Those of you closely following us know we’re now living on Fayaway, but have not set off on our “trip”. “What are you waiting for now?”, you may say. Kelly and I have been talking about this adventure for many years, and with all the longer term, grand scheme of sailing to exotic lands sticking in your heads, we may seem to be currently stuck and not embarking from port. Let me assure you that we are not stuck; we are plenty busy and enjoying what we do.

Finding spare parts, or installing this thing or that, are actually not excuses, but are part of a process just beginning, now that we are finally able to live aboard. We knew that when deciding to purchase and live aboard Fayaway, we’d need to outfit for her needs and assure our comfort. And we knew this would take time before we left our home port. We couldn’t afford to pay for it all to be done for us, which is why I had quit my job back in April, intending for three months of full time work on the boat, and/or preparing for life aboard. Hmm, well now that has passed, and so what are we waiting for?

Life aboard will take some time to get used to. We had figured about a month for this, at the same time shaking out gremlins and many issues anticipated to pop up once in the water. We all have life issues too – like doing laundry and helping out family and friends as needed (nothing to do with our adventure). So, again here we are, now less than two weeks from getting “splashed”, and only one week after receiving our completed stem fitting, we are just getting started on live-aboard life, and now the actual shakedown.

Consider this: Last year we sold our beautiful 2600 sq ft, three bedroom home, and moved into a fairly decent 1200 square foot apartment, eliminating quite a bit of “stuff” in that process. Now we’ve just moved into a ~300 sq ft home afloat, and largest piece of “furniture” (not being bolted-down) is a cockpit cushion. We don’t have high speed Internet for the first time in decades. I’m sure you can understand the adjustment. But we can still make really good coffee and have time to sip while watching the sun rise and fish jump here at our mooring; we can grill outdoors, and enjoy a far-superior waterfront 360 degree view (sunrise, sunset and everything between), and yet we can relocate our home any time we feel like it! We race sailing dinghies at our club in the evenings, and take Fayaway out sailing on a hot day with friends. Even though we aren’t a thousand miles from home yet, our time is being well-spent.

So, friends, we really are not procrastinating, but are actually at the beginning of our journey. Sorry, but you’ll need to wait a bit longer for the exotic islands. Don’t worry – it’s coming. Aside from the living adjustment, we only have a few more technical details to handle, like hooking up the solar panels, testing the water maker, replacing standing rigging, buying those spare pump parts, etc. Every day we make a few of these milestones, and we are quite satisfied with the progress so far!