Saturday, October 22, 2016

notes from the road.

Today we marked our 1 month anniversary of being underway. We left Scotia this morning and arrived in Waterford, NY around 2:45 this afternoon. We traversed 6 locks, 5 of them in less than a two mile distance. The weather was miserable from the outset but we just needed to reach Waterford. It rained and blew and even flurried and sleeted on us. We were soaked, shivering and emotionally spent by the time it was all said and done. I'm still not warm after the hottest shower available (which was really only a few degrees above tepid). We also got a little off track and hit a rock. Hard. Hard enough to send things flying through the cabin and make the mast that is laying the length of the boat on the deck almost jump off its supports. In addition to that, Fozel is in the stage where he screams as if you're abusing him if you force him to do something that isn't his idea. He woke up screaming, screamed about having to be bathed, screamed about going to bed. Typical 2 year stuff, but disheartening nonetheless. Oh, and did I mention it's raining? The entire day. So all the tiny little leaks have been rearing their ugly heads are out in force. First in the cockpit where there is nary a dry spot to sit without risking a damp posterior and then below, where the portholes sweat and drop into the grab rails that send droplets onto your shoulders while you're eating at the settee or while you're reaching for something in a cabinet and an icy drop sneaks down the back of your shirt collar onto your exposed neck. So today, today was not a good day. So I'll have a drink and go to bed and know tomorrow I can try to make it better. I write this to show that life on a boat, this thing we're doing, ain't always paradise. It's real life and all the typical bs that goes with it plus a few added challenges. We chose this life knowing some days would suck but I'd still rather be here with my crew than anywhere else.