Chapter 78: The Final Chapter from 2000

Log 78
“The Final Chapter”
August, 2000


I’ve written a whole lot as I have sat down and tried to write this final chapter. I have written about each week, I have written about each leg, and I have written about a lot of neat moments along the way. In total I have probably written 10 pages of stuff that as I re-read it, was pretty boring, and it was also just a rehash of most of the things I had said in other chapters, so I deleted all that.
I said there would be a final chapter, and so there will be. But I’ve decided to just put a few words of conclusion to this story. In doing that I’ll just answer some of the questions people ask me.

Am I sad that the trip is over? Sure. Partly because I want to be out there making the trip, but I’ll also really miss all of the hours I spent thinking about, and planning the trip. They say the journey is the best part of reaching any goal, and that is definitely the case with this trip. The journey was fantastic, and Deb and I have memories that will last a lifetime. (Or until the next time)

Will you do it again? We’d like to someday…if we can. If we are still able to, someday we would like to do it with a little smaller boat (32 to 36 feet), so just the two of us can handle it easily, and also it costs less for fuel, and to dock. We would also like to stay on the boat for the entire year (or longer). Strange as it may seem, this is Debs idea, and like any good husband I’m not one to stand in her way.

What was your favorite part? There were so many great days that it would be impossible (and unfair) to pick one, but I guess my favorite parts were the mornings. Getting up early, and writing these logs were some of my favorite times of the whole trip. I would sit and write about the day before, and then think about what was to come that day. It was usually dark when I wrote them, and very peaceful. As I sit here writing this, I can recall many neat places I wrote a morning log, and the great feelings it brought me. Another great part of the morning was getting the boat ready to leave, and starting the engines. I know it seems weird, but when those big Detroit’s fired up each morning, I knew we were heading out to somewhere new, and each morning the feeling was the same. I’ll miss that part of the adventure. Then finally… the morning was when we untied the lines, and saw some of the best times of the cruising day.


What was the toughest part? Worrying about the things I couldn’t control. Like crossing the Gulf (by far the thing I worried about the most) and needing to be out in the Atlantic, even if the weather was bad, because we needed to make some time. The other thing was trying to keep all of the logistics straight. Where to keep the boat, maintenance, flights, and everyone’s schedules. On one hand, all part of the fun, but on the other, the toughest part of the trip. Trying to balance this, and not miss anything at work, was certainly a full time job for the last year.


Did you learn anything about yourself? I learned that most of the things you worry about never happen. I spent a lot of time worried about the weather, and how that would affect us, and it never happened. I learned to try to only worry about the things I could control, and to deal with the other ones as they happen. It’s much easier to say that, than to do it, but I did learn to do it better. I also learned (actually I probably confirmed) that I could cruise for a long time. A long, long time.

Any regrets? Nope!

What’s next? Not a clue. (You know I almost ended this sentence there, but as I sit here and think about what could be next, I get excited. I don’t know what it will be, but I guess it’s not too early to start planning)


Any conclusions? Yea. Several.

1. The boat has not been as clean as when Darrell and Steve Larry were aboard.
2. We’ll probably never have anyone aboard that will ever take as many pictures as Carl.
3. It’s not as much fun navigating without Terry.
4. Vacuuming will not be the same since Claudia sucked up her panties that morning.
5. I have a new found appreciation for a good waitress since we had that memorable meal in the Salomon Islands with Rome and Theresa.
6. I wish I could send all of the lockmasters on the Illinois Waterway to Canada for lessons.
7. I’ll probably never have a better New York strip steak than I did with Steve and Chris in Myrtle Beach.
8. The picture of Donna waving her arms at 4 in the morning to an oncoming barge and yelling, “Do you think he sees us?” will forever be etched in my brain.
9. I’m glad that Chris finally got to take her walk on the ocean beach, even though the dingy depth finder hasn’t worked since.
10. Boating won’t be the same………..it will be better!
11. I’ll miss writing these logs…….maybe I should write a book……Yea,,,,,,right!


Deb and I are very fortunate to have been able to make this trip. Now, or at any time in our lives, and we don’t take that for granted. We are also very fortunate to have been able to share it with some great people who were with us along the way, (and a lot of great people who we shared it with us through these logs) and I’d like to say thanks for all of their help, because with out them, the trip would have been a lot more work, and not half as much fun.

BK

PS.
I have attached an article that was written in the local Ottawa paper about our trip. It is not too far off, but there are a couple of corrections;
1. Our boat is a Cruisers Yacht; not a Gibson.
2. We didn’t go around Florida; we went across it, via Lake Okeechobee.
3. I didn’t say that Ottawa was as good as any place we visited, but I did say that it is as nice as many that were “touted” to be better. And it is.