Plan is a four letter word.

Why yes, I am forced to recycle an old photo. I have not bit the bullet to rebuy my photo software. Having to buy a new laptop was painful enough. Kitty decided that my laptop needed cleaning, a through cleaning to make my "keys sparkly". For the record, Mrs. Meyers will make your smoking laptop smell very lemony. Also for the record, I will never fail to back up my software ever again.

Some people like to make plans. We used to like to make plans. Then we bought a boat and realized plans and boats go together like gravy and strawberry jam.

When ever anyone would ask Mark what his plans were, he would say "I hope to get out of Galveston Bay". He was hesitant to commit to anything more concrete because there seemed to be no end in sight for the refit of the boat. Now that we are making some progress on the check list (we now have a functional toilet. THIS IS BIG!) its time to start thinking about where we want to go with this soon to be sea worthy boat of ours. Mark has left the route planning to me which is great but also a bit daunting. You want bureaucracy and red tape? Start trying to make an itinerary which involves multiple countries, a boat, a crew of varying citizenship/passports and ages and then throw in treaties, Visa requirements, weather patterns, etc and you see why I now have a project to keep me busy for quite some time.

Originally, we thought we would tool around the Caribbean for a bit, then head across the Pacific. Now we are not so sure that this the best route for us. I know its what we are "supposed" to do. A run from the west coast of Mexico to the Marquesas is kind of like a sailing requirement. By looking at other options we know we are going to lose all of our sail cred. Wait a minute. We never had any sail cred so let's drag that map out again...

Mark has always wanted to sail to French Polynesia. Always as in from the time he first learned to sail almost 30 years ago. I am sort of an "okay, let's do it" kind of gal so I always assumed that would be the case. Now, we aren't so certain this is what we want to do. I know a Pacific crossing is de rigeur for cruising boats but we have a couple of reasons to reconsider at this point.

The first reason is that when pressed, Mark admitted his desire to do the South Pacfic has less to do with an interest in anthropology and more to do with the idea of being in an utterly gorgeous tropical location. The crossing would take the better part of a month to make landfall on said gorgeous tropical location. Meanwhile, the Caribbean is definitely happening and while it might not be quite so exotic and doesn't have the tropical mountain majesty of French Polynesia, it does have the advantage of requiring a heck of a lot less time in crossing. Heck of a lot as in you can hit a new island every other day or so.

The second reason? The big draw for a Pacific crossing for me was the lure of India. I have been seriously in love with the culture, art, religions and history of India since I was a little girl. India is my bucket list destination to be sure. I have heard from expat Indian friends over and over that I need to rethink visiting India with a teen aged daughter. The reasons why I need to rethink this are pretty well documented. Just Google "Eve teasing" and you see this is not a silly concern. Its something to seriously consider. I want to go to India more than anything, but this isn't just about me. I have two young daughters to consider and one would be 17 by the time we reach India.The prime target for Eve teasing- young, foreign and female. Everything could be fine but if luck is not on our side, it could be a seriously bad experience for my daughter. Since the area I want most to explore is inland and would require frequent use of public transportation and since public transit is ground zero for some really heinous behavior towards women, ts losing its appeal.

The third reason? After getting to India we would be faced with a whole bunch of suck. Heading through the upper Red Sea area and hoping its a quiet pirate season from the Somalis? Suck. Making it through the Red Sea up to the Suez canal? I am thinking that being on an American flagged vessel in Egypt right now might also be full of suck. The other option is to sail around the Cape and while I would love to see South Africa, the Cape is for serious sailors. That is certainly not me at this point in time. I might consider rounding the Cape after a few years of blue water sailing but today, where I sit just now with 2 young girls its sounding like something better left off the itinerary for now.

So. What are we thinking? Currently we are planning to have a 6 month shakedown in the Caribbean. We will figure out what equipment we really need to add, what changes we need to make to the boat and whether or not we need additional crew for a big passage. We are thinking of then returning to the US during hurricane season to make those changes and adjustments. After that, hopefully an abbreviated run through the upper Caribbean before heading for Bermuda, the Azores, Europe and the Mediterranean.

We are thinking of Europe for a few reasons. First of all, we want Maura to get a good feel for it before she leaves for University. There is a very good likelihood we will go back to work in Europe after our sabbatical and we want her to have a feel for it so she can make an informed decision after University as to whether she wants to live in the US or the UK as an adult. Another reason is that there are opportunities for Mark to pick up some consulting work in the UK or Norway which would help to replenish the coffers a bit. After looking at prices in Europe, this might be more important than any other! Then there is the added bonus of being in close proximity to our family in Scotland. The thought of them being able to just hop over and meet us is a very enticing thought indeed.

So there ya have it. Not really a "plan" but an idea we are seriously looking into and as close to a plan as we can get right now. I am in the midst of not only figuring out routing and weather patterns, but digging into VAT laws and Schengen treaty issues. (So far what I have learned is that the EU really, really loves paperwork and forms) Nothing is written in stone and we are just beginning to really firm up our "ideas" and at this point we refuse to use the P word. Stay tuned...

Some Place In Between....

We did manage a little together time to go for a walk in the woods....

