There is a saying; 30 Days hath September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31 except February which has 80.

February continues to be bitterly cold which means that we are not working on Strathspey and the List of tasks still looms large. Blair is getting antsy; worried that we won’t get everything done before launch time. I’m just getting a little peeved at the piles of boat junk that have appeared in every corner of our house.

In spite of February (and winter) dragging on, we keep getting these “life is good, can’t keep it to myself” moments. The best part of all is that when the emotions bubble over, we can share the giddy feelings with our good friends Beth and Jim from Madcap, our boat buddies for this trip.

Madcap in Mexico
Bay

Because they are on the same countdown, they understand exactly how we’re feeling for every step of the preparation for this cruise. Madcap is a sturdy, ocean-ready 36-foot Bayfield with warm comfortable spaces down below. Our first cruise with Madcap was a 26 hour sail from Kingston to Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2005 and we have been fast friends ever since. We share the same taste in books, food and wine and their optimism and good humour warms my heart.

But, in the meantime, to tame the piles of boat “stuff” (Blair says I have to stop calling it junk…), we’ve been collecting Rubbermaid boxes in various sizes. Some boxes will be stored in our basement for use upon our return and some will be loaded on Strathspey. The reality is that Strathspey is not a big boat; she’s big on the outside but there is not a lot of storage room down below. The other issue is that we have a whole slew of things that are dear to our heart that we want to bring along. Blair wants to bring his guitar and bagpipes. I want to bring my violin. And books; I have a reading list that I have been compiling for the last 20 years in anticipation of just such an opportunity.

Blair is the self appointed purser on this trip. He of course must find places for all these items so to that end we’ve made a diagram of all the little hidey holes on board Strathspey and what we plan to keep in them.

Of course this lack of space has naturally led to not so veiled comments like “do you really need to bring that?” and “are you thinking you’re going to actually use that thing”. So, to keep the peace, we’ve agreed that we’ll each get one box to ourselves; one that we can fill with that which we choose with no defense required. At first blush, I’d planned to fill my personal box with what I thought were can’t-do-without-it things like my breadmaker and espresso machine; I have since come to my senses. They always say that when people have to get out of their homes in a hurry, the only thing they grab are the baby pictures. I do know that the pressure of selecting what to put in this one small box to keep that close-to-home feeling makes me do a double take on what is important enough to make the cut. And so it goes…

Beth, Jim, Blair and Mary