Jazzy Lady's 2019/20 Cruising Adventure

It has been almost three weeks since the last entry. For my final post, it has been hard to sit down and write. We arrived back into Canada 10 days ago. From ‘door to door’, Bahamas to Canada, our trip took 16 days. With the exception of one full day in Charleston and one full day at the marina in Virginia, 14 of those days were 10-12 hour days on the move. On the move by sun-up and anchoring just before sun-down. We would have gone offshore again if the weather allowed but there was an aggressive cold front coming through so we stayed inland on the ICW (intracoastal waterway). In terms of the terrors I had imagined, with Covid ‘running rampant’ in the US, it was far less of an ordeal than we had feared. Most places we passed through were unusually quiet so we had lots of space to do our thing carefully and safely. Marina staff didn’t come near us and operated on a self-serve basis to help avoid cross-contamination. Our grocery shop in Charleston was the most high-risk thing we did. We topped up with fuel three times, had a handful of meal pick-up interactions, a few office visits at the Marina in Virginia and another handful of contacts with U-Haul and car rental exchanges. Most places we transited, people appeared to be practicing the physical distancing but there were certain areas, like Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, that appeared to be experiencing a different reality. As we motored north up the waterway on a Saturday, we were seeing, in boats and along the shore, that everyone seemed to be gathering in large groups and carrying on in close contact with each other. Our biggest surprise, though, was our border U.S-Canada Boarder encounter. Our boarder guard had no mask on, no gloves and no barrier between her window and us. Mark’s face was three feet from hers. They exchanged passports and talked for 5 minutes. Very strange.
We revelled in our last two weeks of the cruising life and savoured every sunrise and sunset. However it was also quite gruelling in it’s repetitiveness, exhausting decision-making and sheer distance we pushed to cover each day. There were ever-changing logistics to be worked and re-worked. We knew that the whole State of Maryland had ordered all its marinas to close. We thought the State of Virginia could enforce this Covid-related precaution at any time so it felt like a race to get to the Marina we’d booked for our haul-out. Then there were the details to sort through regarding car rentals. The marina we picked was very isolated because the location was strategically based on important factors like boat storage cost per month and sufficient shelter from hurricane regions. The compromise was in our car pickup location: 100 miles away:( Taking, for example, an Uber that far would be expensive and a health risk with regards to possible Covid exposure. We knew we needed to store half the contents of Jazzy Lady (including sails and dinghy) so we rented a storage unit. This was only 10 miles away. So we had a U Haul truck dropped off for us at the Marina and used that truck to retrieve our rental car the following day. We were able to leave U Haul at rental car pickup so it all worked out pretty smoothly...after what must have been hours of Mark online and on the phone in the previous days searching out the viable options.
As we drove away from Jazzy Lady in our rental car we went over and over all the questions everyone asks themselves at the start of a big trip. Were we sure we left all the hatches closed?, etc...we didn’t come up with any devastating details we’d neglected...UNTIL...about 3 hours into the drive. We realized we’d left about four cooking onions hanging in our fruit/veggie net😳 We didn’t leave a key for the boat at the Marina because they were closed when we left. We’ve since mailed them our spare key and asked them to dispose of the onions. They otherwise would have turned Jazzy Lady into ‘Stinky Lady’ for all eternity.
The kids had a lot of fun discussing all the fascinating adjustments that they would delight in upon our transition from boat life to house life. It started with Annie repeating, every five minutes in the car “I can’t believe how fast we’re moving!” Our average speed on the boat was 6 knots/hour, now we were hurling along the highway at 110 Km/hour! We enjoyed the anticipation of washing in fresh water, long, hot showers, running the tap for more than a millisecond without worrying about wasting tank water, and the use of a dishwasher, not to mention a washer and dryer in our very own home....that we wouldn’t have to put coins in. Baths have been a big treat for me. Our little tub here at the cottage is pretty crummy but I’m using it as a lavish luxury these days!
We are very impressed with the Ontario government, in checking up on us. When we entered Canada we had to give our phone number and mailing address of where we’d be quarantining. We had a call, a few days ago, from the province, ensuring that we are abiding by the rules, asking if we have any Covid symptoms and confirming that we have all we need without leaving our property. In addition, we had a peace officer call us from the bottom of our driveway, doing a random check. They asked for an Annie Marion Fray to be sent outside so they could see her from their car. The officer had a quick chat with her through his window and thanked us for our co-operation. Now, some may say this ‘Big Brother’ approach is a little creepy but, considering the virus we’re up against, I felt reassured that there is a solid system in place to enforce these Covid-spread preventative measures.
We are sad that our trip ended in such a frenzy and that we didn’t finish by sailing back into our Rouses Point Marina in Lake Champlain. Our cruising adventure was cut short by 6 weeks. We were supposed to take our time seeing all the spots that we were too rushed to stop at on our way south. C’est la Vie. We were fortunate to not be stranded in Bahamas and have had no hiccups on our way home. Our kids have grown in ways they never would have without this sojourn. They showed us their strengths and unique personality traits that we may never have seen without this opportunity. Admittedly, they were homesick more than we thought they would be but, sure enough, as the end of the trip drew near, they rhymed off countless things they would miss about their live aboard life. They are SO excited to get back to their Hudson life, yet they are also feeling lucky to hang out at the cottage for a whole month before getting back home. My partnership with Mark was tested too many times to count and, at the same time, our appreciation for each other, our bond to each other and our respect for one another has blossomed (for lack of a less corny word) in an irreversible way.
The number of people we have to thank for their supporting roles in our voyage would take up a whole blog entry. It has to be said that Mark’s Dad, Larry gave us an EXTRAORDINARY amount of support in SO many ways, i don’t know where to begin. His enthusiasm and expertise and volunteer time put in were second to none. Mark’s uncle Allan and Aunt Bev seemed ALWAYS to be there to answer our endless last-minute questions. This is not an Oscar speech but I just have to say, lastly, that Mark’s Mom and my Mom also deserve a lot of credit for being our pillars. If I recall correctly, they each went through a transition between being in denial when we first started talking about a sailing trip (and not really wanting to hear about it) to showing us their trust and encouragement when it really came down to it. After my Dad died I think my Mom knew she needed to be a cheerleader for us on his behalf and she absolutely pulled through with her blessing once she knew this trip was really going ahead. We were so lucky to have her visit and see us in action on our little boat home so she got to witness the skills we had developed in this lifestyle. Many more people to thank but I will trust these people know who they are.
Thanks for reading!