Waking Up From a Dream

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Adorable (and persistent) mola salesperson at Achutupu in the far Eastern San Blas

What happens when you wake up from a dream and realize you did it?    After years spent dreaming and then planning, we sailed off into the sunset fifteen winters in a row … and now…..

Winterlude in Savannah Bight, Guanaja in the Bay Islands of Honduras -- anchored at Josh Cay to be exact. Oh to be there now....
Winterlude in Savannah Bight, Guanaja in the Bay Islands of Honduras — anchored at Josh Cay to be exact. Oh to be there now….

We just sold our boat,  s/v Winterlude.

We’re both still in a bit of shock.  We didn’t anticipate officially putting the boat on the market and having an offer the first day.

So now we’re boatless?  And more than a bit at loose ends….

Adorable (and persistent) mola salesperson at Achutupu in the far Eastern San Blas
Adorable (and persistent) mola salesperson at Achutupu in the far Eastern San Blas

Originally the “dream” was to buy my own molas in the San Blas Islands, Panama.  But at the time, I didn’t own a boat and was a single mom starting her own business with two almost teenagers.

And didn’t even know how to sail.  I just thought it would be amazing to sail off into the sunset.  And we did.

Sunset sailing to Cuba
Sunset sailing to Cuba

We cruised with the dolphins, eagle rays and sea turtles through the Western Caribbean, Belize, Bay Islands.  We beat to windward against the prevailing easterlies to round the corner and sail south to Providencia & San Andres, Colombia.

1st Anniversary, Dancing at Grahams Place/Josh's Cay, Guanaja, Bay Islands, Honduras
1st Anniversary, Josh’s Cay, Guanaja, Bay Islands, Honduras

We danced barefoot on the sand.

We spent almost a year cruising through the San Blas Islands (bought a stack of molas more than 6″ high … one at a time), to Cartegena, Colombia.  Discovered one of our favorite ever places in Sapzurro, Colombia (mainland coast border with Panama)  Six years, six months at a time.

We sailed the Great Bahamas Banks the through the Exumas, spending as much time as we could in the Exumas Land & Sea Park – another of our favorite places.

For years I wanted to sail to Cuba …. and finally this year, that dream came true.

The dreams all came true – due to hard work and perseverance, alot of sweat mixed with fleeting moments of terror.  And, of course, “fixing things in exotic locales”.

Dolphins in our bow wake.
Dolphins in our bow wake.

For the past several years, we’ve been wondering … what next?  What’s the next dream?  Beyond Cuba.  And the answer?  We’re not quite sure, but it doesn’t involve living aboard our precious bluewater sailboat going nowhere.

Exumas Land & Sea Park, Bahamas
Exumas Land & Sea Park, Bahamas

So now we’re wide awake and looking forward to the next dream.  It may involve a different boat, we just haven’t quite figured (or agreed upon) what kind of boat.  We’re busy putting together spreadsheets of criteria of what we’re looking for and we’ll be sharing.

The first step is to figure out what we want to do and where we want to cruise.  We’re examining the things we didn’t get to do with s/v Winterlude that maybe we missed – skipped over in our haste to get the boat to Florida, outfitted and jump off for the exotic Caribbean.

They say you shouldn’t have regrets, but …  we regret not getting to spend time introducing our grandkids to the cruising lifestyle.  We regret not taking the time to cruise the Chesapeake Bay.  Not cruising Maine.  Not anchoring with the wild horses off Cumberland Island.   We’re not sure if there’s a pattern here… but maybe.

Anchored at Stump Pass
Anchored at Stump Pass, April 2016

In future posts, I’ll share our experiences attempting to sell the boat ourselves – do’s and don’ts.  How To with specific info on designing a successful blog page, where to put it, how to market it, where to advertise it. We learned alot and had over 3000 people look at our online ad and more traffic than we wanted inconveniencing us while we were still enjoying Key West.  (Tip #1 – if you want to sell your boat yourself, you have to be COMMITTED to selling it, not out sailing around or cruising to Cuba anytime the weather turns nice.)   🙂

Plus, because of the unexpected timing selling s/v Winterlude (congratulations to Bill & Sally who I know will love her as much as we did), but I still haven’t even finished my series of posts about our last adventure cruising Florida’s west coast.

Stay tuned as we sort out life after bluewater cruising … or maybe I should say life between cruising adventures!

Cheers!  Jan & David … boatless, landlocked and more than a little sad in Central Illinois…

17 COMMENTS

  1. we only get one round on this blue marble….”whatever” the new adventure, enjoy the journey. meander musing the infinite possibilities….AND do a lil of each OR do them all !!!! ha. blessings to you both.

    ps when it stops being fun….stop doing it!
    another pontification in this vein of thinking: “Happyness occurs in moments,
    Contentment is sustained”. Got get’em tiger/tigress !!!!

    • Thanks Sarah! This all happened so quickly that we’re still trying to figure out what’s next. But in the meantime, it’s racing season, so we’re busy sailing regattas. David’s happy because he prefers one design racing to cruising. I prefer cruising, but we’ll figure it out soon enough. 🙂 Cheers – Jan

  2. Two years ago, we were in the same boat (so to speak). We sold Jolie, also did it ourselves, and the same day bought a motorhome. We’ve been land cruising and loving it. Still exploring and birding and botanizing and stargazing. It’s not the vessel, it’s the spirit you bring to the adventure.

    • Thanks Julie! We love stargazing, hiking, exploring, birds, wildlife … and there’s so much more than just water to our world. But we shall see because we’re both water people, so we’ll do some land-travel this year …and our imaginations are the limit! 🙂 Cheers — Jan

  3. I’m not sure congratulations (selling) is the right word, but one thing is clear … you guys don’t just piddle around … you “do.” I think I’ll edit the Carpe diem Wikipedia page to include your photo. I’ll be anxious for “what next” and am sure it will be sooner rather than later.

  4. Jan & David,
    I know the dreams to come will be every bit as adventuresome, engaging, and satisfying as all those you enjoyed on Winterlude. I wish you all the best.
    So, now it is time for my dream to unfold, with Winterlude as the vessel to take me there. I will keep you posted, and perhaps lend updates that may contribute to your postings here. Winterlude is resting proudly in St. Petersburg for the time being, while preparing for further adventures.
    Cheers,
    Bill (new skipper of Winterlude)

    • Bill & Sally! We are SO happy that you are the proud new owners of s/v Winterlude. She will take you on many delightful adventures and I can personally attest that there is no boat anywhere with a better view from the cockpit (of course, maybe all boat owners think that?). 🙂 Please stay in touch! HUGS! Jan

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