#9 Let the truth be told... - Cruising Moonshine

So, you’ve had an opportunity to read Butch’s summary of our trip. Now, let me tell you what REALLY happened! (From a non-boater’s perspective of course.)

To be honest, I was a hot mess when we arrived to the boat. Two days prior, we lost our precious Zoey to a massive stroke. Me breaking out in tears for no apparent reason was the order for the trip. The night before we left for Alabama, I decided I needed to go dancing with the usual Tiki Bar crowd only to find out that one of the guys tested positive for Covid. Sure enough, over the next few days, I had Covid symptoms. Being with a pharmacist was never more appreciated as Butch kept my symptoms under control. As hard as I tried to keep my distance from him (which is virtually impossible in a boat!) Butch too, came down with symptoms. His were more significant than mine but like a true pirate with little sleep, a nagging cough, fever, and chills he forged ahead with our plans. So, was the backdrop of the first few days of our trip.

This hot mess only got hotter with the air conditioner failure. We assumed once we left the original marina that the water temperatures would cool down and our AC would resume working. No such luck. The water temperatures stayed too hot until the night before we arrived back home. Staying hydrated was a constant battle. Our favorite appliance on the boat was the ice maker, we never would’ve survived without it! Our fridge and the electric cooler ran overtime. Changing clothes was like getting into and out of a wet bathing suit. It was too hot to eat, sleep or stop the boat. We sailed eight to ten hours each day- out of necessity. The moving boat provided a life sustaining breeze. We left early each morning and ran like the wind until just minutes before sunset each evening.

And when we did stop…Butch mentioned the marinas but what he didn’t mention is that they were few and far between and generally less than helpful. One gas stop stranded us for over two hours in the hot swampy heat without another soul in sight and not enough gas to make it to the next marina. One over night marina stay (that I convinced Butch I needed) left us in search of our slip, with something wrapped around our propeller, and no cell service, WiFi password, or gate code. Anchoring out was just as much fun. It starts when your partner takes you outside and points to a weird looking tree in the distance and gives you a flashlight. Apparently these boating people have pretty loose safety standards. It’s expected that whenever you awaken during the night, you go outside and shine your flashlight on that tree to ascertain that you haven’t floated into the shipping lane where barges sail by and crush your boat. It ends during the night with me opening the door to find the tree but instead finding thousands of fish flies covering the boat, shutting the door, and choosing death by barge rather than terror by fishflies.

I know this will come as a surprise, but I thrive on being organized, competent, and in control. What a joke! I embrace the fact that I’m Italian, I freely share that with people I meet. I love feeding people and am a self proclaimed romantic-realist. But on a daily basis my life is run from the German side of my brain, which I unsuccessfully try to conceal. I need rules, I need expectations, I need an applicable skill set. The only rules I discovered while boating were: 1. Don’t fall out of the boat but wear a life jacket just in case you do; 2. Don’t let ropes get wrapped around your body parts; 3. If you cut off a finger, medical help is a long way away so just don’t do that. The expectations were clear – do whatever you’re supposed to do but good luck figuring out what that is and how to do it. My skill set was non-existent. Did I mention I’ve NEVER boated? I didn’t even have the vocabulary list. Who’s to know its not called the “rope with the circle at the end”? I was truly a fish out of water. Most of the time I had no idea what state I was in. At the end of each day, I’d ask Siri, “Hey Siri, Where am I?” Imagine my joy when one evening she replied, “Cheryl, I have no idea where you are.” You can’t make up this stuff!

I mentioned my romantic Italian side. When we first discussed buying a boat and setting out on this adventure, I was all in. I’d spent a great deal of time around water and had watched with envy those beautiful white yachts sailing past my RV as it lay dormant in its campsite. I envisioned lifelong friends sharing delicious food, laughter, and glasses of chilled wine in the glow of the moon at the end of a relaxing day on the water. So, I packed for that. I packed cute outfits and sparkly sandals to wear to the quaint restaurants at the state of the art marinas we’d encounter along the way. I packed two new bathing suits and a new lace cover up for lounging on the front of the boat in the late afternoon sun. I packed a hairdryer, a curling iron, nail polish, make up, and a variety of grooming products to look my best at all times. I packed a hula hoop that I use thirty minutes each day at home. I filled our freezer with food and packed a selection of cheeses, crackers and wine for those romantic evenings in the MoonShine. Silly me! One marina did have a grill but the lady working it was out to lunch when we arrived. Not a single restaurant. The sun and heat were relentless. At every turn, I’d run from one side of the boat to the other in search of a smidgen of shade. I wish I would’ve received that vocabulary list with “boat hair” on it! Keeping my bangs from sandblasting my face was all the hair care I dreamed of. By the end of each day what energy I could muster was rationed to brushing my teeth. Most of the food is now in my freezer at home, it was too hot to eat anything but watermelon. For the longest time, we couldn’t find the alcohol which was probably a good thing. Had we ingested it, we probably would’ve spontaneously combusted from the heat. But I wore lipstick every day, darn it. I refused to be uncivilized.

Butch referred to glitches on our voyage. There was not one single day that we (to be read “Butch”) didn’t have a significant issue to remedy. The one day that I thought we were going to be relatively problem free (the issue for the day worked itself off our propeller as we got underway in the morning), I was awakened at 12:45 am to Butch requesting my help. Since I’m useless boat-wise, I thought he was having a medical emergency and I immediately jumped awake ready for action. But alas, Butch was fine except for the water dripping on his head from the closed window above the bed. He had to go outside in the pouring rain to cover the window with plastic and the canvas cover. I laughed hysterically. Butch thought I’d finally lost touch with reality. But what I was actually doing was mourning the best way I knew how our one almost uneventful day.

It’s no surprise that when we arrived home, the drama continued. There was a boat in our slip. After 13 days, 900 miles, 104 degree temperatures, one bad marina experience after another, Covid, prop issues, fish flies, no air conditioning, overall grumpiness, and 40 minutes of the marina staff trying to locate the boat’s owner, the boat was pulled out of our slip so we could get in. After we settled in and tied up, we plugged in but had no power. The problems continued but they couldn’t dampen the excitement and relief of finally being home.

What I learned from this trip is that my partner knows soooooo much and he fixes things. There’s a hat online that is perfect for him. (photo below) I am in total awe of how he diagnosed things and even with the limited tools and supplies he had on board, fixed almost every problem that arose. He worked so hard to make this trip memorable and pleasant for me and those efforts did not go unrecognized. I just wish I could have been more help to him and that he too could have enjoyed the trip more. I learned that I need to be a better listener and not go off on tangents. I learned that I don’t have to always be in control (but the vocabulary list and skill set would still be greatly appreciated). I learned that I can do hard things and survive being uncomfortable. I learned that going on adventures with this man is so much more rewarding than sitting in the comfort of my own home. And most importantly I learned that sometimes you have to live outside your comfort zone to fully appreciate life. We lived!

MoonShine is officially part of the family: