Back To The Boat

Written around 2am in the Mexico City Airport:

 As our Lyft slowly pulled away from my in-laws house, I was in a contemplative mood.  Morale seemed dim inside the nicely appointed SUV and I knew it wasn’t just the kids.  It was me too.  Coming back to the US for a family visit always brightens the crew’s spirits but its tough to leave the family behind, especially when they have the trappings that the kids miss: consistent internet, ample water and ice, ample power and plenty of ice cream.  My morale seemed to be a bit dark too.  A minor panic attack took over as I thought through some of the navigation challenges we have ahead coupled with the fact that we’re getting farther and more remote than we’ve ever been…on the boat.  As the dark SUV hurtled down freeways bound for the airport where our red-eye waited, I knew that the boat was sound and the crew ready, but self-daught still crept in.  We were once again taking our kids very far away, to get on a very small boat on a very large ocean and haul ourselves further and further south; out of the warm embrace we’ve shared with Mexico and Mexican culture for the last 2+ years.  Perhaps this is where my angst was coming from, but more likely it was simply the minor panic attack coupled with over thinking all we needed to get done just to get back to the boat.  Airport check-in, new visas, customs, red-eye flights, customs and perhaps lost baggage on the other end, collection of the puppy and kitty and then getting the boat opened back up + more fuel for the longer trip to Costa Rica and a major provisioning along with some rain and storm weather.  Yup, don’t you know that full time cruising is a total vacation?  No really..it’s actually a lifestyle.  Some make it, some don’t, some fake it, some don’t…I say fake it till you make it.

One month later:

As you have probably already read in some of my previous posts, Tulum made it to Costa Rica without major drama.  Yep, we were stuck in the Bay of Fonseca due to weather and then came through the Papagayo….but we were blessed to be healthy and we were not alone.  We had our buddy boats with us for morale boost and weather discussions.  Heck, we’re on a 50-ft boat while one of our buddy boats was only 26 feet long, with two adults on it.  So yeah, we don’t have much to complain about.  The anxiety and minor panic attack I mentioned above..that I wrote about while sitting in the Mexico City airport was all too real, but we faced those challenges one at a time and made things work.  The HelmsMistress reminds me all the time that both of us have life experiences that others don’t and it’s ok to fall back on the confidence of your own experience even when facing a new and daunting situation.  It’s also ok to have that minor panic attack in the Lyft on the way to the airport, but becoming paralyzed by that anxiety will bleed over into real life and sap positive energy in a heartbeat. 

Living and cruising on a sailboat has not given us any kind of majic formula, we take some of this a day at a time; after we check the weather carefully, look for freighters and have LOTS of scope and rode out for the anchor. 

Another month later:

By the time you read this more contemplative post we will hopefully be in Panama. Sitting here in southern Costa Rica in the rain forest, in the rainiest part of Costa Rica….there’s been ALOT of rain.  Like rain every day for the better part of some days and most of those same nights.  We’ve already had multiple tropical waves come over us and several hurricanes have already formed this season, on the Pacific side no less.  We’re not from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) so we’re still learning to operate in heavy daily rain and storm weather.  But we’re learning to stay dry and we already know we’ll be buying a dehumidifier or air conditioner in Panama.  Soon to leave Costa Rica’s warm embrace, I’m hoping for some islands with clear water in northern Panama and some days of sunshine as we leave this very wet part of Costa Rica for a slightly less wet part of Panama.  We’ll see.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day, so happy early Fathers Day to all of you-