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A year living aboard comes to an end, a good ending

2K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Don L 
#1 ·
Sept 12 2020
46.2980926, -83.7904518

Pink sky in the morning, sailors ignore the warning and go home anyways. Sounds about right. The sky was a bit of an angry red when we hauled anchor but it was a short ride from devils horn to bruce. We turned down wind and poled out the genny to surf our way back home. With barely 5kts of wind we already had 3ft waves. It was sloshy and soupy but we were making 6kts. The north channel is as we remembered it. Steely black waters that are easily stirred up into sharp waves.

We surfed passed Sulphur Island where we've anchored many times before and even rode out a heavy storm once. We cleared the rock patches passed it and then around Thessalon Island. It has the first beach we "discovered" by sailboat. The rain was on by then, a misty spray that was relentless and making everything cold and slick. We passed the lighthouse we've used as a range marker on many returns to harbor and lined up the green cans. The whisker pole was dropped and headsail furled a mile back. The wind was blowing decent by now and even with all canvas down we were hauling butt in. A few thousand feet before the pier I put our engine into reverse. We rode reverse the entire way in and were still doing over 2.5kts. We cleared the fuel dock seeing cheering parents in the pouring rain. At the dock we made the turn sharply and took the wind on our beam. 1500rpm+ in reverse by then and still coming in a bit hot. Henry our dockmaster caught a line along with family. All masked and distanced of course. It wasn't an elegant landing but we didn't break anything and tied up just as the storm worsened and white cap waves were smashing down the fairway.

Cold. Wet. Tired. Accomplished. I don't think many, especially ourselves, thought this day would come. We picked up sailing about 5 years ago and fell in love and wonder with it. Who knew we could pull off a trip like this. Let alone in hard mode with major breakdowns, storms, and a pandemic.

I'd love to not wax cheesy clichés but I will anyways. Do something that scares you. Find a dream and follow through with it. You don't need to sell all your belongings and sail into the sunset, but find something that stirs you inside and haunts every minute of your day. Find that thing and do it. Young or old we all have no guarantee of tomorrow. The worldwide illusion of a cookie cutter life isn't wrong, but it isn't for everyone. Human beings got to where we are by pushing the edge and not only leaving our comfort zone but leaping from it. Be an explorer in any way you can. All we did was sail a boat as far and hard as we could but the rewards will last a life time.

We tackled this trip one step at a time. Making one day at a time. Sometimes just making tenths of a mile at a time. Forward progress was all that mattered. We did everything we set out to do and more. It was incredibly challenging but that's what makes it so rewarding. There is much work left to do but the initial mission is officially complete. Firefly will continue her adventures in 2021. We couldn't have asked for a better group of digital crew. Thank you for sharing our adventure and thank you for all the support along the way!

Random stats coming to our tired heads:

Nautical miles sailed: 6,010
Kilometers sailed: 11,130.52
Countries outside of Canada: 2
States sailed: 10
Island states sailed: 3
Global pandemics: 1
Shark close calls: 3
Bermuda triangle sailed: 2x
Hurricanes: 2
Tropical depressions: 2
Dolphins seen: hundreds
Loggerhead turtles seen: 8
Bomb cyclones: 1
Great lakes gales: 5
Boat best friends made: 5
Birthdays at sea: 6
Favorite food: mahi tacos
Worst smell: old conch shell
Jellyfish stings: 0, HA! NICE TRY EVIL BAGS!
Ice cream: 600 gallons (rounding down...inside joke)
Locks cleared: 72
Times sending Amy up the mast: 1
Unexpected engine stalls: 1
Haulouts: 6
Best anchorage: Bond Cay
Dropping the mast: 2
Raising the mast: 2
What the heck was that sound: 6,453
Times US CBP changed the rules when calling in and then acting like i should read their minds: 1,267,352
Memories made: millions
 
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