We’ve been living on our boat now for 10 days. Sarah and I have started capping off each night paddle boarding around the marina.

It’s beautiful as the water is pretty flat, a shimmering mirror of the downtown Long Beach city lights. Last night the water fall at Grissom Isle was on and patches of white, frothy bubbles floated out in all directions from where the falls hit the inky black water. I noticed other lights on inside some of the larger end tie yachts. Perhaps other live / sneak aboards were cozied up inside watching JAWS.

We’re very busy right now, but feeling our perception of time slowing too. Being a step closer to nature we notice the ant like busyness of humans. The heart beat pulse of earth and sea is much grander and slower.

We now live on a boat! Over the Fourth of July long weekend, we finally, after YEARS of planning, moved on to Ohana, our 44-foot Beneteau Oceanis sailboat. Interestingly, the move itself went pretty smoothly. Lots of boxes, but we keep seeming to find more storage lockers to put things. We really did try to keep our belongings to a minimum for the trip, so that definitely helped. Also, our oldest daughter, Josie, is away at summer camp and while we miss her LOADS, it has been helpful to have her cabin as a storage zone for the moment.

It’s really great to be full-time on the boat now. I am still teaching summer school, so I do have an hour commute from Long Beach to Santa Monica, but it’s only for a few weeks. But the great thing is we are able to really devote time to getting the boat ready. And there are soooo many things to do! Aside from the obvious unpacking, we have many boat projects on the go. Some of the bigger ones are repairing the anchor windlass, getting new sails, some rigging fixes, replacing the boat name, and installing an arch. Soooo many things to do. We are trying hard to chip away at the list and prioritize what needs to be done today and what can wait a little bit. The windlass is the top priority and Jeff has been awesome troubleshooting the current windlass. I am also very impressed at his ability to fit into tiny spaces. 🙂

Eyes are on our trip to Canada in about a week and a half – and then our first big voyage to Channel Islands. I just got our landing permit today. Time is flying.

We’ve been packing…and packing…and cleaning…and packing… And it’s almost time! This week has been crazy, with more curve balls thrown our way then I would care to discuss. But it is almost moving day! We only have a few more final items to pack, and then we are headed to Ohana for good. And that feels sooo good!

We’ve been really fortunate with the move that we really started the process LAST year at this time when we moved out of our three bedroom house and into a two bedroom apartment. We did an epic purge of all of our belongings during that move, and it really has made this move so much easier. Of course, Jeff’s sister Christina and her family are moving into our apartment for a bit, so that really helps as well because we don’t need to move any furniture.

The girls have both been great about the move too. Josie, who has been reluctant to leave home, was great about putting her boat box together. And LouLou keeps talking about boat school. I know that it will take time to adjust to our new boat life, but I’m really happy the girls are being so adaptable right now.

I just can’t wait to be living down at the marina and then, even better, out in some remote anchorage. It makes me remember back in my navy days – so funny that I actually had “my navy days” – ha! – but it’s true. I remember how much I loved waking up on the ship and being out in the sea air. I didn’t love all the – well – orders? – back then though. It feels so much better now. Now I’m going to sea on my own terms – and of course, the terms of LouLou, Josie, and Jeff. 🙂 It’s a super exciting time.

America, you screwed up. I guess this is the one step back part, after the two steps forward.

We are moving on to our sailboat Ohana in three weeks. I can’t believe I’m writing that. We’ve planned this move for five years. Years of pouring over budgets, spreadsheets, maps, boat listings, weather routing sites, vision boards… And now the BIG move day is almost here. Wild!

The plan is to move aboard the boat on July 1st and then take July to settle in. Our oldest daughter, eleven-year-old Josie, will fly to Canada (my homeland) to go to camp with a family friend. Jeff, six-year-old Louella, and I will take the time to move in and make the boat our home. at the end of July, the three of us will fly to Toronto to meet Josie and spend time with my family. Side note – I’m really excited to return to Canada – it’s been almost three years since we’ve been home due to the pandemic. Way too long to be away from my family – and from all of the butter tarts and poutine.

We will return from Toronto in early August, but via Vancouver. We’ll make a quick jump across the border to visit Jeff’s sister Diana’s family in Friday Harbor, Washington. Can’t wait! And then we’ll finally return to Los Angeles by mid-August to for our final preparations for the first leg of our voyage.

The general plan for now is to head north from Long Beach towards the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara for about three weeks. We want to take our time exploring the beautiful anchorages and use the time to help us get acclimated to living “off the grid.” Truthfully, I’m almost as excited for this part of our trip as I am for heading south of the border. Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa and supposed to be magical. We hope to stop in Santa Barbara for a few days as well, and then begin slowly heading back down the coast towards San Diego by October. Homeschool will begin then – exciting! – as well as taking care of any final boat maintenance and preparation.

Let’s do this! Ready Aye Ready!