Final Thoughts

Well folks,

After 5528 nautical miles, we've made it back home. With a forecast promising good winds, we ran from Onset, MA through the Cape Cod canal and up to Boston Harbor--flying the spinnaker again to make the most of a down-wind run. It was great to scud into local water doing eight knots, finishing the trip with a great sailing day.

After a couple nights on the hook among the harbor islands, we made our way to the dock at Cottage Park Yacht Club and began the shift back to land life. Over dinner for those last nights on the boat, we were able to reflect on a year's worth of adventures. While there are far too many to be captures in any one concluding blog entry, the kids each worked on some poems to encapsulate certain memories they hope to keep with them.

We certainly have enjoyed putting together this blog. It has helped us chronicle the year and kept us in contact with so many of you. Thank you for taking the time to follow our journey and share your comments as you saw fit. (Matthew in particular deserves a gold star for his efforts!)
Thank you also for your support as we navigated the waters of losing a parent. We all appreciate the attention you gave us as we dealt with Grappy's illness and death.

Hopefully we have provided a little inspiration for each of you to step away from the ordinary. Perhaps you will volunteer abroad, or visit someplace off the beaten path. Or you may think about getting by with less, and paying close attention to how you use water, power, and food. Maybe you will step away from the media, the rat race, and American consumer distraction and find time to connect with those special to you ... or perhaps ... you will do all of these and head of on a cruising adventure of your own!

( Oh, and by the way, if you are looking for a boat, we have a great one available!)

Hope you enjoy what the kids have created.
Peter.

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Ohana
by Xavier

Overnight passages were cool.
Hiking to beautiful views in Maine, Puerto Rico, and St John.
Awesome natural water slides and jumps.
New foods from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Amazing white sand beaches of the Bahamas.

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The Trip
by Jeremiah
(to the tune of Phineas & Ferb theme)

We had 365 days on our sailing ship
heading south to sunnier weather.
So the ultimate goal of our family trip
was to create memories that will last forever.

Things like...

Spearing a grouper,
Diving for conch,
or seeing wacky flying dinghies.

Spearing a grunt on my birthday,
or kayaking to an island of monkeys.

Body surfing waves,
seeing rocket ships,
or racing on Bahamian boats.

Lassoing lizards,
Catching a mahi,
or eating mufungo and goats.

As you can see there is so much to tell,
I'm sure friends will have lots of questions,
when I get back to school this fall.

But no matter how hard I try,
There is no way to cover it all.

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An Amazing Adventure
by Catherine

There were islands and islands galore,
Mainland was a word rarely spoken
In the Virgin Islands, DR, Bahamas and more,
We all hoped the spell would never be broken.

We made friends with other boats with kids,
All of them cruising just like us,
We taught them card games where you make bids,
We took what came and made no fuss.

We watched amazing dolphin shows,
Displayed at sea for us alone,
And sharks so majestic and without foes,
They eat a fish whole, the scales, meat, and bone.

There were wonders every way I turned
And there are so many things that I have learned.

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Oh The Places We Went
by Josie

(with inspiration from Theodor Geisel)

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there
in the wide open air...



...We are finished, yes finished.
Today is our last day.
We have been to great places,
Far off and away.

We have brains in our head
And a sail on our boat.
We could steer ourselves
In any direction we vote.

We were on our own. And we knew what we knew.
And we were the ones who decided what to do.

We looked around anchorages for things we might fear.
About some we did say, “We do not choose to stay here.”
With our brains in our head and our feet on our yacht,
We were too smart for a not-so-good spot.

We did not always find a place we wanted to be.
And in that case, of course, we headed straight out to sea.
It is opener out there in the wide open sea.

Alas we've moved home
No more nights on the foam,
But dreaming of times when we might again roam.