Delirium Tremens

[menzies]

Since we first bought Sonas, adding up all of the long cruises and the short cruises, we have spent anywhere between between four months and seven months total on board every year.

This year so far, three nights = four days.

COVID, Bahamas closed, my back, effing life generally.

I get to sit and watch her at the bottom of the garden every day.

We have her maintained and updated to the max as that is all we can do.

This is driving me absolutely crazy.

The missus is a saint as she knows I am chomping at the bit, but reins me in.

Dammit!

As we sat down to dinner last night I asked Alexa to play Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.

I might be losing it!

Anyone else?

 

[psneeld]

I am traveling by RV for the summer, if the boat was in the water, I might be cruising...certainly would be taking cruises of 2-7 days, just short enough to stay ahead/get home in case a cane headed my way.


I don't find traveling by RV or boat to be an issue due to the virus...I just head for and use places light on people and take the proper protections.


Even today there is a report that the vast majority of people may not really be spreading the virus....In my 12th state on this trip...today was the first cough or sneeze I have heard in 3000 miles and 4 weeks. It was a lady in the car next to me at the local drug store. Had my mask on and jumped in my RV in a second. He window was rolled up anyhow. So I am not too worried.


I really don't see cruising and RVing any worse than staying home and still doing a few things but I am getting more exercise and not going crazy or wasting my life watching TV.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

We are in Wisconsin. Most of Door County is not accepting transients due to Covid, that makes the anchorages very crowded. Across Lake Michigan most marinas are closed due to high water.

Been a poor year for cruising. Three short trips totaling less than two weeks.

Dang!

pete

 

[O C Diver]

I faired a little better:
10 day round trip cruise to Tarpon Springs in January
11 day round trip cruise to Fort Pierce (TF rendezvous)
5 day Cayo Costa cruise in March
24 day cruise from Fort Myers to Crisfield, MD in May
4 day cruise to Snow Hill, MD in June

Been doing boat projects for the last 2 months and heading to the boatyard in mid September.

Some point in October will be cruising to Fort Myers (probably 4 weeks).

So not all bad, but definitely not the trip to Ottawa and Lake Champlain that I had planned. Hopefully next year!

Ted

 

[High Wire]

Get on the boat and spend a weekend onboard as if you were somewhere else. Why not?

 

[Arc]

We made about 20 short 2 day trips and anchored out. Best season in a long time for us

 

[angus99]

We weren’t planning on extensive cruising anyway this year. But we do spend a lot of nights on the boat while we’re finishing (yeah, right) upgrades. We’ll have a nice run this Fall up to Tellico, but the real cruising starts next year. Staying ridiculously busy with boat projects, house and yard work helps the time pass and makes this feel less like a lost year.

 

[SteveK]

Since we first bought Sonas, adding up all of the long cruises and the short cruises, we have spent anywhere between between four months and seven months total on board every year.

This year so far, three nights = four days.

COVID, Bahamas closed, my back, effing life generally.

I get to sit and watch her at the bottom of the garden every day.

We have her maintained and updated to the max as that is all we can do.

This is driving me absolutely crazy.

The missus is a saint as she knows I am chomping at the bit, but reins me in.

Dammit!

As we sat down to dinner last night I asked Alexa to play Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.

I might be losing it!

Anyone else?

Can't help you with the cruising part. Have you tried alcohol to ward off the symptoms? Oh crap you are probably on meds.
Is reciprocal moorage a possibility. Maybe other TF members nearby you trade locations to get some away time.

 

[menzies]

Can't help you with the cruising part. Have you tried alcohol to ward off the symptoms? Oh crap you are probably on meds.
Is reciprocal moorage a possibility. Maybe other TF members nearby you trade locations to get some away time.

Alcohol in short measures does help somewhat. But that's a short term solution.

 

[AlaskaProf]

Get on the boat and spend a weekend onboard as if you were somewhere else. Why not?

Excellent advice. Of course, our boat is 450 miles from home, so we don't have to pretend we are someplace else.

I've been board a total of four weeks at dockside since May , some with the wife, some just accomonied by sander and brush.

Finally on our fourth day underway on what will be a two week-or-so cruise.

 

[Comodave]

Well out boat is about 75’ out the back door so we can get to it easy enough. But since the virus we can’t go cruising. My mom lives with us and she turned 100 this May. We usually hire someone to come in and check on her a couple of times a day when we go on the boat. This year we cannot let anyone in to check on her so not much cruising for us this year, maybe next year...

