A great American writer once wrote, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain

So, as we heed this advice, the S/V Dreamer (aptly named), prepares to throw off those bow lines and to explore, learn, and discover as much as we can. There is lots to be done. So many roots, grounding us, filling us with trepidation, yet exciting and exhilarating at the same time. We find ourselves overwhelmed.

We know we won’t get everything done before we cast off those lines … If we wait for the project list to be finished, and every plan to be perfect, we’d never get to leave!  There are some key boat projects that must be done though …. Solar panels, new main sail, and some canvas work are the big ones. After that, there won’t be much to hold us back, except for those darn roots …

We have a house, cars, and many other aspects of our shore life from which to untangle ourselves, and which must be done, even more important than the boat tasks.

The last two weeks have been spent purging and packing possessions from two separate households, cleaning out the garage, selling furniture, selling cars, getting house ready to rent, attempting to start this blog, scheduling the pooch for his “snip, snip” surgery, scheduling annual eye and doctor appointments and discussing medical plans with doctors, researching solar panels, researching steel fabrication needs for solar panel mounting, lining up vendors to give quotes on solar panel installation, installing a battery new bank on the boat, researching navigational and electronic equipment needs, cleaning storage compartments on the boat, and hauling off old boat stuff destined for the nautical yard sale. I’m sure there is more, but that’s just to name a few 🙂

For now, our sail plan is flexible and destined to change with the wind, but in general this is our current intent:

March/April 2014 – We will move the boat to a family members private dock on Sarah’s Creek, which is just across the York River from Yorktown, where we will continue boat projects and enjoy some sailing in the lower Chesapeake.

April through August 2014 – The voyage will begin by heading North up the Chesapeake Bay with stops in places such as Annapolis, Baltimore, Havre de Grace; and then further North up the East coast to New York, Block Island, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Boston, and ultimately Maine.

September/October 2014 – It will be a straight trek back to the Chesapeake Bay, with a layover in the Deltaville area until after hurricane season in mid-November.

November/December 2014 – We will hit the ICW South to the outer banks of North Carolina where we’ll spend Thanksgiving with Howard’s family at a beach house. Then, it will be a chilly ride as fast as we can to Key West for Christmas!

January/May 2015 – Florida Keys for sure! …. Bahamas? … Maybe!