Let me tell you a little secret about life once the cruise count down move to under one year. It is HARD. Not hard in a "oh my there are so many things to do" kind of hard. That can be daunting, but every completed project ticked off the list comes with a satisfying sense of accomplishment. Its not hard in an "oh my we are going to be leaving bay and forth sailing and heading out into the ocean and it kinda freaks me out" way. Anytime I start to feel a little nervous about sailing far from land, I have the assurances of friends who have done it remind me that you are safer far from the coast than closer to it. Being a little nervous and therefore respectful of the power of the ocean is a good thing and that respect is what is going to keep Ceol Mor safely sailing. No, its hard existing in this bizarre half life of waiting.

Mark just finished is official last day of work. He might have a few days of consult work here and there, but the next 10 months or so are going to be dedicated to finishing up projects and getting the boat ready to go. Its more than a little scary to be looking at a year with no income but its part of the plan. I think perhaps it was not the brightest idea to end full time employment the month of Christmas. We do not go crazy at all, but any kind of Christmas is going to be an outlay of cash and now its time to remember fun today means less fun tomorrow. Because Murphy lives in our house, of course this was the month Kitty decided to clean my laptop thoroughly with Mrs Meyers. I will say that Mrs. Meyers makes the smoke pouring forth from a dying laptop smell all lemony fresh. Not exactly a great month for the budget, but we will be okay its just a little nerve racking.

Then there are the kids and this is one of the really tough things. I want them to really enjoy all that land life has to offer them for these last 10 months. With Mark pouring his heart and soul into Ceol Mor and me running kids to and fro, this means we have a lot of "divide and conquer" going on. I keep telling myself that we are counting down to possibly more togetherness than either of us want (ha!) but it can be a little lonely trying to play Mighty Mom Of Suburbia on your own.

Mark gets to feel chuffed when he redoes, say the plumbing on the boat. Anyone who has owned a boat applauds his Herculean efforts on the boat and every project he completes is met with a  "WOW! Awesome work!" from the folks who see his work. Any mom trying to be full on Super Mom knows that no matter how good a job you do, nobody gives you high fives. I know the girls are doing well so that is thanks enough but it does contribute to making this final countdown feel a bit tough at times.The kids are doing great and are engaged, busy and happy but I have this weird 'in flux ' feeling going on. I am not really connected with everything going on in suburbia because we are leaving. Its this really bizarre feeling of being here, but at the same time NOT being here. It is existing some place in between,

Its not a place of sadness. Nor is it a place of disappointment or anxiety. Its just this really strange place to be. In all of the writings I have read, I've never seen anyone discuss how weird it is to be neither here nor there in the last year. In one on one conversation, it seems that EVERYONE has this feeling. They just never talk about it. Not certain exactly why, but there it is.

So we are rolling into 2014. 2014, the year that we will no longer be living in the in between but will be actively cruising. I am looking forward to it more than I can say. Not just because we have been actively pursuing this for over 4 years now but because it will mean that I will be living a little more in the here and now. And that is the whole point of this adventure.

Surprise surprise! What sucked, what rocked and what will be most welcome

I am a little late in getting this up due to Hurricane Isaac. First, it was worrying about whether or not Isaac would make his way towards Ceol Mor and would we have time to properly secure her and the house (I would have picked the boat over the house if time was short). Then it was anxiously awaiting news from our blog pals Tate and Dani over at Sundowner Sails Again  to update as to how they and their boat fared. They seem to have weathered the storm okay so now I can write since I am no longer biting my finger nails and once again have use of both hands.

When we took our Suck! Down mini cruise, it was with the purpose of not only getting the kids used to the boat and trying to improve our sailing abilities ( a never ending task) but to really take a good look at what works and doesn't work so far as making Ceol Mor a comfy home. I can rough it with the best of them but if given a choice, I will take the cushy pampered princess route.

With that in mind, this post will not go into detail about our plans to redo the deck layout, change the blocks, clutches, winches, rerig, etc to improve the ease of sailing the boat. That will get SEVERAL posts all on its own because who ever set up Ceol Mor was obviously a masochist. Turning Ceol Mor into an easy to sail boat will take a lot of time and it will be done but for now, lets concentrate on the little things that make life aboard a little more comfy.

What rocked:
1. New lighting- The CCF linear lights sometimes take a few seconds to illuminate (nothing is perfect) but when they do the light is good quality, they don't draw much, the dimmer switch in the salon is lovely for softening the light and as a bonus- they look great. Their low profile means that the boat seems roomier with more headroom. Illusion, but nice anyway! Their chrome case and sleek design really help update the boat. We were really trying to find a way to bring the aesthetics of a 1980s design into the 21st century and these lights really help with that. The LED bi color task lighting LED bi color lights we have as task lighting in the galley, head and chart table work fantastically and the placement of them is unobtrusive yet absolutely fit for purpose.

2.Fabric Microfiber Suede Fawn P213 By Yard,1/2 Yard,Swatch - so glad we had the cushions redone! The inevitable kid spills cleaned up easily, they resisted water well and what moisture did get in them dried quickly ( we had lots of rain soaked butts to test it). Even an errant bit of pen ink came out with just spot cleaning and its a heck of a lot easier on the wallet than Sunbrella plus its soft and cozy.

3.Caframo Sirocco Fans - I might tease Mark about the fact that our boat is now absolutely festooned by these things but they are kind of awesome. They stow away flat when not in use and put out plenty of air for what they suck out of the battery bank. I am like a Golden Retriever in that I am happiest when my face is in a wind tunnel. Mark spent a lot of time ensuring that each fan location was carefully thought out and it shows. Pretty much anywhere on the boat you would want to hang out is within a gale created by these fans. With the fans, it was a bit warm but tolerable. Without them, it would have been stupid hot.

