Mast up!

Sept 17, 2025

It’s the middle of September, long after we thought we would be living aboard, and we moved this past weekend from the house we’d rented on St. Simon’s Island for the summer as the owners were coming back to town, and into a week long rental that is mercifully closer to the boat. It’s been a summer of adaptation and flexibility, holding very lightly to plans while trying hard to not get discouraged or overwhelmed when things…do not go according to plan. Which, as I think about it, is a good primer for sailing.

But this past week (which was our planned splash date—when the boat is gently transferred back into the water—the mast and new rigging all went on, after completion of the chainplate installation. I know Kevin will write about that with all the technical details, as he’s the one doing the work. We are also replacing all of our through hulls, which are the bronze fittings that allow water to leave the boat but not get back into the boat. Most boats that sink do so due to faulty through hulls, so these are critical. Ours looked to be in decent shape, but we figured now is the time to install new ones that will last 20+ years and we will feel confident about them. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than just replacing the fittings; all the plumbing connected to them has to be redone, and this has held up our splash date. Currently, the plan is for the boat to go back into the water Friday, in a temporary slip right by the boat yard because the work will continue, but we will be able to move aboard.

Newly painted name, and mascot Mortimer! Note the gradient detail—excellent work Geoffrey and Rachel!

Which is so exciting! There’s been a lot of moving, from MA to RI to one place in Brunswick for 3 weeks, the house in SSI for 4 months, and now this house in Brunswick again for a week. We are culling things at every stop, paring back more and more. Some decisions were hard to make and have been postponed repeatedly (speaking for myself) before I finally gave up a skirt that I loved that would need ironing. Space is incredibly tight on the boat. Kevin will drive the Jeep back to MA to leave it there, and will take back a few items that we can’t bear to part with but can’t take aboard (my cowboy boots, for example).

Meanwhile, I was quite happy that two weekends ago some of the yard staff was working overtime and I was able to go work on the boat myself. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of months except to drive by. The yard operates 8-4:30, Mon-Fri, and since I’m working then, I haven’t been able to see her at all. She was a mess and my job was to start cleaning things, and it felt really good. We’ve now washed the sheets and Kevin is gradually transferring small loads to the boat as we make these final decisions. My clothes are whittled down to a duffel and a ziplock that has coats and swimwear in it. I was going to send that to the boat before I realized I still have to wear clothes the rest of this week!

Kevin goes old school to come up with solutions to challenges we face. We have a LOT of books on board for this purpose!

Last weekend, before we moved, we participated in a “Cruiser Challenge” at the marina, which is one of the events that they coordinate to build community. We were matched with another couple who live at the marina and twelve teams competed in some actual challenges. Some were mental challenges—Kevin knows all the answers to the Coast Guard’s safety quiz—and some were physical, like a slingshot challenge, or a particularly devious one that had us moving ping pong balls through chickenwire. Mosquitoes were the common foe and we got eaten alive, but it was a great time. Our team came in third to last, but it was a satisfying day for me as one of the challenges had us picking up live fish from a tub and identifying them, which was sponsored by a local GA university affiliated wildlife program. I GOT TO HOLD A PUFFERFISH. Life will never be the same again. They really do bob upside down when they’re all inflated and it takes them a while to deflate. Nature, what are you gonna do?

This was immediately after the puffer fish experience. My joy could not be contained.