The number one question I have been asked in the months leading up to our adventure is “Are you ready?” That’s a tricky question. Mentally, physically, emotionally? Do I feel ready? For me, the answer always seemed “almost but not quite.” In the spring, we took a Safety at Sea Course offered by US Sailing, which I highly recommend. Like a fire drill at school, I hope never to need to use the techniques we practiced: Flares, liferaft boarding, and damage control, but we feel better prepared.
Throughout June, July and August, items were purchased based on advice from other sailors for homeschooling and boat life in general. In August, Helia2 was hauled out for bottom paint and general maintenance. Every visit to the boat while she was on land, we moved these things onboard. She was put back in the water one day after Hurricane Erin passed offshore. With the sudden realization that we were leaving in less than two weeks, I started gathering a box/bag or two of items from each room that would make the boat “feel like home.” This is very different from packing a suitcase for a week business trip or family vacation. Our goal is to spend most of the time in tropical climates, but it does get chilly at night in the fall on the east coast and on offshore passages. IMHO- I can vacuum bag (another amazon purchase) the sweaters when we get to Antigua. For weeks, I have been eyeing areas in the bilge to put “the spare — just in case stuff.” My goal was to move these items on the boat weeks ago, get it all stowed and organized and then possibly even return a few items back to our house if I accidentally had duplicates. I wanted some art supplies and fun activities for Jenna (and us). I thought that kitchen appliances like an air fry, instapot and induction hot plate (yes we have solar and good batteries) would be a nice addition to our propane oven/range. I also snuck on a few “luxury items” like a mini-countertop icemaker and my favorite pair of slippers and a few extra pair of shoes had been loaded on weeks earlier. Don’t worry I will find a spot for these 😂.
In mid August, Jenna started homeschooling while I was still working. This had some positive and negatives, as it was a learning process for both of us.
Our multiple checklists were slowly getting completed. Are they all done? No. The Helia2 opening blog makes it sound like we planned to leave on the day after Labor Day. Not exactly. Our intention was to leave the following Thursday or Friday, but weather conditions suggested otherwise. By departing on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, we hoped to have two days of modest downwind sailing and more importantly to avoid the strong headwinds and choppy seas that were predicted for Buzzards bay and Newport Sound on Thursday. With 5-7 days of packing and organizing now squeezed into 3 days, I was not “feeling ready.” I have a tea towel that says “Oh Relax. Obviously nothing is under control.” That about sums it up.
Our last two days at home, we let Jenna focus on playing with friends while I set out to get provisions (a.k.a. groceries) and to grab an order of our favorite Chinese food. On Monday afternoon: Are we going to fit this all in the car? It was tight but we managed it! Only four trips in a dinghy (a small inflatable boat) to cart the last things from a sandy shore out to our boat on a mooring. Now, no doubt, we are a couple of inches lower in the water. I confess for several days I use the guest stateroom as a junk closet. I should have taken a picture. Since departing, I have spent several hours each day trying to find the “right spot” for some things and locating things that magically seemed to have disappeared. (“Really how do items magically disappear on a sailboat!”)
I know I will revise as we go, but now, I feel ready.