Jane Ainsworth was looking forward to retirement, envisioning plenty of tennis, hill-walking and home improvements. Her husband had other ideas...
Life on the open sea
When I retired in December 2011, I looked forward to spending more time with my family and friends, playing more tennis, doing more hill-walking, and most of all, spending time in my garden on those beautiful days when it would have seemed so hard to go to work. I enjoy cooking too, and had in mind a few improvements to our house, which had been a bit neglected while we were both busy working.
But Mr A. entertained no such plans. Having managed large civil engineering projects, and enjoyed arguing with people for the last 40 years, he now needed a new project about which he could argue with me.
He’s always liked dinghy sailing, and for some years we had a share in a narrowboat, so it was perhaps inevitable that the project would involve a boat. Inspired by Monica and Terry Darlington, who took their narrowboat, The Phyllis May, and their whippet Jim, to the US and wrote about their experiences in Narrow Dog to Indian River, Mr A thought we could go one better and do a trip called the Great Loop.
The Great Loop is usually started in Florida. You go up the Intracoastal Waterway along Florida’s east coast, up through Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia and on to New York, then via the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes, then coming south via the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico. Then you cross the Gulf back to Florida. It takes about a year.
Having managed large civil engineering projects, and enjoyed arguing with people for the last 40 years, [Mr A] now needed a new project about which he could argue with me.
"A year!" I quailed. Away from my family and friends, and home? Living on a boat? Much as I enjoyed our times on the narrowboat, exploring Britain’s waterways, I was always glad after two weeks of cramped living to get home again. What if any more grandchildren were to arrive? The only upside, as far as I could see, was that we would be able to make more visits to our son and his family, who live in Virginia.
We compromised. We would do the Loop, but in bite-sized chunks of two to three months at a time, and store the boat when we’re not using it. We arrived in Florida on 7 January. Mr A has spent the last year doing boat-handling courses, navigation courses, communicating with other "Loopers" on an online forum (at least it deflects criticism of the amount of time I spend on Gransnet), and looking at numerous "boats for sale" websites.
He had a short-list of about six boats, and had arranged to view the top two the day after we arrived in Florida. The first one simply did not tick enough of my boxes (comfy bed, fridge, adequate storage space, reasonable toilet and shower), but I knew within five minutes of boarding Carina that this was the boat I wanted. She measured up to all my requirements, and then some. She’s 35 years old, and registered as an antique vessel, so we got a lot of boat for our money. She’s spacious, well laid-out and finished in teak inside, shabby chic if you like.
We’ve been living on her since January 26th, and she’s already our second home. We’ll be back in England on March 12th to await the arrival of a new grandchild, and of course I’m excited about that, but part of me will be sorry to leave Carina and I’ll be looking forward to coming back to the US in the Autumn.
Jane also writes a blog detailing her adventures on the sea at www.talesfromtheamericanwaterways.com
By Jane Ainsworth
Twitter: @Gransnet
Jean what an interesting life you are leading. Better to do it in chunks I suppose, then you don't miss too much of what is happening back home. The boat sounds great, and what an adventure!I think your DH was right, you can do all the other things later, but you should do something like this now, I am envious.
I'm too. When I was 4 my Dad took me with him to see his friend who was repairing his boat. It started to rain so we were ushered inside the wee cabin and treated to a cup of tea (juice for me) and biscuits. We sat on the bunk, the kettle was boiled on a small stove, and there was room for a tiny table, a few books, a paraffin lamp, two small windows with gingham curtains. I was enchanted with this 'wee hoose' which became the subject of my dreams for years to come.
Sadly, my father could get seasick crossing a puddle and my DH has no interest so living on a wee boat has had to remain a dream but when I win the lottery ...........
jane That sounds wonderful. I love boats, and a long holiday with lots to look at, time to settle in and enjoy it, must be great. Then home for some quality family time too! and even more
I'm sure your boat has got very high sides.
I'm very
This must be the most interesting blog we've had on GN.
jingl yes and yes.
Well alligators anyway. We have seen them in Myakka State Park, coming out of the water to eye up their potential lunch in the form of some birds paddling about on the river bank. And mrA thought he saw an alligator nose sticking out of the water at one point, but I wasn't convinced.
And gator pie is often on the menu at local restaurants, but I am not tempted.
It's not the hurricane season at the moment, but obviously that's a concern. But there's lots of advance warning so you can have time to get to a sheltered place <says she, confidently>
I'm sure it's lovely.
You've got very white teeth haven't you. Very good.
Well Galen at least they would open wide, unlike some human patients
Thanks again for all the kind comments. Doing the blog is a kind of therapy, if that doesn't sound too melodramatic.
ffinnochio I will let you know should any vacancies arise
jane great blog(s) and I love that you negotiated doing it in "chunks" - like you, I need a buffer zone in between adventures. That's why I'm happy to go off with husband on numerous road trips, as long as we have a couple of nights in each place (or even more) in between.
Having just come back from 2 weeks in that wonderful part of the world - Florida - I too am
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