Preparing for the Bahamas, 2009

Check back soon as I reactivate the blog for our trip to the Bahamas. We plan to leave around February 1, so I'll post something within the next week.

In closing...

Photo by Norma Cavanaugh

I think someone asked me early on what my objectives or goals were for this trip. If you remember what I wrote at the beginning, it shouldn't surprise you to know that I just wanted to make it from beginning to end without abandoning Wayne.

As for the concerns I expressed about the trip at the beginning of this blog:

1) Fear - There were only a couple times when I felt that our safety was in jeopardy; I was more concerned about the boat crashing into a dock or hitting a bridge. I really did feel a sense of peace that could only have come from the Holy Spirit's presence. Of course, Wayne's caution and skill at navigation, piloting the boat, docking, etc. cannot be overstated. I was very impressed by that.

2) I did very well on the trip and never entertained the thought of flying home. I became more of an asset to Wayne as time and experience gave me confidence and skill.

3) I still don’t have a passion for sailing, but I do love to travel on the boat, visit new places, and spend time outdoors, so I enjoyed all the places we visited and sights we saw. And yes, I even enjoyed the sailing...tremendously.

4) It was a long trip and I wouldn't have wanted it to be any longer. Yes, I missed my land life, but this experience was worth giving it up for 109 days.

5) Communication was seldom an issue. We were pleasantly surprised to have cell phone service probably 90% of the time. We had the satellite phone for backup, but didn't need it much, and we never went more than a few days without having internet service available.

6) Although there were some lonely times, we were blessed with visits from family and friends along the way. Traveling with Claus and Rachael came at a time that would have otherwise been the loneliest, as we were in remote areas. The blog and email were lifelines for me.

7) Wayne and I did just fine with so much togetherness; we both put a lot of effort into making it work and we got along very well. In fact, in response to the many people who asked, it was actually good for our relationship. Hmm...maybe this retirement thing won't be so bad after all.

The only thing we might have done differently would have been to do the trip in segments, an option that never occurred to us at the time. It would have made for a much more leisurely trip, but we probably would have done it the way we did anyway.

Because I had so many concerns about doing this trip, the fact that I did it is so much sweeter...a personal victory of sorts. It reminds me of the huge feat of overcoming my fear of water to get my scuba diving certification and going 100 feet deep when I had no intention of going deeper than 20 feet.

So there you have it. And here I end it. I expected to be seeking out a 12 Steps group for recovering bloggers, but it doesn't look like I'll have a problem. Although there will probably be be other blogs for me in the future, it's sad to say good-bye - I miss you already. The Lena Bea blog has been a vital link to you, a creative outlet for me, and a memoir of our trip, but this chapter is now complete. Thanks for reading.

I'm still here...

Left to right: Wayne; granddaughter, Alex; daughter, Suzanne; my favorite son-in-law, Brian; my Mom; Wayne's mom; my favorite daughter-in-law, Amy; son, Michael.
We wanted Joey, our other son, to come down,
but he had to work :(

I don't know if anyone out there still cares, but I haven't forgotten about doing a final post to the blog. We've been delightfully occupied with company and our Thanksgiving celebration, but everyone's gone now, so I should have time to add to the blog tonight or tomorrow. I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving.

Final thoughts on blogging

I hardly knew what a blog was before this trip, but Wayne and I both knew we wanted to do one as a simple way of keeping family and friends abreast of our journey. It quickly took on a life of its own, though, as we realized other benefits and I became a blogoholic. This blog has been a blessing in many unexpected ways.

First of all, I was amazed at how many people were reading the blog - not just friends and family, but their friends and family as well - and how interactive it became. You encouraged us and cheered us on. We received so many comments and emails from readers, and suddenly it became a lifeline of sorts. It helped alleviate loneliness and became my social life. I developed a compulsion to write and couldn't believe I had so much to say.

As the trip progressed and our memories were already beginning to blur (Where did we...? When did we...? What was the name of...?), we realized how important the blog was for ourselves. Now, due in large part to your encouragement, we're even entertaining the idea of putting it into a book for our children and grandchildren.

If you've ever thought about doing a blog - or even if you haven't - I encourage you to try it (especially you, Paula G.). My cousin, Tracy, keeps a family blog with beautiful photos and very fine writing;  (http://tracysscrapbook.blogspot.com/); I can only imagine how precious it will be to her children some day. Although blogger.com has a frustrating array of bugs and glitches, it's very easy to set up and use. By the time you read this, there will probably be more options available. And if you do have a blog or decide to start keeping one, please share it with me at msharprm@gmail.com. I haven't decided whether I will start a new blog - our normal life is pretty boring and not particularly blog-worthy - but would enjoy reading others in the meantime.

