Last night was our last Sunday night in our house.  Today is our last Monday.  If I don’t get a hold of myself, I’ll be starting every sentence for the rest of the week with “This is our last…”

It started with our last Sunday Breakfast.  For ten years, we’ve been welcoming every new week and celebrating family time with a big, home cooked Sunday breakfast.  I could only count a handful of missed breakfasts in all that time.  We rotate between chocolate chip pancakes, waffles, swedish pancakes, and pancake puff (known as a Dutch Baby in recipe books.  If you don’t know what this is, you MUST make one.  Right Now.)

Our Sunday Breakfasts allow Chris to have special time with the children, cooking together and figuring out who will go and wake up mommy when the food is ready.  Sunday Breakfasts allow me to sleep late, which might be my favorite thing in the entire world.  We have a whole ritual about it that is comforting and deeply meaningful to each of us.  I know we will continue our Sunday Breakfasts this coming year, but there was something about our last one in this house, for now, that struck a sentimental chord.  Maybe it was because we made waffles for the last time (since we won’t have our waffle iron on board…)

Perhaps, luckily, there will not be much time for sentimentality this week.  We still have so much to do, despite working almost non-stop since Friday morning.  This was “loading weekend”.  After staging all the “boat stuff” in our living room and garage this month, Chris and I loaded it all up in our cars and drove it all up to the boat in a crazy thunder and lightning storm!  We had to wait for breaks in the deluge to run the items from our cars down the (very long) dock in wheelbarrows.

We agreed that it would be better for our relationship if I was in charge of organizing where everything should go.  And I definitely need to be responsible for labeling (Chris labels his file folders using his regular handwriting.  In pencil.  I label EVERYTHING.  With a label maker.)  He had some great ideas, though, so I incorporated them into my our plan, which now includes a detailed map of the boat, labeled where each item is stored.  If only there was a market demand for professional boat packers…

Now that we have most of the clothes packed, I would say the boat is 85% loaded.  We are in much better shape than I had imagined we would be.  One need only look at the average, typical “liveaboard” boat to know how desperately frightened I’ve been about looking like what my dad would call a “taco wagon”.  I am happy with how it looks so far and am only mildly concerned about the typical “last minute” items and Chris’ probable attempt to sneak his roller blades on board.

Here is a list of some of the essential (and non-essential) tasks we have completed this week.  Can you guess which is which?

Packed the boat.

Kids slept over Grandma’s house, complete with dinner at Friendly’s and pooltime.

Watched Hangover 2.

Took kids to Olive Garden (Porter’s request).

Had Reese’s friend Kimmie over for a sleepover.

Bryson slept over his friend James’ house and took a golf lesson with him.

Emptied Bryson and Reese’s rooms and the hallway bathroom to get ready for our house guests.

Bought things for the boat: kayak, stand-up paddle board, portable fan, travel-sized iron, rubber gloves (no dishwasher), shower caddy, and a tiny red teapot.

Talked with Dom and our other friends at Haverstraw Marina while we should have been working (essential training in converting to “docktime”- a more laid back sense of time)

Visited with the Sparago family up at the boat and said goodbye…

Ate Wendy’s for lunch :(  (I was desperate.)

Got an iPhone 4s so that Chris and I can split our service between Verizon and AT&T.

Took my mom and Sal and the Grogins out for a sail and went swimming in the Hudson River.  Successfully anchored with minimum yelling.

Went to the recycling center.  A lot.

Ordered an obscene amount of product from Hammer Nutrition.  I’m all set for about 6 months of yoga, hiking, cycling, distance sailing, and swimming.

Celebrated Aunt Anne’s 60th birthday with the Conways.

Got a massage.  Almost cried with relief.

Had my mom and Sal for a visit and said goodbye…

Got my hair dyed for the last time.

Got lots of help packing from my friend Stephanie Altman.

Met with my Cub Scout co-den leaders to plan out the next year.

Went to Girl’s Night Out at the Orange Lantern to celebrate the end of school. (All I can say is that  I don’t have to pack another &*$%!@ lunchbox until September 2013!)

And….eye doctor, 3rd grade walking trip to The Hermitage, had the Cub Scouts out for a sail, last piano lesson, last tball game, dinner with Carolyn and Aaron, last homeschooling meeting with teachers, Reese bridged to Girl Scouts from Brownies, Bryson and Reese competed in a Triathlon, our friends threw a going away party for us and another family, the kids finished school, and Reese got her palette expander out.  Did I mention that my family kept wearing clothes and eating food, which meant the usual laundry and dishes?

Well, that brings us up to our last Monday night.  We are on schedule to leave on time.  Everyone is welcome to send us off this Sunday, July 1st, at 12pm sharp:  Haverstraw Marina, North Entrance, end of the dock.  If you can’t make it, wish for fair winds and red skies at night:)

Our videos will be published on YouTube.com.  The name of our channel is…let’s see if you can guess…..conwaysailors.  We have a few non-sailing videos there now, but I’ll let you know when we add some fun stuff from our new Go Pro Hero.  http://www.youtube.com/user/conwaysailors?feature=results_main

Once we leave, be sure to click the link to Patronus’ Location if you are ever curious as to where we are in real-time.  The link is found on the left margin of our homepage.  Also check out the kids’ blogs as soon as we get started.  Their homeschooling will start with daily journaling about our new life.  FYI, if you are subscribed and read our updates on email, or you are reading our website on your mobile device, you may not see all these features.

