You imagine life on a sailboat: morning coffee in the cockpit, reading a book stretched out in the sun, a lazy afternoon, maybe a swim in clear blue water followed by sundowners, dinner of freshly caught fish and an evening of stargazing.

But the reality so far is a bit different as we adjust and make our way South. Plus, while the Chesapeake Bay is beautiful in its own way, the water is not crystal clear and the fish are not jumping onto the boat.

There is coffee every morning, thanks to Chris! Where did the coffee come from? Well, that was a two mile walk to the nearest market and back. But the chance to walk more than 35 feet is great! The reality is that cleaning up coffee grounds is a chore. With limited water, how do you get the grounds out of the sink? And once the dishes are done, how do you launder the dish towel? Pile it into a dry bag with two weeks of laundry, dinghy to the dock, hoist it on your back and ride the marina bike into town.

Now, this is not a complaint, just a vignette of how our everyday processes have changed. We do read more, and play our daily cribbage. We have our sundowner and dinner made freshly each day. And when the skies are clear at night we’ve even been known to stargaze!