Go

The good byes are done and the “see you next trip”(s) are delivered so it is time to return to the liquid world. By early morning tomorrow, we will be on the way back to New Orleans and Why Knot . We have spent the last month eagerly planning the departure from New Orleans and getting back underway. Not much will change in our itinerary as originally perceived except we will slow down a bit and since we will be behind the curve, time wise, doing the east coast, we may rethink the overall schedule. The bulk of easterners who have wintered in the Caribbean Sea will be heading back up the Atlantic Coast in mid April. We would have to skip a great deal of the Gulf in order to join that migration. We are told that there is much to see along the Gulf from Louisiana to Key West and we don’t want to rush it. The looming hurricane season does influence such plans but we can always find a yard in Florida that will put Why Knot on the hard during the season if we cannot get far enough north for it. For non-sailors, being on the hard means on stands in some yard where it is presumed that it is safer than being in the water if a hurricane hits. I am not sure that is true. The other option is to run back to Texas for the season, but we definitely do not want to do that. Anyway, off we sail about mid next week. Until then, we will be provisioning the boat again and doing what we can to help speed her recovery.
So, this being our last day at home for some time, we are “de-commissioning” the house and loading the “go box”. I am not sure the rental car we have will hold all the stuff we are taking back with us. What was that about off loading unnecessary stuff? We have enjoyed seeing old friends and our family, though we did not see the Fort Worth area family. We have enjoyed the house with the big compartments, washer and dryer, and the big refrigerator. We have enjoyed the endless supply of hot water and the big screen TV. We have enjoyed the solitude of the Hill Country but we have longed for and anticipated the return to Why Knot. We know that our window of physical ability to “cruise” will close some day relatively soon and time is not on our side so we must get on with it. We do this to fulfill a dream we have held so long. To complete the dream is to give us something to remember in the upcoming days at the “home”, to remember “being out there” and to someday sit on the porch, rock back a bit and be pirates again if only in our memories. Houston, we have ignition.