New Year’s Day, 2012

New Year’s Day marked the half-way point of our journey.  The second half will be very different from the first, which was spent mostly in the US.  We are now in Guadeloupe and are heading South towards Trinidad and Tobago.  We are in full adventure mode and every day brings a new experience, a fresh challenge, and another opportunity to spend uninterrupted time with our children.  Our Top Ten Best and Worst Moments are merely an entertaining way of thinking about the special times we have had together as a family: whether enjoying perfect days on the beach or hanging over the railing as we pound through waves in a squall, our Life is about being together and giving ourselves to each other.  It is a gift that is given and received each day and we hope that the effects of this time together will stay with us as our precious children grow into amazing adults.  Of all the wonderful things we have seen and done thus far, the kiss I received from Porter this morning when he climbed into bed to wake me up was the type of moment I will treasure the most.

This is just a quick list I came up with off the top of my head.  I thought it would be a fun way to top off the first six months of our trip.  For those who miss us, from this point on, we are on our way back….

Top 10 Worst Moments

 

1. Reese’s head injury.  While enjoying a great time at the Bubbles, on Jost Van Dyke, Reese got hit in the head by a rock, which was thrown by her younger brother.  We were up on a hill, on a tiny island, far from any medical facilities.  Heads bleed a lot, and it took awhile to get back to the boat and clean it up in order to assess the damage.  She didn’t need stitches or serious medical care, but the “what ifs” are still running around in my head.  I am so grateful for the immediate and excellent medical facilities to which we have access in NJ and am conscious of the fact that we are moving further away from that level of care as we continue south.

 

2. Sailing through the Gulf Stream on our passage from North Carolina to St. Thomas.  Confused seas, strong winds, and 4 out of 6 crew members seasick.  It was only the second day out to sea and Chris almost suggested turning back.  We learned again that the first 2 days to sea are the hardest but we all bounced back once we left the Gulf Stream.

 

 

 

3. Seguin Island, Maine: on a mooring, in a tight harbor, on a tiny island, 7 miles off the shore of Maine, all by ourselves.  A heavy storm came in overnight and we were convinced that we were dragging our mooring onto the sharp rocks.  We stayed up all night in the rain and wind to make sure we stayed safe.  We were only a month into our trip and it all seemed very dramatic and dangerous.

 

 

4. Hurricane Sandy: just when we were in full prep mode for our passage, we stopped and spent several days getting Patronus ready for a hurricane.  We were lucky that we had so much advanced warning, since we had been studying the international weather patterns for weeks beforehand.  While we ended up being safe and sustained less damage than our friends and family in New Jersey and beyond, it was a real setback and caused us a lot of anxiety for over a week.

 

5. ICW: The intracoastal waterway was a real let-down for us.  We had heard wonderful things about the sealife, the surroundings, and the interesting navigational challenges.  We know that sailing is all about attitude and an experience is all about what you make of it.  But this wasn’t sailing.  The channels were too narrow to sail most of the time, so we motored, which is loud and monotonous.  The navigation required constant attention to the charts and hand-steering.  The 65 foot bridges provided our 19th nervous breakdown as our mast is 62 feet high.  The scenery was muddy water and swamps.  It went on and on and on for days.  The highlight was seeing a bald eagle, and we will certainly never forget that, but we are still trying to figure out how we will get back to New Jersey without taking on the ICW again…

6. Losing our storm jib in the middle of the night on passage from Long Island, NY to the Chesapeake Bay.  It was rough, dark, and scary to be running around on deck together knowing our three little babies were asleep down below, depending on us to keep them safe.  The jarring of the boat made us both sick to our stomachs and we were confused as to why we sustained this breakage.

7. Pretty much anytime we use the head.  We are still, after 6 months, trying to get to the bottom of the smelly head situation.  It’s really starting to get on all of our nerves.

8. Anegada, Part I.  While sailing to Anegada in a surprise squall, one hatch was left unlocked and a huge wave crashed into the boat, soaking our couch, cabinets of food, floor, and paperwork.  In my attempt to sop it up with our precious clean towels, I was continuously thrown about the boat as we crashed through the waves. I jammed my ankle and stubbed my toe,  and ended up bleeding all over the place.  There was lots of yelling and crying and the day exhausted everyone.