 

[MurrayM]

This may not be what you want to hear...

I ran across a great quote: "The quality of your life largely depends on how well you adapt to Plan B or C"

(We'd still be sea kayaking if that truck hadn't t-boned my wife's car just behind the drivers side door, but Badger kept us on the water).

Maybe it's time to start looking for a boat with less stairs, easier boarding and dinghy deployment, easier engine access, etc.

Maybe you could even have a hand in designing one with someone who's designs you've always admired. That'll occupy a lot of time, keep your mind busy, and have the hopefulness of a dream to fulfill.

 

[menzies]

Back isn't really the issue as that too will pass. It's just the perfect storm of everything this year.

Our retirement was planned around two activities, boating and travel. I gave up golf when we bought a boat, don't play bridge etc etc.

We have had four trips cancelled this year including the annual three months in the Bahamas, Ireland and the UK, 40th anniversary trip to NY and a trip out west to see the children.

I know, first world problems right? Just one of those down days yesterday.

Took the dog for a walk on the beach this morning, pretty pleasant now school is back in. So counting my blessings today that we live near the beach, have a great wife, and will have a great dog once we wrangle her into submission!

 

[w8n4sun]

Hang in there menzies, if it makes you feel any better Sonas' sister GA has been on the hook 34 days thus far puddling around Puget Sound as we can't cruise into Canada just yet.

 

[BandB]

We're just doing what we can with weekends plus one other day a week now. Working the rest of the time, but really working as a hobby to make up for not cruising. We cruise to nowhere, just take in the views and occasionally anchor somewhere in nowhere for a night. Putting a lot of miles in, just all within 200 nm of home.

If my boat was sitting at my dock as yours is, I'd use it. I might not leave the river or might just go outside and back, but I'd get on the boat and enjoy.

 

[HiDHo]

Perspective, think of your worse time ever. Not illness and pandemics, life ending or altering situations that you battled thru.

 

[menzies]

We're just doing what we can with weekends plus one other day a week now. Working the rest of the time, but really working as a hobby to make up for not cruising. We cruise to nowhere, just take in the views and occasionally anchor somewhere in nowhere for a night. Putting a lot of miles in, just all within 200 nm of home.

If my boat was sitting at my dock as yours is, I'd use it. I might not leave the river or might just go outside and back, but I'd get on the boat and enjoy.

We are going to start doing that now that the windlass rebuild is finished. We didn't want to go out without a way to anchor if things went south. It took over two months because of supply chain issues. Some parts had to come from New Zealand, and in fact we are still waiting for one part but that is not critical for the windlass.

 

[menzies]

Perspective, think of your worse time ever. Not illness and pandemics, life ending or altering situations that you battled thru.

I agree, just whining a bit yesterday!

 

[Woodland Hills]

We are cruising as usual with the exception of not spending as much time ashore. We left JAX in June and are now anchored up the Niantic River near New London, CT. We are going to wait for hurricane season to calm down at the end of September when we will head down to Oxford MD to pick up new boat cushions that our canvas guy has been working on for us and then down to JAX for a month or so. We have a slip reserved in Marathon for 3 1/2 months ending on April Fools Day, if the Bahamas are still closed we will head north then in an attempt to get up to Maine.

We are still isolating and are obsessive about masks and sanitizing. We also haven’t eaten inside a restaurant since February, just takeout and outdoor meals and then only if we are away from others and are upwind. We stopped using Uber and Lyft and now rent a car to restock groceries which we disinfect at the agency with our own cleaners. We carry a motor scooter aboard and we use that to go to and from the rental location so we don’t share a car with strangers.

It is disappointing not to be able to explore ashore as much as we would like, but at least we have found good harbors and anchorages for whenever there is a vaccine and we can return to normal. We did decide to skip Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket this year as the marinas and moorings seemed to be too expensive given how little we would go ashore: maybe next year.

BTW, we completely bypassed Georgia on the way north and only went to a marina in Southport NC and at Osprey for fuel. There is just not enough masking and distancing in the south for us to be comfortable there. JAX is our home port, we have a car and storeroom there and have worked out how to minimize exposure. Our basic rules are: No Crowds and Always Mask.

