!

I am sure I have too many clothes on board! Since I really don't know what I will need, I am taking what I want. Worse case scenario is that I give it away or throw it away en route. The choice is get rid of it later, or get rid of it now as I clear out the house. As crunch-time comes closer, it is easier to let things go.

The packers came to the house today and the movers come on Thursday. I didn't realize how much artwork we have! The furniture is padded and wrapped and ready for the truck. So reality is setting in: the house is sold and we are on our way to somewhere. I am sure I should have gotten ride of more "stuff" in the house instead of packing it up. It is just such an overwhelming process. And just how do we collect so much?

Someone recently asked me if I was going to collect some thing at each stop or bring gifts to the grandchildren from each country. The answer is NO! I am not gathering more stuff for anyone! My dear mother did the gifting thing for years and that is partially why I have so much stuff. Furthermore, a lot of it is meaningless to the receiver because he or she wasn't there to connect with the experience.

This is the path we will follow with the
addition of going to New Zealand.

I have lovely things from all the places she visited as well as from all of our travels, so unless it is really special, it is not coming back with me. (Dennis will be happy to hear that!) The other problem with it is that it is hard to part wish certain items because Mom gave it to me. So Kids, I am not going to do that to you!

 

In 10 days we will be homeless and unemployed! For us, it is a good thing. Although it is a little scary, but we all come to the point of retirement. Except most stay put in their comfortable homes and play golf and have dinner with friends. My clubs are staying here and dinners will be with new friends and enjoying sunsets somewhere in the world.

Two Months and Counting Down!

Now we have two poles on the stern

Departure date for the Caribbean 1500 is less than two months away! For some that may seem like a long time, but for us, it is crunch time. Trillium just left Jabin's Yacht Center in Annapolis after getting the hydro and wind generators installed.

Dennis has been back and forth to the boat to discuss the project and I have been home packing up stuff!

Oh, there is that word again: STUFF! I now have piles for the cottage, piles for the boat, piles to go into storage and what is left over! The plan is to have an estate sale company come in and deal with what we don't want to save, store or take with us.

There is an offering on the house in process as I write. I am skeptical of announcing it as a SOLD event until the papers are signed and the money is in hand. That should happen on September 30th. Actually, we both felt rather sad and a little testy after we had committed to selling it. And we don't even have that issue of "but our children were raised here!" I think it is more a matter of: WOW! We are actually committed to it now. Reality does have a way of playing with your mind and emotions. And if it doesn't go through, we will rent it out until we return! However, the buyers have sold their house and are anxious to move in.


Grandparents' Day at Camp!

The hardest part will be leaving our six year old granddaughter here. We don't see the grandchildren in London, UK and San Francisco as often so that is not as difficult. But this little one enjoys being with us and is having a difficult time understanding why we are selling our house and leaving her. She reminds me regularly that we will miss her birthday party! In fact, we just had a party to celebrate my birthday and an early birthday celebration for Addison.

What she doesn't realize is how much I will miss: her hugs, sleepovers, trips to the cottage together, swimming, silly jokes and stories, seeing her art work, her recitals, and ... And Grand D will miss her snuggles!

Birthday dinner with her two favorite people!

We are heading to the boat again next week to start stowing provisions. Just how much toilet paper do we need for 4-5 people for a year!?! I have been told it will not be available in Muslim countries! Is that true???

The other challenge is my gluten and dairy free diet. I have stashed a lot of gluten-free pasta and almond and coconut milk cartons. I am still struggling with how much food to stow. I have pre-cooked, vacuum-packed meats and chicken and have it in the freezer. The last trip to the boat via Southwest will have at least one duffel full of frozen food. It better get there!

Storage on a boat is always a problem. Many boats have a lot of bilge space under the sole (cabin floor), but ours has huge water and fuel tanks there. Those are very important so I have to find other space. Then there is the battle between storage space for provisions and storage space for spare parts and necessary equipment! I think I am on the losing end of this one, too. I thought I could store more under our bunk, but they just took that space for batteries and electrical controls. I lost again! Maybe everyone will have to hug a bag of groceries while they sleep!!!

