Progress, slow but steady - dan













The deck hardware for our new inner forestay has been completed. What you see in the photo is the deck fitting (the part with two large holes), the angle bracket that will go below decks in the fore cabin and transfer the stay loads to the chain locker bulkhead and finally the flat backing plate that will go on the other side of the bulkhead, in the chain locker. I'm very pleased with how they came out. Conrad at Mystic Stainless did a great job on them. We had to have this gear custom made as there is nothing ready made for this application. The mast hardware has already been completed and is in the hands of our rigger, Jeff Morgan, for instillation. I'll have to wait for warmer weather in order to install the deck hardware as bedding compound and sealant is involved that require much warmer temperature. Once the mast is up and the deck hardware installed Jeff will fabricate the inner forestay, then we'll have our storm jib converted from a bolt rope to a hanked on type that will work with the new stay. So even in these frozen months things are slowly getting done.
277 days to departure

moving along - susan

i am conscious that time is passing and i have more direction in my every action.
my daughter has been home from mexico for almost 6 weeks and she has been going through her possessions. as a witness, i have been secondarily going through her life along with her. the reflection has made some tender moments for us. although i have been here through her entire life; i have not always been privy to what is going on with her. some pictures and memories have revealed details that i was not aware of the first time around - an ease of respect for each other allows us this honesty. the house is turned upside down, piles of items with specific destinations line the walls. the 2 recycling bins i have can not accommodate the load.

in preparation for putting the house on the market i am fixing up the kitchen, a task long overdue. a dishwasher has been purchased and is waiting to be installed, along with a new sink and faucet. now as i look inside the cupboards i mentally decide what i can do without up until the time we leave. many of us accumulate gadgets that seem to make our kitchen chores easier, but they really are not essential. the butter churn and the egg "sizer" may need to be packed for sometime in the future when the need for these items may or may not come. i can still see my grandfather harvesting the left behind equipment at an egg farm he bought many years ago. he never kept chickens but these tools were in the outside sheds.

i am now wearing the glasses that allow me to see and sense the world with a new awareness. before i purchase anything these days i ask, do i really need this? will it be essential on gypsy? space will be limited. the stores of dry goods on my shelves are dwindling. (you could always borrow a cup of sugar from me or a...) i am trying to be creative and find ways to use up my supplies without buying additional ingredients to go with what i have. i love sales. the post holiday catalogs are coming in and there are some great buys! the need for an article of clothing that required dry cleaning was always scrutinized; now it is useless! how many rolls of dental floss do we need to stock? as i unroll the floss each day i attempt to calculate the number of days a roll will last. i may need to conduct this assessment more scientifically!

articles that have wedged into the recesses of the closets are being pulled forward to stand the test of need. this churning of the house is creating some churning inside of me. i noticed chelsea's discarded 9th grade athletic award next to the pile of rolling stones magazines that are waiting to be recycled; her room is virtually empty of her identity... boxes packed with her select possessions have been carried to storage.., this life review is creating increased passion to live each day, fully. - a favorable outcome...

Guidepost; words & images - dan

A couple of people have told me that they have enjoyed the poetry that I’ve shared in this blog. I’m not a big reader of poetry but some of it speaks to me in a powerful way that only poetry can. It seems to be able to bypass the analytical mind and speak directly to the soul on important matters. In the intense process of self-examination that has brought me to this journey I have used poetry and images as maps and guide-stars along the way. One of the images that has haunted me (in a good way) is a photo of Mahatma Gandhi’s possessions at the time of his death.

















It’s amazingly sparse collection of things for anyone, let alone for a leader of a country: two bowls, one white one black, a fork & spoon, two pairs of sandals, a pair of glasses, a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a watch, a letter opener, a figurine, a spittoon and his diary. This one image has been and continues to be a huge inspiration to me in the process of simplifying my life. It’s hasn’t been easy to reduce my possessions. To go from a large house, garage, basement and attic full of stuff, to what will fit into a small boat. Half a boat actually, because Susan is doing the same thing.