9. Anegada, Part II. You’d think with having two coveted spots on the Top 10 Worst Moments list that Anegada would be among our least favorite destinations.  In fact, it remains one of our favorites.  It is off the beaten path, which makes us cool just to have reached it.  It is a coral atoll, which sets it apart from all the volcanic islands of the Caribbean.  And we truly did have a wonderful time once we were there.  But on our first night, a storm came in, bringing heavy winds and torrential rains.  At 0430, a sailboat to windward broke her mooring line and almost crashed into us.  Chance had it that Chris was up on deck at that exact moment, checking on things.  He managed to avoid a collision, but we were all incredibly shaken up by the adventure. (First time I’ve been glad we don’t have a picture…)

10.  Long Island, Maine: hands down, this was the worst moment so far for me.  Chased by a swarm of flies through a dense forest for what seemed like an eternity.  I escaped by jumping in the freezing cold Maine water and swimming ½ mile back to our boat, only to find that the swim ladder was not down.  I had to find a way to climb back aboard and it took me a few hours to warm back up.  I’m still a bit traumatized by it, even after getting lots of funny and supportive comments from my attempt at writing a humorous article about it on our website.

Top 10 Best Moments

1. Leaving Haverstraw on July 1^st, in awe that we actually pulled this thing off, and being sent forth by the loving and supportive cheers from our closest family and friends on the dock.  We were so proud of ourselves for dreaming up this idea and making it happen within 15 months.  But the overwhelming emotion was that of Love.  The love we felt from our friends on that dock (and on the George Washington Bridge!) was incredible.  Each one of those people love us and care about us.  Each person was sad about losing us for a year.  Each wanted to see our dream come true and was willing to support us in every way.  As I looked back, I could feel the tremendous love from each of our dear friends and family.  I felt like we had put a rubber band around our boat with the other end of the rubber band around that group of people.  Over the course of the year, we would stretch further and further away from each other.  But in the end, we would be pulled back together.

2. Jewell Island, Maine: As one of our first island destinations, we fell in love with the pure nature of this beautiful place.  It has been left almost untouched and visitors take care not to spoil its treasures.  We had our first real adventure after a lovely hike through the island, when our dinghy was left high and dry on the beach due to the extreme Maine tides.  It was fun to work together to solve the dilemma.  Some would have seen it as a disaster, but I was writing a story about it before we even got back to the boat.  It was the moment when our catchphrase “I smell a blog post” was hatched.  (We now use that phrase a LOT.)

3. Somes Harbor, Mt. Desert, Maine: As our northernmost destination, we were excited about visiting this well-known island.  Acadia National Park was lovely, as was the town of Bar Harbor.  But the harbor we anchored in was just about the prettiest little spot you could imagine, so we stayed as long as we could.  I swam in 62 degree water every day in my wetsuit.  The kids kayaked all over the place by themselves and found a great place for crabbing.  Chris worked on the boat and used the paddle board.  We met our friends Mark and Julie aboard s/v Rachael.  The weather was gorgeous.  Looking back, I can’t think of a single bad thing that happened in the ten days we were on Mt. Desert.  By the way, this is the kids’ number one ranked spot six months in…

4. Block Island with the Fays: Block Island will always be one of our favorite places.  From my own childhood cruises to Block Island aboard our Viking, to raceweeks in our twenties, there is a lure to this place that brings you back again and again.  This time was no different and we were having a great time exploring the island in the quiet of September.  Then we met the Fay family aboard s/v Quartet.  We had such a splendid time with them: cycling, visiting the lighthouse, playing miniature golf, eating out, playing at the beach, and talking together.  Our children got along beautifully and we talked about sailing for hours on end.  A delicious gourmet meal aboard their gorgeous boat topped it all off.  I am so grateful for the fun pictures we took that week, but I know neither family will soon forget the connections that were made on this magical island.

5. Our Passage: In the first six months of our voyage, we have completed 4 passages.   A passage is typically defined as an overnight trip.  But THE PASSAGE was our 8-day, 1442 mile trip from Beaufort, North Carolina to Red Hook, St. Thomas.  Hitting 1000 miles was a real milestone for my dad, the kids, and I.  We survived seasickness, long nights, squalls, sleep deprivation, and another broken storm jib halyard, but all six of us were ready for it all and stayed positive.  It was a first class crew.  Getting off the boat in St. Thomas was a strange and powerful feeling.  We all felt different somehow, like we had crossed off a big item on our Life To-Do list.

