Those of you who have worked on boats, especially on wooden boats before know, that it is never “finished”. There is always something more to do, always another improvement to make, always another coat of varnish to put on. At some point I knew I had to just stop working and go sailing. I was so looking forward to and dreading this moment at the same time. Leaving the comfort of Tom´s workshop seemed hard, I wanted to take advantage of the space, tools and resources that I had there as long as I could. I wanted to get everything done as solid and proper as possible. But I knew I had to set a date or else I could easily keep working for another year or two.
My friend Lisa who had been visiting in December 2018 and May 2019 and had helped so much with Alani, had made some time to start the journey with me as my crew. I was so happy to know that she would be coming along and we had agreed on leaving around the beginning of November 2019.
When she arrived in mid October, there was still so much to do before we could set sail. We kept working, even after the big provision run, even the day of and the day after my goodbye party. Even while I was checking us out of the country, Tom, Lisa and Tyrone were still fixing the “last” things.
But the date was set. No matter if things were “finished” or not, we were leaving on Monday, November 11th. Alani was as “ready” as she would ever be. I wasn´t, but I never would be readier either. It was time to cast off the lines, time to be rewarded for all the hard work, time for new adventures.
