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!

Too Late For a Refund

Ok, we're all set to close on the hangar this week.  The only things left are a big carload of stuff to take to the boat, a washer and dryer, and a car.  In case we didn't mention it elsewhere, the buyer of our hangar has volunteered to adopt Shula Bear, our 135 pound yellow-haired "baby.  That hasn't kept Carla from shedding a few tears as the time draws near, but I know she's very grateful to have a caring new owner for our fella.  My last day is Friday, and the "Good-bye's" are progressing well.  I'm looking forward to Monday morning when I'll be unemployed for the first time in 32 years, and I get to lay up in bed while Carla finishes up her last weeks at work.  I still have a number of things to finish up, but if it's alright with everyone, I'm going to savor the feeling for a couple hours.  Hey, I may even go out to the bow of the boat and yell to the world, "I'm unemployed!".

Yesterday I ran into someone who had cruised solo for a few years.  He was thrilled to learn of our plans, and stated several times that it will be the best decision we'll ever make.  Many people are impressed that we are gutsy enough to make such a drastic change.  As Carla and I become more aware of how enslaved we've been to "stuff", and how the next few years will be full of life-changing experiences, we don't really see ourselves as "stepping out".  Instead, we view it as embracing a more diverse and rewarding lifestyle.  As for a refund, no thanks.

Walked The Gangplank

It looks like we'll close on the hangar next week, so there's nothing holding us back now.  We have a truck reserved for the weekend and we'll be taking the last load to Matt's house for storage.  I (Daniel) have been selling our remaining items at deep discounts, and Carla has been taking trunk loads of cloths to a local charity.  I took that most important last step off the end of the gangplank when I turned in my 2-weeks' notice at work.  It wasn't too surprising to most folks who know me, especially when they saw the dishes go up for sale on the company bulletin board.  This whole change probably won't really sink in for several more weeks.  Until then, we still have a lot left to do.

Like A Fish Out Of Water

This weekend we had the boat hauled at the Charleston City Boatyard about 5 miles up the Wando River.  This was our third time to use that boatyard and we're very impressed by the facilities and staff.  This was the last major step in preparing C-Time before casting off.  We had several tasks on our list, including repainting the bottom, waxing the hull, replacing the cutless bearing (see the Port page for details), and replacing a thru-hull valve.  As much fun as all this may sound, we were very glad to get her back in the water where she belongs.  Carla commented that it just didn't feel right not having the motion of being in the water.  Although this is the way boats are secured for a hurricane, I just don't like the feeling of it being stood up in the air like that.

Another final cleanup task that we've started is refinishing the floor boards.  We brought all the removable boards home, sanded out most of the scratches, and put two coats of polyurethane on them.  This may not help C-Time glide through the water any more efficiently, but it will sure make the interior sparkle.  We can't wait to get them back on the boat, as walking to the head in the middle of the night without floor boards can be treacherous.

As the countdown ticks down to less than a month and half, we're getting excited and worried at the same time.  Suspicion at work is growing, and we can't wait to spill the beans.  We still have a lot of stuff to sell, so it's a good thing we started nearly a year ago.  We don't want to wait too long about selling things like the washer and dryer, but we also don't want to sell those last things too early, so we're constantly evaluating our schedule.  We take the last load of things we're keeping to our son's house on Thanksgiving, so we'll be roughing it after that until we close on the hangar.  Christmas will be right around the corner, then the birth of our second grandchild, then off to the Caribbean!

Boat Show Adventure

Last weekend we took a mini-vacation to the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, primarily to attend some of the seminars.  It pretty much rained all weekend, and my (Daniel) leather shoes were soaked several times.  However, we did manage to sell our old 45-pound CQR anchor to a guy from Alberta, look at several new and one used yacht, buy a couple of toys, and attend several excellent seminars.  Here's a photo of a couple of the new toys (hand-held sonar and a hand-held VHF radio).  The radio has DSC capability, which means we can query the radio on C-Time and it will send it's GPS location to the handheld radio.  So while we're on land, we'll be able to determine if her anchor is dragging or if she's been stolen.

The new boats at the boat show looked pretty much like they have for the last two years.  We spent a little more time looking at catamarans this year to see if we have multi-hull envy.  They have a lot of nice space, but boy do they look like a lot more work to keep up.  Twice as much hull to wax, twice as many engines to maintain, and twice the cost for a slip.  Even if we had the extra money that a cat costs, I'm not sure we would want the extra headache.  But they are nice!

The most enjoyable seminars were those presented by Pam Wall.  She did an excellent job of talking about cruising the Abacos and how to prepare a boat for cruising.  She's quite a character and I hope we have the opportunity to run into her while cruising.

We have several things going on for these several weeks, so we're missing seeing our girl.  I'm working on boat projects at home during the week, so you can read about those on the Port page.