It never fails. No matter how hard we try to slow things
down, time passes much too quickly and
another year has come and gone. I have no idea where it went, but the calendar
is telling me it’s over so that can only mean one thing – it’s time for another
Year in Review. Here’s a quick look back on 2016:
We went
camping.
We
weren’t in a big hurry to get back to Cambria after spending the holidays in Wichita last year, so I decided we should camp our way
home. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, but I have a thing for late-winter
camping. And my practical side (i.e. David) was distracted at the time,
allowing me to run amok (which I did, dragging him from Wichita to New Mexico,
through Arizona and across Southern California before heading north to
Washington and back to Cambria in
April).
It’s
not that winter camping is a bad idea. It’s not, especially in the desert. It’s
just that our last attempt didn’t go very well: It snowed, it was cold, it was
windy and we encountered a drunken fool who decided it would be fun to shoot
off a handgun and say things like “I’m going to light you up.” So, why on earth
would I want to give it another try? The answer’s simple: My practical side
usually loses out to optimism, which is a good thing because we had a great
time.
We went
to Mexico.
Both
David and I have been putting off going to the dentist for years, using just
about every excuse in the book to avoid making appointments. But we finally broke
down and made a trip in March. We don’t carry dental insurance and it’s
expensive in the US, so we opted to go south of the border to Los Algodones, Mexico. I’ve written a couple of posts about our
experience (you can read about it here and here), so I won’t go into detail
other than to say we’re both really happy with the results . . . and so is our
bank account.
We spent
a month tied to the dock in Ocean Falls.
Normally
the last place you’d find us during the cruising season is in a marina but last
winter was really wet (even by Pacific Northwest standards) and we didn’t have
time to do many of the jobs we wanted to before leaving Kingston in May. Ocean Falls, in British
Columbia’s Central Coast, is one of our favourite destinations and the monthly rates are
very reasonable so we decided to tie up and get to work. We didn’t accomplish
everything we wanted to, but Cambria left looking much better than she did when she
arrived.
We saw
some amazing things.
Most
years, I spent the winter months pouring over cruising guides and charts,
putting together a plan for the season well in advance. But that wasn’t the
case this year. We actually completed the Inside Passage last season when we sailed to Alaska, so we decided to concentrate on some of our favourite
anchorages instead. And even though we spent a month in Ocean Falls and another in a boatyard, we still saw some amazing things.
We spent
time with friends, old and new.
One
of the great things about cruising is all of the people you meet. And because
we’re regional cruisers, we get to reconnect with them every season . . . we
even managed to make a new friend or two along the way.
We spent
a month in a boatyard.
In
September, the stern gland started to leak and we had to haul-out to replace it.
While we were on the hard, David decided he should completely redo the drive-line
and changed the engine mounts, flexible coupling, stern gland and cutlass
bearing. But what should have only taken a week quickly turned into a month as
we waited for parts to arrive from Virginia. Living in a boatyard is never easy and the
weather made sure it did its part to make things even more difficult by
producing record rainfall for the month (along with several nights of
gale-force winds). The weather didn’t improve much from there and by the time
we were ready to go back in the water, we’d had enough so we made a b-line for
Kingston and tied up for the winter.
What’s in
store for 2017?
I
wish I knew. One of the few things I can say for sure is that David will be
leaving Wichita soon with a truckload of boat gear that needs to
be returned to Cambria. I’ll stay with my mom and work through the boxes and boxes of things
we have stored here. It’s my job to decide what we want to keep, what we want
to get rid of (and either sell it off or give it away), and what we want to
take with us when we eventually move back to England. Meanwhile, David will attack some of jobs around
the boat that I can’t be there for (anything involving varnish, glue or epoxy
fumes makes me sick and turns me into a bit of a nagging wife).
Another
thing I’m sure of is that we’ll officially put Cambria on the market. We’ve been dragging our feet, hoping
to get a list of “point of pride” jobs completed before we do, but we really
can’t wait any longer. It’s time. We’re ready to move on and the only way we
can do that is by selling the boat. If we’re lucky, it’ll happen quickly. And
if that’s the case, 2017 will include a lot of big changes for us (namely
moving to England and starting our search for a narrowboat). But
chances are Cambria won’t sell quickly and we’ll be spending another cruising season at
anchor . . . in other words, 2017 will be a year of uncertainty for us. Hopefully,
that won’t be the case for you.
Happy New Year, everyone!
What are your plans for 2017? Did you make any New Year’s
Resolutions? Join the conversation below in the comments section or on our
Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you!
21 comments
What a year! So many amazing sights and experiences. I hope you do manage to sell the Cambria quickly and can get on with your next adventure x Thanks for sharing with #WotW
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jocelyn. Happy New Year!
DeleteIt sounds like a lot of work is ahead of you in 2017! I'm hoping to focus more on hobbies old and new in 2017.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great idea. Over the years, I found so many things that I enjoy doing thanks to living on a boat -- writing, kayaking, knitting and (my latest hobby) drawing. Now my only problem is that there aren't enough hours in the day to squeeze them all in. Happy New Year!
DeleteWow - you guys accomplished a lot and saw a lot over the past year. I hope Cambria sells quickly for you guys so that you can get on with the next phase of your life.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ellen. I do too. It's going to be emotionally difficult so I hope it goes quickly to help ease some of the pain -- like ripping off a band-aid. Happy New Year!
DeleteToday my wifi decided to work so I get to comment on things without trying to use my phone. Yay! You are timing the sale of Cambria right. Boating season is 'right around the corner'. What a year you have had!
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of funny. Until I started to put a list together, I though we'd had a pretty quiet year but I even had to delete some things to shorten the post. Go figure. Happy New Year!
DeleteWhat a wonderful year you have had (crazy loon with a gun excluded), those scenery photo's are beautiful. I hope 2017 brings you all you wish for, happy new year x #WotW
ReplyDeleteThanks, Angela. And the same to you!
DeleteWhat a year you have had. So many adventures!
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best for 2017 x
Thanks, Kim. Happy New Year!
DeleteYou had a very eventful year. Too bad about the wet weather, but it does sound like you are both ready for a change. I think Cambria will sell relatively quick. 2017 will be exciting! We are not sure how our New Year will look like either. Time will tell! :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope so, Liesbet. But it's all in the pricing, isn't it? And I'm a little nervous about that. I'm ready to get this ball rolling though.
DeleteHappy New Year!
You can always start on the higher end to test the waters, and drop the price after two months or so. Sailing seems to become more and more popular, and so is cruising. Good luck and happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThat's our thinking as well, Liesbet. It's funny, though. I just feel a little nervous about all of this and I'm not sure if it's because I'm afraid it won't sell or that it will.
DeleteFingers crossed that you find a buyer and have a smooth sale (really no pun intended). What adventures you have had this past year. If nothing else, I'm sure that your time left over there will be eventful. Good luck. #wotw
ReplyDeleteLol. I love a good pun, even if it's not intended. Thanks, Cheryl. Happy New Year to you and thanks for stopping by.
DeleteSounds like you've had an interesting year and plenty of adventures both on Cambria and during camping (the crazy guy with a gun sounds scary though). Hope that Cambria sells quickly and looking forward to hearing about your adventures in 2017. I like the sound of buying a narrowboat - have very happy memories of narrowboating holidays :-) #WotW
ReplyDeleteThanks, Louise. I like the sound of a narrowboat as well. My husband's family still live in Yorkshire and it's going to be nice to finally spend some quality time with them. Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by!
DeleteSounds like you've had a great year, let's hope 2017 isn't as uncertain as you think it might be. Either way though I bet you'll see some more fab places. #wotw
ReplyDelete