Thursday, September 06, 2012

Logistical Nightmare


"You do realize we are moving in a couple weeks, right?" Scott said to me yesterday as we were sitting in the kitchen, sipping on coffee and coconut water and working on really important things, like the re-design of this blog.  "I mean, we have nothing ready and a lot to do" he went on to say.  If I were an ostrich, I would have stuck my head in the sand right then and there.   You see, I have been riding in first class on the procrastination train for quite some time now and it's been pretty dang comfy.

I guess you could say we're a little overwhelmed.  We've been here before.  This time, though, the scenario is different.  We have a new boat, we have thirty-four boxes of our stuff being shipped from Trinidad to Ft. Lauderdale that we have to ensure gets to the boat somehow, we have an old boat we're in the process of selling, we have projects to coordinate on the new boat, and gear to order and install.  We have to change over our bank accounts because Chase is charging us up the wahzoo for foreign use, and Bank of America is fee-friendlier.  We have to pack up our life here in boxes and bags and figure out a cost-effective way to get it all down south.  Then, when we get to Ft. Lauderdale we have to find a cheap hotel to live in for a week or so while we install thru hulls for our new watermaker because the yard we are at does not allow live-aboards.  Once we've done that, we have to find a slip or marina* where we're going to live on the boat once we put her in the water for a yet-to-be-determined length of time while we finish up projects and installations to make Asante blue-water ready.  Oh, and we need to unpack all those damn boxes all while maintaining Isla's coveted nap schedule 'cause a baby's gotta sleep!

Did I mention we're up against a clock?  Scott has to report to Grenada for an eight week work rotation on s/v Diamant at the end of November.

Which leads us to our next round of logistics....

The way we see it we have two options.  One is that Scott assemble's a crew of buddies to sail Asante down to Grenada in "delivery mode" (i.e. non-stop, a 3 week trip) so that Isla and I can live aboard and see Scott once or twice a week.  This, however, means we don't have much time to get Asante ready.  The "Plan B" if we don't have enough time for "Plan A" is for me and Isla to be nomads.  We'll stay on the boat in Florida a couple weeks, rent a place in Grenada for a couple weeks, spend Christmas in Florida with my family for a couple weeks and come home for a couple weeks.  I prefer plan A.

Enter logistics round three...

Then there is the question of what happens after he completes his next work rotation which ends mid January if "Plan A" doesn't transpire.  Assuming we keep the boat in Florida, do we sail straight for the Caribbean and continue where we left off?  Or do we head over to the Bahamas and cruise those easy and familiar grounds for a while before making a bee-line for the windwards and leewards?  We just don't know.  Too many variables and unknowns at this point.  The whole thing reminds me of one of those choose your adventure type books.  "If you do x, go to page 18...if you do y, turn to page 24..."

Sigh.

See what we're dealing with over here?

None of this stuff is impossible, but it is a lot when all heaped together.  We'll figure it out.  We always do.  But at the moment, we're in the midst of a logistical nightmare and all I want to do is ignore it and see if it will magically work itself out.  Which I know it won't.  The Motivation Train, however, is right around the corner and there's a seat on board with my name on it!

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

* Anyone down there in the Ft. Lauderdale area have/know of a slip we could use?  Know of any monthly-rate slips we could use?  This would be a huge help to us!  Email us at: windtraveler09 (at) gmail.com.

6 comments:

Melody s/v Vacilando said...

We're headed for Ft. Lauderdale as well and finally found a great slip behind a private home. I did do a lot of research and I'll see if I still have my notes/emails and let you know if I find anything that might work for you guys!

Mike G said...

If you're willing to look a little further south, try Dinner Key in Miami. They usually have transient slips available, and they're liveaboard friendly. Otherwise, the Coconut Grove Sailing Club usually has moorings but little more than the basics in the way of services. I'm not even sure if they have pump out. Black Point Marina is south of Miami off the ICW as well. And there's also a bunch of marinas up and down the Keys; Key Largo, Islamorada or Marathon are probably your best bets.

Jake DiMare said...

I'm going to classify all this under 'problems I can't wait to have'...Thanks for sharing!!

-Jake

Lisa Hanneman said...

I prefer Plan B... for selfish reasons.

Sharon Fellows Larrison Stepniewski said...

Playboy marina in ft Lau allows lives boards while on the hard. It is near the airport. Good rates. We stayed there 3 weeks and will be back in early Jan.

Carolyn Shearlock - The Boat Galley said...

As for heading for Bahamas or further south immediately -- think hard about where it's easiest to get parts, etc. that you suddenly discover you need when you actually start cruising Asante. Puerto Rico or US Virgins might be a good choice (I haven't cruised the Caribbean, so don't know the answer -- but I can almost bet that after you've cruised her for a month, you're going to discover a few things that, well, don't work quite as planned.

My one piece of advice is not to hurry the work and prep. More cruisers end up in trouble because of schedules than for any other reasons. Schedules also lead to bad decisions on weather windows.

I know, I know, you want to get going . . .

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