The last month before moving onto the boat was very eventful. I wrapped up work (for the time being) in Washington, D.C., found a roommate to replace me in my rented house, packed, drove the 16 hours back to my parent's house in St. Louis, Missouri, unpacked, repacked for the trip, and then dove into working on the seemingly ever-growing to-do list. I took a brief break to attend an excellent wedding for some college friends, then went back to work - I got my goofy sun hat, foul weather gear, safety harness, a very used violin for $30, vitamins, my favorite yerba mate tea, books, etc. Special shout out to my parents for graciously hosting me and feeding me delicious foods for 3 weeks! The time at home also gave me the opportunity to catch up with old friends and create some personal goals for the trip.
Then it was time to fly back out to the East Coast. I have a lot of nice memories from the Hampton Roads area. My alma mater William and Mary (Tribe Pride!) is just down the road and the Sailing team frequently had regattas at nearby schools CNU, ODU, and Hampton. My first race was at CNU, crewing for Adam (the EYE Educational Director). It's hard to believe that was 6 years ago!
Anyway, the pre-departure process was exciting. I caught up with Adam's parents, met Alan's family, purchased 250 food items at Wal-Mart (the receipt was 3 feet long), received suture lessons on a banana from Dr. Mark Domanski (the trip's medical advisor), and bid farewell to regular showers and real beds!
After visiting Lindsay Middle School in Hampton last week, 80 of the 6th graders came out for our Bon Voyage ceremony on Monday. We had a good time showing them the boat and teaching them how to tie knots. After teaching them Bowline and Square knots, the kids taught me a couple of improvised knots and used the line to jump rope.
At noon we pushed away from the dock, raised the mainsail, and waved goodbye to everyone on the pier. The kids, EYE Executive Board, Crew families and friends waved back. At that point, it sunk in that I was now living on a boat and my daily habits, diet, hygiene, and sleep patterns would be dramatically different. I look forward to learning from the adventures ahead and sharing them with you, and hope that you'll check in often.
Until soon,
Trevor