After reading over my previous.....dissertation i promise to TRY to keep these blog updates to a much more appropriate length. Not sure who's reading this anyway but i would hate for you to get bored Haha.
I got the GREAt news today that we are planning to set sail on Sunday! I have been on the boat --in the harbor-- for 6 days now and away from home already 12 days and no sailing fun has yet to be had. When i arrived in Ft. Lauderdale and got to the Marina i knew that there would be some delays. we had to get the boat's alternator fixed, one of the gps replaced, repair the water purifying AND wait for condusive wind to even be able to get The Arctic Tern out onto the water. But i dont think we expected things to take quite this long. However, I cant say that this waiting period has actually been all that bad. It has given me a good amount of time to read up on our various destinations, familiarize myself with the boat and her interworkings, get to know Captain Ken and wife, Tina Duncan, while also having some time to run(more of which i need to be doing as getting sufficient excersize on this boat might not be possible soon). But, man am i ready to get this show on the road!!...or sea..
My initial excitement is simply to get somewhere warmer than here. It has dropped to some pretty cold temps at night on the boat and sleeping has been rough. Last night i dreamt that i had fallen from a life of comfort as an English Lord to being a destitute bum sleeping on the streets of London in January. In a tragic gothic scene, i lay upon the snowy cobblestone road, just outside of a bakery's stoop where no kindheart Samaritan was to be found. Hypothermicly slipping into the Great Beyond, i clung tightly to my only barrior to the elements- some damp newpapers around my shoulders.... -Woke up to find that my blanket (singular) had only been wrapped around my neck only and i was shivering in my slightly humid and rather cold cabin up in the bow. I had to laugh at my subconscious melodrama for a second before preceeding to form a make shift cocoon of blanket and towel And force myself to sleep whilst ignoring my full bladder that i was NOT about to get up, go out the hatch into the drizzle and wind to walk a block away to the captian's lounge for a restroom Thank you very much! (you.may be judging me but you know youve been there too at some point in life!) All that to say... not much sleep.
I am of course also excited about the obvious..getting out and learning all that i can about ocean navigation and charting! To quote the immortal words of Charlse Muntz, "Adventure is out there". And i intend to find it haha. First, Lots to know!!
I've been talking a bit to our 'neighbor' (Older German guy who's 60' Catamaran looks like something a profoundly wealthy, well traveled Adventurer turned easy-going, salty dog Deadbeat would live in... in fact, i think that's exactly what it is.) and he has filled me with all kinds of eagerness to see our planned destinations and also a bit of terror at the possible dangers that he describes with a poorly hidden smirk in the corners of his mouth. If i had a dollar for each piece of unsolicited advise and empty warning i have gotten from people (sailors and non-sailors alike)in the last 12 days, i would own my own boat buy now. Haha but i suppose people just like having a part in the adventures thay hear about others going on...even if it is a useless statement about the direction of a current "down there by FL" (that isn't even enroute). I have remained gracious in conversation but i'm affraid it's been less easy to let go of privately. -->I think God is teaching me to have security in my own actions. If i were truely secure i don't think that i would feel threatened or annoyed by others' advise or desire to be a part of "my" adventure. Still praying about that one.
Well, I will keep you posted on when (if ever) we actually get to leave. Until then, at least keeping in touch and blogging are much easier. :) By the way, i love hearing from you so keep writing! -Ta
Post script: If there is anything that you Caribbean/Central America/Guatemala travelers suggest i go do or see or challenges you'd care to propose, let me know!!
I wrote down some Goals. I wanted to know what my intentions are and what i plan to accomplish. Something i have noticed about traveling, you should always have a plan and you should always being willing to deviate from that plan. Without forethought you run the risk of missing something you would have enjoyed or needed and also possibly put yourself in danger. Without flexibility and the readiness to go with the flow 'in the moment' you WILL miss out on something wonderful and will not be experiencing the fulness of life where you are. SO, i'm trying to cover the prior.
Goals:
Go scuba diving, See creatures underwater, See at least ONE shark, List 5 breathtaking things i have never seen before, Experience something GORGEOUS and not photograph it, Run farther than i am able, Hold a brief conversation in a different language, Eat something new/weird, Navigate the boat=steer, Do at least one thing that scares me, Start writing a novel...
Be bold with the Truth, Pray with a non-believer,Be a servant whenever possible,Start a Blog, Write to at least one person everyday, Be a prayer warrior...
Be Changed!
Hmmm...not exactly a plan but it's a decent begining. We'll see how it goes.
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