What's next?

This picture doesn't quite work here, but I took it and love it.

We are now at docked at the quaint little Cooley's Landing Marina.  Floating.

Yes, you read that correctly.  We are no longer a) on the hard and b) at a boat yard - both of these are facts to celebrate.  Life in a boat yard isn't that hard, as I wrote previously, but it's definitely not nice.  It feels great to be buoyed by water again and in view of a little grassy park, a pavilion, and palm trees instead of gravel, jack stands, and travel lifts.  It feels nice to wake up to the sound of singing birds and lapping waves as opposed to the sound of an erratically whizzing power sander or soda blaster.

And yet, I am not sleeping well.

I wake up between 2-4:00am and from there, it's eyes wide open city.  No fun.

Here's the thing - now that we are back in the water - we are prepping for the Bahamas.  This is the next big milestone in our journey and not only involves provisioning the boat for three months (seriously?!) and crossing the Gulf Stream (famed for it's, shall we say, "moodiness") but it means we will be away from the comforts of convenience.  We have been living in Ft. Lauderdale the past month which, if you have never been here, is a mariners paradise.  Whatever you need for your boat, it's here.  Need to have a flame painted on the side of your boat?  Want to add a tiki bar to your aft deck? How about a hot tub?  There are probably 20 vendors lining up to do it.  That's the name of the game here and we've enjoyed this during the last few weeks of boat preparation and work.

This is not how it will be in the Bahamas.  Not only is everything 2-5 times more expensive there, but resources are fewer and farther between.  If (and when) something does go wrong...it will be a major exercise in resourcefulness and patience.  Having lived in Tanzania, East Africa for three years I have played this game (you have no idea), but for some reason - I continue to go through list after list after list in my head, after which, of course, I start playing that "what if" game...and we all know who wins there.

I think what I am going through right now is what keeps people at the dock forever.  Wanting to be 100% prepared and 100% ready for everything that lies ahead and that is just not possible or realistic.  Show me a cruiser who was  prepared or ready for every situation he/she encountered and I'll show you a liar.  I mean, we're not going to the moon for god's sake.  That's the Pacific...

That said - we cannot wait to get there.  We cannot wait to sit at anchor for as long as we want.  Cannot wait to jump in the crystal clear water for a morning swim.  Cannot wait to dingy to shore for a stroll on the beach.  Cannot wait to snorkel and spear fish.  Cannot wait to partake in cruisers happy hours (duh!).  We are so excited we can taste it.

I guess that's the thing - as long as the excitement outweighs the apprehension, you're good to go.

That said, we hope to be Bahama-bound in the next 10 days or so, depending on the weather gods, of course.  Ready or not, we're a comin'!

Love,
Brittany & Scott