4. Onan Generator- I love my generator. Someday, I will love my quiet wind and solar set up but for now, the generator which allows me to sleep in the afore mentioned wind tunnel is aces in my book. Its not overly noisy and powers the fans, lights and any other little cushy princess requirements very efficiently. We were even able to run the ac at anchor for an hour to tone down the late afternoon wall o' heat in the salon. I puffy heart love you generator.

5. Zombie Dice 2 Double Feature - Still the best cockpit game ever. Just for the record, I got the most brains.

6: Electric toilet- I love this thing, power hog or not. I have kids aboard who (at least the potty trained one) are not currently able to be judicious in their use of toilet paper. The electric head makes this less of an issue. Hooray for non clogged heads!

7. Polar Fleece sheets- When my blog pal Behan over on SV Totem told me that Polar Fleece sheets were very comfortable to sleep on in the heat of the tropics/sub-tropics I thought she was out of her tree . I then thought hey, this trip is all about experimentation so lets give it a go. She was right. She tends to be the voice of cruising reason so it is to my great shame that I doubted. Never doubt Behan. Not hot at all and very comfortable. An added bonus is that Polar Fleece is very Craft Challenged friendly. You don't even have to hem it!! Wicks away moisture, regulates temperatures well- a definite and surprising win. Once I get a more elegant example completed, I'll share the details. Marvelous stuff.

What Sucked:

1. The galley. Ok, I am lumping it all together but let me just tell you what I absolutely hate and what will be changed before we leave whether Mark says is it will or not.
1a: The countertops- with our new spiffy lighting we are able to see just how crap the old laminate is. Cracked and EVERYTHING stains it. These will absolutely be changed before we leave. I hope we can find someone good who is willing to install such a small amount of Corian but it must be done. Even if it means an extra week or two for Mark to do it because we can;t find anyone. Laminate. Must. Die.

1b: The lack of refrigeration- Sucks. Big time. I wanted to use a plug in free standing Engel freezer but with the space considerations on board I know we are going to have to go with 

Drop-In AC/DC Fridge / Freezer  but so long as its an Engel, I'm good. Sure, not having to crawl down into a hole to find what I need would be ideal but you have to deal with the space you have. Everyone I know who has had an Engel for over 2 years loves it so an Engel it shall be. They work. Well. This is what I require of my refrigeration.

1c: The galley sink- That thing is manky, too small and I hate it. It must be changed out for a deep, single bowl sink and a taller faucet. What will I do when I need 2 basins of water? Its called a plastic tub and you can get it just about anywhere for around $4. Farewell manky sink, you shall not be missed.

2. The master cabin- When we first bought the boat, I kept telling Mark I wanted to rip out the fore head and expand the forward vee berth cabin, which we use as our master cabin. Mark said it was too much work and we would just have to live it. Now that we have taken a couple of overnights, Mark has come around to my way of thinking. I'm not totally being a princess about it because the owners of a sistership which is for sale have done precisely what we would like to do. Yeah, its bargain priced to boot. Where was this boat when we were shopping? Oh well. Hopefully someone knows a really talented carpenter with boat experience in the Kemah area. We are willing to pay a more than fair fee for this, but I will be upfront and say that our level of expectation of the quality of the finish work is high. Recommendations are most welcome.

What will be nice additions:

1.Oceanair Skyscreen - Now that we have beautiful, streamlined lighting is just makes sense to go with an elegant, durable solution for the screening and shading of our hatches. We will be installing Oceanair skyscreens on our 5 overhead hatches. They are beautiful, they work well and they mean I no longer have to struggle with trying to sew mosquito netting. They will go a long way to making the interior of the boat bee-yoo-ti-ful.

2. Schaefer In Boom Furling- HA! You thought I wasn't going to talk about sailing hardware. Actually, I'm not. The Schaefer In Boom Furler is the one piece of gear that is absolutely, positively not in the budget (they start at 15 k. Ouch)- no way, no how. This fact does not prevent me from looking at it with lust in my heart. I do like to mention it from time to time just to watch Mark twitch funny.

3. Porta-Bote- Mark's reasons for waiting to purchase our dinghy until the last possible minute makes sense but boy it would be great to be able to do this short little trips without having to make 2 trips to shore each time in STINKY.

I feel pretty darned good about the level of finish in the interior boat. There are some little unnecessary but nice little cosmetic tweaks we will be making but really, she's looking quite good and she functions well as a family boat. I think that even though we are facing a major plumbing rebuild and then there is the whole deck layout/rigging stuff to deal with, we are in a pretty darned good spot 14 months out. And moving forward...



* I've been an Amazon affiliate for over a year, but I haven't ever found anything I liked enough to link to it. I can't recommend something that I don't like because it makes me feel slightly dirty. *shiver* Now that we are getting a bit of experience with stuff, I feel like we can make some recommendations that are not based on marketers hype but on being 100% Ceol Mor approved. ;) If you decide to follow a link and purchase an item through our blog, we get a few pennies for it.  Pennies that will be used to tell Mark- "Hey, I have to have internet access I am a PROFESSIONAL writer!" because even if its the princely sum of $5 a year, income is income. Funds will be completely wasted on a yearly latte at Starbucks. You can rest assured I will never post anything that I don't absolutely love because I am nothing if not honest. Cheers.

