Anniversaries & Firsts

Today, September 18th, is our 2nd Anniversary. Thinking back to where we were and what we thought for our future life 2 years ago is so interesting. I was STILL in graduate school and inching closer to graduation. We had taken our first real step towards this dream of moving aboard a boat by looking at our first potential boat on Labor Day weekend before our wedding but the reality of the dream was not yet close to clear. But we were excitedly joining our lives together forever and our dreams became intertwined.

Our wedding was perfection - Home grown and so full of love. A tiny chapel in the woods and BBQ in the backyard complete with pies rather than cake. In our vows I vowed to Tim that I'd never stop coming up with crazy ideas like buying Volkswagen buses or sailing to Fiji. I vowed I'd never stop mixing life up with him and building stories we could tell our grandkids. So far, so good. 

At our reception my brother Pete gave us a toast and gifted us two books: 

"How to Sail Around the World" and "The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat". He told everyone in the tent about our plans and it was in that moment that the reality of our dream came into focus a bit more. All those who were there, who love us, now knew we were on a path and it was up to us to follow through - thank you to Pete for giving us that much needed and greatly appreciated accountability. As Pete says, "You've got one life, Live it." We love you more than you'll ever know Pete, thanks for being our first and best supporter. 

And now here we are today, September 18th, 2012. We own our dream sailboat, we have moved aboard, already faced some technical challenges (i.e. water and lights), had many a laugh and thanked our lucky stars for our safety plus had a nice rum drink or two with friends and family aboard. And now tonight we are facing our first, real New England storm moving through. I came into work today to this alert from the local news station:

Issued at: 3:27 AM EDT 9/18/12, expires at: 12:00 PM EDT 9/18/12

Wind advisory in effect from 6 pm this evening to 6 am EDT Wednesday, The NWS in Gray, Maine has issued a wind advisory, which is in effect from 6 pm this evening to 6 am EDT Wednesday. 

Winds, south 35 to 45 mph with gusts over 50 mph. 

Timing, early this evening through late tonight. (NO SLEEP TONIGHT ABOARD) 

Impacts, southerly exposures, especially near the shoreline (OUR MARINA) and along hilltops, can expect the highest wind gusts. This will down tree limbs leading to some power outages. (GOOD THING WE RUN ON A BATTERY)

Precautionary/preparedness actions,

A wind advisory means strong wind gusts of 46 to 57 mph can lead to damage due to downed tree limbs and scattered power outages. 

So we will secure another couple lines to the boat, add a fender or two, stow what we can, batten down what we can and hunker down for what will be a very bumpy night. Toby will sleep on top of us I'm sure as he'll be very scared and we'll ride out this night and see what Mother Nature can throw at us. There's no doubt we'll never forget this 2nd Anniversary - isn't that what marriage is? Riding through the storms together? That's never held more meaning...