Finally, to those who have faithfully kept up with our blog or even just checked in periodically, we are humbled and grateful. It means so much to us that you care enough to take time out of your busy lives to follow our journey. I feel a bond with you because it's almost like you were with us. When people ask, "How was the trip?" I don't know where to start, but I want to say, "Read the blog - it's all there." If you were with us on our journey via the blog and have kept silent so far, I'd love to hear from you.

There will be at least one more post before I wrap this up, so please check back.

Another world

During the past 3½ months, we learned that there's another world out there, fully experienced only from the water, with texture, ambience, sensations, and culture so foreign to me, being a Minnesota girl. It is a world of marinas as varied as a Motel 6 is from the Ritz-Carlton, communities on the water where people live, work, play, and socialize, or in our case, simply pass through (we're referred to as "transients").

It is a world whose livelihood is dependent on the sea and where many towns have memorials to honor those lost there; it is a world where fishing boats seem to outnumber cars, and lobster and crab pots seem to outnumber people.

It is a world of peaceful anchorages, wilderness areas, sandy beaches, marshlands, rocky and wooded shores, lighthouses, small fishing villages, beautiful resort towns, large commercial sea ports, all types of housing imaginable, and metropolitan cities - both modern and steeped in history.

It is a world of barges and hard-working tugboats, alert and wary Coast Guard boats, impressive freighters and cruise ships, classic and regal-looking tall ships, intimidating war ships, car ferries, tour boats, luxury yachts, lazy trawlers, high-powered cigarette boats, and recreational sail and power boats of all sizes and descriptions. It is a world of swing bridges, lift bridges, bascule bridges, and of course, 65' fixed bridges.

It is a world where the sea is more than just water - it's a living organism with a temperament and personality, a powerful being who can toss us, rage against us, frighten us, delight us, calm us, lull us to sleep, and yes, make us a little queasy. It is a world where whales dominate and inspire awe, seals swim by curiously and inspire humor, dolphins frolic and inspire joy, and manatees bathe lazily and inspire love.

It is a world where people are...well, people - no different from people everywhere, and we smile as we remember them fondly. Each person we met along the way left an imprint on our hearts and made our journey a richer, more textured and colorful experience. There are too many names to mention, but we are grateful to all who contributed to the memories we'll savor of this trip. A special "thank you" goes to those we encountered en route who joined us on our journey and cheered us on via the blog, like Roberta.

We are so grateful for the privilege of experiencing this other world for the past 3½ months.

Stay tuned, there's more to come...

Spiritual thoughts

The spiritual aspect of this trip was profound. First of all, we felt the power and blessing of your prayers every day, and for that we thank you. As I've mentioned many times, God blessed us with unbelievably superb weather throughout the trip. He kept us safe and healthy (except for two minor visits to the ER) and protected us from countless things that could have gone wrong.

So often in our busy lives it's hard to make room for God. Even if we take time for prayer, study, worship, and service, the communication is mostly one-way because we're immediately on to the next thing and often fail or forget to listen for God's voice. We're busy with work and family obligations, and in our free time we often live in a world of television, radio, iPods, Blackberrys, telephones, computers, and what have you. God could be screaming at us and we wouldn't hear him above the din.

Wayne and I were without TV, radio, newspapers, and except for occasional evenings, music, for 3½ months; four months ago, I would have panicked at the very thought (we thought we were equipped). Work was mostly limited to boat stuff, navigation, and trip planning, if you can call that work. Our only family obligation was to keep in touch, which we did by cell phone, email, and blog. Of course, there's no escaping electronics altogether, even at sea; the navigation and weather instruments are vital.

Without so many distractions, we learned what it really means to abide in Christ. He was our constant companion and we were always aware of his presence, often spending most of the day just enjoying our Lord's creation and our relationship with him, steeped in his love and peace. We were more "tuned in" to him, which allowed him to guide our travel and protect us to a degree that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. I experienced peace that could only have come from the Holy Spirit in the face of many hair-raising situations, scores of low bridges, and vast expanses of shallow waters. I experienced joy that I didn't even know how to express, and which also could only have come from Him.

Every day we were blessed and awed by the wonder of God's creation. The variety and beauty of birds, trees, clouds, winds, rocks, terrain, aquatic mammals and fish, sunrises and sunsets, flowers, land creatures, sea shells, water - and of course, homo sapiens - fascinated and delighted us as much on day one and mile one as they did on day 109 and mile 5,325.

God is good...all the time.

Stay tuned, there's more to come...

Adjusting to life on land

We've been home four days now and are gradually getting our land legs back, both literally and figuratively.

Our first day or two, I kept wanting to secure things around the house so they wouldn't go flying. I kept looking at the boat docked behind the house, wondering why it looked so strange; it finally occurred to me that we have one home parked in the backyard of our other home. We're getting used to having "luxuries," like a dishwasher, TV, radio, laundry facilities, a roomy shower, a king-sized bed, and as much internet access as we want. We're getting used to being more than 30' away from each other. It feels good to be back on land, back to our "normal" life.