 

[timb]

we did as much as we usually do . also i had a 5 week vacation because of the virus .got my fuel tank install done . only down side was our week vacation was while every thing was closed and the weather was bad also. i think i could do the retired thing.

 

[rsn48]

I suggest these because you are experienced on the water:

1) Cruise down to the Panama Canal and up the West Coast to the Puget Sound area (Seattle) and have the adventure of your life. After leaving your boat in this area for several years, you would cruise coastal BC and the Alaskan Pan Handle. You would then trailer your boat over to Lake Michigan (Chicago?) and take the portion of the Great Loop down to Florida.

2) Take your boat up to Michigan, along the loop and Trailer it over to Washington, leave the boat for a few years for your west coast adventures, then trailer back, or do the canal back.

Think of the bragging rights you'll have a the yacht club!

 

[dhays]

The last several years have been frustrating. I have really wanted to go off on the boat for several weeks at a time the last few years but something always comes up. Most of the time it is family. Weddings, funerals, new babies, etc... All important things, but boating time gets put aside. I also had a future partner in the practice fall through. So instead of working only 3 days/week and being able to take long vacations, I was back to 4-5 days a week and it is hard to get away from the office.


What little time we have had we have shared with our family. Last year it was week on the boat that was dictated by my daughter's families schedule. I only had a week, but had to do what worked for them. It was great being able to spend the time with them and our grandson on the boat, but it wasn't the boating I would have chosen.


This year COVID added to the problems. I had 2 weeks planned to go to BC and explore some areas I've not been before. Well, the virus disrupted the office to the point that I can't get away, and even if I could BC doesn't want us. Weekend are taken up with family events as well and when we can get away, we are taking my daughter, son-in-law, and a 2 year old and 3 month old along with us. Great fun, but not exactly the relaxing get away that I desire so much.


As folks have pointed out, I'm fortunate to have these problems. I'm relatively healthy, my family is healthy, I have great grandkids. I'm not broke and while COVID has created a lot of financial issues, I'm better off that most. So like the last several years, I keep hoping for opportunities next year as the balance of this year is going to be more of the same.

 

[South of Heaven]

First World problems for sure!

 

[bayview]

When you cruise or RV are you finding restaurants to be safe and taking precautions?

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

Yep, I hear you Menzies. I can't sit any longer. We depart from Columbus Marina (TennTom in MS) in four weeks, heading up (down) the TN River, Kentucky Lake, Barkley Lake and on to Nashville. And maybe a few days past Nashville up the Cumberland River. We can't wait. Should take about a month - hope the fall colors are pretty this year.

 

[ScottC]

• Purge & clean the basement.
• Trawler forum
• More basement
• More Trawler forum
• Estate planning (not putting this off any longer!!)
• Still more Trawler forum
• Gym 3-4x per week (so few members have been going, it's almost like my personal club...no worries about social distancing!)
• Boredom
• Reading
• Even more Trawler forum
• More boredom
• Update our cruising itinerary that WAS to be for this year for next year (with some enhancements - adding Corsica & part of Sardinia to the mix)
• Still more boredom...
• More reading...

 

[micksbuddy]

The big boat's on the hard down in Florida, but I've got a SeaRay 270 on a mooring up here in Door County WI. We've mostly used it 2-3 times/week just for little day trips and to get out on the water. We did take a 3 day trip up to the UP of Michigan and had a great time, marinas were open and no problem with transients. I'm looking forward to getting the big boat back in the water early November and cruising Florida for the winter before heading up the east coast next year.

 

[Dougcole]

Alcohol in short measures does help somewhat. But that's a short term solution.

Not if you drink it all of the time. Just sayin.

 

[Baker]

Heck, you live in the boating capital of this country. Load that boat up and go. There is plenty of things to do right there in your state. Go down to the keys. Cruise the west coast. Heck keep on going and check out the beautiful beaches of the panhandle. There are many "associations" that are keepingh up with what is going on in each area and what amenities are availble.....like AGLCA and things like that. Obviously we all have our own ideas of tolerance levels to what type of measures to take to keep ourselves safe. But get on out there! There's plenty to do by boat!

 

[Dougcole]

I feel very lucky that we got our month in the Bahamas this July. We needed a lot of ducks to get lined up, and thankfully they did.


I stay aboard the boat when I am down in South Florida for work though, and I have had less of that than usual as my work travel has been limited.