August?!

I was fully aware that it was July, even the end of July. We even reminded ourselves to say ‘Rabbit Rabbit’ last night. But I was actually stunned when I awoke on the first day of this month. Where has the time gone? It’s Fall next month! And then it’s October! Alright, the stress is now all of a sudden mounting in me. Yeah, that pesky feeling called stress has crept its way back into our lives. And it’s not very much fun because my husband ‘disappears’ when he gets stressed about this boat. It’s almost like he is a zombie…vacant eyes, much more grunting than words spoken. At least he is a productive zombie. And today I joined him in the ranks of increased cortisol levels. Our luck also ran out with only one of us teetering on the edge, this afternoon it was both of us. But after a long, cool shower I felt better and upon my return to the boat I was greeted by my husband. It’s funny, only a few words have to be spoken and I know he’s back. We were finally able to have a real conversation (including the fact that we love each other much more than this boat and that’s all that really matters) and discussed our anxieties and worries. One of them being that we (especially Mike) is just so tired, exhausted really, from expending all of his energy into this boat over the past 4 months. And the fact that we now have to sail this boat after a long hibernation and ‘race’ across the Mediterranean before the weather turns. We also want to get across the Aegean to make some miles and avoid getting stuck somewhere due to the Meltemi (a strong, northerly wind) than can blow for days on end.
When in reality all we really want to do is NOTHING for the next several months. But we have some big motivation ahead of us that is keeping us going. We are so looking forward to seeing our friends who arrive in Athens on Sunday, although exact location of this rendezvous is yet to be known. So the current plan is to bust ass and leave the marina on Thursday, no time for a shake down sail but planning to only head 35 miles to Symi, Greece. But if we don’t make it out of the marina then we will not depart until Saturday. We once tested the sailing myth of not starting a voyage on a Friday and it didn’t work out so well for us… And we are not tempting fate this time around!

Mike of the Living Dead