Lots has Happened (or How 8 Months Just Drifts By)

I haven’t written a blog post since December 2021, which is crazy because a lot has happened since then. I’ve been thinking about another post for the last few days, but I’m struggling with where to start.

But first, we are now living on the boat full-time at Richmond Yacht Club. Through some divine intervention, we did get legal liveaboard status early this year, much sooner than we thought we would. We were in the middle of boat projects when it happened, and there was no way we could move onto the boat at that point.

To recount the last 8 months in quick bullet order:

1. We had a living situation set up in Berkeley hills that allowed us to housesit for a friend and work on the boat. That situation didn’t work out as planned in January.
2. Around the same time that wasn’t working out, the owners of the condo we used to own asked if we wanted to live in the condo 3 weeks a month and move onto the boat 1 week a month (they were not living in California but traveling here for business, so this arrangement worked out fine for a few months). When we moved into the condo, Ernie wandered around like he owned the place, and settled right in. It was a bit weird, because it did feel like we owned the condo still – we’d sold our couch to the buyers, and a few other things, so some of the furniture was previously ours.
3. In February, we obtained liveaboard status. This was the point where my anxiety over our “vagabond” living situation chilled out, because no matter what happened, we now had a real legal place we could live.
4. In March, we traveled to Mexico and raced in Mexorc. Originally, I was not going to race, but the combination of being with friends and it being a “bucket list” race for racers as well as stupendous sailing in Banderas Bay, I basically started up racing with this regatta.
5. At the end of April, I went to Los Angeles and spent the weekend with other girlfriends to celebrate a friend’s birthday. It was a blast – we visited the Getty Museum (and ate lunch there), and wandered around downtown LA. I have a new appreciation for LA. I also came back from there with Covid, so spent 2 weeks living with another girlfriend who was there who may or may not have also gotten Covid. What happened in Covid Club stayed in Covid Club.
6. David and I started racing the San Francisco ocean racing series on Adrenalin, a Santa Cruz 50, which took us out into the ocean. It was more experience for me than David, as David has been doing these races for many years on different boats.

We finally moved aboard full time on June 27, 2022, amidst the end of a battery upgrade project and 5 days before we departed for Europe to our new-to-us boat in The Netherlands (another post to come on that).

As of this writing, we’ve been aboard for 2 weeks now and heading into the 3^rd week. I have been asked if I’m good with this lifestyle, and I am… it’s simple, quiet, pleasant. I don’t miss the space we had before, and I’ve set up “office” on the nav station. It’s intimate and you certainly have to be able to get along well with the person you live on the boat with, and we do get along great. (Truth be told, David and I did have a couple of issues, but we fixed them. I think it’s near impossible for that must adjustment in such a short time and not have some upheaval in your relationship.)

When I wake up in the morning, the cool breeze of the water comes through the hatch. I poke my head out of the companionway to take the dog for a walk, and the first thing I see is water off of our “back porch.” On those afternoons where it’s beautiful outside, we can sit in the cockpit and read and have dinner out there.

I’ve learned I just don’t need a lot to be happy. Frankly, I don’t think anyone does, but that’s just not the way the world works!