It’s Getting Real!

We’re about a month away from our trip to the Channel Islands! I’m excited & a little anxious. Mostly excited though. Excited because it’s starting to feel very real that this is going to happen. Anxious because there is still a lot to do & I get scared of something coming up to thwart our plans. Although that’s kind of the way the world is right now. But I’m optimistic for the most part.

Got MerSea’s logo on her!

Making lists has been very helpful in putting things into perspective & turning around my overwhelmedness. There’s a list of boat tasks we need to get finished. There’s a provisioning list. -Which we seem to keep finding this to add to it. Probably good we don’t have a freezer right now or we might start weighing down the boat. I have a clothing list. Right now I’m still in denial that I probably won’t be able to bring everything on it onto the boat. Oh well, practicing for when we eventually own a catamaran. Although, then I will just take my entire closet! There’s also a list of toiletries, work related-stuff, water toys & miscellaneous. By the end of the week, I should have a medical kit list too.

Look what Matt can do!

The last few weeks we’ve accomplished more on MerSea. Matt fixed the spreaders. They look so lovely now. Matt is working on the cockpit table. I’ve started the actual provisioning. I’m also working on a map of whereverything is located on the boat. Also getting things into place here at home for while we are done. Plus, doing more research on anchorages & what we might possibly expect when doing our trip & what we can do to prepare for all different kinds of situations. In fact, I recently came across my friend’s blog from when she sailed down the California coast into Mexico. It is seriously so helpful! I should pay her or treat her to something amazing! Thanks Jenn! What’s really funny is that there’s seriously only 1 cruising guide for sailing along the California coast. And in her blog she mentions how she gets rather annoyed at it & for even taking the time to read it. So we will definitely take Jenn’s advice over the author’s during our trip. -Unless he saw her blog & updated his book accordingly.

Matt is making our cockpit table! I love this guy!

Rigging is back on hold. We’re waiting for a part to come in. -Hopefully this week. Am I a bit nervous about that? Slightly, but there’s really nothing more I can do but just be patient. I have surrendered to the fact that the Universe is going to constantly test my patience on a weekly basis. Have a hard time with patience? What in the world can we get you interested in that consistently requires waiting? Yes! Sailing! That’s it! So if you are masochistic & want to work on your patience, definitely start looking into sailing! I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

We got a dinghy! Not sure if we will get the outboard motor to go with it right now. Our kayak might have been sufficient but it does have a few small holes in it. -Not the kind that will make it sink while we are using it but the kind that if we leave it in the water for over a day or so it will slowly fill up with water. Instead of replacing it with another kayak, we decided that it’s a better investment to get a dinghy. This was a purchase we were going to make in the next year anyway. -This is a phrase that goes through our discussions a lot lately: Well, we were planning on getting that next year anyway. Why not get it now? I’m sure our credit card will remind us at the end of this next billing period! Do we really need to give out any Christmas presents this year?

Desperate storage solutions!

I’ve already been thinking that we need a bigger boat. So much to take on a voyage! Even if it’s only for a month & we’re not crossing an ocean or anything. I’m really having to get creative with making storage spots for everything. It’s probably going to look like a gyspy vardo by the day we take off. -Which is really cool in theory but there won’t be tons of fabric, lanterns & an eclectic plethora of things we have collected around the boat. However, I don’t know if I could give up our 30’ MerSea if I was given the opportunity to. We’ve put so much work into her & she now feels like a family member. I feel guilty every time I think about having another sailboat. Not something to worry about now anyway, as our budget doesn’t really allow for it.

Pretty sure anyone who has planned for a voyage is constantly distracted from everything else in their life. It’s all about the upcoming sailing trip. Reports? Screw that! I want to make another list for the boat! Cleaning the house? I should really get over to the boat to organize things on it. What was I going to purchase on Amazon? I forget but now that I’m here I know there’s something boat related that I need to get. At least Matt & I are going through the same thing. Which means we get to talk about the boat & our trip as much as we want without boring the other person.

On that note, I hope I haven’t bored anyone reading this. I really appreciate everyone who’s following our progress through this sailing life. Thank you so much!

Meanwhile Zephyr’s been taking on chores in the yard & chopped some wood the other day!

This will be the last post that will appear both on the blog site & our website. Starting next month updates will only be here on svMerSea.com. Working on getting the blog notices automated from this site if you enter your email on the contact page. But be patient. There might be a glitch or two the first week or so.