6. Edgartown: exploring Maine had been a great adventure, but Adventure is another word for “a whole lot of work”, especially when kids are involved.  By the time we pulled into Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, we felt like we were ready for a vacation.  Yes, really.  And yes, I know that I am being cyber-slapped by a whole mess of annoyed people right now.  But you know what I mean.  Edgartown is the place where we really know how to relax.  It is the perfect place for me.  It is big enough to provide some range of activities but small enough to feel like you are on a tiny island, away from it all.  When we are here, we go to the beach everyday, and sometimes we stop in town on the way home for fudge.  Life is that simple here.  As a bonus, we got to stay at Chris’ dad and stepmother’s house.  Living on land for a few days was a nice treat and getting to ride a bike was the icing on the cake.

7. Getting SCUBA certified with Bryson.  We weren’t even thinking about getting certified.  Chris got certified because we thought it would be handy for cleaning the bottom of the boat, checking the prop and anchor, and for fishing.  But Chris completed his classes and was so excited about SCUBA that he convinced us to try it, too.  Bryson was just old enough, so we crammed for the class, took a weekend intensive in New Jersey at Blue Water Divers, and finally completed our certification with our open water dives down here in the BVIs.  Swimming, boogieboarding, and snorkeling with our kids has always been so much fun.  But is has been quite an experience to SCUBA dive with my son.  He has a natural talent for it along with the added bonus of being too young to be appropriately frightened.  It is something that we have learned together.  In no way have I been the “mom” in this scenario.  We have equally asked each other questions, and frankly, he is a little quicker on the uptake when it comes to the more technical aspects of SCUBA diving.  He is also braver when it comes to some of the skills required to get certified.  One of the things we had to do was to completely remove our mask at the bottom of our dive (40’ below the surface).  We then had to put it back on, clear the water out of it, and continue to breathe.  I can truly say that I only found the courage to do this by watching Bryson go first.  I looked at him in awe as he calmly went through the steps, just as we had practiced in the pool back in NJ.  He did it on the first try and gave the “OK” sign under water to show that he knew he did it correctly.  Cool as a cucumber.  Ok.  Here I go.  I can do it, too.  I started the skill, knowing Bryson was watching me as closely as the instructor.  In that moment, our roles were switched and he was watching me learn something new: hopefully, lovingly, encouragingly.  He smiled at me and his eyes danced with pleasure when I finished clearing the mask and got the OK sign from the instructor.  “I knew you could do it,” they seemed to say.  Just as I have told him a thousand other times in the past 11 years…

8. Newport 4^th of July: We were barely out of the starting gate.  In fact, it was only the fourth day of our trip.  But we had hightailed it across the Long Island Sound so that we could enjoy the holiday celebrations in one of our favorite sailing spots in the world.  We met Lana and Dave for dinner at the park and then both families piled onto Patronus to watch the fireworks right from the boat.  It was another reminder that we had really begun our trip.  We were all together and spending our time with our precious friends.  That was what it is supposed to be about.

9. Bristol Labor Day Weekend: After a summer cruising the northeast, including weeks of exploring the gorgeous Maine coast, we were ready to start the next chapter in our adventure.  Labor Day is the end of the season for many, but for us, it was the signal to start heading South.  Before leaving our friends, family, and familiar sailing ports, we decided to spend a weekend cruising to Bristol, RI with Lana, Dave, and their boys Liam and Calan.  After six months on our boat, I can say that the day sail to Bristol was the most pleasant day of sailing I have had aboard Patronus (and it was upwind!).  There was something magical in the air that day and we all felt it.  Sometimes, you just have to show up with an open heart, and the world presents its best Self to you.  We had front row seats and soaked it all in for three days.  The weekend in beautiful Bristol was filled with sailing, swimming, museums, fireworks, ice cream, music, late nights talking, and longtime friends to share it with.  If I had to choose a place to live in the Northeast, Bristol would be in my Top Ten (not including every single town on the Maine coast).

 

10. The British Virgin Islands: If you’ve been following along, you know that the BVI’s is where this whole shindig got started.  We were sitting around in Martha’s Vineyard, in August of 2010, talking to Bryson and Cindy Hall.  They were telling us all about their cruising in the BVIs and invited us to join them for a week that winter.  We sailed the BVIs with them in February of 2011 and returned to New Jersey with the seeds of a dream to sail the Caribbean with our children for a year.  Sixteen months later, we sailed away on our own boat.  And last month, we arrived back in the BVIs, completing the circle.  Our return to this amazing place was just as magical as the first time.  The sailing is fun and easy, the islands are unique and beautiful, the people are friendly, and there are cruisers in every harbor to meet and share an evening together with.