People have asked me; why not keep your house and store your stuff? The simple answer is that isn’t practical, but it’s much deeper that that. It started with the practical, but then I saw that photo of Gandhi’s meager belongings and a light went on. I’m not done yet, while I’ve gotten rid of about seventy percent of my stuff, it seems to be getting harder as the possessions grow fewer. I wonder if Gandhi was still working on his stuff at the end of his life. Could he have been thinking; two bowls, do I really need two? It could be, it’s a process, a journey.

I have come to believe that things hold us as much as we hold them. And that possessions can hold us back from the things that we may want and need to do. Krishna Das has said that one of he most powerful things we can do is “letting go”. Eventually we come to the place where we have to let of it all and become it all. Where we flow "into the marvelous stream of oneness."

Another guidepost and inspiration for me along the path has been this amazing poem by Thich Nhat Hahn:

I Will Say I Want It All

If you ask how much do I want,
I'll tell you that I want it all.
This morning, you and I
and all men
are flowing into the marvelous stream
of oneness.

Small pieces of imagination as we are,
we have come a long way to find ourselves
and for ourselves, in the dark,
the illusion of emancipation.

This morning, my brother is back from his long adventure.
He kneels before the altar,
his eyes full of tears.
His soul is longing for a shore to set anchor at
(a yearning I once had).
Let him kneel there and weep.
Let him cry his heart out.
Let him have his refuge there for a thousand years,
enough to dry all his tears.
One night, I will come
and set fire to his shelter, the small cottage on the hill.
My fire will destroy everything
and remove his only life raft after a shipwreck.

In the utmost anguish of his soul,
the shell will break.
The light of the burning hut will witness
his glorious deliverance.
I will wait for him
beside the burning cottage.
Tears will run down my cheeks.
I will be there to contemplate his new being.
And as I hold his hands in mind
and ask him how much he wants,
he will smile and say that he wants it all—just as I did.

Thich Nhat Hahn, 1954.

281 days

Bertha has a little sister - dan

UPS has just delivered our new anchor and, how can I put this delicately, our (big boned, plus size, heavy set?) 73 lb Rocna anchor now has a bran new little sister who is lighter, yet still can hold much more that her own weight. I haven’t unwrapped it yet but the new anchor is an A140 Spade that’s rated for boats up to 65’ long, 44,000 lbs displacement and amazingly only weighs 33lbs itself (all aluminum construction).
These two new hooks, in conjunction with the two Fortress anchors that we already have, completes our anchor requirements. Now we’ve got to set them all up with the appropriate chain & nylon rodes.

It’s interesting how sailing folk tend to anthromorphosize the important things on our boats. I think it's because we hope that the important parts of the boat, and even the boat itself (things that our lives depend on) will consciously work to keep us safe. Now I know that’s not a rational thought but won't tell that to Bertha, our number one anchor, or to Brendan, our steady & true auto pilot (named after St Brendan the navigator), or to the grand lady herself, Gypsy. Oh no, I want everyone rooting for us when the doo doo hits the fan.

How Bertha got her name - Right after we got the big Rocna and were admiring it (we actually danced around it) Susan suggested we call it Betty. Now I think Betty is a nice name but to me it didn't sound “heavy” enough to serve as the moniker for our primary anchor, something that I hope will be able to hold us and 22,000 lbs of vessel safely through any storms that come our way. I told Susan that we need a stouter sounding name, something like Fraulein Klaw. I can’t remember who suggested Bertha but that seems to have stuck. I don’t know what or even if the new anchor will get a name but if it does, perhaps Betty might fit the bill.
283 days...

Balance - dan

In trip planning and in life in general I have found Susan's diverse energy complementary and a good counter balance to my focused approach. I have a tendency to concentrate on important goals and can sometimes miss out on life’s serendipitous opportunities and magical moments of whimsy. The difference between us has provided the basis for rich, rewarding conversations that I believe are forming foundation for a full, exciting and adventure filled life.