Thank you for all the gentle reminders that I have not posted our itinerary yet:) Our official floatplan (itinerary) will be available online next week.  Here is a look at the first week:

July 1: Haverstraw, NY to Port Washington, NY (dinner with the Weintraub’s)

July 2: Port Washington, NY (visit with Dad and Kathy and the McLeans) to Port Jefferson, NY

July 3: Port Jefferson, NY (visit with Erica’s childhood friends and show kids mommy’s old stomping grounds) overnight sail to Newport, RI (arrive morning of July 4)

July 4-July 9: Newport, RI (4th of July, visits with Armitages, Halls, and Horans)

So in 24 hours I had one of the worst feelings I ever get as well as one of the best.  Might as well get the bad over with first.  It’s not that terrible, so don’t worry.

Last night, after what feels like 3 months of constant motion, I stayed up late.  Again.  Trying to catch up on emails  Writing out teacher thank you notes.  Testing the SPOT application for our website. (haven’t checked it out yet?  click the link that says Patronus Location.  So cool and will be cooler once we go farther than Croton.)  Etc, etc.

When I finally laid my head on my pillow, I had that feeling.  I was SO SO HAPPY because my bed felt so good and my body was so tired.  And right as I was relishing how yummy and happy I was to be in bed, it occurred to me that I COULD HAVE BEEN ENJOYING THIS DELICIOUS FEELING 3 HOURS AGO!  Argh!  Does anyone else get that?  It’s just awful.  Well, awful for someone almost as sleep-deprived as those lovely three months after having a baby…

But then my children got home from school today and we got to open a surprise gift from the Batt family.  Chris is always doing something special for the school, for her friends, for her family, and for worthy causes.  She is an amazing and beautiful woman.  When she heard about our trip, she gave journals to each of our children.  And today, we opened a gift that was so special that it erased the exhaustion that has been accumulating over the last few weeks:

That’s right.  Chris and her family gave us empty bottles with scrolls for us to write our messages on and send out to the world.  Six bottles with which to reach out across the sea to a stranger on a distant shore.  A stranger who will hear our story and send their own message back to the sea.   I was happy to see that Bryson, Reese and Porter are just as excited as I am to send out our messages.  As an old salt who should have been born a few centuries ago, this gift brought out the part of me that just simply can’t wait to truly call the sea my home…

(This gift was one of MANY wonderful gestures that have helped to make our departure full of love.  We love the journals, note cards, and special gifts with our boat name on them, like the beautiful canvas bag, cocktail napkins and glasses.  The phone calls, Bon Voyage cards, and donations to our school fund have touched us more than you’ll ever know.  Thank you all for your love and support.)

When sharing news of our upcoming trip, we are met with enthusiasm and support, and sometimes with a good dose of worry.  We have gotten concerned questions about all aspects of safety regarding our journey.  I will try to allay some of those fears by addressing the various concerns about:

-Piracy/Theft

-Health and Wellness

-Man overboard/Loss of ship

-Food/Water/Electricity

Today, I will address everyone’s second most pressing concern after piracy – our health and wellness.  There are two main situations with which we are dealing.  The first is getting reliable medical care while we are in the remote islands of the Caribbean.  The second is dealing with medical emergencies during our two long passages (a 650 mile leg – around 6 days- from NC to Bermuda and an 850 mile leg -around 9 days- from Bermuda to the British Virgin Islands).  While cruising the US coast, we will have the same access to American doctors and pharmacies as those who live on land.  Each night, we will be anchored in a protected harbor and will be a short dinghy ride away from the land, where we can easily get transportation to a hospital, doctor, or pharmacy as needed.

Half of Our First Aid Kit

In order to deal with the other scenarios, we have worked closely with our doctor friends to create a ridiculously thorough first aid kit, some of which is shown here.  We started by using the first aid kit list from “Whatcha Gonna Do”, a boat that has been cruising for 2 years in the Pacific.  I contacted the owners and they sent me their spreadsheet, which listed every item in their boat having to do with first aid.  Their list was exhaustive due to the fact that their long distance passages were up to 22 days at sea, with no land in sight.  When you are that far into the Pacific, rescue helicopters can not reach you (no place to refuel), and commercial shipping becomes much more sparse than in the Atlantic.  In addition, the islands they visited in French Polynesia and the South Pacific are not known for their state-of-the-art medical facilities…

Overall, we are very healthy, so we hope to only utilize the hundreds of Band-Aids and bottles of sunscreen we have been stockpiling!  Even so, we have included items to deal with seasickness, jellyfish stings, snakebites, broken bones, dental emergencies, and severe infection, in addition to typical “medicine cabinet” items to help with cuts, stomachaches, colds, and burns.

Finally, we met with our acupuncturist to learn how to perform acupuncture on each other.  These skills will be incredibly helpful when dealing with pain and trauma due to cuts, muscle strain, bites, stings, and more, including the emotional stresses of life (at sea or not).  The lessons put our minds at ease, knowing we would be able to comfort each other while dealing with a minor illness or while seeking professional medical treatment for a bigger issue.

While my CPR and First Aid certificates are now expired, I remember it all well and have the additional training of being a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) member in Ho-Ho-Kus.  Our CERT training included first aid and triage as well as firefighting and dealing with chemical and toxic spills, severe weather, and terrorism.

Many people have wondered how we will keep fit.  If they only knew how physically demanding sailing and maintaining a boat can be!  In addition to working hard while sailing, we will be eating much healthier.  Fresh fish, tropical fruits and vegetables picked that day… Yum!  Our limited storage space prohibits keeping junk food on board and sadly, our freezer won’t be reliable enough to keep up my “half a pint of haagen-dazs a night” habit.  I guess that is a good thing…

We will exercise by swimming, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, rowing, hiking, walking on the beach, doing yoga on deck, paddleboarding, and kayaking.  I am especially excited about trying paddleboard yoga.  Imagine the balance that can be cultivated by practicing headstands on a floating board!  Chris and I will run and we will rent  bikes as often as we can. 

So take this item off your worry list and keep thinking about pirates until my next installment of ….”Safety At Sea”.