Missing: The Crew of Zephyr

Well, not really...but in terms of blogging, yes. So...where have we been? Think that Johnny Cash song "I've Been Everywhere" 

"I've been everywhere, man.

I've been everywhere, man.

Crossed the desert's bare, man.

I've breathed the mountain air, man.

Of travel I've had my share, man.

I've been everywhere."

We've been to Boston, Eastie, Harwich, New Orleans, New Castle,Waterbury, Duxbury, Provincetown, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Scituate, Osterville, Katy, Baton Rouge, Bar Harbor DC,Warren, Westport, Woods Hole, Annapolis and...now...good 'ole Kit-ry Maine! Home! 

I'd love to say we'd sailed all those places,it would be quite incredible if we sailed to Katy, TX, but we did sail to a lot of them. This summer was full of change some good and welcome, some not so good. We enjoyed amazing times with family and friends and even had a 4th of July escape in our "Land Yacht" OJ to the Vermont mountains - thanks Hurricane Arthur. 

Our Land Yacht is a great backup plan when a Hurricane ruins 4th of July sailing plans

There is so much to write about like our great weekend sailing trip to Salem...

Or our sweet view of the Boston skyline from our summer slip in East Boston...

Or the many nights spent with a cockpit fulla friends, tunes on the stereo and laughs...

Or our eventful summer cruise to Scituate - Provincetown - Duxbury and beyond where we lost the dinghy in a blow and got towed TWICE! 

A very happy captain sailing his very own boat into Duxbury Bay

A TowBoat US membership is the best thing money can buy! The story of the two folks towing us is for another time.

Or our sail north to Portsmouth when we lost the dinghy - once and for all...

Zephyr's arrival into Little Harbor as seen from Sea-Celia, it's like the heavens were welcoming us back home

And I will write all about these different summer adventures especially since my view out my window right now is of a frozen tundra, complete with ice caking all trees and my cockpit full of an 1" of ice. I like to relive our happy summer times to help me get through the endless Maine winters. 

Basically, the take-away is that in mid-September we sailed back north to Portsmouth/Kittery and we couldn't be happier with our decision. Overall, Boston just was not our cuppa tea. The marina we chose wasn't ideal for living aboard. The constant and vicious wakes from all the boat traffic made for a VERY uncomfortable and constant roll while in our slip. Zephyr would take the waves and wakes on her starboard beam and then would continue to violently roll back and forth for 4-5 minutes The commuter ferry boats start around 5am and from 4-6pm it was also VERY rolly, then on the weekends, it was virtually impossible to be aboard comfortably without getting tossed around the boat getting bruised up. It's probably a great marina for those weekend warriors but for us liveaboards who cook aboard, shower aboard and sleep aboard day in and day out it's just not doable.  

Take a look at our neighbor's boat to get  a good idea of daily life

Add to that, that about 6 weeks into living in Boston, we also started getting very homesick for the lifestyle the Seacoast provides. We missed walking into town for dinner, we missed taking Toby to gorgeous Seapoint Beach on the Maine coast, we missed trees and trails and wild and natural spaces. We missed local foods, local beers, small markets, gastropubs, smoothie stores -- you know the yuppie stuff. Apparently, we're yuppies and we're just fine with that! We missed the simple, quiet, relaxing lifestyle that the Seacoast provides. I mean there's a reason there's a mass exodus from Boston every weekend in the summer to Portsmouth & Kittery- it's vacationland! The Seacoast is where we called home for 8 years and there is something quite wonderful about the people and the life we've built here. 

Once we thought of going into another winter aboard, we couldn't imagine not having the great community of friends (more like family) we made at Badgers Island Marina. That sealed the deal to head north (but really though - who winters in Maine!?) The decision to move home was not a hard one to make, even with the commute Tim now has. It came down to where did we want to be when we weren't working? Where did want to wake up on a Saturday morning? Who'd we want to surround ourselves with to survive another harsh, cold New England winter? 

Living on a boat isn't the easiest lifestyle choice and so it becomes really important that the world outside the boat is comfortable, easy and relaxing. If we'd cast of our lines for points far south and were leaving on our cruising adventure I think it would've been a different tale but because we're still tethered to land for work, family commitments, life, we just simply wanted to be 'home'.  Until we are cruising full-time and have the ability to sail onto a new port whenever we want, it's vital that we like the port we're in. It's no different than picking the neighborhood where you're going to buy a house. 

And really...Let's face it the Farrells are just not city folks! 

So we're the prodigal Seacoasters whom have returned. The summer away gave us great clarity in what it is we want in the next steps of our life and it helped to solidify for us where we're meant to be. It helped to clear our vision so we could reimagine what the next phase might look like and gave us a chance to really take an honest look at our feelings, hold them out in front of ourselves and explore them, own them. It gives us a chance to slow down, take a deep, long breath and realize - we've got it real good. It's time to soak it all in rather than just keep planning and dreaming away today. So that's what we're doing soaking it all in, feeling very grateful we have a lifestyle that allows us to try on new things and return if they don't fit, grateful we have family and friends who support all our choices and grateful we have eachother. 

Stay tuned...until then, if you need us we'll be living inside a bubble in the mighty, freezing waters of the Piscataqua! 

Today 12/8/14 - THE BUBBLE ERECTUS!