Friday, July 5, 2013

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I really wanted to believe that our cruising life wouldn't change with the addition of a daughter, but I'm also smart enough to know that it would, regardless of what I wanted.  So far the changes have been very minor, and very major, no middle ground to be seen.  The major one I've already written about, our decision to put the boat up for sale.  I don't see us being without a boat for very long, but the cruising we have done so far is probably pretty indicative of what we will continue to do for the near future, and there are a lot of other boats better suited for this type of travel.
One of the minor changes we have experienced is coming up with a workable day-to-day routine.  So far it is going well and we will cross our fingers it continues.  Madeline has gotten on an 8 to 8 sleeping schedule, and we both fell into line pretty easily.  It gives us a few hours with each other in the evening after she falls asleep, and nobody is in a hurry to get up in the morning.  With an 8 am wake-up, we have a leisurely breakfast and get moving about ten, which also works well with Madeline falling asleep for a morning nap about the time we need to both be on deck pulling the anchor and getting under way. Putting her in her car seat either in the cockpit or down below means she is safe and out of the way for those short periods.
So far we are limiting ourselves to shorter days so we are done traveling by mid-afternoon and have time together each afternoon before dinner.  There will be days as we travel that we need to get up early, either to catch the tides and currents right, to avoid deteriorating afternoon weather, or if we need to put in a longer day to get to a better stopping place, but for the most part we should be able to keep the trip enjoyable with the current schedule.  Luckily we are not in a hurry to get anywhere, so we always have the option of just hanging out for another day or two if things don't work out with the schedule.

1 comment:

  1. Madeline is one of the luckiest little girls I know.

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