Shameless

Here is a schedule of how things went down over a week and a half, the embarkation of the adventure.  So much happened (much of it spilling from one day into the next) that it’s hard to keep it all straight.  Even now, two weeks later it seems like a few days since the boat got loaded onto the truck at the lake instead of a few weeks.  So many of these days could be characterized in one word “Stress”, but the truth of the matter is that it was also a lot of fun.  It’s hard to forget all the pacing and worrying I did, but it’s easy to remember how much fun it was to hang out with my friends and how helpful they were in bouncing my troubles around with me and helping figure out how to proceed.  There was a lot of laughing at the situation, even as it got quite serious.  There was an element of cosmic humor as I floundered about, trying to make up for being ill-prepared.

Tuesday the 14^th – The boat goes on a big trailer

Wednesday the 15^th – Colleen and I drive from Charlotte to New Bern

Friday the 17^th – The mast gets back in place

Saturday the 18^th – Antonio arrives in New Bern

Monday the 20^th – We set out from New Bern

Tuesday the 21^st – We tackle the first section of the ICW

Wednesday the 22^nd – We attack the ocean

Thursday the 23^rd – We return defeated, and head for a mechanic

Friday the 24^th – We almost get arrested

Saturday the 25^th – Antonio returns to Charlotte

Monday the 27^th – I set out in the ICW alone

That brings me to now, even though filling in the gaps will take much longer to accomplish than glossing over with this (very) loose outline.  This doesn’t even scratch the surface.

But before we get to the good stuff in subsequent posts... this horrible thing:

I'm going to come right out and say it- I'm broke.

So broke this adventure is in risk of coming to an end before its time.  I will do everything in my power to stop that from happening- which is why I have to ask for any assistance anybody is willing to give.

My engine is broken down which, as it turns out, is a big deal for a sailboat.

The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is really more like a watery country road.  It's narrow, and shallow, and is poorly maintained.  Instead of pot holes, there are sandbanks, instead of traffic jams there is low tide, instead of road rage, there's bird shit.
When the wind dies or isn't in your favor there's not much to do but float aimlessly into a sandbank...  There's no room for tacking, or catching the wind, or for real sailing.

Even when the engine is fixed, it is clear that I will have far too many things left to pay for- the current list of items I'll probably list from time to time so you know what your donation will be going towards.
Right now the list reads something like this and will only include the most essential requirements:

Mechanic
Dinghy
Outboard motor
2nd Anchor
Backup bilge pump

The way you can help is to either click on the ads you see on this page, or to donate directly to my PayPal account.  I believe I get a fraction of a cent per ad click, so if you don't want to donate real money then that is the option I recommend.  Otherwise, real donations are likely to be what I actually see, because honestly I don't think I'm popular enough to support advertising revenue. 

Donations or not I guarantee I will do everything I can to keep this misguided adventure going- even as my loved ones forget me, nature tries to destroy me, and the law tries to snare me!  Viva la aventura!