Well its only been a few months since I started this blog and regretfully I'm already falling behind on keeping it up to date. I think this is mainly because I'm not able to share it with anyone yet because no one knows Steve and I are leaving and retiring. The date and time has been selected and when I know its safe I will share it on this blog. Until then I thought I'd take a few minutes to introduce our newest crew member "Jigger". Yes, he's adorable and fitting in quite well so far. We got him online from an ad on Kijiji :) His parents were purebred and he is a Siberian/Persian cross ... very affectionate and very very adventurous. He joined us back on Dec. 1st when he was about 6-8 weeks old. His best buddy is Skipper the adorable cat next door. She's quite a few years older than him but has taken on the responsibility to teach Jigger everything she knows about being a livaboard cat.

So where did we get the name Jigger... well some think its that measuring tool you use for drinks but the truth is its a sailing term. Since we live on a CSY44 and she's a ketch the name seemed perfect. When sailing a ketch rig in very heavy wind, its best to drop the main totally instead of reefing it and then use the Jib and the Mizzen to sail the boat. Both sails have considerably less sail area but in extreme weather conditions it allows you to point better and control your direction. This is referred to as sailing "Jib and Jigger" ... and no we don't plan on getting another cat and calling him Jib any time soon.

Canadian winters can seem very long so looking for boat projects to keep you busy can keep you inside and a bit boat crazy if you’re not careful. The boys decided to add a new dimension to this winter and built a rink on the ice in the Marina. So far it’s making it so much easier for them to pass the day and get fresh air and exercise at the same time.

Of course, socializing is also a huge part of the livaboard lifestyle so throwing a intimate skating party was inevitable… what a blast! Since the rink was located between MurDina and Ocean Spirit we had all the comforts of home close by. We had two propane cookers … one for mussels and one for potato wedges… and to top it off we had the most amazing caesar salad. It was so much fun to hang out with our good friends on the ice, cooking outdoors and even eating outdoors. The best part was not having to worry about chilling the beer and wine. Mother nature took care of that for us.

We are about halfway through the winter at this point and so far it’s been very cold but we haven’t had a lot of snow. Of course, now that I’ve said that, I may regret it.

Our first blog… it’s a bit of a challenge to decide exactly what you want to say in the first blog of what we hope will be the adventure of our lifetime. I’ve never really been much of a writer but always love to read about everyone else’s adventures.

When Steve and I met almost two years ago, we were both at a very low point in our lives and really didn’t know which way was up. Thankfully we both took the time to figure out what we were truly looking for. We had both decided that our future would be on the water, hopefully in the sunny south and we were both prepared to do it alone if necessary… the last thing we both needed was to get involved in another potentially painful relationship.

My good friends Hilda and Mike were on their 47’ Jeanneau in St. Martin and had invited me to join them for a bit. I was quite prepared to go alone but when I was telling Steve about my plans to join them I just knew that he needed a break as much as I did and would “fit in” quite well. I asked Hilda & Mike if they’d mind if I brought along a friend and they quickly said that would be fine… of course they had to clarify whether it was a one cabin friend or a two cabin friend…lol!

I then asked Steve if he wanted to join me… no strings attached. He said he’d have to see if he could arrange to be away from the business for a bit. What was he thinking? Eventually he came to his senses and realized it was an amazing opportunity to get out of the cold of Ontario and he agreed to join us. Wow, am I glad he did.

Since that trip Steve and I have been truly blessed to have fallen in love in the Caribbean doing what we both love to do… sailing, travelling and enjoying good wine with good friends. We have taken numerous trips to the east coast, 2 trips sailing in the Caribbean on More Mischief (totaling 32 days last year) and last summer we decided to go to Halifax and sail MurDina back to Toronto to live aboard.

We have now made the decision to live our dream of sailing south on MurDina and retire from the stressful world that has allowed us to realize this dream. We have a lot of planning to do between now and then and I hope the days will go quickly. For now we have to keep this secret to ourselves until we can share the great news with the world. In the meantime, we will document our journey on this blog and look forward to sharing the adventure with you.