Back to the Beginning

Yesterday, we passed through Little River, SC, and came full circle.  Nearly two years ago, we bought Dreamcatcher here and set off a chain of events that led to this moment.  Since I was a kid, I nurtured the fantasy of sailing around the world and, although he came to sailing late, Ken embraced the sailing life whole-heartedly.  We married each other knowing full well that sailing would always be a part of our lives together.  When we moved to Connecticut in 2006, our rather loose plan was to enroll Jeanette in New England School of Montessori and cast off for an extended cruise when she completed the program.  By the time NESM expanded from K-4 to K-6, my faculty position at University of Bridgeport had morphed into an administrative appointment and our timing became a bit more nebulous.  I felt a sense of responsibility for the college and wanted to be there long enough to see my own vision for the school take hold.  In the meantime, we were regular attendees at the Newport Boat Show, researching the pros and cons of monohulls and catamarans, primarily Lagoons.  While there was a certain appeal to all that SPACE (!), my bias going into it was that real sailors sailed monohulls and that catamarans were simply RVs with sails.  The only catamaran that was compelling to me was the Seawind and that was well out of our price range.  Then, at the 2011 boat show, I happened to see two cats side by side.  Next to the hulking Lagoon, the Leopard beside it looked positively sleek.  If I had to live on a cat, this was definitely the way to go. 

Leopards - sleek and fast.

While “going cruising” had been our plan for a long time, when Ken began looking for the boat in 2011, I thought that it was too early.  His justifications were sound – get to know the boat, work out the kinks, etc. – but I was worried that once we had the boat, the dream stage would quickly move into the reality stage, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.  For months, once or twice a week, he would send me an e-mail with “Honey, I found our boat!” in the subject line.  Needless to say, all but one of those were dead ends but, to Ken’s credit, he really got a good sense of the market and what to look for in a used boat.  When we flew into Charleston, SC in December 2011, Ken was all but sold on the notion that Dreamcatcher was the boat we’d been looking for.  Only two years old, she had not been heavily used, featured all of the options and upgrades you could possibly want, and was in excellent condition.  (Note: In boat terms, this is all relative, because ALL boats require constant attention, work, and upkeep.)  We showed up at the dock bright and early to look her over.  The owner was part Cherokee and shared that all of his boats had Native American names; his last boat was a sloop called Brother Wind.  The boat surveyor soon joined us and we cast off to go for a spin.  The brisk temperatures provided a good opportunity to try out the heater, which worked quite well.  While Ken took the helm, I checked things out belowdecks.  Jeanette stretched out in the saloon and, with her arms opened wide across the back of the settee, looked at me and asked “When can we sell the house?”  Thankfully, the survey came back clean because by the time we said good-bye to Dreamcatcher that evening, we were already thinking of her as “our boat.” 

Our first glimpse of our new boat.

Jeanette checks out the deck space.

Already feeling at home!

Ken takes the helm for the first time.

In the two years since, I’ve made peace with owning a catamaran.  I know there’s another monohull in our future but, for now, our cruising vessel has proven swift and steady.  As we traverse the shoal-shifting waters of the Carolinas, I am grateful for the shallow draft beneath us.  The northerly winds give Dreamcatcher a chance to show off her speed downwind, and the stability of her two hulls have even allowed me to bake while underway.  I look around and see everything I need, right here.  Finally, I am at home.