Firsts.

Drew and I have had a number of less than memorable firsts to be quite honest with you all.  I know that may come as a shock to those of you who are Drew and Melanie fans and know us to be completely perfect together...like peas and carrots, like Forrest and Jen-nay....but the shaky starts we have experienced in our relationship aren't issues between us, they are circumstance based.  

Rain/Storms.
Most often, when we start out on some new adventure, it will rain. Lots of serious rain. This has happened so often and with such consistency that those of you who know us will recognize the R in our signature HKR333 stands for RAIN.  We have always believed in the cleansing quality of the rain, literally and metaphorically in our lives, so we totally expect rain on this trip. We are not afraid of storms as we set out upon learning to sail the big boat or beginning the journey to live aboard as a whole.  In fact we welcome the experience since we know that weathering storms has produced this solidity we feel with each other today.

Naysayers.
Ugh. Well, we know this is our dream and we have come to the agreement that it is not for everyone, however we did not realize that so many of our friends and acquaintances live in fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear for us, fear of having few material goods, fear of the ocean...Fear of being happy (I'll save this one for another blog)?? Some questions and comments we've heard follow:  You'll be eaten by sharks!, You are going to abandon your children? (our children want to come with us...and it may happen!), You could get lost and end up in Africa, How do you know where to go?, What if the wind stops?, Pirates...You know they have speed boats and machine guns now (my personal favorite - as if pirates are still on 18th century sailing vessels equipped with cannon and parrots), You won't have ice!, People in other countries hate Americans, You know most of those governments down there are unstable...and the list continues. We still have to put up the force field Star Wars style...it's ok.  We are good at it by now.  Whatever!

So this is another first.  Bring it on! We are excited and have a healthy amount of respect for the ocean. Drew knows boats and I am learning more every day.  Anywhere we are with each other is home.  So another first.  YES!  

Found a boat! Too Late!!

Long story made short...one Sunday afternoon we found a boat...an Island Packet 31.  It was perfect in every way.  We were sold.  So was the boat by the time we called the owners back.  We can't talk about it.

Really?

It's Saturday afternoon, not even summer by most accounts, and by two in the afternoon it is HOT.  You know Charleston gets so hot so soon (right, Hootie?).  The biting flies and mosquitoes have discovered that I am their buffet; a blood meal with a kick after the couple of beers I had at lunch.  Good beer and mussels pistou at the Rue.  That's 39 Rue de Jean for those of you unfortunate souls who aren't familiar. My intention is to bring all flies and mosquitoes who choose me the best in international cuisine.  Bon appetit y'all.

We received a call from a friend of a friend about a deal. Well, deal is a magic word my friends.  Especially in the boating world right now because it could very well be true in this economy.  The story:  A divorce.  A bitter woman.  A massive Catamaran.   A 50 foot custody battle.  A desperate owner willing to sell practically for dock fees.  I look out over the glistening Ashley River and back to this behemoth of a boat sitting in the boatyard.  By the way, boatyards are interesting places. In my opinion, they are much like a gynecologists office for boats. Here they are, sitting up in the stirrups for the world to see their delicate but highly functional parts.  50 feet of Catamaran in well...ok shape still makes me have butterflies.  I begin to think and plan...Needs some paint, some love, some blue water.  As I'm walking through the salon noticing the amazing amount of light pouring in, I imagine myself in my bathing suit and gauzy cover-up serving drinks to friends.  As sweat rolls down my back and my belly I am reminded that nothing will be gauzy for very long in this climate or the one we are dreaming about.  I duck into room after room.  I know I could definitely live here; the berth is an actual queen bed...not even kidding!

Drew and I look at each other with that knowing look, if this boat is priced as we were told, we are sleeping here tonight and driving to Myrtle Beach from Charleston every day until summer!  So with the owner we talk and we laugh and we sit on the deck.  We split up and look at every detail: lines, navigation equipment engines, refrigerators, stove, head, and we grow more and more hopeful.   After an hour and a half, I climb down the ladder to signal the end of my looking and I hear Drew's voice on the wind, "Well, what are you asking for your boat?"  I am now playing a frenzied match game in my head...please let the words that pour from his wallet match what we raced here for.  $150, 000.  Really?  I wish I could charge mosquitos and flies for my high quality blood.  Then I could buy this boat.

