alive again

Today it's been raining like a monsoon storm hit the coast of New England, but two days ago, this is what went down over here… Alex's first outdoor boat project in five months! Repairing around the bolts that hold the main sheet traveler, as the wood underneath had started to rot. 

Next up: checking other suspicious leaks and damages (many) caused by a long cold winter, and repairing all those, one by one. If only the rain could stop pouring down. That would make things a tad easier. If it's not one thing, it's always something else, non? 

Still very happy to get back to our "normal" live aboard life though after too many months in hibernation. Meaning, we are back to living full time on the boat again, and the warmer weather allows us to finally start living life like normal people, once again. Out of the dark, into the sun.

As you might know, we have stayed approx. 20% of our winter days and nights in the lovely little flat in Cambridge*, and the rest of the nights on the boat in this wonderful marina in Boston Harbor. But as spring is here and the coldest part of the season is behind us, we are again ready to spend 100% of our time in our floating home. Making her sail ready for the upcoming sailing season is now our first priority. 

I haven't shared many photos or stories from the boat these past few months as it's literally been too cold to shoot and write. I think I said somewhere earlier that we have had an average indoor temperature of 15˚C, but the truth is that many nights when outdoor temperature was far below zero Celsius, we couldn't have had more than perhaps 7-8˚C (45˚F) in the cabin - as that is more or less when you start seeing your breath, which was the case many a night. 

I remember a night when I woke up around 3am, limbs frozen, teeth shaking, and I had to go to the bathroom. Of course, the hoses and toilet on the boat was all frozen firm. So in the pitch dark, with a howling snow storm outside, -15˚C, I had to dress my already over dressed body and head out to the marina facility's restrooms outside. Half a mile from the boat. And I finally arrived after trudging through the snow on slippery icy wooden docks, but only to find out my frozen brain had forgotten the damn keys to the bathroom on the boat! 

It's definitely been an interesting time, an odd change and experience in life if you will, and I'm somewhat surprised at how good we've managed with the conditions we had to deal with. But it only proves to me again that human beings are ever so adaptable. We all are much stronger than what we might think that we are. It's really only the distractions and conveniences of our modern society and lifestyle's that have made us think we need a certain level of comfort. But life really doesn't have to be all easy and comfortable for us to survive. I think it is important and very healthy to sometimes step out of our comfort zones, literally speaking, in order to feel what life and real nature really feels like. How it was lived before we all got lazy and demanding.

Of course off shore sailing, riding through storms and living in the nature already gives you a sense of natural raw reality, but I'm also very glad we got this opportunity to feel how it is to live aboard in such low temperatures with all what it means. However cold and miserable it's been at times. And even if this was considered one of the coldest winters in history (we def. picked the right one!), I know it can be much much worse. Will think about installing a shrink-wrap if we ever find ourselves in something worse than this though.

All experiences that doesn't kill you, will not only give you valuable teachings and important life lessons, but it'll also give you a bunch of good stories to tell. For all those I'll always be very thankful.

*A massive thank you to Chris who let us stay in the apartment every now and then this past winter. You've been far too kind and hospitable and we owe you at least a week of sailing when you get back from your world trip next year! Let's hope we'll be somewhere much warmer by then :) All the best for you upcoming travels.