High|Low

Last week was hard. I’m not sure what aspect of the work/life package was hardest, but it wasn’t just me. The whole family was under strain. By Friday I knew we needed a reset. “We’re going sailing tomorrow,” I told Vick as we were cleaning up from dinner. Saturday morning, we all woke up early and got moving. I’m glad we didn’t set the timer because the clean-up may have taken more than one hour. Still by 11ish we were ready to get under way. I was fiddling with something on deck when our friend and fellow cruiser Carl stopped by. “You guys going out today?” she asked. “Yup, probably out to the Gate and back, it looks like a great day for it, want to come along?” “No thanks, we’re going out too. After I pick Christina up, we’re going to drop anchor at Clipper Cove, do you want to go too?” At this point I’m thinking, “Victoria would never go for this.” but when she popped her head out and asked what we were talking about I implored Carl to talk her into it. I was relieved when I noticed the signs of her wheels turning as she figured out what we would need to do to get ready. “I guess we’ll need ice,” she finally said. ...

September 27, 2010 · 4 min · Tucker Bradford

Ship's Log: August 20-22

Victoria, Ruby, Olive, Jacob, Kate, Michael, and I left the dock at Emery Cove around noon on Friday for a 2 night stay at Alaya Cove, Angel Island. We’ve made this trip twice before but never with company. I decided to fill up the third tank (for an alleged total of 110 galons) just in case. We did our shopping the night before and got everything ship shape early on Friday morning for our guest’s 9am arrival. As expected it took a few hours to get Kate and her family moved in, and we took the opportunity to shower and pack a few more last minute maintenance tasks in. ...

August 23, 2010 · 3 min · Tucker Bradford

A Working Vacation

This is the first chance I’ve had to sit down at my computer in six days. When in the last 15 years have I been able to say that? This vacation was certainly unique. Since it was a last minute (we decided at lunch two days before departing) decision, the expectations were low. Regardless, none of us were prepared for the highs and lows of this last week. On the high side: ...

May 9, 2010 · 7 min · Tucker Bradford