There is nothing like coming home. Having been gone for five weeks we weren't sure what to expect when we returned (would everything be rusty? would we have been overtaken by mold? would our hatches leak? would the boat have that 'old boat' stench? would cockroaches have moved in?). But you know what? It felt just like any other homecoming. You know the feeling: a sense of relief that everything is where you left it, a sense of comfort in the familiarity of "home", that distinct "empty" smell (not bad, just... different) that makes you want to fling open your windows and let in the fresh air...that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you realize that your little home has been sitting there happily, waiting for you to return.
It feels really good.
Because we didn't get in last night until 11:30pm due to a flight delay (Fun Fact: Scott and I have never, ever flown without an incident such as a flight cancellation, a blizzard, hydraulic brake issues, a re-routed flight and/or an "overweight plane") we opted to hop into bed and leave all the unpacking and reacquainting till the morning.
Bright and early, we were greeted by the glorious sunlight pouring in through our forward hatch and got to work making our boat livable and homey again. You might recall that we did a lot of preparation before we left, so not only did we have to undo all that, we had to unpack all our (four, giant) bags as well. It's been a busy morning. Despite our hiatus, however, we have fallen right back into step with ease; turning off the water pump before we go to bed, checking the engine oils to see how they fared while we were away, making sure the bilge was clean, opening all the seacocks, running the engine, changing the water filter, checking the batteries, only using a quarter of the paper towel and all that good stuff. It all came back so...naturally.
I guess you can say living on a boat is a bit like riding a bike, once you get back on you just know what to do. And you know what else? I haven't even missed air conditioning or refrigeration once (yet)!
Love,
Brittany & Scott
Note: Big, HUGE "thanks" to Island Dreams Grenada who not only ensured all our above questions were taken care of, but took great care of our boat (airing the boat, flushing the watermaker, checking the bilge...etc) in our absence. We would highly recommend their services to anyone looking for boat guardianage.
7 comments:
welcome "home". I heart your blog.
Sounds great - except for the 1/4 paper towel thing. I prefer a bit more than that.
How's the exterior teak doing on the boat since you coated it last year? I remember you talking about using a semi-synthetic spar varnish. Has it held up to the sun in the tropics?
Dave - you LITERALLY read my mind. We just took a hike and I was *just* thinking "I should do a post about how the Honey Teak has held up". The short answer is: it has held up awesome. Looks like new, no blisters, no peeling, no dulling...people come by all the time and ask us what we used. We are THRILLED with the results, 10+ months later!
Good to hear! Are you planning on doing an extra coat like once a year to keep it that way?
I am curious. What did you choose to bring back from home? Boat parts, special foods ???
@ Dave - yes, most likely we will at the end of this season or start of next...but for now, it doesn't even need it.
@ anonymous - we brought back toiletries stuff and food, mostly. our boat is chalk-full of boat parts so we didn't need those. Brought back our favorite energy bars, powdered hummus. tek towels, shampoo/conditioner, face wash, lotion, sunscreen...stuff like that.
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