We got this....

We finally loaded everything into the boat, checked the weather and headed out for a quick sail to Redfish Island where we planned to anchor for the night. We made decent enough time even though we were under canvassed. Our thought was that this first day was more about getting the kids comfortable on the boat, seeing how our anchor bridle worked for us and what we thought about the new lighting and fans than about trimming the sails spectacularly and clipping along at a nice speed.

Sunset at Redfish Island

Redfish Island is not actually an island at all as Maura discovered to her utter disappointment. Visions of frolicking on a lovely beach, splashing in the surf were quickly put away as we made our approach. (from the NW for those taking notes, the S end is very, very VERY shallow) "That's it?!?! Its just a bunch of dirt and rocks." she said as we entered the anchorage. Yes, its just a bunch of remnants from the channel dredging which makes a nice little sheltered are so that the huge commercial ships do not run over you at night. Not being run over at night is a really good thing. We put out plenty of scope which thanks to Mark's super specific anchor marking technique was easy to count (it hurt me to write that.), got the bridle and snubber on without much fuss even though it started to rain as we came in. The rain cleared and Kitty danced and sang on deck. we had a lovely unburned dinner and Maura declared that she loved this. This was even better than camping and she really loves camping. We settled in, watched the stars from the open hatch above our v berth and thought, yes this is good.

During the night we had 2 little blips to disturb our rest. The rains came, necessitating that we close up the hatches. Fortunately, due to the fact that our boat now has more Caframo fans than any other boat on the planet, we were able to maintain a somewhat reasonable amount of comfort. Point to Mark for that one. The other blip? While Kitty is the happiest kid on the planet while sailing or playing at anchor she will not sleep on the boat. AT ALL. After the 3rd time of Kitty calling for me, me going in and comforting her and trying to get her back to sleep, Maura opted to bunk on the settee and I moved in to the girls bunk to try to get Kitty to sleep. It worked for about 15 minutes at a stretch. It was a very long, long night.

And then the rains came. Good thing Maura loves to read.

The next morning we took our time getting breakfast, tidying the boat, more deck dancing until the rains came. Then it was time to hang out on the boat, coloring, reading, playing with Legos until the weather cleared. Once we had blue skies again, we hoisted the anchor and set sail for Galveston. We were on a beam reach and as we approached Galveston, the dolphins made their first appearance. Maura was at the helm as 2 big dolphins came within 3 feet of the boat to check us out. "MOM! MOM! LOOK!" Maura exclaimed. The smile on her face was absolutely magical. I still get excited by the appearance of dolphins and I love that the girls share my joy at the beauty of these creatures. We taught Kitty how to squeak at the dolphins and now every sighting means we get an excited stream of joyful exclamations punctuated by toddler dolphin squeaks.

Beauty is where you find it. Industrialized busy port not beautiful to you? Look up...

The area just as you come into Galveston is known as Bolivar roads. It would be better to be called Bolivar sphincter check. Bolivar roads is where the Houston ship channel crosses the ICW and oh, there are a few other various channels full of commercial ships following other channels here and there. You've got lots of really HUGE container ships, barges, pilot boats, fishing trawlers, a cruise ship or two, Coast Guard cutters and skiffs and ferries running to and fro, this way and that and one little sailboat with a squall approaching, sails up because Mark did not heed my warning that the rain was going to hit us and there were too many huge ships going in every which way to sail elegantly into Galveston. As I manned the helm trying to keep clear of impending doom, Mark and Maura finally struggled to get the sails down in the rain. Mark later admitted that he would never again ignore my request to drop the sails if I was feeling nervous. That I think is a very important lesson learned. Always defer to the Biggest Chicken Baby on board. Kitty sat with me in the cockpit shouting "LOOK! Pirate ship!" at every tanker that passed. Who knew my 2 year old was up on current Somali events?

We headed into the same anchorage by the Bolivar ferry we used last year. This year, there are work barges moored in a large portion of the anchorage. Seems they are reconstructing a jetty near the ferry landing. Fortunately, we were the only boat there so we had plenty of swing room.

At this point, Maura was ready for a bit of land adventuring so we inflated the dinghy and headed for shore. Since we are trying to wait until the last minute to buy our dinghy (one less thing to maintain until we are ready to use it) we used the small inflatable given to us by a friend. Imagine my surprise to see that the dinghy Mark intended to use was a 6 foot rubber Achilles which the previous owner had christened 'Stinky'. We were rowed ashore in 2 trips by Mark in a bright red inflatable with STINKY emblazoned upon it. We tied the dinghy up but didn't lock it because A: we were not at a dinghy dock, we were docked in a super secret not Kosher location that the security guard said so long as we went to dinner then right back, she would look the other way and B: who the hell is going to steal a little rubber rowing dinghy which is emblazoned with STINKY on it? A friendly power boat captain gave us a ride to the nearest restaurant ; Chili's where we ate an unremarkable dinner as you do at Chili's, then made the trek on foot back to the boat where we enjoyed a beautiful sunset, lots of rolling due to passing commercial traffic and another night where Kitty refused to sleep. Even still, it was a good night and everyone was in great spirits.

Early morning. Birds overhead as the rain clouds rolled in...

