So far...

Alright, what are we doing to actually prepare for a change in life style such as this one?!  A lot!

I was about to type "trip" instead of "life style" and I think that this has been one of the biggest preparations we can make: knowing that we are moving onto a boat and seeing where life takes us.  There is no flight to book, there are no plans to make, there are no "once we get home" ideas: we are moving onto a boat and that WILL be home.  That's hard to wrap my head around sometimes; of course, it is hard for others to wrap their heads around, meaning that part of what we are doing is explaining and defending (to a degree) our decision to do this, but this isn't the posting for that.


So, some of our first steps have been to research and learn as much as we can.

We have been talking to the people who have boats at the marina where our 23-foot sailboat lives now and we have had the opportunity to sail with them.  We have learned that we are more prepared than we might have thought and that we have no idea what we are getting ourselves into... but, really, does anyone know what they are getting into when they move to a new city for a new job?!  We know that we are thinking much smarter than plenty of people who have just up and done this; and we know that we still have a lot to learn.

Last season, so that we could finally be on the lake sailing with ease, we bought a brand new 4-stroke outboard motor; easily one of the happiest days of our new marriage!  We found a slip on the marina Rob had fallen in love with years ago and we went out sailing every chance we had.  At the end of the season, we did not listen to the collective centuries of knowledge surrounding us and we left the motor on the back of the boat... without a cover... and with gas in the tank.  After a harsh winter of snow and ice, the motor did not like us: Rob was stranded by himself one April night, holding the boat off the rocks while swim-standing in freezing cold water, praying that someone would come by and tow him into the dock.  Thankfully, that happened and I still have a husband instead of a husicle (think Popsicle).

Rob brought the motor home and would work on it every few days (usually after a good harping by a land-logged wife) with no luck: it would start but was revving way too high and flooding itself out.  Finally, with some more harping, he relented and got it into a shop at the beginning of June (yep, there's a crap-ton of harping that can be done in a month!).  It would live at that shop for almost a month before being transferred to a shop with a mechanic licensed by the manufacturer of our motor, where it would live for almost another month!  All that time, all the one-year-old motor wanted was a whole new carburetor... Needless to say (I hope), we paid nothing for that repair other than time without our boat.

Now, as frustrating as all this may seem, I have faith that the Universe knows what's happening and does provide!  Not having a motor gave us the opportunity during Race Week to crew for two other boats, both captained by men in the their 60s, both of whom have been sailing regularly since they were teenagers.  That means we finally had the chance to see during high winds and low what these men and their crews did to get the best out of their sails and  the extra weight on the boat.  We had a chance to ask questions, get explanations, experience what sails should look like and how to read the wind, and - most importantly - we had the chance to get to know some very friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable, well-connected people who are our biggest cheer-leading squad for our upcoming adventure!

During this time, we have also thrown out, sold, and packed piles and closets worth of books, clothes, trinkets, DVDs, and "stuff" that will not fit nor be needed on the boat.  We have had a garage sale most Saturdays... though they usually end at noon due to Texas + July = heat that melts people.  We have bought MORE sailing books, joined forums for people living aboard, read a couple's blog who sailed around the world (and had not stepped on a sailboat before the one they bought for that circumnavigation), and we are reading the glossary of the largest (in sells and size) boating book in the U.S.  We have helped our cousin-landlord ready this house to be put on the market within the next couple of weeks, which included helping to get the carpets up and expose all the hardwood (SO wish we had done this a year ago!!!).  Week-by-week, this place feels more like a house and less like "home", bringing this life style change closer and closer, making it a little scarier as it becomes more and more a reality.

We're getting there, step-by-step, bit-by-bit, we are letting it sink in that we can - and WILL - get this all sold off or given away in the next two months and will be on our way to our new floating home.  As two people with almost six wardrobes (how do dirty hippies have THIS much clothing?!?!) and lots of cool trinkets, our biggest challenge has been to start thinking about what must come on the boat and what gets packed.  But, we'll figure it out... I mean, honestly, if the toughest question through all of this is: "How much stuff can I let go of to live on a boat, seeing the most beautiful parts of the world?", then there's not much to complain about!