Happy Canada Day!!!

ASIDE:  Before I get started, I just wanted to apologize for any difficulties you may have had in posting comments in previous blog posts and in the lag between getting replies.  The glitch is on my side.  I’m still very new at this blogging thing and it appears that I have to approve all comments before they will show up.  This has been done now so any comments should be on the webpage and the kids will read them shortly.  Thank you all so much for your comments.  Please keep them coming, the kids (and Neil and I) love hearing from you.

Okay, on to this week’s post…

Happy Canada Day all!!  I hope your day was filled with good weather, fun activities and friend and family time.  Even though we are thousands of miles away, we are still feeling the Canada Day love.  Today, we decided to show our patriotism by changing over our boat from being Australian registered (previous owners) to being a Canadian registered boat.  Woohoo!!…now we are legal…almost.  I still have to put the Victoria, BC stickers on.

We are settling in well here on Trismic even though there has been no shortage of setbacks…well, I shouldn’t say setbacks, challenges…hmm, still too negative, projects!  Yes, that is what we will call them, ‘projects’.  It seems that every system that does not seem to be working properly is, well, broken and needs new parts.  We have been on board for five days and so far our water pump accumulator needs replacing, we don’t know how to switch from the port to starboard water tank and the port one has run dry (luckily we have water from shore while we are at the dock), we have electrical problems which is causing our navigation system to drain our batteries way too quickly, the steering on our dingy was seized, the BBQ doesn’t work and our freezer won’t freeze anything.  You should see all of the things that DO work on the boat though!!  I’ll let you know when I find them.  Just kidding.

Fortunately, there is a company on the marina grounds called Island Dreams Yacht Services (www.islandreamsgrenada.com) who can fix all of our problems…I mean projects…ahem.  Unfortunately, Grenada is a small island and, well, there isn’t a single accumulator pump on the island.  It wouldn’t be surprising to find that many of the other parts we need have to be shipped from somewhere else as well which may take a while.  I’ve heard stories of things being shipped to Grenada, Spain instead of here and of other things going to Wisconsin (WI) instead of the West Indies (WI).  So, we had only been planning to stay at the dock for six days but now we are waiting for parts which will likely take an additional week or so.  As far as places to be ‘stuck’ go, this one is pretty sweet.

On our first day on board, Nathan sat up in the fly bridge for a long, long, long time, alone and totally contented.  When I went to sit beside him to ask what was on his mind he said, “It feels really good to be home.”  We had left our family home over a month before and had been floating, living temporarily with family and then at various hotels in a few cities.  He was ready to have a place of his own again, to sleep in his own bed and at that moment, I knew he approved of our new home.  On our first night sleeping on board, after the sun went down and everything was dark and new, the kids got a bit apprehensive.  Millie was afraid of just about everything (sinking, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, you name it).  Nathan commented that he liked the boat a lot better during daylight.  Since that first night, though, Nathan has been in his element, always finding fish and is loving any responsibility we throw his way.  Millie, well, she is a character and since it is usually just the four of us, she feels comfortable enough to just let loose.  The day we moved on board, Neil let the kids know that from that moment henceforth, he kids were to reply to his requests with an “Aye aye captain!”.  Millie, knowing her Dad was being silly, came up with her own response which was, “AYE aye AYE aye AYE captain!!”  I don’t know where she comes up with these things but she sure keeps us entertained.

On another note, I met my first ‘Live Aboard Mom’ yesterday!!  She is an American who has been traveling the Caribbean with her husband and two kids for the past two years.  Oh the wisdom she must have!!  I swear the whole time we were talking I was just gazing at her starry eyed.  How had she done it?  What were the biggest challenges?  How did she home school?  Did she take summer holidays?  Did she feel safe most of the time?  How many band-aids, stitches, slings, antibiotics, etc. did she have to administer?  The questions were racing but I kept my cool and held up my end of the conversation…I think.  If she steers clear of me the next time she sees me, I’ll know why.

The one Golden Nugget I got from my first Live Aboard Mom (LAM) thought, was about a cruiser’s itinerary.  It is the answer to a question I have had a hard time asking and one that everyone asks when they find out we are going sailing for two years which is, “What is your itinerary?”.  Thanks to my fellow LAM, I now have an answer…

“A cruiser’s itinerary

is written in sand,

on a rising tide.”

I am ready to embrace this laid back lifestyle.  To all those who would like to join us somewhere along the way, you’re going to love it.

Meanwhile, back at the boat, here is what happens with zero screen time…

‘Till next time!