The next morning, absolute crap weather rolled in. Bad visibility and rain, rain and more rain. This was supposed to be our first time to take Ceol Mor out into the Gulf but I nixed that idea. I just don't feel the need to prove anything and while we absolutely could have handled what was out there (just a lot of rain and low clouds, no scary wind) it would have been less than fun. As it is, Mark will still be able to tell people his dream is to get out of Galveston for a while longer. We headed back to Kemah escorted by a tremendous amount of dolphin pods every where we looked. Maura and I got good experience helming the boat in busy shipping lanes and Mark learned to relax a bit when he is off watch. Very good things to have a bit of confidence in.

 We made it back to the marina and as we approached the slip, the rain stopped and the skies returned to blue. We might not have gotten the ocean experience we were hoping for, but we did learn a lot of useful things. We have a better idea of what we want on the boat, what changes we are glad we made and what is now at the top of the refit list (separate short post coming up on this).We gained confidence in anchoring. We got a bit better at trimming the sails. We learned a bit more about how to handle 4 distinct BIG personalities in a small space. The most important thing I learned? We can do this. We really can.

Last minute chores....

If the weather powers that be cooperate, we should be leaving tomorrow for a little mini cruise. Most sailors refer to these little test runs as "shake down" cruises. Its a chance to see how the boat and equipment are functioning and to ensure that all systems are go before heading out far away from chandleries, shops and marine repairmen.

 I like to think of our little jaunt as a "Suck!!" down cruise. As in, 'we do not have XYZ on the boat and man does it ever suck'. Take for instance the fact that currently our water tanks are not plumbed as we await checking the refurbishment of the water system off the check list. So we are going to have to jug the water which is not ideal at all but it will work.

What should add to the suckage is the unmerciful heat we have just now. It is stupid, stupid hot. Hovering right at 100 Farenheit in the afternoon and if you are in the sun it feels even hotter. I've never been one to perspire in a dainty manner and you can't say I sweat like a pig because pigs do not sweat. I sweat a LOT. August in Texas usually means I am absolutely covered in a thick sheen of perspiration. This is why I perpetually look as if I have just stepped out of a swimming pool in summer. I am just trying to function while my face is melting off. Jumping in for a swim to cool off isn't really an option. The visibility of the Gulf of Mexico water here on the Texas coast is about 3 inches. I do not mind swimming in the ocean unless I cannot see what/who I am swimming with. That kinda skeeves me out. So Sweaty Betty I shall be. I figure if I can keep a happy disposition while I am being baked to a golden crisp by the sun, with no opportunity to rinse off the sweat, with a cranky and hot preteen and toddler on board I can do anything.

We are ticking off last minute items of our check list. One of the big ones was removing our main sail (Baggy MacBaggerton) to replace a missing batten and patch up the batten pockets which had torn. Poor sad little sail. It has seen some abuse in its lifetime and now as it winds down its career its like an aging athlete who is held together only with tape, physical therapy and an iron clad, unescapable contract. Hang in there Baggy, you shall be retired soon.

Mark took photographic evidence of me actually sewing a patch on the sail. Me sewing, by hand with the evil sail palm which refused to sit properly on my hands and insisted on rubbing my hands raw. My sewing machine is no longer my arch nemesis, the sail palm is. Seems no one makes them small enough for people with T Rex hands such as mine. Its like shoes- if they are too big you get blisters. Thank goodness Mark took pity and finished the other patch up.

So we are off to put the main sail back on, finish up the last minute items, check off the provisions list, load up the boat and tomorrow we head out to see how we do. How long are we off for? A couple of days then its back home to port to put the final items on our work list for the boat to shorten the suck list.

14 months....

Meet SV Conviva

Preparing a boat for extended cruising is not exactly scintillating. While we are making good progress on our shiny new electrical system and while we find options for toilet plumbing infinitely fascinating, I understand that you might not. Since you've all been such troopers in hanging in there and following the blog while we suffer through the boring stuff, I thought I'd share a bit of excitement with you.

Meet the crew of SV Conviva. Tucker and Victoria, have suffered through all the boring bits of pre-cruising prep work and now have reached a big goal. They are casting off and setting sail in just 4 days. 4 DAYS! I am so excited to see them begin their grand adventure and look forward to watching them achieve their other goals. Their plan? Once around the world- with kids.

Sometimes its easy to get bogged down in the minutae and set backs that come with getting ready to cast off. Its easy to lose sight of what the end game is and it really helps to see others who have been where you are just now beginning the real journey. Sometimes the best way to keep your eye on the prize is to take a peek just beyond your own horizon.

So fair winds and following seas to you Conviva. I look forward to reading about your adventures both big and small. Now go out there and see what you can see...isn't that why a sailor goes to sea?

Chapter 1 In Which We Are Reminded That We Don't Know What We Don't Know Until We Know It.

We took off on our first overnight trip this weekend. We knew that it would be a bit like camping as the interior of the boat is stripped down, the galley facilities are limited to only a microwave and an ice box but we'd still get the opportunity to work on sailing the boat a bit and have the chance to see what equipment on the boat would make a big difference in our quality of life.

We packed up, loaded up and headed out towards Galveston. We still really dislike the way the lines are set up on the boat and will be making some changes soon( if we ever get our Dyneema rigging). We reefed for a threatening storm but it missed us and gave us nothing but a momentary cool down. The sail to Galveston was blessedly uneventful except for the fact that it was ridiculously hot. Stupid hot. We kept Kitty in the shade, hydrated and cooled her off by misting her with fresh water.

