Biggest Letdown EVER

We were ready to go. Everything had been put away. Our route had been planned out. Delicious snacks had been prepared. A big pot of sweet potato chili was waiting on the stove so we didn’t have to cook while we were underway.

But this morning we woke up to the skies looking like this:

Grey, cloudy, miserable skies

And the forecast looking like this:

Forecast courtesy of the BoM

We contemplated just going around to Horseshoe Bay on the other side of the island anyway… just so we could finally get out of the Marina. But then we gave ourselves a reality check and bunkering down at anchor during a strong wind warning and days of rain is not how we want to introduce almost one year old I. to life at sea! Nor, for that matter, is it the introduction that we want for ourselves to life at sea with her!

So, reluctantly, we called it off.

This is a huge letdown and the disappointment is real. We have been trying to leave, what seems like, forever and for one reason or another (Haul-out plans being a big reason!), have always put it off. All of the stars had finally aligned and we were ready. As disappointing as it is, we know better then to fight the wind and weather.

However, ever the optimist, there are silver linings to this delay. Firstly, we have friends arriving on the island today and Friday who we were going to just miss! Now we get to spend time with them and their babies! Yay! Secondly, after the berth next to us being empty for a year (yikes - that is how long we’ve had the boat here!), we woke up this morning to very silent neighbours. They seemed to be in a hurry to catch a plane and promptly unloaded the contents of their fridge on us! Ah-mazing!

So… we will try again soon! Watch this space!

One Job a Day

Life on a boat is generally a bit harder then life on land, or at least it seems that way sometimes. Our life revolves around an endless list of boat jobs waiting to be done plus the constant maintenance that a boat requires. Then the everyday boring jobs just take longer. No dishwasher, no washing machine, no car. So errands can take a whole day. But that’s ok because time is what we have alot of and it’s a small trade off to be able to live the life we do.

Then you get, Life with a baby, on a boat. That definitely gets interesting. Between mealtime, naptime, playtime, swimming and then all of the other life-jobs, it doesn’t leave much time in the day. We generally budget an hour for meals. We still put our baby to sleep (Don’t judge us!) and that can sometimes take a half hour though more often then not, it’s much much quicker.

I would never get any of the extras on my list done if I didn’t set small goals each day. My motto is “one job a day.” That’s all I have to do, on top of everything else. I can certainly do more if I’m feeling like superwoman but all I aspire to is one. Some days I’m super ambitious in my goal setting, other days I give myself a break and set a super easy goal that I can definitely attain so that I can still feel like I’ve accomplished something.

Batty's 63 metres of anchor chain

Yesterday, I was superambitious. The day before we had taken the chain and the anchor off the boat and it was sitting on the dock (danger!) needing to be flipped and marked at 5 metre increments. It took me one nap time plus another hour and a bit to get it done but then we were able to put it all back on the boat and cross it off the list!

Vanilla Beans and Vodka

Today was an easy goal. I needed to make more vanilla. Even that seemingly simple task had it’s complications. To get to the vodka, which is appropriately stored under the baby’s bed, I had to clear off the bed, disassemble the bed, get the vodka, reassemble the bed and then make the vanilla. But it’s done now! Such feelings of accomplishment! It’ll be a huge bonus if I manage to plant a couple of seedlings that are waiting for some love!

So that’s how I get through life… with one job a day!