Million Dollar View....well not quite.

I was walking down the dock on my way to work today, and as usual, the sunrise was glorious. Every day I say I should take a picture so today I decided to go back and get my camera. Before I went below to grab my camera I sat my purse on the seat in the cockpit and placed my cell phone on top of it.

With my camera in my hand and purse over my shoulder I stepped off the boat and onto the dock. That's when I heard the PLUNK!

This is the picture that cost me my cell phone.

I love my new home.

At 5am the alarm goes off and Harley and I set into motion. Just like any other work day, we shower, get dressed, and head out. What we are finding though, is that we can do it all a lot faster now. I couldn’t figure it out at first but I am now convinced that it’s because we are not wasting time running all over the house. For example: the kitchen, bathroom, living room, bed room, and closet, are all within arm's reach or at the very most three steps away.

I love it! It’s like living in a comfortable cocoon. There is still a lot of organizing to be done but we are getting there. There is extra stuff that we don’t need as well. We packed far more clothes than we need for one thing and I think we counted 14 coffee mugs and 12 wine glasses. The microwave and T.V. are going to be tossed out as soon as we cast off as well.

Today we are working on small projects; I’m putting some non-skid tape on the steps and cleaning the cockpit, and Harley is modifying the anchor locker so we can hang two anchors off the bow.

The countdown is on now. All going well, we will be off the dock by August 20th.

Can’t wait!
Janice

It's official. We are now boat people.

Life has been absolutely insane lately but, like every other hectic time in our lives, we handled it better than we thought we could.

On July 1st we met with a very nice couple who were interested in renting our house. After a few minutes of us telling them what our plan was, and them telling us their story, we knew this was going to be an arrangement that works for everyone involved. We couldn't be happier with Frank and Lisa and look forward to a pleasant landlord/tenant relationship. Again, luck is shining on us.

The last 10 days have been spent packing up our house. Now, to most this would seem like plenty of time but don't forget Harley and I work full-time. We didn't miss one minute of work. The biggest challenge was trying to fit everything we had into a little room that Harley had made in the basement. As it turned out, we had to leave some of our furniture behind for Frank and Lisa to take care of. Luckily they were o.k. with this. Another challenge was trying to figure out what we needed to take to the boat. I especially found it difficult figuring out what clothes to bring. After all the stuff we jammed into it, it's a wonder the boat still floats.

Dropping Rocky off at his new home was particularly hard as well. Luckily we have a lovely lady (Jeannette)taking care of him for the year. She seemed quite excited about having him, which makes me very happy. We delivered him yesterday and we have already had an update today.

Did I mention how lucky we are?

Yesterday we spent our first of many nights on the boat and we are now so pumped we can't stand it. We still have to work for another month but that's o.k. This way we should be well organized by the time we leave. Right now you should see the mess we are in. It's now time to get creative as we try to find places for all our stuff.

Tomorrow I will start to takle that. Right now I think I'm going to crack open a beer and put my feet up.

Cheers,
Janice

Anything new?.....Not so much.

Well I figure it's about time I post a new note, however, there hasn't been much progress since my last posting in March. Not only have we not rented out our house yet, we don't even have the boat in the water, and as hard as we try to stay positive, we are finding it frustrating at times to say the least.

The boat is ready all but a small cosmetic fiberglass job, which has been contracted out to a fellow in Penetanguishene. He started the job May 26th, worked for the whole day, and said he would be back the next day to finish it. He tells us he only has about 4 hours work left to do. We keep hearing "Ill get to it tomorrow" yet here it is, June 13th, and we are still waiting. We keep telling ourselves it will be worth the wait as this guy came highly recommended. In the meantime I guess we just have to practice patience.

Frustration is setting in on the home front as well. We have had our house on the rental market for four weeks and although we have had some interest, there hasn't been anybody who we feel we could trust completely to take care of our biggest investment. We just might have to come to terms with the fact that there is no such person.

So, like I said, not much is new. I will keep everyone posted as things develop.

Welcome to Our Blog

I can't believe it. After four years of planning we are finally in the last stages of preparing to set out on the adventure of our lives. Sometime around the middle of August of this year we will be taking our boat, Blue Blazes, from her home in Midland, Ontario and sailing her down to the Bahamas (or maybe further).

Preparing for this adventure has been a trip in itself. First of all we needed to approach our employers on the possibility of getting a year off. I have been working on a program called "4 over 5" in which my employer will hold 20% of my salary for 4 years and on the 5th year get a leave of absence pre-paid. It's a sweet deal. Unfortunately Harley's employer didn't offer this program but when he approached them this January about taking a year leave of absence starting this August, it was approved with their blessing. We are so very grateful to both of our employers for helping us make our dream become a reality and, given the current economic times, we feel very lucky too.

To help us reach our goal we sold our house last year and purchased one less expensive. By doing this we were able to cash in on some equity, which gave us more financial security. The next thing will be trying to find a couple, or family, that I can trust to rent our home for a year. This, I (and not so much Harley) am quite concerned about. That, and who will look after our beloved cat Rocky. I would bring him with us but I just know he wouldn't fair too well on a trip like this. So, if anyone knows anyone who would like to babysit a cuddly and loveable cat let me know.

Blue Blazes is a 1985 CS36 Traditional, shoal draft, sailboat, which, in my opinion, is just big enough. We have had her for 4 years and have been getting her ready for this expedition since day one. Given our limited budget, spreading the cost of all the creature comforts, safety items, and spare parts over the past 4 years has made these expenses more manageable. Most of the large expenses have been taken care of and now we just need to attend to the fine details.

That's the money side of things.....the boring stuff. Mentally, we have been preparing for decades. With all the books and cruising guides we have read, charts we have studied, videos we have watched, seminars we have attended, and trips we have taken, we are more than ready. Let's get this show on the road...or should I say water.

Hope you can join us on this journey. It should be a good ride.

Janice