Transition to a Dream

Transition to the Dream


10/5/2009 by: Howell Cooper, S/v Why Knot, Port Aransas, TX

For years, my life mate taught 8th grade English. As they say, rain, hail, sleet, snow and even illness never stopped her from “standing and delivering”. It was such a routine that it took over three years to get her to actually retire. I thank the foolishness of the administrations, federal, state and local for providing the actual catalyst for her retirement. We discussed how I would make the transition with my company and get the time to loose the dock lines and extend our weekends to months cruising. Her retirement was a milestone but not quite enough make my mindset actually embrace the concept. It will be like the realization I had standing in the door of a C-130 so long ago when the jump master said “go”. Who me? Now?

We have now added capabilities to Why Knot (our Beneteau 411) to allow my “virtual office” to function. That did not enable my mindset to start the process toward that moment when we take in the dock lines and head to sea without a return date. After adding several technical items, I am now starting to actually allow myself to dream a bit. The reading has expanded and now the stack of articles is getting too thick to store. So much for recreational reading. The past few weeks have been spent working on the list both aboard and at home. We are keeping our house for that time when we will no longer be able to sail. That is something most cruisers discourage, yet it fits our realistic evaluation of the remaining physical capabilities we think we have.

I recently met a marine surveyor that made an interesting and somewhat eye opening statement. He said that one needs to read the guides but bear in mind that much of what has been written is not first hand and in some cases, the authors admit to writing articles many months after the fact and with fabricated information. I don’t think that is the rule but I do think one must be prepared for the changes that Mom, as we call Mother Ocean, has made since the articles. This means that everything is subject to error.

Now that it is turning cold here in Texas and we know that it will possibly be even colder when we leave Port Aransas, we are working on attitudes. Northerners really don’t understand that native south Texans are actually cold below about 65 degrees. So, the clothing gear comes into play. Winter stuff and how much to take is an issue storage wise.

The Countdown to Launch



S minus three weeks (more or less):

At home going through the barn surveying all the stuff I have been saving for “when we go cruising”, I am finding way more stuff than Why Knot can carry. It is just three days before Christmas and we have a lot of stuff to do with the family before we actually transport said stuff to the boat. Not only that, but the autopilot control heads are still at the factory for repair. Notice I said heads? The original died so we bought a “new” one on EBay only to discover that it too was not working. Both were sent to the manufacturer for repair. Meanwhile, the seller from EBay is involved to see if we can get the new on covered under warranty. Who knows on that one but as expected, things are jamming up against our unscheduled departure. The ditch bag emergency water maker needs inspection which will not be done before mid January if I get it and a couple of boat units to the manufacturer fast. Another trip to the UPS store is what I don’t need at this time. Topping the list is a slow house painter that may further delay our getting to the boat to do the preparations. Three years in the making and there is, as predicted by everyone, still a list.

S minus 21 days, more or less

I have never been a late sleeper but I have managed to make it to 0900 a few times in recent years. Not so now as the internal alarm goes off around 0500 with gentle reminders of things yet to do and dreams about to be lived. The hardest part, we are told, is to actually climb aboard and “take in” the dock lines. We usually leave them on the dock even for whole week trips. This time, we will actually take them with us. We just received the companionway hatch doors yesterday and that will be the last pre-departure project. Now, I start to look at weather trends to see how they are developing. Of course, there is all that gear in the barn to be loaded.



S minus 20 days, more or less (Christmas day)

After a five hour drive to West Texas, we arrived to visit family only to find that everyone was having difficulty getting there due to a snow storm that blanketed the area. So we made it and I checked to see if some last minute orders had been delivered back home. Ok, so focus on the event and leave the boat list alone for a bit--- can’t do that completely. Thus, I am awake at 0400 to get some things done in the quiet of the morning. I had the pickup loaded with stuff to take to the boat; among the items is the ditch bag with water and emergency rations, which I remembered to take inside due to the cold outside. One would not want to find the water bags compromised in the event of real need of the bag. We are looking forward to being back aboard after the Christmas break. As I write this, I am thinking of more stuff to complete prior to push back.



S minus 19 days, more or less

Now things are getting serious. Bear just came home with the provisions, plus what she inventoried the other day from our household stuff. Dang, where are we to put the stuff. That aft cabin may no longer be available for guests.





S minus 16 days, more or less

It is down to the small stuff. Finally found a diver to do a last minute prop check, which is good news for this old carcass in that I don’t have to suit up and do it in the very cold water this time of year. I definitely was not looking forward to that. We will need the hull and prop clean as we are now riding a bit lower in the water. At least one question remains: do I take the extra headsail or not? It is a big one and difficult to store. We both admit to feeling weird. We are making the transition but really can’t get it properly stored in our minds that it is upon us. There is a kind of emphasis from our friends to “get together before you leave”. We aren’t sailing over the edge, just around the Gulf. Now the words of so many articles about the subject are starting to come into view. I guess that is the hard part of this.

S minus 6 days, more or less

Ok, it is one last visit with some of our grandkids and a few more loose items to complete at home and the great adventure starts. The home computer and the ships notebook both took a vacation last week, thus a complete reload of the software and data in each. Thanks to an on-line backup service, this is merely a nuisance. Today was the last Sunday before the sail. We are both sure we are forgetting something important but at least we will still be in the USA for some time. Next week at this time, weather permitting, we shall be underway. Yikes! It’s here