Sailing South

. . . at Last

We’re finally sailing south. Thank you, everyone who has helped, advised, or just put up with hearing us talk about going.

This trip has been long in the making – over two decades in fact since Kent and I bought our first real sailboat, our beloved 22-foot pocket cruiser. We trailered it south to Florida for our first week-long sailing trip with other owners of the same kind of boat. We loved Florida’s beautiful white sand beaches, blue-green waters, and fairly steady winds, and made many friends, vowing to come back after that first trip. And we went back. . . often.

Looking toward retirement a few years ago, we knew we wanted to cruise more. So we bought what we thought would be our ultimate retirement boat. Although our 26-footer was trailered south and enjoyed on many fall Florida cruises, we started wishing for a bigger boat to do longer trips in even more comfort.

When we finally retired, that’s when Carina, a 34-foot sailboat, came into our lives. The last 17 months were spent learning her systems, replacing what needed replacing on an 11-year-old boat, and trying to plan for every contingency. But at some point, you’ve got to quit planning and – as our friend Paul tells us – throw the lines on the dock. Paul, you’ll be proud: We are finally saying goodbye to friends and family Saturday and leaving our slip on Monday. For the first time, we’ll be sailing south, not trailering south.

Ultimate Destination?. . .Who Knows!

We have dreams about places we want to sail to. Our dreams have been influenced by friends who’ve done the Great Loop, calling it one of the greatest trips they’ve ever taken, telling us that it’s life changing.

On the other hand, they also say that cruising for months at a time is far different from cruising for just a week or two. So for now, we are taking our sailing adventure one step at a time. We’re sailing south.  

At worst case, we may be sailing south to another dock somewhere in Florida for Carina to be a floating, sailing condo for a short while. For a worst case, that’s not so bad.

Or we may be sailing south to the Keys; or sailing south, then turning east to the Bahamas; or sailing south, then north up the East Coast, then west to Chicago, and finally – you guessed it – sailing south again. Not having a set destination or schedule is part of the adventure.

You can keep up with our voyage through this blog, written sometimes by Kent and sometimes by me (Jane), at least that’s the plan. Like most boater blogs, we’ll post updates and photos when we can. Please check back often. Words of encouragement are always welcomed.

Those who know us well will notice we are light on some details of our background. The Internet is often misused by rascals now, and we’re trying to keep that from happening to us. We won’t be light on details of our adventure.

“Throwing the lines on the dock” is the sailor’s way of saying, “The longest journey begins with a single step.” We hope our journey is long. Even if not, we’re taking that single step next week. Follow us as we sail south on Carina.