Raising my glass

We're having a wonderful time, but it's not the same as we remember.  It's still beautiful.  The weather has been almost perfect.  (Because perfection is boring, there have been occasional squalls.)  But it's not the same.

I'm sitting here, at the Cooper Island Beach Club, where Steve remembers having his first Painkiller, and says I first ate parsnips. (Really? Yes, I loved them.  Crazy to travel so far to find something so common, eh?)  This is where we sat with friends, where we sat with Captain Bill, who always had a story to tell. 

There, there it is.   Capt. Bill.  This is the first time we've been to the BVI without him.  And, it's not the same. 

It's friends that we remember most.  So many times on this trip we've turned to each other and said "Wouldn't ____  love this?"  or "I wish we could show this to the _____ family."  I am loving the time with Steve and the boys.  We're so grateful to have this opportunity.  But it's not the same.  We are missing our friends, ones we will see again, and ones we won't.

Today is Friday, and I raise my glass to "A willing soul and sea room", but I shall also pretend it's Sunday, and have a drink for Bill, and to you, "Here's to absent friends."

Traditional Royal Navy Toasts:

Monday: Our ships at sea.
Tuesday: Our men.
Wednesday: Ourselves.
Thursday: A bloody war and quick promotion.
Friday: A willing soul and sea room.
Saturday: Sweethearts and wives, may they never meet.
Sunday: Absent friends and those at sea.

Sail Away

Geall - the lug rigged East Port Pram Firelord built in our basement

 Firelord and I have been sailing together since the year we were married.  It started out with a date on which he said something along the lines of "Sometimes I think I'd like to sell it all and just sail away."  To which I responded, "Do you know how to sail?"  Since his answer was "No" we had some work to do.

Soon after this conversation we went to the Denver Boat Show where we met Jim Cook of Victoria Sailing School.  We took Coastal Navigation that winter, followed by a Basic Sailing class.  Unfortunately the charter companies we contacted didn't believe that one could really learn to sail in dry Colorado.  Even though we were ASA certified,  we couldn't find anyone to charter to us.  Luckily Jim had the excellent idea of taking a live aboard Bareboat Cruise class in British Columbia with Sea Horse Sailing (owned by a friend of his).  That got us the cruise we wanted, the documented experience we needed, and so much more than we expected.

A lot of things happened on that trip.  We got engaged.  We met our good friend and mentor Pirate Captain Billy, whose influence is with us today.  We started working on our 10 year plan, to save our money, have our children, then sell it all (well, not the children, we'd keep them) and sail away.   We were going to live aboard, and raise our children as we explored the world on our sail boat.  That was more than 17 years ago, and so much has happened and changed since then.

Somethings haven't changed.  We still love to travel and sail and - here goes - we're taking the kids away from home for 7 weeks.  We'll fly in to Puerto Rico for a couple of days, then head to Tortola to pick up our boat.  We'll be on a 39' keel boat for 6 weeks in the Virgin Islands.  wow.  WOW!

How did that happen?  Did we have to sell anything to do this?  Nope. Not even one of the kids.

Firelord gets a sabbatical once every 7 years he works for his employer.  We've known for the last 8 years that this was coming.  We've been saving for it since then, and have had this specific plan for the last 2 years.  Now we're less than 6 weeks from leaving!  Woot!  Woot!  Woot!
 
It's not the "sell it all and sail away" plan we had back in the early years of our marriage.  Family obligations and a couple of recessions put a dent in those plans years ago.  But it's something.  After the hellacious year we've been through, this trip will be all the  more welcome.

This blog will be my attempt to share our experiences with you.  I don't know how often we'll be able to access the internet while we're away.  I don't know how much I'll feel like writing.  I don't know if I'll bring my computer.  If I bring it, I don't know how it'll stand up to the elements.  But I'll post when I can, and maybe I'll share some other stories too.  I'd love to tell you about Capt. Bill.  I'd love to show you pictures of some of the beauty we've seen.  And, if I'm really lucky (and get out the whips), maybe I can get the kids and Firelord to post now and then too.  :-)

Oh no.  Now I've got to plan and pack.  Agh!!!   ;-)