Packing up the boat to survive the summer without us is a little more involved than we had anticipated. We have covered up windows, stained the toe rail yet again, cleaned out the bilge only to discover one of the pumps was not working, (bought a replacement this morning), changed out the borrowed alternator for a new one (just arrived this morning), filled up the fuel and water tanks, made sure that everything is tied down on deck or tucked in down below, defrosted the freezer and cleaned out the fridge, cleaned cupboards etc, shut thru hulls, hired a caretaker and in general just wondered where all the stuff came from that we are trying to pack up and take home.
But the hard part is leaving this lifestyle which we have enjoyed so much; leaving people whom we have come to care about and knowing that it will be different when we return in the fall. There will be a new cast of characters and we will only be passing through as we start our journey southward. We have read many blogs in which cruisers talk about how quickly they make friends with other like-minded cruisers, how they buddy boat with them and then move on. Very few have pointed out the resulting feelings of loss, nostalgia and sadness. We can only wish everyone "fairwinds" and hope we will meet up again somewhere, some time.
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| Leaving "Well, Why Not? for the summer |
That's a great picture of you two. Thank you for sharing your adventure.
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