03/25/2002 - 03/28/2002
Today, March 25th, 2002, started like memories of Christmas as a child. We both awoke at 5:00 am in anticipation of "opening" the presents long awaited. Thirteen years ago we met. Eleven years ago we started going to boat shows looking a dream. Ten years ago we married. Six years ago we started to receive our formal sailing certifications. Three years ago we ordered Whisper from West Coast Yachts. Two years ago Whisper arrived in Seattle. Six months ago, we moved aboard Whisper. Close to three months ago we stopped working and focused on getting ready to start cruising. Today, we left our slip at Marina Village Yacht Hrabor to realize the fruits of our labor and the substance of our dream. At 5:00 am, we awoke to the excitement of finally leaving the slip and heading toward the next adventure. Unlike kids at Christmas, we managed to fall back asleep until around 8:30 am. Perhaps the pace of trying to complete our pre-departure chores, the resulting exhaustion and the dock party we hosted on Saturday allowed us to fall back to sleep.
Prior to today, time passed quickly as we wrapped up the last few logistical chores. The last remaining land-based toys including a car, a kayak and two bikes sold easily as a result of Duncan's resourcefulness ( i.e., Yahoo Classifieds, craigslist and marina bulletin boards). The Nissan Pathfinder sold quickly to a 20 year old college student. The car/truck will never be the same. At this point, we rented a car to transport us for about a week. Several runs to West Marine and Svendsen's finished the high priority outfitting prior to departure. Buying items such as "Green Death" -- the stuff used under water to patch holes in the boat when something puts a hole in the boat -- kind of makes you wonder whether our adventure is for fun or for a huge chemistry and physics experiment.
Other than buying and selling, we made certain Whisper looked and felt prepared for the next step. Her bottom was cleaned so we can go fast, zincs were replaced, topsides were waxed, metal was polished and teak was varnished. Just when she looked ship shape, we through party to say goodbye to our friends at the marina. Several people commented that Whisper did not look like a cruising boat due to her cleanliness. Comments like this made the hard work worthwhile.
The party we hosted on Saturday allowed us to celebrate the last couple of years of friendships. Unlike Robin's normal party preparations, we focused on simplicity. Even with the simple plans, the biggest stress factor was weather. The forecast predicted rain, yet mother nature smiled upon us with sunshine albeit a bit chilly. Everyone brought food and beverage and good spirits. Based on the quantity of wine consumed, we think folks enjoyed themselves. We enjoyed seeing everyone.
On Sunday, we launched Duncan up the mast to retrieve the party flag from the previous night. Stowage, stowage and stowage usurped the rest of the day. We managed to find places on Whisper, some of them temporary, for everything. Several folks stopped by to bid us goodbye. While verbally suggesting we did not know when we planned to leave, we secretly made reservations at the Saint Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. Carless after returning the rental car, we realized Whisper is our primary means of transportation for a while. Then, friends took us to dinner on Sunday at Chevy's. Aahhh, life is good.
After walking to walking to breakfast, turning in our marina keys and checking our mail one last time, we cut the umbilical cord from our slip of two years and headed out the Oakland estuary. Robin cried tears of joy and Duncan displayed his fantastic smile. Then, just to remind us we are still in a major shipping channel, a huge freighter and a ferry claimed the majority of the estuary. We squeezed by them and made our way to the bay. The wind and clouds created a chilly trip over to San Francisco. The temperature and spirits sent chills through our bodies and minds. Then, Christmas in March occured today at the Saint Francis Yacht Club aboard Whisper after we docked and celebrated the start of realizing our dreams. We are still kids at heart.
Thanks for checking in on us. Soon we will head toward Half Moon Bay.