LAND OR SEA?

UPDATE: - Sold Odessa ahhhhhhhhhhhh

I didn't think it possible, but yes... we don't have a boat.

Odessa sold in February of 2015 and after many months of remorse it's a time of reflection and ideas. I've been in a corporate job for the last 5 years, living 5 hours drive from the ocean, and I woke up this morning missing the smell of the sea. In fact, I found myself missing everything I loved in our past life which is the big wakeup call and clear sign that things have to change.

Doreen is working in the futile world of 9 to 5 and not being rewarded accordingly. Devon joined the Rangers... we didn't see that coming but Devon is smart and has an iron will. Izzy graduated high school and is dreaming of traveling, and Simon finished school early to focus on his creative endeavors. This means that all we can do for our children now is to be a positive influence and support them as they define themselves and dive headlong into their future.

It feels like planets are aligning and something big is on the horizon, and we took the first step towards off the grid living again, even if it's in short spurts for now. Not a sail boat this time... an RV travel trailer which we're towing behind "Badass" Doreen's wicked truck. There's always a dream behind every adventure and this time the dream is to drive from the top of the world in Alaska all the way to bottom - somewhere in Patagonia. It's not well thought out as with most good dreams, and it'll take shape over time.

One of my responsibilities at work is developing social media marketing and I've been engrossed in the RV world working on #RVNatives. This FaceBook page is focused on living fearlessly and providing a resource for adventurers and dreamers to help them take the next steps and doing what they love. Yes, there's a commercial angle as always, and the company I work for "EasyCare" provides vehicle warranty products like GAP, wheel and tire insurance etc.

Our first big trip is this July and August from Atlanta Georgia to the high plains of New Mexico, Colorado and Utah... boondocking (stopping on public land with no facilities) along the way and exploring the remotest areas with the least amount of human presence. We learnt the sea last time, it's weather, resources and how to work with it... it's time to learn the land, what it can provide and the special places that few people get to visit.

Is there a purpose?... not sure yet, but finding out will be fun.

TIME TO MOTIVATE

It's been a winter of hibernation and now the sun is shining. Birds are singing, trees budding and Blu is sunbathing on the deck... so what are we going to do about it?

Motivation is key... and we've received so many messages from people supporting our efforts to live off the grid, that I feel both saddened that we moved ashore for the winter and motivated that the future holds great adventures for our family. But, do we stay on the grid or jump off without considering the consiquences?

Odessa is "on the hard" and sitting in Deltaville, but the weather is improving and bringing our mobile home to mind. For those reading who don't know us, we purchased an older boat to recycle into a modern day home and sailed from South America to NY. This great adventure was achieved on very little money (working as we traveled) and provided us with an incredible adventure, an amazing lifestyle and happiness, all within the reach of anyone willing to make some effort.

So, that said we're frequently asked why we don't just continue... ok, there's nothing I'd like better, however we have three teenage kids to consider. Doreen (my wife) did an incredible job home schooling Devon, Isabel and Simon in their younger years, so no that they're teenagers we put them in school here in Maryland to see how they measured up.

18 months ago our kids we wide eyed, yet still full of teenage angst,.. living off the grid is much easier than bringing up kids.

Now we have kids that know-it-all as well as the angst. Parenting off-the-grid is much easier than in modern day society... that's for sure.

Now the kids scored high on their school entry exams, and with a lot of work they're slowly improving further. But, which life is better for our family? that's the big question. The distractions of growing up and influence of neighborhood friends concerns us as parents. Sure the kids always complained that they were bored on Odessa, but they seem to complain more on land.

Therefor, I'm asking our friends, blog readers... in fact anyone, for advice and motivation. Given the situation... should we get off the grid?

SOLOMONS DELIGHT

It's been a while and a lot has happened over the summer. I'm still not really sure why we're back in the US, but life flows with the wind and currents, and we're in an eddy. The good news is that it's absolutely beautiful in the Chesapeake Bay and Solomons is a perfect spot to consider our next adventure.

