We made it to Beaufort, North Carolina after almost 90 hours of sailing offshore! I don't have much time so this will mostly be pictures and I will fill in more information when I can!

This is the Delray Marina, where Isla lived when I first met her, in the old slip where we lived when I was just a babe! The sailboat with the red sail covers took her place as John and his family's new home!

Dad messing about as we crusie up the intercoastal, laptop was set up with our new charts for navigation, but the inverter died quickly and we had to rely on old paper charts and a handheld GPS. We picked up a new inverter in Beaufort so should be good to go now!

About 10 bridges to get through on our way up to the Palm Beach inlet and out into open ocean! Took us much longer than expected as you have to wait for some bridges to open on the hour or half hour... almost 6 hours for us to make it out the inlet! A very late start out into the open ocean at about 10pm!

My "aqua boyguards" met us part way up the intercoastal and followed us for the last few bridges...Tom, Kevin and Tommy! such a nice send off! This bridgetender let us come up close to visit while we waited for the opening... This was the beginning of Kevin not being able to sleep untiul we made it safely to Maine. Thankfully he got a good night sleep last night knowing we were at the dock in Beaufort!

The wind was cranking when we got out into the ocean, an intense start to the trip, but we made it 100 miles in the first 10 hours which is incredibly fast! Isla handles beautifully even in high wind and heavy seas! This is the sunrise after that first night - calm, beautiful and peaceful morning!

Tea time in the morning!

Main sail needed some repairing after that first night - one of the seams started to come undone but we fixed her up and she is flying well!

The most notworthy pictures on the open ocean are sunrises and sunsets!

Keeping the log of hours running, coordinates, when we use the engine... it's all very official!

Lots of visitor on the third day! Four or five different times we had dolphins swimming at our bow! They are so beautiful and fun to watch!

The first three full days out were very little wind, very calm and fairly slow, but beautiful sailing!

washing dishes

Donny sunset on the last night out. The wind picked up on our last day out, and we made good time heading to Beaufort! A little harder trip - we have a tiller instead of a wheel and it's a bit harder to manage in rough seas, it's a workout! We passed through a bunch of military ships doing some maneuvers out at sea. A little disorienting at night as to what they were doing changing position all the time, but in the morning we heard on the radio that they were doing some practice... with live fire ammunition! Thanksfully not until we were out of the way :)

It's amazing to be out at sea with nothing in sight but open ocean and the occasional ship... people tell me that they can't imagine it, but it's incredibly peaceful and soothing. It was really nice to hit dry land tho last night! We did some laundry, got some things we needed and wandered this cute little tourist town.

Chips for free bear at the marina restaurant!

Best beer I've ever had!!! :) Today we are heading inside up the intercoastal to Norfolk as the wind is blowing like crazy and we don't feel like beating outside. It will take a bit more time but worth it for an easier ride. The next leg of the journey begins... gotta go catch the bridge... over and out.

Intercoastal

Mum followed us up the intercoastal and took pictures of us heading throught the bridges!

First photos of Isla's journey to Maine

The last day

Busy day today! Today was one of those days that felt like we weren't getting anything done but in the end we are more prepared than I expected. One more run up the mast for dad to sort out the VHF, work on the toilet, lots of cleaning, loading up and organizing. I had my first bit of time on board by myself this afternoon unpacking some of my things and really feeling like this is my very own space.

Isla felt familiar the first time I stepped aboard, the gentle movement on the water, the smell of dampness, the layout of space... a version of life that is similar in the way that you understand someone's house as soon as you step inside. You know by glancing how to manuever through tight quarters and what it would be like to live aboard this new vessel. Today I started making her my own and embracing that she is mine. It's all been a story so far, walking through the motions of what needs to be done because it is the plan and these are the things needed to make the plan work. Today it felt like action; like life.

Dad and I worked until almost 8:00 and then came home to gather ourselves before going grocery shopping, an exciting and overwhelming task. Planning food for three people without real refridgeration, and only a two burner stove for a possible two week period is interesting. Mum has done lots of cooking for us, making extra of our meals lately so we have some homemade dinners ready for us! Pasta sauce, stew, granola, peacan tassies! Yum! It's amazing how much energy it takes to put a trip like this together... it would be lots of peanut butter and ramen without her cooking!