I was looking forward to being able to sleep later than 6 a.m., but ironically I've been up before Wayne every day except one, wide awake at 5:00 or 6:00.

We've had fun talking to and getting together with friends, but there's also been a lot of work to do. Besides the usual stuff involved in opening up the house after being gone for six months, we've had boat stuff: unloading it and trying to find room in my kitchen for extra food and duplicate containers of everything in the frig. I'm still working on that and expect to make a run to the local food shelf once I get organized.

Wayne spent most of yesterday cleaning the outside of the boat - there was already oxidation from the salty air and water - and I'll take care of the inside...when I get around to it.

After we finish the boat stuff, it will be time to prepare for Thanksgiving, which we will celebrate November 24th, the Saturday after. Michael and Amy are flying down on Thanksgiving, and our moms, Suzanne, Brian, and Alex will arrive on Friday; they'll be here for five days. We're so excited about having some quality time with family. It seems much longer than four months ago since we saw them.

Yesterday we made reservations to fly home to Minnesota on December 5; we'll be there for about a month and will drive back down to Florida in January. 

Final Thoughts from Captain Wayne

Captain Wayne: After leaving Miami, we sailed in nearly perfect conditions. We took the Hawk Channel, which is the outside route, vs. the ICW, but it is still inside the reefs that are south of the Keys. We had a downwind wing-on-wing sail on the first day (genoa and main sails on opposite sides of the boat), a spinnaker run the second day, and when we headed north in the Gulf of Mexico, the wind was off the beam. What a great way to end the trip! We did take a short cut at Marathon, going under the Seven Mile Bridge and through the Old Spanish Channel to the Gulf of Mexico.

We covered 4,630 nautical miles (5,325 statute miles) and traveled for 109 days. We were in four Great Lakes, the St Lawrence Seaway, the Saguenay Fjord, the Gulf of St Lawrence, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and countless bays, rivers, lakes, channels, and canals. We negotiated 18 locks as we descended about 900 feet from Lake Superior to sea level. We visited five Canadian provinces and 18 U.S. states. We spent 62 nights in marinas, 34 at anchor, eight on moorings, two docked behind a friend's house, and we sailed through the night on three occasions. We spent time in about 46 different towns or cities.

We met a lot of great people in the places where we stopped and met many cruisers headed to different parts of the world. Friends and family visited us along the way, and more would have joined us if we could have made the schedules work.

We tested and refined our knowledge and skills with the boat, navigation, weather, unfamiliar waters, currents, and tides. We also worked well together as a team.

As much as we enjoyed getting to our home in Punta Gorda, I already miss being on Lena Bea, and I am looking forward to our next voyage. I am glad we could share our adventure with all of you. Thank you for your emails, blog comments, and calls.

Stay tuned for more thoughts from Michele.

Home!

Back row, from left to right: Al, Mom, Barb, Carol

Front row, from left to right: Bill, Marge, Bob, Norma

We have the best neighbors in the world.

What a thrill it was to turn down our canal and see Mom and the neighbors waiting for us on the dock, cameras in hand.

We were euphoric! We docked in our very tight spot with the help of Bill, Bob, and Al. Marge handed us a dozen roses and a bottle of pre-chilled champagne and they all took our pictures. We felt like celebrities.

Norma and Jay invited us, Mom, Bob, Barbara, and their brother-in-law, Ronnie, over for spaghetti dinner. Barbara is a talented professional musician who treated us to piano and singing after dinner. Norma and Jay sing beautifully as well, and they sang along while the rest of us feebly attempted to sing if we knew the words. It was such an enjoyable evening, and a wonderful welcome home.

Yes, we have the best neighbors in the world.

My dad would have celebrated his 88th birthday today.

There are more posts to come as we collect our final thoughts and photos (and wits), so please check back.

Minutes away

Here I am with up-to-the-minute, late breaking news... I can’t believe I just missed our turn off the rim canal! I handed the helm over to Wayne and he is turning us around to head down the second to last canal before home. We'll be docking BEHIND OUR HOUSE within ten minutes. Now let's see if any of our neighbors have wi-fi...

As we glided through Charlotte Harbor, approaching Ponce de Leon inlet which takes us into Punta Gorda Isles, a couple of neighbors called us and said, “Don’t come in yet! The tide is too low and you’ll go aground!” Hmm, let’s think about that for a minute: We are half an hour away from completing a 109 day, 5000 mile trip and we’re going to stop and wait who-knows-how-long for the tide to come in? I don’t think so! In a final act of defiance, determination, and faith, we plowed our way through the inlet, churning up the sand as we dredged our way through the shallows.