Limbo

Reading and dreaming! It is now February and no post for 2 months. The weather is changing here and all of the blogs we are following are now in the Bahamas and we are still dreaming about being there too. What are we doing to get there? Reading, reading, reading, buying books and magazines, reading some more, following blogs, reading. Melanie bought be me several books for my birthday and I read them every night. But for some reason, I feel like we should be moving forward with some kind of physical action. We are on a 2 1/2 year plan at this point, until I retire from teaching school after 28 years. So what is next? Sell the house, seems to be the big obstacle at this moment. Melanie and I agree it needs to be done but I am reluctant to put it on the market today. I'm not really sure why! We need the money from the equity to be able to start actively looking for a boat. The house might take a year to sell, can we make anything off of it in this economy, we need to make some minor repairs to make it perfect, all excuses in my mind. Not to mention we bought this really perfect house 1 1/2 years ago and are comfortable in it. So we just dream on. Is this progress? I think so!

Name of blog w/o boat?

Note from Melanie:  If I had my way, the boat would be pink and it would be called Barbie's Dreamboat.  But wait...That's Drew!

Why have we named the blog after a boat that we don't have? Great question. Simply, it is more inspiration for us to continue along this path we have chosen. It also feels real if we have a blog or a way to chronicle our adventures while we are in the planning stages. The name of the boat came to us while we were at the Mount Gay Rum distillery in Barbados last spring. The tour was very informative and spirit lifting to say the least at 10am. If you are in the area it is worth the price of admission to tour the facility.

So what is Angel's Share?

Many distilled spirits and wines are virtually undrinkable after their sugar content has fermented into alcohol. In the case of distilled spirits, the alcoholic content of a "fresh" batch may be nearly 190 proof or better, and the flavor of the beverage would not be very appealing. To reduce the percentage of alcohol and to intensify the subtle flavors of the wine or distilled spirit, producers often store their products in oak barrels. In the case of distilled spirits such as whiskey, the staves of the oak barrels are often heavily charred before assembly.
Over time, some of the alcohol seeps through the grain of the oak staves and evaporates into the open air. The evaporating alcohol is called the Angel's Share, alluding to the belief that guardian angels watch over the product as it ages. Barrels of wine or distilled spirits may remain stacked in large warehouses for years, each one rendering its own Angel's Share over time. Needless to say, these warehouses filled with oak barrels and aging spirits can be quite fragrant.

The belief that guardian angels watch over the distilling product gave us the idea of them watching over our boat as we travel along the breeze made by angel's wings. Seemed fitting to name our new to us boat after such a belief.



Cruise spring 2010



One follower!

This weekend we went to see Stephen play his bass in a concert, he was awesome! On the way to Greenville, Melanie and I discussed boat stuff as usual. It seems like there are always real world responsibilities that could prevent such a move onto a boat that creep into our conversation. We have 3 kids, all of which will be in college soon. We have older parents. We have friends here. We have all the worldly items most families have. We have each other!

One wrong event in any combination of the above could prevent us from making the move into a different life style. One topic that hovers around is the opinion: Can we make it or not? Well, We decided that the only thing that could hold us back was us. You can always find a reason not to do anything. Can't get married until you save more money. Can't have kids until we become more mature. ( funny-seems like our kids are mature than us) Can't do whatever until.....

That was a moment in the car that we said, "Lets make our plans and make this happen". I am sure it it wont be the last moment we have along the way.

Our family is very supportive and now we have one follower on our blog! Look out world, here we come!

One Day...........

As winter comes to Myrtle Beach and the temperatures drop, we read about our new best friends that we have met on the Internet that are heading South. We can't help to wonder what we will be doing 2 years from now and where we will be heading. For now we read their blogs hoping to gain insight for our travels. Rebecca and Mike are on the S/V Zero to Cruising which is poised down in Florida preparing to cross the Gulf Stream. They are making last minute adjustments to their boat. It seems like there is always something to do on  a boat, some additions and repairs are necessary and some seem to be because. The other friends that we follow is Brittany and Scott on the S/V Windtraveler. They are just below Charleston today and steadily heading South. Yesterday they had a chilling reminder of how cruising is more than rum drinks. Brittany writes in their blog about a lady that had a severe injury to her hand. The blog "When Tragedy Strikes " tells how safety is a major concern at all times while on the water. Good luck to all as you make the passage to the Bahamas.