Devon, Simon and Izzy are in school... ouch. Simon likes the routine and knowing what's next, Izzy is attracting boyfriends like flies, and Devon just wishes he was back in the islands living the dream.

Doreen is in limbo too... transitioning back to "dry land" after 3 years on the ocean is proving to be very difficult. The complexity of mainland society, the rules, the BS... it's overwhelming and frustrating. There's an urge to turn south and follow the flocks of geese passing overhead, it's almost a feral sense, driven by nature. But the new anchors that we've attached like a car and school are pulling at the chain, so I think we're safe from a spontaneous move... well for now at least.

I hope it will pass, but as long as we have Odessa, we have an exit. I was joking that we are the ultimate survivalists, not an underground bunker full of food, but a vessel that can go anywhere and take care of us if needed.

The next step is a house... I'm shuddering at the thought of that anchor. It'll get cold here in a month or so, and Odessa isn't designed for living in freezing conditions. I'm not fancying running up the dock to the bathhouse in the snow either. We'll rent a place for 6 months and see if we have found the next adventure in the spring.

Adventure list:
1. Buy some cheap land in Maryland and build a sustainable house (if it's possible with all of the rules)
2. Move to the mountains, buy some land and build a sustainable house
3. Turn south and sail to Panama
4. Go to China

It's going to be an interesting winter.

STUCK IN JACKSONVILLE

We're stuck again... while sailing up from Palm Beach and during the night, the radio was buzzing with other boats caught in storms off the north Florida coast. Fortunately, we only had one squall off Cape Canaveral and tacked back and forth between shallower water and a freighter for an hour or so until it moved out easterly across the ocean. 30 nautical miles to our north east we could see a huge storm constantly flashing with lightning and with so much energy it wasn't going to dissipate in the same way as the smaller squalls. We had lucked out by staying on the western edge of the gulf stream as opposed to the conventional thinking of getting into it to gain the speed of the north flowing currents.

Entering a new and unknown port is always nerve racking, but Jacksonville is several miles up a very wide river with lot's of deep water and well marked channels. We motored up three miles and turned into Clapboard Anchorage. We found it with Google Earth (our new tool to find out where everyone anchors). To our surprise Periplous (a sailboat that we briefly met in Palm Beach) was anchored and we felt confident again. Gordon and Pam live on Periplous and have sailed further than most have dreamed, they are in their 70's and have more life and spirit than many landlubbers we know who are half their age.

There aren't any facilities near the anchorage, but we did find Clapboard Creek Fish Camp just under the bridge and David the manager. It's so nice to be in the real south... David could provide ice and immediately offered to drive us up to the supermarket a few miles away.

The anchorage was lovely... quiet and serene, I can recommend it as a safe, deep and secure place to stop for a day or two.

We have become very good friends with Gordon and Pam aboard Periplous, learn't a lot and when they suggested that we come with them up river to downtown Jacksonville for a few days while we waited for the bad weather to pass. we jumped at the opportunity. We can take on fuel and water and of course food and services are readily available downtown, the kids might actually find something to do and it provides some good shelter.

The bridges are spectacular and we enjoyed a night of calm water and a barrage of questions from the tourists enjoying their time on River Walk.

The forecasted storms and wind arrived this morning, so the once calm dock is now pitching and it's a bit sloppy onboard. It's a mad dash to do laundry and get supplies so that we can move back down river a couple of miles to a small protected anchorage or back to Clapboard Creek to wait until the weekend when the weather is forecast to turn in our favor allowing us to run up to Charleston, South Carolina.

NY seems a long way with over 1000 nautical miles left to go, but the allure of Long Island Sound, the big city and a home for the summer is compelling. Sailing and living aboard in the USA is very different than the Caribbean Islands... far more difficult and lonely with very few cruisers attempting to run the full length of the east coast. Ah... but if it wasn't a challenge then it wouldn't be worth doing.

