Our first voyage from the haul out yard in Little River, SC to Southport, NC served as a learning experience for her new Captain and First Mate. The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) can be very narrow and very shallow in parts. After my first boating class, “Partner in Command”, offered by Southport Sail and Power Squadron, I was able to practice spotting the buoys and day markers through Little River, Shallote, and Lockwood Folly. They were all treacherous and we saw a few boats that had run aground.

When the boat began listing port, I immediately went to google to ask what might be the cause. I found many posts with reasonable explanations such as the equipment load on the port side, and caution to consider distributing water between both tanks on the port and starboard sides. Who knew there were two tanks? We had filled up with water back at the marina so we could try out the shower, not noticing an option to fill one side or the other.  We laughed at our ignorance and carried on. That is, until a kind boater alerted us by pointing at the stern of our boat as they drove by. We immediately jumped up and saw that the front of dinghy was no longer attached, so the 10 foot dinghy was close to vertical and being filled with water. This is what was causing the boat to list to port! Because of my class the day before, I was able to take the helm without freaking out (too much) while Larry secured the dinghy. Our lessons learned this first day were:

1) If something seems wrong, get up and look around your boat for any issues instead of googling what might be wrong.

2) Add “confirm the dinghy is secure” to the checklist before going underway. 

Finally, it was time for our renaming ceremony and first sleepover on the boat with our grandchildren. More lessons were to be learned. Communication protocols are critical. When we have headsets on, we need to confirm with each other that we heard the other with a simple “roger.” To confirm understanding, use “copy”. Before either of us removes our headset, we need to confirm with the other whether they need anything else. Also, we need a lot more practice with just the two of us!

We learned a lot about anchoring. We had planned to participate in the annual blessing of the vessels in Southport with the grandchildren. We went out and stopped to fish and watch dolphins. The current and wind picked up. We had used the motor to drop the anchor, which we later learned is not necessary. We should let the anchor drop by gravity so you are not using the motor dropping it. We then overheated the motor by trying to raise the anchor with no consideration of the physics of it. We now learned to move the boat so the chain is straight, then use the motor only until the chain is no longer straight. Then you need to move the boat again. Not knowing that meant we had to call Tow Boat US to come and help us get our anchor raised. The grandkids were a little scared, but more disappointed we would miss the “boat parade” for the boat blessing. They took it in stride though and didn’t seem to notice that Larry and I were nervous docking her in the high winds back in Southport. All in all, we were safe and had fun.

We were a bit mixed in renaming the boat. We are not superstitious and yet, Ripple is a good name! The Grateful Dead song is a good anthem for our adventure. But, LiveMore has been a personal mantra for us and once the new decals were on her and the renaming ceremony was done, we were confident and happy with the new name. It represents our relationship.

We want our Great Loop experience to be about lingering in the magical moments and savoring the fruits of our labor. Doing so will carry us through the tough days, because we know they will come. We will look for the “God moments,” the nudges from the Universe that push us to embrace possibilities we may not have dreamed before. We will listen for the signals to steer in new directions. To be still, to quiet the noise of our times. As Confucius says, we will seek to “hold dear the effort more than the prize” and take the time we need to sort it all out in our heads and in our hearts. We will give ourselves the grace to do so without guilt. We will allow our loved ones to survive without our meddling while we do the work on ourselves that we need to do to remain strong, to remain balanced, to remain steady.

I am preparing myself by practicing letting go by disconnecting for a conversation, a boat ride, a day, and a weekend at a time. My year preparing for America’s Great Loop is a different type of strength training. It is a boot camp for my soul. It is building a muscle of NOT being on the computer or the phone, but of simply BEING.

Until next time,