Chris McLean

Day 1: and so it begins

Johns Island to Port Royal, SC

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began…
Mary Oliver (from “The Journey”)

We motored on the Intracoastal Waterway for about 10 hours today. Motoring on a sailboat is slow – maybe 6.5 to 7 knots if we are lucky. Add in the twists and turns of the ICW and we made it to Port Royal, SC at the end of a fairly long day. Driving, this is maybe 90 minutes from Johns Island – unless John is driving. He can do it in about 80 minutes.

It was mostly overcast which meant we got some really magical glimpses of the sun breaking through here and there.

For me, one of the best things was seeing the wildlife: we saw several bald eagles, dolphins, and some white pelicans. We regularly see brown pelicans in Charleston, while white ones are much more rare. Google tells me that pelicans are the symbol of renewal which seems fitting to the occasion!

Lady’s Island Bridge is a swing bridge that connects Beaufort to the sea islands in the area.

Because we are expecting high winds for the next day or two, we’re at a marina. We’re safe (although the water is slapping the hull pretty loudly right now – that will change when the winds change direction).

Making Decisions about Stuff

And I don’t know how you are…
but I need a place to put my stuff.
So, that’s what I’ve been doing back there…
just trying to find a place for my stuff.
You know how important that is, that’s the whole,
that’s the whole meaning of life, isn’t it?
Trying to find a place for your stuff.
George Carlin

The (long – for us) process of getting ready to live as full time cruisers has meant changing our thinking about what we own and how we live.

We have been steadily downsizing for years. As we moved from our house to a rental duplex in Johns Island, we unloaded much of the collected detritus of raising a family in the same place for 20 years.

Moving from the rental to Lailia meant that we gave away, donated, sold or discarded all of our furniture and most of our books. We stored what was left (photos, meaningful holiday decorations, John’s albums, some books, tools…) in a 10′ by 10′ storage unit. We still had the comforts of our own cars and I had an office in which I stored my professional books and my plants.

Now…we have to get serious. We’ll be selling our cars (no need to pay for insurance and storage, given that an undriven car is likely to need a lot of maintenance when we return). Because we can’t bring vegetation into the Bahamas, we have had to rehome (temporarily) some plants that we’ve had for decades. We are deciding what tools, clothes and toiletries we really need. We’ve managed to accumulate “stuff” in the time that we have been in the marina.

We’re also figuring out how to provision for an extended journey with limited access to resources. How much toilet paper will we need for a year? (It can be expensive in the islands). How do we make sure we have adequate amounts of toothpaste, razors, and soap? What food can we bring that does not require refrigeration, since we have a tiny fridge and no freezer? And – where do we put it?

“…Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

We’ve always said that we would sail back to the Caribbean someday. We’ve been saying it since we were on our honeymoon back in 1989 – someday.

Since then, we have had 2 amazing sons and lived in 3 different states and 6 cities. We’ve made great friends and had jobs we loved (and those we didn’t love so much).

Now it’s time.

We moved aboard Lailia in the late fall of 2019 and thought about heading out in 2020. Just as I was getting ready to take a leave of absence, Covid 19 happened and suddenly the world shut down. We spent another year as liveaboards in the marina while I kept working. That time was used to do some boat work and to save up some money.

Now it’s time.

In the past year, we’ve dealt with my torn ACL and John’s hip replacement. We’ve each had a basal cell carcinoma removed. Covid is still around (omicron is definitely taking over) but it’s time.

I’ve taken a leave of absence for a year – it started today. We plan to be out in a less than 2 weeks.

It’s time.