29 days and counting

That’s November 6th, the day we hope to leave Cape Canaveral and head back south and over to the Bahamas. I’d like to say that I’m excited by the prospect, but that feeling will come later. Right now I’m just tired. Tired of the work, tired of the aching back, and tired of the stress of trying to cram too much work into too few hours.

This is not something new. I’ve felt this way every time we’ve prepared to take off on a trip. To give you an idea of what we’re up against, here’s an example of my to-do list for October.

Purchase and install three solar panels, empty our storage locker, get the washdown pump working, repair and connect our third water tank, install two more golf cart batteries, and lower our bimini so that the mainsail doesn’t rub when we tack. These are the things I feel must be done before we leave.

I would also like to add a water filter, build storage for our second and third anchor, and install the transducer that will allow our chartplotter to show depth. The transducer is last on the list because we already have a depth sounder on the boat, but it’s mounted across the cockpit from the steering wheel and with sunglasses on in the bright sunlight, it’s a bit of a chore to read the depth.

Now this is a small list compared to what we had when we arrived at Harbortown Marina, and it’s nice to feel as if the hard work will be coming to an end, but I’ve been boating long enough to know that the hard work never really ends.

We’ll travel for a little while, something will break down, then something else, and the list will begin to grow again.

So is it worth it? What do you think? I sure as hell look forwad to the coming months of island hopping, sailing in clear clean waters, and afternoon cocktails in the cockpit.

What about the rest of you sailors out there–what do you look forward to most when you’re prepping your boat for that next adventure?

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