Test Kitchen (Galley) Exercise

As time is getting shorter, I am fretting more and more about the provisioning and the efficiency of our galley. With such limited space, I need to make sure everything has a purpose or function and, hopefully, find multiple functions for most items.

The biggest problem is storage space. It is not like home where I have more cabinets in addition to the full kitchen in my basement! Now I am confined to a 4'X5' space with four skinny drawers and two cabinets below the counter. The oven, sink and refrigerator take up all of the other under counter space.


I didn't believe that it would be done in 8 minutes
so I cooked it for 15! It was done! Very moist
and tasty and falling off the bones. Next time I
will follow the directions - maybe!

I have stacking pots with removable handles so that saves space. Once again I have removed items from the galley with the intent of replacing them with some things more useful and versatile. For several years I have been looking at pressure cookers. I have steered away from them based on bad memories and some steam burns from childhood experiences. I finally purchased one. Ironically, I ordered it online right after the Boston Marathon bombing. I wonder if I am now being "tracked?"

It has sat in the boat storage area since then. I finally got the courage to give it a try last night. I bravely went to the market and bought a whole fresh chicken. I watched the "how to" video and went to work. Amazingly, I had the best tasting chicken ever in just 15 minutes! Now I am ready to practice on other meats and entrees!

I bought a very nice Fagor Chef's model for its high quality stainless steel and minimal handle design. I know I could have gotten a less expensive one, but I only plan to buy one so I got the best one! I can highly recommend this one. The best thing is how little time it takes which translates into using less propane. It also functions as a steamer, stock pot and Dutch oven. Now I can eliminate my large stock pot. (You need big - actually deep - pots to keep liquids from sloshing on you under way.)

Why is this a concern? Imagine running out of propane in the middle of grilling your dinner. Now put yourself in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or on some remote island where you can't just run out and refill the tank. In fact, much of the world does not use liquid propane gas like we do in the USA. As I read in preparation for the circumnavigation, propane will be nearly impossible to get once we leave the Caribbean.

Now I have a new rule about making coffee. Listen up, Crew. We will be using the 220V European coffee pot and not the propane for stove top coffee!

Now It Is Getting Serious!

How do you move a 25 ton yacht?

S/V Trillium is back in the water! Hooray!

We launched her July 4th after being on land since May 31, 2012. It felt sooooo good be be back on the Chesapeake Bay - even though it was really hot, humid and no wind.

Our sailing friends Stuart and Sondra joined us to take the boat north to Bert Jabin's Yacht Yard for some serious additions: a 400D wind generator, Watt & Sea hydro generator (and all of the gizmos that make them communicate with our other systems), a back-up auto-pilot, a new stereo/CD/DVD/MP3 player for crew entertainment, and a panic alarm to hopefully ward off any uninvited guests!

Just pick her up and drive down the street to the launch ramp!

The Selden furlers have been sent to Sweden for service, the rigging is being thoroughly checked and repaired or replaced as necessary, and the water-maker has been refurbished. All systems and safety items are being checked. The sails are at Quantum Sail loft being checked and repaired.

The life raft, MOM-8  and EPIRB will have to be repacked just before we leave. And we have to update all of our emergency flares. It amazes me that they are $50 each and expire in 3 years. But I know it is important to have them work if one ever needs them. Let's hope we don't!

Here we are at Jabin's - ready to spend $$$!

I started provisioning non-perishable goods, as in 40 rolls of single-ply toilet paper! Just how do you calculate how much TP one needs for 2-3 years? It's not that we will never see TP in a store along the way, but rather everything I have read says to take your favorite paper and plastic things with you as it will not be the same when you find it in these other places. I also stowed paper towels, laundry detergent, shampoo and cream rinse, toothpaste, etc.

Now I am starting to think about provisioning food. That will take a lot of thought and planning. I asked Stuart, who has crewed with us in the past and will on board for the Caribbean 1500 leg to Tortola, BVI, what changes I should make to my meal plan. He said: NONE! Just more of your famous corn chowder! That makes it easy for the first part of the trip. After that, I will have to get creative with local foods.