For those of you who have been following our progression these past few years, you know how momentous this past month has been for Dan and I. For those who have never read our blog, Dan and I have achieved our 5-year plan of selling everything we own and moving aboard our 43 ft. Taswell sailboat, Equus.
This journey has been fraught with challenges. Selling our farm, reducing all we own to fit on a 43ft. boat, and outfitting a boat built in 1988 to be safe for crossing oceans, to say the least, has been trying. What has made this journey more bearable is the love and support of family and friends.
On the day Dan officially retired, September 29th, we held a Bon Voyage party at our home port, Summit North Marina. Dan and I were overwhelmed with the distance people traveled to attend this event. Dan’s father, Dave Gieschen, came all the way from Pittsburg. My sister, Carol Land, flew up from Charlotte. Cousins, friends and family members drove in from hours away to say goodbye and show their support. Gestures such as these make what we are doing feel a little less lonely; provide a feeling that even as we are crossing oceans, we are not entirely alone.
Adjustment to life on the boat hit hard as we said farewell to our last vehicle. Nothing says, “Now you are REALLY on your own,” more than when you need some groceries and its 5 miles to the nearest store. We could have called Uber, but since we are now on a tight budget and Uber will not be available most of the places we are going, we tested out our collapsible LLBean bikes. The 10-mile round trip to the grocery store and a 14-mile trip to Home Depot for a fitting were not only successful but rather pleasant. We now feel confident that local travel on our new mode of transportation will work well for us.
We’ve had a few other confidence boosters as well. I decided to take an offer to be instructed by a 40-year canvas sewing veteran and remake our cockpit enclosure. We successfully constructed a new bimini cover and completed several other canvas repairs. My new sewing skills will not only be very handy to have along the way but have already led to jobs at the marina and will hopefully help us fund our trip. Canvas repair is in big demand and there will be lots of canvas at the places we are going. My sailcloth bags have been selling as quickly as I fabricate them. I have orders for more but haven’t had the time to sew with all our departure preparations. Hopefully, these bags will be a steady source of income as I have more time to make them. They are so much fun to make. Each one has its own unique personality. I accent them with interesting fabric and hardware as I come across 
them.
Our next hurdle is preparing for our first Atlantic crossing from Portsmouth, VA to Tortola in the BVI’s November 1st. As I am writing, we are traveling through the Delaware Bay toward Cape May. From there, we will head out into the ocean and will travel down the coast to VA. This will serve as our shakedown cruise to ensure everything is working properly before we head out to sea. Dan’s brother Mike and our “sister” Patty will visit us in Cape May this weekend as well as our two boys. Katie would be visiting but is tied up with fires and acupuncture patients in California. This is the final set of good-byes as our plans and prep come together.
I will be holding my grandson, Orion, in my arms for the last time for a while. How do you look in the eyes of a 2-year-old and explain you are leaving for a very long time? He has been a joy, a spark of wonder and delight who has melted our hearts. He loves the outdoors and being on the boat. We can only hope that someday, he can look back and marvel that he had adventurers for grandparents. While other children’s grandparents are applauding at their grandchild’s first performance in a play, or cheering in the stands at baseball games, we will be absent. Instead, we will be swimming eye to eye with whales, diving in remote island locations, walking down deserted beaches on secluded atolls, and witnessing the intensity of the stars as we cross oceans. Every crystal clear night, when the stars above us are guiding us along the way, I will be looking for Orion’s belt. This will be my tie to my grandson, a way to tie us together along this journey. I will pray that someday he will look at the photos, videos, and read the stories about our adventures and find inspiration and excitement for the world around him. I hope he feels as if we did not abandon him, but opened doors for him to see the world through our eyes and see its beauty in a new light. The grandson of a son of a sailor, I hope we spark in him a desire to be an adventurer. If he does choose to cross oceans, he can look 
up and find the constellation Orion and know that his grandparents, who went before him, thought of him and smiled as they gazed upon those same stars. For me, as we look up at the stars that loom so bright and close that it feels as if you could reach up and touch them, they will be our connection to his little soul.
As I hug Orion and our family, there will be no “good-byes”, only “bon-voyage”. With our drone, GoPro and 360-degree camera, we will be documenting all we see and do with our travel blog. Our website will be changing to transition from a life of work and words, to one actually reflecting our travels and adventures. Thanks to everyone from the bottom of our hearts for following and encouraging us. Stay tuned for a wild ride and from the crew of Equus to you – may our adventures be yours, our travels inspire you, and the sights we see bring the beauty and wonder of this world a little closer to you.
Fair winds and following seas,
CAPTAIN DAN AND FIRST MATE – ALISON
S/V EQUUS