Life on Learnativity has been moving at a super fast pace the last month. Just two weeks short of a full year, we finally launched the boat back into the water at Vuda Marina in Fiji. It was a record for me of living on the hard. We had been going back and forth on whether or not to launch because we were booked to fly back to the states for the birth of grand baby Blair. We decided we would feel much better if we didn't pass that one year mark, so we launched and had to be towed to a slip.
It was a hectic last few days. While in the yard, we had emptied EVERYTHING out of the boat and most of it was stored on the ground under the boat. There was so much stuff to sort through and try to figure out where to put it. Since we are still finishing painting and installing new insulation in the engine room, lots of the stuff couldn't go back in yet. But finally, we went into the water and it felt great to be afloat again.
Poor Barney, though, had a difficult time making the adjustment. For nearly a year, I'd been walking the dogs in the morning and on the way home I let Barney off his leash and he would run in his funny bunny-hop run to the dirt mound at the stern of the boat and wait for me to help him up the ladder. The first morning, we got off the boat in the slip, went for our walk, and Barney ran back to the dirt mound and looked utterly perplexed. Where had his boat gone?
Because we imported the dogs into Fiji, we can't take them out of the country. If we did, then we would then have to reimport them and subject them to quarantine. We will take them out when we sail away, but not until then. So Barney got delivered to his dog sitter in Suva the Sunday before departure and Ruby's time is being spent on the M/V Summer Spirit in Vuda Point. One week after launch, we climbed on a plane and flew to LAX.
It's difficult to explain the culture shock of traveling from Pacific Islands back to the land of freeways, Home Depot and Costco. We spent the first couple of days walking around with our jaws agape and enjoying every minute we had with 2-year-old Brynn. Their pool makes for some really great Southern California times. We went on lots of long walks as baby Blair's delivery date came and went. Mom went into Operation Get this Baby Moving!
Then, on July 27th, beautiful baby Blair arrived. What with blended families among our Baby Boomer generation, these girls have four sets of grandparents! Lucky us and lucky them. Wayne and I realize how lucky and rich we are to be able to live out on our boat in the islands and still be able to fly back to visit our families.
Next week, I fly to Florida and get to see my grandson Liam. Wayne is going to fly through Florida en route to Turkey to look at boatyards and talk to boat builders. We are working with a yacht designer, and we intend to build ourselves a new boat in either New Zealand, Turkey, Tunisia, or Holland. I will write a blog all about our sailing plans and new boat plans when we figure out where we are sailing to next!
Fair winds!
Christine