When we reached our chosen anchorage of Baffin Pt. we got to learn a few things about anchoring. Namely, that we really don't know jack about anchoring because we've always been tied to the dock. After about an hour of a hands on learning experience with wind, currents, mud only about a foot under the keel, and a length of rode dtermined to take all the paint off the keel, we came to the conclusion that this anchorage sucked. It all was a bit much for us on our first go so we opted to head towards Offat's Bayou which was a little more protected although it is a tricky entrance and would add another couple of hours to our trip.

We found a little spot just off the channel well before the cut to Offat's ( which is tricky with thin water, commercial traffic and a winding route through obstructions) tucked up behind a marina. We managed to get the hook set and decided that it was time to pay some serious attention to a secondary anchor as we really needed a stern anchor here. We also noted that not bringing a snubber was really dumb and an anchor riding sail would be a welcome addition. Once we were secure, it was time to make dinner because we were all very, very hungry.

Our galley is currently not in working order but we do have a generator, an inverter and a microwave so Mark instructed me to bring along some micro friendly supplies for this outing. I was pretty sure that a microwave on a boat is great when you are plugged into shore power but maybe no so much on the hook. Mark assured me that our generator could handle it so I planned according to his wishes. I threw together a little Tikka Masala, micro Jasmine rice and popped it into the micro. It was at this time that the generator decided to quit. The micro is fine, just not so good at running without power. Dinner consisted of cold rice, Pirate's Booty, cherries and ginger cookies. We did have cold beer aboard so it wasn't that bad (St. Arnold's Elissa- very tasty)We then prepared to spend a sleepless night because neither Mark nor I trusted the anchor or our abilities. It ended up being fine but we still had no sleep. Kitty slept as she always does, for about 4 hours before waking up, having a snack and going back down.

The next morning, with the generator out we had to make an emergency run back to Kemah because while I can do without food and I can do without sleep, going without a coffee is a hardship I am not prepared to undertake. I remained cheerful despite the heat, despite the anchoring follies and despite the lack of sleep but I know my limitations and another day of no coffee and I would no longer be capable of cheerfulness. So we packed up, hoisted the anchor (and put an anchor wash down on the priority list) and began the slog back to Kemah.

Real sailors do not motor sail. We are not real sailors apparently. With such heavy commercial traffic, light winds and shallow water around us we opted to motor sail back home. I really do prefer it with the engine off but you do what you have to do. It was stupid hot, we had no sleep, no food and no coffee but on our trip back we saw pod after pod of dolphins. At one point a dolphin came within 6 feet of the cockpit and gave me the once over. They never fail to delight me.

We made it home safely, tied her up and went off to lay like slugs in the glorious air conditioning. It was a great trip. Not so much for being a perfect, idyllic trip, but for all the myriad little things that went wrong that we now know we need to address and most importantly, because I know without question this is what I want to do. I was hot. I was tired. I was hungry. Despite it all, I was happy as can be and can not wait to do it again but next time, you'd better believe we will have the coffee issue resolved. Priorities and all...

Maura sails....

On Saturday, I was feeling pretty despondent over the state of the boat. The boat has plywood and plastic bolted over two of her removed portlights while we wait for the weather to warm up enough to rebed them. Her handrails on deck have been removed for revarnishing and tape covers the old screw holes. The headliner from the entire cabin has been removed to allow for rewiring, etc. She looks a right mess. My uncle came by to visit for the first time and upon seeing the interior of the boat said "When exactly are you guys planning on leaving?"

In order to prevent me from becoming a morose little Eyeore, Mark suggested we go for a sail on Sunday. Even though she looks a state, she is operational and can be sailed- all though you wouldn't want to take her offshore. This was a brilliant move on Mark's part because despite her appearance, it reminded me why we fell in love with her in the first place. She sails so, so beautifully and comfortably. 19 knots of wind, beam reach and a boat speed of 7 knots on main alone. For all of you who hard core salty peeps who want to know how well she points- 25 degrees easy.

I've got lots of pictures of Kitty who was a bit cranky, but that's probably to do with the appearance of her new tooth. I'm opting not to post them just now because this next bit is all about Maura.

Maura is finally able to see over the cabin top and now that she's a bit older, was allowed/asked to do more while preparing the boat to go out. She really liked having more responsibility for the boat but what really made her day was that for the first time she was given complete control of the boat. This was an enormous deal to her, very similar to being allowed to drive the family car for the first time. She did a great job and we are enormously proud of her. Sail on Maura, sail on.

Metals, Meticulous Methodology and a Man Crush...

Why is this man smiling? He is similing because he got to have an "I told you so" moment. He loves those moments.

 While undertaking the rebedding of the portlights, Mark was of the opinion that while the stainless steel frames were in good shape, they were something less than pristine. I was of the opinion that so long as they were rust free and water tight they were functioning as intended and we should just get them rebedded because how much of a difference would laborously polishing every nook and cranny of the frames make? In 2 weeks time they would once again have water spots. Mark lives for perfection, so of course he carefully took all the frames apart and carefully polished and inspected every centimeter.

 Here we see him gleefully showing me that polishing by machine does in fact make a difference. Our boat might have plastic covering the holes where the portlights ought to be but man- are those portlights going to be shiny when they are bedded. For 2 days...