One thing that has entered our long-term plans that sprung from Susan’s spontaneous nature is a possible road trip though the mid & south west USA during hurricane season, 2010. We had been reading a book about the reintroduction of wolves into the Yellowstone that made the place sound beautiful and compelling. I mentioned to Susan that I’d never been there. She said that she hadn’t either and suggested we go. It sounded bit too much with all we have to do to in preparation for our voyage and I said so. Susan offhandedly suggested that we go during our first hurricane season; “after all, we were looking for something interesting to do during the five months that we plan to park the boat on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala”. So instead of selling my mini van when we castoff, we’ll pack it with camping equipment and leave it with friends during the first seven months of our voyage. We’re talking about not only taking in Yellowstone but also the Grand Canyon and possibly swing by the Burning Man project in Nevada along the way. I’m not sure what exactly we’ll end up doing but I feel confident that it’ll be fun and exciting.

284 days till departure

intention susan

uncertainty about ones future is no reason not to make a plan. i'm famous for "to do" lists but usually those are "have to" lists... so when dan says, how long to do think you would like to stay in georgetown, bahamas, i stammer, well, i don't know what it will be like there and, whether we will be exhausted, or... we are doing our homework... and by the readings and information we have been collecting, we can at least estimate what we want to take in in any given location... reading others' blogs has been very informative. to be honest, my way of making choices has not always been one of intention. i'm the easy going one; as long as the rest of the family was happy i was the one who also could make a good time. and even when an experience was not so good (and i can be honest, there were those times...) i could usually take that information and try to learn from it for the future... but what i have learned from all this is that, for the smaller decisions, i rarely created my own intention. this process was slow in evolving... what do you want to do susan? what serves you? the process is subtle; maybe unnoticeable to the observer... moving more consciously through my life creates new meaning. i have learned to start at the core. create the quiet so that i can listen. scan my body; keep my mind out of it initially. is my breath full and steady? let go of tension. i am a composite of my life experiences; the only child of a loving couple growing up in a small hamlet in western new york, an extension of a family seen in the community as physically strong, hard working, fair... my stay- at- home mom was the mirror who supported my individuality and encouraged me to do what i knew to be "right" and to be comfortable with the consequence... so decisions about what i want and what i need come from the route of "me"... to blossom, one must let go of some of the familiarity, the comfort zone... how will i know if the water feels refreshing unless i plunge in? so, when dan asked, do you want to join me in sailing around the world? my intention was clear when my answer was, yes.

Dates – dan

Susan and I spent a good portion of last weekend poring over charts, cruising guides and surfing the web as we labored to develop a preliminary itinerary for our first year of cruising. It’s necessary to have a schedule because of hurricane season. We want to transit the Caribbean during the safe season and make sure we get to the Rio Dulce, one of the safest “hurricane holes” in the Caribbean, before the circular storms start flying.

We got very excited as we read about one terrific not-to-miss spot after another along our route. The charm of Luperon in the Dominican Republic, the fun and camaraderie at Georgetown in the Bahamas (aka: summer camp for cruisers), the isolated and pristine beauty of Acklins Island, the friendly people of Isla Mujeres (island of women), the Mayan ruins & stunning beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula, the world class reefs & atolls of Belize, the rich Garifuna culture & musical traditions and the lush rain forest of Guatemala. Oh my!

I’ve plotted the high points our route on this small map; there will be countless intermediate stops along the way. We're hoping some friends and family will be able to join us along the way, so please check out the map and let us know if any time or location is of particular interest to you.
293 days till departure

296 – dan
Two hundred and ninety six, that’s how many days left till we cast off for Bermuda and beyond. Yes, I’m now counting down the days but not like a prisoner, oh no that would be easy. I’m counting them down like a nervous project manager fretting about whether or not we’ll have enough time to do all things we need to do before we blast off. Time is a ticking bomb, it’s the burning fuse on a stick of dynamite, the setting sun on a too short day and I fear we’ll not have enough of it to do all the things that must be done. At the same time I remember to remind myself that this is our time, our precise time to shine and enjoy, to revel in all the care and imperfection that we’re investing into our journey, into our future. The future, the past and now; they are all related, knowing that enables me to tolerate this bitch of a frozen ass winter that is slowing down the boat projects and keeping me off the water but soon, soon, all too soon things will change like freight train, like a jet plane or a shooting star and we’ll be off…

Genius or Fool? – dan

Did you ever do something that you thought might be a brilliant idea or stupid blunder but you couldn’t tell at the time? That’s where I’m at right now. I ordered a BFA (big frigging anchor) and in a fit of upsizing ended up with a Rocna 33, a 73 lb monster of an anchor to replace our ordinarily sized 44 lb Delta.