ST LUCIA DREAM

It really does feel like a dream... 12 months ago we were enjoying life to its fullest sailing amongst the beautiful islands of the windwards. This is the sail from Rodney Bay. St Lucia to the Deux Pitons in the south of the island.

Isabel hooking in to a spanish mackerel. 

This fish gave Isabel a good fight, but in the end he made an excellent fish curry thanks to Devon's cooking skills.

Our first look at the Pitons.

After grabbing a mooring ball. It was all fun and games.

Just beautiful. Captain Allan relaxes. 

A nice shower after our snorkel feels wonderful. 

So lovely. 

The colors. 

I would go again.

St. Lucia, I Miss You

On all of our travels I have to say, the Wild Wrights never go back to a place a second time. But St. Lucia was just one of those magical places that we had to return to.
The genuine kindness of the people and their love for outdoor adventure is what made this island a two time visit for us.

Sailing from Dominica to St. Lucia was a little sloppy.

The kids felt every wave and sea sickness came over them.

Land, Our first look from sea.

Big ships like this are scary when they get to close.

Our first islander came as soon as we anchored.

The fruit man.

Nice fresh fruit.

Our first morning was a delight with fresh banana pancakes.

Simon spends his day fishing.

We take a hike on Pigeon Island.

Fort Rodney

This is one island that you wouldn't mind being stuck on.

AGROUND AGAIN... & AGAIN... & AGAIN

We're getting tired of Florida... It's too hot and way too shallow, so much so, that we can't fit on any dock. We did finally get a spot at The Circle Yacht Club but again,we can't fit into the slip and have to tie stern-too at the end of the fixed dock. This puts us in a precarious position right on the very edge of the channel and the deeper water that we need.

The EXO isn't happy... we had a tug and barge go by pushing against the 7kt outgoing tide and it's wake nudged us just enough to get Odessa's keel stuck on top of the edge of the channel. Ten minutes later I heard "why are we leaning"... it took a little investigation (the rain had finally abated) and from outside it looked quite dramatic. Well... the tide was going out in a big way, as it had for a couple of days with a full moon, and we have a couple of feet left to go and about 8 hrs before we'd be floated back on the rising tide.

It took two dinks and the boom swung way out to port to nudge the keel about 12 inches and off the ledge. It was a relief to see Odessa slide back to vertical and settle in her normal position, even if she does look odd sort of sticking out into the channel, with her butt tied to the last post of the dock.

Unfortunately, if it happens once, so it can happen again. As a sailor you must act in these situations and the next hour was spent rigging a third anchor to go off the bow and restrict it from going to starboard and sliding our keel back up on the ledge.

Blu had the right idea, lay as low as possible and hope know body tells you to pull a line.

We're sitting as pretty as we can for now and dreaming of heading north to cooler weather and deeper water. The trip north may be more harrowing than sailing out in the open Caribbean. Longer runs because we can't get into most of the ports up the eastern seaboard, dealing with bad weather shooting off the mainland as we realize how unpredictable coastal sailing can be. And of course there's the gulf stream with it tendency to amplify the weathers effect on the ocean.

All of these factors are unpredictable... and that's what makes it challenging and exciting, and much more fun than driving up the I95 to New York.

BACK ON THE GRID... AHHH

Life back in the USA isn't as easy as I thought.

With mounting paper work and government services to deal with... I am truly frustrated.

I went to renew my driver license and thought I had everything that I needed to do it.

But, I was turned down!!! Here's a picture of the paper work that I needed to renew my license, minus one missing item.

7 forms of documents just to renew an existing drivers license.

Now to touch on taxes.

This is a project that has taken us many weeks to just get the papers in order. 

This is a picture of just some of the paper work that I have to have for U.S. taxes. Remember that we live off the grid and don't really have any bills. I will also have to rent out a storage container and hold on to this maze of paper for seven years.

