Side note:
I wrote this blog on Monday and planned to post it on Tuesday. But I procrastinated, and when I awoke, Southern California was beginning to burn. By Tuesday night, my sister was evacuated, and I didn’t have the heart to post silly little blogs about our adventures at sea.
Paul and I met in Southern California, and I am a proud So Cal girl. We fly the California bear flag on BlueBelle, I live in my UCSB sweatshirt, and Southern California is where my entire family lives.
Although I grew up experiencing wildfires and earthquakes, what is happening now is not something Los Angeles has ever experienced before. The magnitude of destruction and loss won’t be understood for months and years.
I am posting a GoFundMe to help my sister recover from the complete loss of her and her partner’s home and belongings in Altadena from the Eaton Fire. I am also posting my silly little blog from Monday because if it provides any sort of distraction or smile, that will ease some of the ache in my heart as well-with love, Lindsay
Continued-
Happy New Year!
Paul and I have been on the move, firstly because Paul does not like to stay anywhere for more than one week, but secondly because it is COLD.
Anyone on the East Coast or who reads the national news knows about the cold weather storms on the Atlantic coast, and they have hit us as well. Because we live in a boat that is exactly at ocean level (you might have guessed), we are exposed to the elements. The cold wind, and the cold water make our (unheated) catamaran the same temperature inside as outside.
After returning to Charleston from our West Coast visit in December, the cold began to sink in. Charleston was in the 40’s during the day, and we knew it was time to move to warmer waters.
We first took the ICW to Beaufort, SC where we noticed some of the damage caused by Hurricane Helene on the way. More beached boats, broken trees, and damaged buildings. While in Beaufort, another storm hit us, and we were under tornado warnings most of our stay. We left after a few days enjoying the Spanish moss-covered Oaks, and the Antebellum mansions. We also had a random and fortuitous meetup with Paul’s nephew who happened to be visiting all the way from Colorado.
Our next stop: Hilton Head! We meant to visit it on the way up, but once we found out my friends Natalie and John spend their winters there, it was a no-brainer for our trip south. We rushed to arrive on December 30th and planned to spend New Year’s Eve with Old Friends. We absolutely loved Hilton Head, and our gracious hosts shared their home, washing machine, and classic Jeep with us (shivery cold, wearing all our layers at once). Natalie also showed us how to “see” the local fauna, so Paul and I spent an inordinate amount of time gator peeping.
New Years Eve was spent at Harbor Town Yacht Club, listening to John play music, a little extra champagne to make us merry, and we watched the ball drop before heading to John and Natalie’s house for a warm bed and a hot shower.
January 3rd it was time to continue our trek south as it was 40 degrees in Hilton Head. We set out on a 150 NM sail to St Augustine, Florida, and arrived January 5th around 1pm. St Augustine is the oldest, continuously inhabited city within the US. It was also 5 degrees warmer than South Carolina, and for that we were grateful. When we anchored, we were startled to find that the fort does reenactments with live canons (whose booming sounds caused our adrenaline to spike before we traced the source). Our first evening, we took the dinghy to shore and walked the fort and the town, enjoying leftover Christmas décor and lights everywhere.
And now today, as much as we are enjoying this very boat friendly town, its YMCA, easily accessible dinghy docks, and gorgeous view from our boat, it’s still time to move. Paul is calling today the coldest day of the year (for the Bluebelle, as we will continue fleeing south). Today’s high of 48 degrees feels much colder with the 20 knots of wind (feels like 39), and we find ourselves hibernating in bed each night, sleeping 9 or 10 hours under our two feather comforters, and using our small, camping propane heater when we first wake in the morning.
Sailing in colder weather poses its own challenges. Our fingers freeze at the helm, changing sails turns us into popsicles, and eyes tear up and freeze in the wind. Cold weather watches feel longer and more exhausting than warm Caribbean breeze hours. Hot tea turns cold in a few moments. Touching anything wet drops our core temperature within a few minutes and makes fingers immobile in even less. We wear socks and shoes and pants and coats and gloves and handwarmers and ear warmers and foulies. The nights are longer now as we slowly work our way toward the Summer Solstice, and we rely on the moon more and more for guiding light during our passages. And although this is the longest period in my life that I’ve spent with cold weather (it’s not even snow!) I am enjoying it immensely. Never have I had such time to hunker down and enjoy our cozy boat home. I feel a visceral instinct to rest, to recover, to prepare for our Spring and Summer.
Warmly in spirit,
Lindsay and Paul
TIBURON MARINO 