Moving Aboard

It's been a week now since I bid farewell to my friends at work.  It took several trips to the various buildings to see everyone, and there were still several people that I didn't get to speak to.  The guys in my work group threw me an awesome party, complete with a cake and a large framed and signed photo of the construction project.  We're trying to decide which flat screen TV to throw away so that we can hang the photo on the boat.  Thanks guys for the wonderful send-off, the meals, cake, and framed photo.  I'm sure our paths will cross again in the future.

The car had been loaded to the gills the night before, so after work I immediately headed to Charleston and moved all my remaining stuff aboard C-Time.  Keep in mind that we've spent the last year selling, giving away, and throwing away anything that wouldn't fit on the boat or in a 10'x6' room in our son's basement.  Also keep in mind that this is just Daniel's stuff.  Carla is still working and living in Columbia, so she still has all her stuff there.  It's taken nearly the whole week to find places to put everything, just in time for Carla's visit this weekend.  This was the first phase of transitioning from a land-based home to a water-based one.  I'm sure many of these things are unnecessary, and as we cruise we'll probably get rid of even more stuff.

Carla and I spent all day yesterday on the second phase, provisioning C-Time.  To give you an idea how much several months' worth of provisioning weighs, a year ago the boat listed to starboard about one degree, so I started installing everything on the port side.  By the time I had added 36 gallons of fuel to port-mounted Jerry cans, she was listed to port about two degrees.  After stowing all the food provisions, she is just about even-keeled.  Of course, she sits a couple inches lower in the water now.  This photo is from ONE of the four trips to Sams and WalMart.  By the time we were finished shopping, we had spent more than $1500 and the car's trunk, back seat, and front seat floor was filled to the brim.  Carla was even carrying a case of frozen meat in her lap on the way back.

Speaking of meat, we went a little crazy picking out meats to freeze.  We both underestimated the size of our freezer, so by the time we had vacuum sealed all the meat into meal-sized portions, the freezer was packed to the lid.  If we catch any fish on the way to the Bahamas, we'll either have to eat it all or give the rest away.

Tomorrow, I send Carla back to Columbia to work.  Although she loves her job and the people she works with, we both are getting more anxious and excited about leaving.  T-minus 3 weeks and counting!