THE PLAN

It has often been said that a cruiser’s plans are written in sand.  That is actually SO true, especially when you are actually in the act of cruising.  Almost every plan is directly affected by the weather, and we all know how unpredictable the weather can be.

Even with us being in the boat-buying, prep-for-cruising-phase our plans change OFTEN.  Short term plans, long term plans…they all change based on a variety of factors.  

One thing (of many things) that cruising has taught me (Greg) is to be more flexible.  That has never been one of my strong point.  I like to plan; I like to be prepared; I love it when a plan comes together (A-Team saying) as planned.  While it will always be important to plan and be prepared, cruising plans seldom work out exactly as you planned for them to.  You gotta roll with the flow.
That is Dahleen's area of expertise.  :-)

So, with that being said….our plans are no different than most cruising plans with respect to change.  They are most definitely written in sand….at low tide.  Here is our (at-this-moment-in time) cruising plan: 

• Close on the boat in May, 2014

• Deliver the boat to the Chesapeake in June, 2014

• Greg goes back for last hitch in Afghanistan in July, 2014

• Greg returns to the States to begin to refit the boat mid-Nov, 2014

• We spend the next 4 or 5 months getting the boat ready while moving south as it gets colder.  We will start out on the hard in Deltaville, VA hoping for no more than a month there.

• Then in Dec 2015, we head to Georgetown, SC for a month or so.  After that we will just play it by the weather, moving south as weather and boat projects allow.  We will spend time in Charleston, St. Augustine, Melbourne, Vero Beach, South Beach, Coconut Grove, and maybe the Keys.

• Spend summer/early fall 2015 cruising in the Chesapeake.

• Back to the Bahamas in Dec 2015

• Leaving the Bahamas for a couple of years in the Caribbean just before hurricane season.

• After that, we may head through the Panama Canal for the Pacific Islands; this will depend on a few things: family, cruising friends, our health, etc. 

Don’t hold us to any of these plans….one of the great ironies about cruising is:

{1}  you have to be flexible (sometimes when you don't want to) 
{2}  because of the lifestyle, when you want to, you can be flexible.  

If we like where we are; like what we are doing; and like who we are with; we will weigh those factors against the lure of adventure in other places and see what happens.