The Kindness of Sailors

It really does feel like this month is slipping away so fast.  Our time in Urbanna is coming to an end, as well as the time we have to spend with friends we’ve made here and family that lives here.  Soon we’ll be sailing back to Norfolk, and leaving in the car for Arizona.  I’m not sure if we ever stop moving, but I think that’s part of the adventure we love.  

We’ll be visiting a lot of friends and family on the way to Arizona, sightseeing, hiking, and all kinds of things.  I’ll be driving a lot while Steve works in the car (wish me luck) so there will be a lot of stops to stretch and run around with Buoy.  

We’re trying to take it all in these last couple of weeks.  Urbanna has been so good to us, but I think it’s worth it to talk about the people we’ve met, or rather the community that comes with being a liveaboard.  There aren’t any better people than those you’ll meet at the marina who live on their boat.  Everyone is lovely and kind and willing to help you with anything you need.  

Anytime we’ve had a problem while we were here, whether it be a jellyfish in our AC or borrowing spices for dinner, we have been met with “I have something that might work” or “do you want me to come look at it?”  Everyone has the heart to help each other, and no one ever asks for anything in return.  We’ve even talked to a couple of the friends we’ve met about it.  We were essentially in awe with how lovely everyone has been.  I remember them responding with something along the lines of “Well, I don’t mind helping them, it doesn’t hurt me or my time.  Also, if I need something, I would hope that someone would be willing to help me as well.  You want that kind of good karma coming back to you, especially when you’re in the water.”

We have begun to love it here, and I think a lot of that is due to the friends we’ve made.  We went to the cafe and saw a couple there and ended up joining them for breakfast.  We’ve had  multiple cookouts on the dock with all of our neighbors.  We have “docktails” almost every day at 5pm (weather permitting, of course) whether we have wine or beer or water, it’s just to chat and catch up.  That’s truly when most of the “I can’t figure out what this wire goes to” conversations begin, and thus we figure out what’s wrong or what we should do to figure it out.  So many of our neighbors are more experienced than us at sailing, so they’ve more than likely already come across the problem we may be facing.  Their stories and suggestions have been absolutely wonderful and more helpful than they’ll probably ever know.  

We’re sad to leave in a couple of weeks, but I think we’re even more sad to leave these new friends.  However, the silver lining is that we will probably see them again, whether it be in the Keys or in Urbanna.  Sailors’ paths seem to cross over and over, and we are so lucky in that regard.

THIS WEEK:

This week we went to Merrior (a very cute restaurant nearby) and watched a rocket launch that happened on Wallops Island!  It was the BEST date night with Steve. We had an absolute blast trying to keep our eyes on a tiny white dot that was a rocket until we couldn’t see it anymore.  We made breakfast for dinner and listened to Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson (bet you can guess what we made!)  We went for a morning sail to watch the regatta that was going on at our marina.  Fun fact:  My dad’s childhood best friend was racing in the regatta!  So, I got to see him, his wife (who was the best boss when I worked at her shop), his sister (who I stayed with when I first moved to VA), and his brother (who my brother shadowed for a bit)!  Small world, am I right?!  We also bought two (new to us) paddleboards!  Thank you Facebook marketplace!!  We obviously had to try them out, so we took a long paddle around the marina. I also finally put up some pictures on the boat!  It always feels a little more homey when you have pictures on the wall.  A busy week, but a good one!

Hope you’ve enjoyed this week.  Remember to enjoy the day, as fast as it may be flying by.  

Smooth sailing,

Skye