Tag: challenges

Irma

I’m pretty sure every boater east of the Mississippi has this lady on their minds. A Cat 5 hurricane, just weeks after Harvey, is about to rip its way through people’s lives. I’ve been obsessively checking and refreshing my weather updates, but the news is only getting worse. I am worried sick for everyone in the Caribbean and fearful for those in Florida. For everyone with loved ones in harm’s way, our thoughts are with you.

We are taking it one day at a time in North Carolina, as nobody is able to predict which way the hurricane will turn. Over Labor Day weekend, Conor and I focused our energies on things we could control and tackled a ‘to-do’ list we had of stuff to get done before we move the boat (weather permitting) on September 16th. Here’s what we did to keep distracted:

  • Scrubbed/cleaned the boat and outdoor cushions
  • Checked our fuel filter+engine fuel level
  • Topped off the water in our batteries
  • Tightened the stuffing box
  • Cleaned the AC filter
  • Replaced our water hose at the dock
  • Scheduled a hull cleaning for next week
  • Plotted our route to Gottschalk Marina and our overnight stays
  • Submitted an updated hurricane plan to our insurance for when we are no longer at NWC Marina

All this kept me from obsessing over the hurricane yesterday, but now I’m left with hardly anything to do today! We haven’t done any serious hurricane prep to the boat yet (taking down sails and dinghy, etc) because we are still playing the waiting game. If Irma does head our way, I’ll do a post on everything we have to do to keep our boat safe, and then cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Stay safe.

Love,

Taylor and Conor

One Month In

We’ve been living on our boat for over a month! I can’t believe it has been that long already. Also, I can’t believe we are already partway through July. Where did June go?? I wanted to do a quick breakdown of what we love/dislike so far (off the top of our heads). Conor is on leave for a few weeks, so it was a good time to make him brainstorm 🙂

What We Love So Far

Conor:

  • The feeling of walking on the docks to the boat after a long day at work (I mean, look at that view)
  • Sleeping on the boat
  • It is easy to determine what stuff is important when you have a small space
  • Sailing your house is pretty cool

Taylor:

  • The sense of community at the marina. Everyone looks out for each other
  • Writing up in the cockpit. My office has a view!
  • Sailing (duh)
  • Quality time with Conor (We’re always less than 10 ft from each other!)
  • Personalizing the boat and making it ours

sunset

What We Dislike So Far

Conor:

  • Our toilet. It’s a manual pump. We hate it. It is being replaced soon.
  • Learning to become “spatially aware” (aka not smacking his head on everything in the aft cabin)
  • Fixing stuff. Boat systems are different than house systems. It’s a learning curve. Google is our friend.

Taylor:

  • Laundry. Hauling 2 bags of dirty clothes down the docks in the hot sun to pay $5 per load is nobody’s idea of a good time.
  • Scout’s potty situation. We can’t just let her out in the backyard anymore to do her business! Leash+walks is the new reality.
  • Our toilet.
  • I hate docking/undocking the boat. When will it stop giving me such anxiety??

 

In other news, we will be taking the boat out on our first solo sail in the next couple of days! Weather permitting, though, we’ve had some terrible rain and thunderstorms over the past two weeks. It looks like there will be a break in the weather on Thursday and Saturday, so stay tuned for a (probably) eventful update!

Love,

Taylor and Conor