When I was in first grade, I was in a school play called “Books are our Friends”, one of only two representatives from the lower grades. I don’t remember being told the reason I was provided the

opportunity, but looking back now the reason is clear: I was into books and reading, big time. Fast forward 8 years, and the first thing I did when I got a steady paycheck as a teenager was to sign up for the Franklin Library’s collection of classics, beautifully bound editions with ornate endpapers, one per month at $15.20 each. I still have that collection, and can’t see parting with it, ever.

However, I won’t be able to take those 50 volumes onto Erin Skye when we move aboard in 10 months. There simply won’t be enough room. And if we can fit 50 books, we’d choose the cruising guides, sailboat system maintenance manuals, and homeschooling reference material instead.

Wayne and Geli in discussion during show

We’re stuck at home, and so is everyone else. That wasn’t so bad in the beginning since we like spending time together as a family, but our plans to learn about and practice sailing had to be put on hold, and our ability to look at boats in person was thwarted as well. Fortunately, just as our frustration level reached its peak, we received an invitation to a virtual boat show! That’s right – we were going to attend a boat show like the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis but over the Internet.

Erin Skye awaiting her passage to Mexico

We’ve been planning this purchase and transition to a cruising lifestyle for over a year, but the plan didn’t include buying the boat until February of 2021 at the earliest. Enter COVID-19.

We weren’t sure how the pandemic would impact the availability of the sort of sailboat we were planning to buy (a Leopard 46 catamaran), and we already had a bit of anxiety about whether we’d be able to find our new home in time for the rest of our plans, so when the number of listings increased on YachtWorld, we began to evaluate our options seriously.

Remembering back, oh many years ago now, our son had a classmate whose parents were going to take him out of school and sail around the world.  At the time, I thought that those people had lost their minds and I wondered if it was even legal.  There had to be some rule against that. There must be some law against just kidnapping your own children, shanghai yourself some wee deckhands, hoist a few bedsheets and off to the horizon you go.  Blimey mate, they must have completely been off their rocker. Yet somewhere in the deep recesses of my own thoughts, was a wiggling notion of how cool (is that dating myself?) it would be to just scurry myself aboard a craggy old windskiffer, hoist the main sheets, and let the wind carry me away. Being a fan of author Patrick O’Brien, the whole notion was deeply entertaining yet so far off the weather gauge from my reality that it quickly bobbed over the horizon and was gone like a green flash and a wink of an eye.

I have adventured in many places over the years. While it is true that not of one of them has been like another, there have been a few I have been incredibly fond of and have even visited several times.  Hawaii is certainly one of those places, as the warm tropical climate is not only pleasing to the heart and tends to warm my soul, but I find it serene and relaxing. It’s one of the few places on Earth where I have thoroughly enjoyed sitting under a shade tree with the cool ocean breeze wafting by, watching worries exfoliate from me like a long forgotten second skin as I emerge newly refreshed.