You may have noticed the long delay since the last blog, which is
partially due to our move but also due to reluctance to finalize the blog and
thus the trip.
After a wonderful couple of weeks in Maine we ended the journey
back in Rhode Island on July 15, 2012, two days short of one year of our
departure. We have been busy since then
setting up our house and getting ready for Pablo to go back to work. Even though we haven’t been away from the boat
for more than a couple of days at a time, we miss it.
We miss the simplicity of life, the nice organization of everything on
the boat and the adventure and excitement of being in new places. But on the other hand, we are really enjoying consistently
reliable, fast internet, having a washing machine, access to library books and a few other luxuries of land life.
Looking back on our trip, some of the most unexpected pleasures included meeting and getting to spend time with really great
people along the way. And spending A LOT of quality time as a family---the girls
are growing up fast and we feel very lucky to have been able to take a year to
focus on expanding their world view. Being
outside all the time was wonderful, being very physically active (needing to
walk everywhere, carrying groceries and laundry in addition to all the sail/line handling) was not only great for our
health but something we already miss and need to incorporate more into our land
based life. Exploring new places made
for new adventures every day, we were never bored and were always in an
environment rich with interesting experiences.
We feel a huge sense of accomplishment not only for making
the trip a reality but for it being very successful. It took some motivation to extract ourselves
from our very comfortable life and set the wheels in motion but well worth all
the effort. We sold our house, got rid
of a TON of stuff and came back feeling we have way more than we need. We leave the adventure feeling we could spend
another year sailing, another mark of success when everyone is
left wanting more.
We all have grown, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Though we expected it may take a while for the experience to
sink in with the girls, we see interesting insight from them already.
The girls have grown closer to each other, matured and show more
appreciation for the quality of their life.
Below are some statistics from the trip.
Miles traveled: 7281
nautical miles (8300 statute miles)
Overnight passages: 28
Days at Anchor: 172
(rest is either on a mooring, underway or at a slip)
Number of countries/provinces visited: 16
Number of US States visited: 10
Number of islands/cays visited: 67
Borealis anchored in Merchant Row |
Enjoying time with friends in Maine |
Blueberry picking at the Bishops |
Our new home |
As the sun sets on this adventure, we look forward to the next... |