This years tax paper work for one very very small U.S. Business.

Life in the U.S.A. is not fun at the moment.

The "rub" is that living for 2 years off the grid, where most things are done with cash or trade, there is no paperwork, so... the tax rules don't make a lot of sense. I guess that taxes are good when you're "in the system" and using all of the services provided by your tax dollars, but when you're not... it all seems a bit ridiculous really. A flat tax would be nice and simple, but then you'd have thousands of poor attorneys and accountants opening sweet shops or something.

It'll all be over soon and we can get back to living... until next year.

Odessa Makes it Home

This was our best sail ever! We sailed from Cayman Islands to Key West in 3 days (633 Nautical Miles, averaging 8.5 knots).

It was a gratifying and pleasurable sail, with perfect weather, and perfect company....

We were blessed with everything, from perfect sun sets to wind that offered speed. And best of all, my favorite, calm seas with low swells across the Gulf Stream. We even had dolphins greeting us back to the United States, "WOW!!" is all I  can say.

OUR DREAM BOAT

ok... we're very behind on our blog. It's been a wild and crazy ride over the past few months, with unexpected delays, tense moments in Haiti, huge seas in both the Mona Passage and the Cuba Passage and a month with no access to basic food and rationing water. 2000 miles without an auto pilot and getting marooned on a tiny rock 100 miles south of Guantanamo, really makes you stop and smell the roses when you get to a place like the Cayman Islands. We're holding here while we instal a new auto pilot and swim in the clearest water we've ever seen. It's time to take stock and plan out the next few months, catch up on the blog posts. So in the meantime here's a video clip we did of our dream yacht... she was anchored with us under the shadow of Mt. Pelle in Martinique.

Dominica the Eden we hoped for

When we arrived in the semi dark of our first night sail, the very tiered crew fell fast asleep rather quickly. I was left alone in the moonlit cockpit as the sky began to change from black to glowing grays, then blue, finally unfolding to greet the sun as it rose in it's glory peeking over the lush mountains. The aura was unique as the sun and moon shared the same sky for a brief period, almost as if they were changing watch themselves.

The warm glow in the cockpit was cozy.

Very tiered, but happy to be here.

 I too fell asleep after a prayer to thank God for a safe trip.

After a nice rest we went into the bustling town of Rosearu and took a delightful taxi up to Victoria Falls and the hot springs which are in the southern part of Dominica. During a fifteen minute exciting  ride, twisting and climbing into the interior, everything quickly changed before our eyes. The lush overgrowth encroached on the road at times like a roof over your house. The whole family just fell in love with the stunning plant life that encompasses this wild country.

Steam rises and water flows down the landscape shaping it

 and helping the growth of such a magnificent land.

As we walked along the road side bananas hung over the street.

There must of been hundreds.

Families of goats dotted the paths. Munching as much as they could.

The foot path to Victoria Falls.

Home of the Mama and the Papa waterfalls.

Isabel makes tracks up to the falls.

Izzy bought a flute from a "jungle guy"

Once we drew closer to the falls our path began to change.

The trail became rocky and very moist. We had to take care and step with caution on the moss covered stones. For a group of boat bohemians who go barefoot all of the time, hiking shoes were foreign.  We felt a little bit like, "Fish out of water" on dry land.

The trail changes were minuscule at first, but quickly became reshaped by many years of flowing water.

For our Russian friend Valery

Boulders became larger and climbing the rocks became laborious.

Allan and Devon were the only ones in our bunch that made it close up and personal with Mama Falls and victory is theirs.  

Flowers just spring up in the earth all over the territory. There isn't a spot on the ground that doesn't have an alluring flower growing form it.  The locals just pick the different species and create spectacular arrangements on the side of the streets for all to enjoy.

The people are very creative in Dominica.

Dominica is such a blessed joy to see hear and taste. I would love to come again.