Are we ever getting out of here??

Our original plan was to retire in October 2017 and start our sailing adventure shortly thereafter.  Unfortunately, I had an iffy mammogram result which required monitoring and then Irma & Maria tore up the Caribbean.  We decided to postpone for a year so I could get a definite diagnosis (which fortunately turned out okay) and to give time for the anchorages to be cleared of debris.

You would think, given that we had an extra year to prep, we would have been ready.  Not so much!  We really spent that time focused more on making all the purchases we thought we would need, such as the electronics, and building up the cruising kitty than completing actual work. 

Fast forward to mid-2018 when both of us finally left our jobs and made the move onto the boat with full intention of being able to leave by the end of November.  As we jumped into boat work, it became clear that my hands were not up to the task.  I had known for quite some time that I had carpul tunnel issues but didn’t realize how bad they were and how little grip strength I had.  Crap, surgery on both hands which put me out of commission for a while.  Russell continued knocking major items off our list but there are some things that take two sets of hands. We also took a trip to visit our kids/grands in California which took us away from the boat for three weeks, but we were still trying to leave by year end.

As they say, anything on a boat takes twice as much money and time as you planned for so it’s now mid-January and we’re still here!!  We think we’re pretty much done with all the major boat projects unless something shows up during our sea trials.  Personally, I think Ddraig is readier than we are.  We’ve been so focused on boat mechanics/electricians/carpenters/etc, we now need to remember how to be sailors. I told Russell last night I was no longer telling anyone when we were leaving (but it really is going to be soon) because I think they are starting to doubt us.