Tomorrow we will tie up a few loose ends, unpack and organize our food, clean up a bit and be ready to take off! I can't believe the day is here. Once we are out in the ocean I will be excited and ready for it. Tonight I am processing saying goodbye to my favorite people in the world. The people who understand me the most and who have shared the hardest moments of my life. The people who let me be who I am, who have taught me to love through thick and thin, the people who are an extension of myself and support me when I cannot support myself.

The past 18 months have brought lessons that we could never have imagined, hardship and struggle that you can't conceive of until you are in it. But today, this week, this month, we are stronger. I am a better version of myself, forever changed, forever bonded beyond what I thought I understood before December 16, 2008.
My parents still take better care of us than we do ourselves sometimes, and my siblings are part of my soul. They are what makes me whole, what keeps me in check and what reminds me to live, laugh and love. I am amazed by all of them everyday and I feel so blessed to be a part of something so much bigger than myself.

Tomorrow, I will take the next step in my life; which is just that, a step. A journey, an adventure. It is where I am right now, what is happening in this moment; an active choice in my life to follow my heart and see where the wind takes me. I will desperately miss my family, but life will ebb and flow and change and I will change with it, as will they. And we will continue to take life as it comes, one moment at a time. I will live each day with intention, and be grateful. Thank you for following along with this adventurous little life.

It's official! Her new name is Isla and she hails from Peaks Island, Maine... Her original name was On The Rocks, accompanied by a martini glass and pirate ship and while it's comical, it seemed like bad karma to me! I spent several weeks trying to find a name that meant something to me... and after searching through all of the things that are important to me I came up with Isla. I'm an island girl and it encapsulates so many things that are important to me, where I grew up, where I went to college, community, place... It's who I am. Isla.

Today after a bit more work and a lot more sweat, Isla took her maiden voyage and I my first journey as captain to Veterans Park to show off for family and friends!

I successfully docked her with some verbal guidance from dad TWICE without crashing! Altho I almost had a heart attack the first time... a little stressful! Mo, cousins, kids, uncle Max, Beckie and friends stopped by the see Isla for the first time and say goodbye! A few more things to take care of tomorrow and hopefully we will be on our way on Tuesday morning... Amazing how you seem so close but the end things take so long... Getting nervous, sad about goodbye's and excited for adventure!

Hard work!

Dad and I spent ALL day in the hot sun cranking on the boat today! LOTS of stuff accomplished, with blood sweat and almost tears... :) Dad was up the mast twice getting the mast head light and VHF antenna hooked up. Several trips to Home Depot and West Marine later both are in working order!

Bow roller installed! Haws pipe installed for the anchor line!

New speakers installed in the cockpit for music while underway. Dad of course had an old switch so we can play music up topsides, down below or both! Very necessary for the night watch while the rest of the crew is sleeping!

Tomorrow should be a few more odds and ends, a trip for the family on the intercoastal and a visit to Veterans Park to show her off! Then some major packing and grocery shopping... hmmm... with a hopeful departure of Monday... or maybe Tuesday :)

the countdown begins...

Preparation for a long sailing trip takes incredibly more energy than one expects! So many details to think of and there just isn't enough time in the day... yesterday however marked the first moment that I actually felt like we are close to being ready to leave! By close I mean, I can forsee the possibility of three more days of work... maybe four and then we will be ready! :)
(ps I am wearing a bathing suit in this picture, it's just hard to see from the reflection!)

The dingy that we bought ended up being much more of a fixer upper than we were hoping for. After much scrubbing and scraping of glue (that I must admit was mostly my dad) to reseal many of the seams she is almost ready for the water!

Hopefully she will be launched tomorrow so we can use her to put the name and port of call on the transom of Isla! Feels like a big step, I can't wait!



We also have this sweet little engine that along with a million other things my dad either inherited or scavanged for. He's like Mary Poppins with his garage and shed, you never know what he will pull out of there! We need to put snaps on the new sides of the awning that I made for shade underway, but how are we going to attach them without a special attaching snaps tool? "Oh I have one of those in the garage." Of course you do!


My big projects have of course been on the domestic side of things... Mission number one recovering the cushions for down below!





After much searching for inexpensive and appropriate fabrics I found the jackpot for exactly what I was hoping to spend!




This took some serious time and patience but it came out pretty well! Piping is HARD! But she's so pretty!




Can't wait to put them on Isla when she is cleaned up and ready! So soon! Today is hopefully the end of major things and then it's time to clean up, start packing and get ready for a small maiden voyage with the whole family before we actually leave.