Don't let the bedbugs bite

"It's in the bed!  It's in the bed!"

On September 30th I ended 9 years of working at the University of Virginia as a librarian and the next day I ended a decade of living in Charlottesville, VA, when we finally made our move to Shallotte, NC, to begin work on the boat in earnest.  Jimmy Buffett says "I'm just glad I don't live in a trailer," but we're quite satisfied living in an old trailer when it's only minutes from the boat and the beach.

We've been here nearly two weeks now and have been greeted by numerous Palmetto Bugs, which is one of the few things I haven't missed about living on the coast.  If you haven't had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with these insects just picture a roach about the size of a VW Beetle.  At first we just saw them skittering across the floor occasionally when we turned the lights on, but then one night I walked into the bedroom to find one staring defiantly at me from my nightstand.  A few nights later I discovered another one on my nightstand - this one floating in my drink.  So much for keeping a glass of juice by the bed for a middle of the night thirst.  Then, horror of all horrors, a night or two later I pulled back the covers to find one crawling across the bed.  "It's in the bed!  It's in the bed!" I shrieked at Brian, who was a good man and despatched it with haste.  The battle of the bugs continues as we search for a nice, poisonous hotel for them to occupy instead of our bed.

In the meantime, work on the boat has progressed slowly as we have settled into this new life and routine.  The weather teased us by being unseasonably cool when we first arrived but we have been treated to sunny days and temperatures in the 80's recently.  We finally made it to the beach and yesterday we spent several hours on the boat.  Brian repaired the hatch in the main berth, which had two broken hinges and one or two leaks.  We removed the old, crumbly foam mattress that we think may have been original to the boat and I started cleaning many years worth of grime from our berth.

The cleaning continues and also the planning for the electrical system and for our new (used) watermaker and autopilot, which Brian got super good deals on through Craigslist and eBay.

Photos to come soon.

Step 1: Buy a boat

7 months and 30 days ago I spent a lovely day at the Annapolis Boat Show with a friend from high school and his son. We spent the day climbing around beautiful boats, fondling their teak trimmings and chatting about his plans to buy a liveaboard catamaran. That day, I tried to ignore how much I was loving his company and how envious I was of his plans. Now Brian and I have a catamaran and I am an integral part of those plans. My how fast things can happen! After several months of research we were growing weary of what sometimes felt like a fruitless search. Many of the catamarans we wanted, especially Catalacs, were overseas and I didn’t particularly relish the thought of beginning our adventures in England. Not that I don’t want to go to England. It’s actually one of the top places I want to visit. But part of the reason we’re getting a boat is to be warm and England isn’t exactly a tropical paradise. But this past Sunday we found a Catalac for sale in South Carolina! Not only was it in the US but it was on our coast! We were super stoked and we could both feel it in our bones. This was our boat! We spent several hours inspecting every inch of her Monday afternoon. We went for a ride that evening as the sun set over the water. Dolphins were all around us and it was all I could do not to shout out, then and there, “WE’LL TAKE IT!” Truly, if you want to sell a boat quickly there are two things you can do to ensure it: 1) make sure it’s a Catalac you’re selling 2) arrange for a dolphin escort when you take the prospective buyers for a ride.

And here she is...Kozmik Kaos!

She requires a lot of equipping and isn’t quite ready for voyaging yet but we’re going to have a lot of fun getting her ready! First, though, we have to bring her home from beautiful Beaufort, SC and that will start us off with quite an adventure I’m sure.