11/26/12- Why we sail south!
I just spent the past few hours cleaning up after 10" of snow from an early season storm. It was fun working outside in the snow but even more fun to think of the fact that not too long from now we will be basking in the warm sun down south.  Next week I will be on the boat setting it up for the trip.  I have stuff packed to go and hope to be on my way to NC this Saturday.  

November 14, 2012

Can I handle this?
 I have been planning for this trip for well over a year and working hard to get ready.  I am excited about the journey, but also a little worried about whether I can handle the burden of command. This is not our first trip down the ICW, so I have experience from 2006 to call on which is a great comfort.  I also have my faith in the good Lord to bless the journey ahead.

However, I am not as spry as I once was (<---that's being kind) and it can be draining and stressful having to worry about boat systems and weather and navigating and keeping my family safe.  And so I worry about the stress of command wearing me down. The alternative of course is sitting home by the fire, but that doesn't contribute much to a life well-lived, and hopefully I will have plenty of time to hang out by the wood stove down the road.

So I gotta overcome inertia and do this now while I still can.  The good news is that we won't have a "schedule" and so can travel at our leisure.  I hope that this will allow us to soak up the ICW along the way, as for us the journey really is the destination.

In 2 weeks I head to North Carolina to take the boat out of hurricane storage mode and set up to go. Time marches on!