I had started out intending to up size just a bit as I usually do with anchors. I originally ordered a Rocna 25 (55 lbs) from West Marine. But as I thought about it, I wondered; it is really big enough? It’s plenty big by the manufacture’s specifications but what about real world, awful conditions; don’t want that anchor to drag scenarios? Thoughts of past times where I dragged and had spent hours motoring into a storm in order to keep from ending up on a dreaded lee shore. So I called West Marine and they graciously agreed to upgrade my order to the Rocna 33.

Well that bad boy arrived just after Christmas and what a beast it is. The FedEx guy didn’t even bother to get it to the house, he just left it out on my front lawn. As I struggled to drag the bastard up on my porch I wondered if may have gone a little overboard with in my anchor sizing zeal. And I’m still wondering; will it fit on the bow, will the bow ride 3” lower and unbalance the boat, will the windlass even be able to lift it? Time will tell.

Other news:
An angel crash-landed in my back yard, barely missing my house. Good thing as I don’t think my homeowners covers that sort of thing. She seems to have survived the plummet ok. Turns out she had a few too many shots of mescal followed by too much tequila on New Years eve. Me, I just blew chunks, no snow art involved.

A recent view from Gypsy's port side

the greatest gift... susan

the holiday season was delightful, filled with friends and family and possibility...

i have been blessed with two wonderful children; chelsea, 25, a free-spirited spirit, an inspiration to the soul searching individual. she has spent the 2+ years since graduation from kenyon college traveling and working at various minimal paying jobs, first in ecuador for a year, next in mexico. she has discovered vipassana meditation and permaculture and has become trained as an esl teacher. she is fluent in spanish and has made friendships with a long list of adventurers along her way... david, 23, has embarked on his first professional job. following his graduation from georgetown university in may he has taken employment in d c with deloitte consulting. he has always been entrepreneurial; from his painting business started in high school with his third grade friend, clay, to campaigning for various candidates he felt passionate about... a "real" job caused him pause to contemplate the years of work he has witnessed his parents and grandparents before them add up in the attempt to reach the american dream... and what is that dream? and at what cost?

dan and i have shared our stories and we were the ones who graduated from college and knew that we needed to work hard and steady to reach our economic independence...
the ends of the spectrum of choice become represented in my children... and in dan's and my choices about our living... we are now stepping away from the work ethic value that was instilled in us as young impressionable beings and are launching into the unknown... the choices we make will be influenced by our funding; we have learned to find the happiness in simplicity...

taking this cast of characters, let me set the stage... it is christmas eve, david, dan and i prepare a hearty pot of soup and share stories of our dreams fulfilled and of our dreams shattered, all with a balance of acceptance for what we have become... interlaced with the drogue splicing we made it to christmas morning. the kids no longer wake me at 5 am to see if santa made it to our house - i wake them at 10:30 to invite them to brunch. we casually sit around the table and as the conversation evolved so did the history of the polar express. mom, that's me, always broke down at the end of that book (as with many of the others that i read to my kids). the kids loved the story but it seems equally they enjoyed seeing the vulnerability of their mom! of course that prompted me to bring out the book and each of us in turn read a page aloud and laughed and cried together... the day was filled with laughter, and thoughtful gifts and good food...my mind occasionally drifted to the thought that this would be our last christmas in this house, with these familiar christmas decorations and the memories...

there was a significant shift for me during the passing of this holiday. my children up until this time had not spent much time with dan. the most important people in my life were gathered together and we found comfort and interest and respect with one another. there is no greater gift i could have received...