While Mark handles the hands on work, I am in charge of research. You'd think that with the hundreds of how to books on the market that every question you could possibly ask would have been answered. You would be wrong. This is where online sailing communities fill in the gaps. I'm in charge of online discussion/research for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Mark is not as quick a reader as I am. Secondly, and most importantly Mark finds the necessary online sorting of opinions to be impossibly tedious.

Here's the thing about online communities- for every one sailor/adventurer who has a clue you have to sort through 100 opinions from people who have no freaking grip on reality. Planning on going cruising with kids on a sailboat? You'll get 50 people who will tell you you will die a horrible, watery death (these people like to make sailing sound like a deathly proposition in order to thrill the guys at their local watering hole on Friday nights), 40 people who will say "Great! Just bring some duct tape", 9 people who will tell you your boat sucks (because they don't have one, nor have they ever) and then the 1 person who will say that yes, your plans while challenging are doable and you probably won't die or scar your children for life. It can be a task to find that one voice of reason.

I like to ask questions. This is how I learn best. When Mark and I are flummoxed by a needed repair, I can go and ask questions and I know which peeps are duffers and which ones have a good handle on what to do and how to do it. Usually, Mark will narrow his eyes suspicously because being such a Left Brain, it is rare that a person will conduct repairs  in a Mark like, laser precisie manner. Which brings me to Mark's Man Crush.

It started with a discussion as to how to properly bed deck hardware. I knew from time online, the one guy in all the world who does things the way Mark likes things to be done- carefully, with precision and do it over and over until it is perfect. His online nickname is MaineSail. Mark was suspicious until I showed him MaineSail's online how to galleries. It was love at first click for Mark. "Now that is how you do a proper job!". I was right. Thanks to me, Mark has found his online, refit soul mate. Since I will never, ever document how we effect repairs in as thorough a manner as MaineSail (being a Right brain and easily distracted by butterflies) I'll just post a link here. If you want to know how to do things 'properly" here is the place find out how. MaineSail's Boat Projects Mark puffy heart loves his galleries.

And now for some portlight polishing pictures...WHEEE!

Ain't necessary to have a point, to have yourself a point

We love getting reader email, even if we don't necessarily agree with the writer. (ceol_ mor at yahoo dot com) Someone has taken the time to not only read our little blog but the time to send an email as well. For that, thanks!

We received the following email from a reader: "I understand that you are involved with rebulding your boat but until you are actually out cruising, your blog is pointless. I'm not trying to be harsh, but if you try to start a blog about cruising before you are actually doing it, you will lose readers. I look forward to reading about your cruising once you are out cruising. TY!

I'm not certain if the writer meant TY as short hand for thank you or if his name is Ty. I prefer to think of him as being named Ty, possessing an enthusiastic nature and if his last name is Fighter, his parents get nerdy cool points from me. Anyway...

Dear TY!
Thanks for taking the time to write. While I understand that reading about a family getting a boat ready to cruise while trying to live life is not exciting, it is reality. There are people who manage to buy a boat, throw their gear onboard and take off. There are also people like us, who buy a boat to go cruising, get surprise problems which must be resolved, add a new crew member unexpectedly and have work commitments that extend a year and a half beyond what was planned. That's not only cruising, that's life!

We could look at things from a negative perspective. The forecasted refit has extended beyond what we had planned for in terms of time and money. Systems we thought were okay have to be rectified and that takes time and a not insignificant amount of money. The space issues we are dealing with the addition of Kitty to the crew are taking some thought and time to work out. Mark's job commitments were supposed to have been wrapped up last year and yet, it looks as if things won't wind down on that front until December or January.

We prefer to look at things optimistically. The fact that every system needs attention means that Mark and I will have a very thorough understanding of Ceol Mor and will be better equipped to deal with the inevitable break downs. As Mark says " Once you take a part an engine and put it back together, it is no longer so intimidating." The space issues caused by the addition of Kitty is not a big deal. Maura now has a little buddy and we have an additional source of amusement and fun. Mark's work continuing longer than expected means that we have funds coming in to pay for the extra boat refit expenses. It all hinges on how you chose to look at life.

In closing TY! , I'll leave you with some profound words from one of my favorite philosophers- The Rockman. Firstly, "You see what you want to see and you hear what you want to hear". Oh, and as to the blog being "pointless"? "There ain't nothing pointless about this gig. Ain't necessary to posess a point, to have yourself a point. Dig"

Plywood Follies

We've run into some debate over what is the best type of marine grade plywood with which to rebuild the chain plate bulkheads. Mark of course, went into "Mark mode" and decided to begin extensive testing of the different types of plywood available. He felt we needed to test for compression and rot amongst other things. This meant we had to have a sampling of different plys on hand in order to get going. This shouldn't be a problem as the local chandlery had some 4x8 sheets in stock.

Ah HA! Here we run into a bit of difficulty due to Mark and his Markness. Mark is the reason that the Scots have a reputation as being frugal. Mark would rather have bamboo shoots shoved underneath his fingernails than to waste money. Imagine his distress to find that having the oversized sheets of ply delivered would cost more than the wood itself. Having a small car means that they could not be transported by car. Hmm...

Mark has an uncanny ability to figure out the lowest cost solution to every difficulty. If everyone has a superhero power, this would be one of his (the other is that he can fix anything and make it better than it was in the first place. seriously). I was out of town with the kids, so I did not get to see the looks on peoples faces as he loaded the plywood at the shop then brought it home without having to pay anyone or to scratch up his car by placing it on the roof. I did however, convice him to grab a photo of it for my amusement. Hopefully, it amuses you as well.
Behold- the low cost plywood transportation solution!

