We’ve been back a month today… in some ways it feels like so much longer. Yet people tell me constantly it feels like only yesterday for them that they were reading blog posts about us sunning ourselves in Queensland, sailing between Brisbane and Bundaberg. Just goes to show how things appear different depending on the perspective you’re looking from…
In so many ways it would be so easy to be grateful for the 12 weeks, and settle back into suburban life. On the surface, there’s so much that is comfortable about that… but ultimately, delving deeper, I have to acknowledge there’s a lot that’s not. The balance that was so harmonious for those last four weeks is starting to ebb away. The things that matter, that give me that balance, are starting to be replaced by routines of ‘stuff’ that seems essential. This is the first time since leaving the boat I’ve sat at a laptop to write, and yesterday was the first time we’ve been back on the water. A challenging row out to Richard’s boat Ariel in a choppy northerly was worth the effort (easy for me to say – he was rowing!). After 6 months of neglect, her motor turned over beautifully on the first chug. I can only hope that the motor on Children of Phoenix will behave that well in a few weeks time. Ariel’s got too much weed on the prop to motor in to the jetty, so we’ll have to get her towed in when it’s time to pull her out for a clean and some TLC. I’m looking forward to having her in shape to sail in the Classics series this summer.
So it’s back to planning, in so far as you can plan when you don’t control all of the variables. We’ll head up to Brisbane at the end of September for a few days to reconnect with the allure of a warmer climate and escape Melbourne for a long weekend. We’re both continuing to explore finance options for a Blue Nomad lifestyle, with a sense of needing those options to become a bit more concrete. We’re playing musical units with tenants moving in and out, knowing that where we really want to end up is in a floating unit, not a land-based one. It’s really a case of keeping the end goal in mind; when faced with decisions, continuing to make choices which take us one step closer to getting there. A hard choice this week was re-housing my two furry shipmates; although they cope with the occasional sail in calm waters inside the bay on a nice day, I’d be exaggerating to say they enjoy it. I’ve seen other Blue Nomads with dogs on board, but Gracie in particular tends to get sea-sick and I know neither would cope well with life on board a boat full time. A beautiful family has offered them a new, loving home with the invitation to visit any time and the promise of regular photo updates. I shed a few tears as they drove off yesterday, but also know that it’s best for them not to be part of the the next phase of the journey, and most importantly, that they will be well-loved.