Sitting out some wind and waves in Monterey, CA. S/V Tomten, our beloved 38′ Island Packet sailboat, is moored in the municipal marina. The wind is pushing her and bouncing her around in our narrow slip. The sea lions are deafening and the sea otters have been visiting in the mornings.
I have wanted to visit the Monterey Aquarium for years- its a dream. Isabelle and I got to go behind the scenes to see the sea otter rehabilitation program and the veteran mama otters who nurture orphan babies….I did not expect to walk down Cannery Row, the setting of one of my most favorite books from young adulthood by John Steinbeck. This is a special place AND we are relieved to have a “last chance” to shop at Trader Joes (turns out there are a few last chances here….)
The four of us have been out for 3 weeks now and feel like we are on a steep learning curve on so many levels. Discovering our boat, how she sails, what her sweet spots are, what ours are, how to care for ourselves and each other in cramped quarters.
So much of our story of getting here, Now, started over 5 years ago when we first committed to the idea of going sailing as a family; long before we ever found Tomten or were even able to imagine being out on the wide open ocean, long before we even had a general plan of where we would go.
Our timeline was determined by our daughters, both of whom are ready to move out into the world. We wanted to share this with them before they started down their own paths.
We have all worked so hard to get here- long hard slogs of boat work which also happened to be mostly fun, seemingly endless lists of things to do- starting with identifying a species of boat we would feel OK about taking our girls out on the high seas, finding one we could afford, getting her to Bellingham…..
Our friends (old & new) and family have also worked hard- providing so much support and help at every step of the way.
Or perhaps it all goes a little further back than that? We had so many questions about how to take the idea of long distance cruising and turn it into a reality: How to take some limited coastal cruising experience, plenty of dinghy and windsurfing experience, modest income, limited (or none!) boat fixing skills and ready ourselves for long distance cruising. Daunting may be the word. Overwhelming and fearful are other words that come to mind. But not as overwhelming and daunting as the thought of not going.
I look forward to writing “past” posts talking about the projects we undertook and the myriad of small steps we made to get to the big leap (Pacific, we are on our way)
Mostly, Thanks to every single person that has supported us with friendship, love, fun times shared, projects shared or just words of support and encouragement. We are so very grateful. And thank you , Tomten, for getting us safely here in such style!
Finally, thanks to Hugh and Barb, past owners of S/VTomten (formerly Aussie Made) who cared for and improved this boat. We are so fortunate to have met them both and Hugh was so generous in sharing his knowledge and love of Tomten.
Sailing Tomten 