The Navigation Lesson

 

• 
  

    One of the things I am most keen to do is to learn celestial navigation. Not out of a desire  to keep a dying art alive but out of my Big Chicken Baby tendency to think of every possible dire scenario and how I would handle it. What will we do if the chart plotter fails and all of our GPS aids are lost because an errant sea gull is attracted to the shiny bits and flies off with them?!?!? My answer- navigate by sextant, watch and charts. Of course at this point in time, I have no idea how to use a sextant but we will get there.

  
  

  Mark is one of those folks who can quickly grasp a concept at face value, examine it and perfect it. I have a capable enough intellectual capacity, but I also possess this wacky brain which thrives on tangential “rabbit chasing”. To his credit, Mark just takes my weirdo thought processes in stride and soldiers onward. Here’s an example.

  
  

  Mark and I were sitting at the dining room table after dinner with the globe. We do this from time to time to think about where we might like to travel. This time, Mark was going to start my navigation lessons. It went something like this:

  
  

  Mark: Ok, there are 360 degrees in a ….

  Me: Circle

  Mark: Right. The Earth is a circle and therefore it has 360 degrees but in navigation parlance, the prime meridian or 0 is at Greenwich England.

  Me: Why did they pick Greenwich? Nobody goes to Greenwich. London makes more sense. They should just say London.

  Mark: Greenwich is home to the Royal Observatory and since the British Admiralty developed all the charts they get to choose the prime meridian.

  Me: I wonder how the Spanish feel about that. They’re probably just a bit bitter.

  Mark:  We aren't concerned with how the Spanish might or might not be feeling, lets move on. With Greenwich being 0 degrees longitude, the Earth is measured in 15 degree increments going to 180 degrees East or 180 degrees West.

  Me: Why do they do that?

  Mark: Why do they do what?

  Me: Reuse the numbers, only going to 180 .Wouldn't’t it make more sense to count all the way to 360 rather than reusing numbers and confusing people by having a 30w and a 30E? That sounds like they were being obstinate just to confuse people.

  Mark: No,  they weren't being obstinate, they were…never mind. You understand, yes?

  Me: Yes.

  Mark: Ok, each degree of longitude is divided into 60 minutes and further divide into 60 seconds.

  Me: Why do they call it minutes and seconds? That makes no sense.

  Mark: Yes, it does. They have to call it something and since early navigation utilized chronometry minutes and seconds it was.

  Me: So really the minutes and seconds mean nothing, just a means of measurement?

  Mark: Yes, you could call it anything so long as the measurement was precise.

  Me: So we could call it degrees, door knobs and doughnuts?

  Mark: Umm..

  Me: Doughnuts would be a good name. That would make me hungry though. Then I’d crave carbs. Carbs are the devil.

  Mark: (places head in hands) What ever, do you understand so far.

  Me: yes, I understand perfectly. I still think the Spanish are probably bitter about the Greenwich thing though.

  
  

  
  

To understand the story, start at the beginning

I knew a few things about Mark by our second date. Perhaps I wasn't quite aware of all his personality quirks, his likes or dislikes but I did find out one very important bit of information- Mark wanted to sail. Not just a little day sail around the bay but a transoceanic trip from New Zealand to French Polynesia. This was his life's ambition and the driving force behind his desire to retire by age 50. I being a bit of free spirited, try anything kind of a gal, took him at his word. If this relationship was to be mutually satisfying, a bit of adventure was going to be required. I was "down with that", so we filed it back in the "someday" file.

Christmas and birthday presents were easy for him- cruising guides for French Polynesia, charts for Fiji, sailing watches that not only told the time, but functioned as a compass, barometer, thermometer and split timer. It was fun to buy him these things with an eye to "someday'. I never thought of it as a frivolous, offhand, pie in the sky dream, it was something that was important to him and it was becoming increasingly important to me as well.

Fast forward almost 4 years and we are newlyweds looking forward to our life together. Sailing was still in the far off plans but it was easy to be distracted by work, a newly blended family, home owner duties, friends, kids, inlaws and outlaws etc. While starting our married life and making plans to move back to the UK, life threw us a curve ball. I won't go into details for many reasons but suffice it to say that sometimes through no one's fault, dreams don't come true. It was while sitting around in a deep funk that I picked myself up, wiped away my tears and made a new motto for myself " If your dreams are dashed and don't come true, dream a different dream".

Right. I made the decision that there were no guarantees in life and that if we spent all of our time thinking about "someday" we would find ourselves at the end of our life having done nothing of importance. I suggested to Mark that we should delay our departure to the UK and take advantage of our current proximity to the Carribean. We should spend a year with the youngest kid on a boat, cruising the Caribbean and either South America or the East coast of the US. After realizing that I was serious, Mark signed on and we got down to the business of dreaming a new dream.

That was 4 months ago. Most people take a few years to formulate a plan, purchase and outfit a boat. We would have 9 months before our tentative departure date of November, 2009. If 9 months is enough time to grow a human, surely it will be enough time to hone our sailing skills ( Mark is a bit rusty, I aspire to being a greenhorn), learn all that we can about navigation, safety, route planning, provisioning, financial planning, etc. etc.? It IS daunting and a huge challenge but what in life that is worthwhile isn't?