Christmas Letter 2014

                                                                                                                                                                    Dear friends and family,

I’m finally living up to the name of my LLC: NautiNomad (a play on nautical, not naughty), and though I didn’t add a “new” country to the list of those I’ve visited, I’m still subjecting you to my year in review.  :-)

The longest I’ve been home at any one time this year has been a month. I’m not complaining, especially given the severe cold of last winter. Departing the Twin Cities on January 7 and spending virtually the entire time in the Caribbean teaching sailing until April 10 was a much-appreciated sojourn from the frozen tundra.  I came back to explore Bayfield Wisconsin’s exquisite sea caves, a phenomenon I’d waited years to see in person. The frozen water seeping out and over the sandstone cliffs was more than I’d imagined and an economic boom for the establishments that stay open in the winter in this small town. As if that wasn’t enough, no one told me of the thrill of driving across Lake Superior from Bayfield to Madeline Island where the depth reaches 150’. I kept exclaiming “I’m driving on Lake Superior.” How odd and wonderful to see Bayfield shrouded in snow will driving on a snow-plowed road of ice.

Sailing in the Caribbean means making new friends, seeing people advance their sailing skills and partaking in all that is fun in the BVI—from the Baths to the bubbly pool and all the underwater life. I taught class after class and at the end spent a leisurely week captaining a charter on a luxurious 45’ Bavaria in the BVI. I also had the opportunity to sail from Sint Maarten to St. Barts, Saba and St. Eustatius. We had to check in with customs and immigration each day, even if we were on the same island (going from the Dutch to the French side of Sint Maarten), and if we were going from the French side of Sint Maarten to French St. Barts. We scootered around St. Barts, up and down hills, enjoying the views and the airplanes as they almost nosedived to land safely. We mastered the big waves outside of Saba’s quiet little harbor in our dinghy. The islands differ more in language than in culture, and you’re always on “island time”. Despite being there in the height of the tourist season, we learned that virtually all the shops are closed on Sundays on St. Barts.

It’s hard to believe I’ve had my USCG Captain’s license for over five years now. That meant scrambling to renew it upon my return to the States. So much for relaxing after non-stop 7-day work weeks. I know I’m not getting any sympathy from you, nor do I deserve it.  I have a better office view than most people. After I finally got the renewal sent off, I was back on the water taking and teaching classes. I learn from my beginning students as well as from those with vast amounts of experience.

Teaching on Lake Superior in late May had a new challenge this year—icebergs. Boats were delayed going into the water, as were the buoys. The sea caves were gone, but there was still plenty of floating ice causing treacherous conditions for boaters. Lucky for students who wanted more docking practice! When we finally thought it was passable, we slowly crept seaward.  It wasn’t.  We had to put the boat in reverse because to turn around would have meant colliding with a berg. We didn’t want to suffer the same fate as the Titanic, nor did we want to be stuck outside the marina by a long chunk of ice driven into the channel by wind while we were sailing.

Once the ice melted, the summer progressed smoothly. Kayaking and paddle boarding were stymied by the weather. Many times when I was off work, it was either too cold or too windy. That’s frustrating, especially when I’m teaching on no-wind days. I volunteered again at Big Top Chautauqua and the Bayfield Maritime Museum and enjoyed the company of the locals at the marinas and their pups. When you’re at a marina, you get to know the dogs first, then their owners and finally you figure out what boat they own.

Boat ownership came quickly for two of my Winter students. They called me in the Spring saying they’d bought a Catalina 470. Would I help them learn how to sail it and deliver it to the BVI? “Of course,” I said. That led to a trip to Annapolis in September, and another in late October. From there, we motor-sailed to Norfolk VA. After a week of seminars put on for the 70+ boats that had signed up for the Salty Dawg Rally, final preparations and provisioning, we ventured out into the unknown. Twelve days later, we arrived in the dark at Leverick Bay on Virgin Gorda. It was an uneventful trip, my favorite word in sailing. Though the winds were usually from the direction we wanted to go, we weren’t encountering the storms of the previous year, just a squall here and there. We sailed, we motored, we motor-sailed. When the winds were dead calm, we even went swimming one day in the middle of the ocean, sans wind, land and thankfully, no sharks.

Compared to other boats, our issues underway were minor. A water hose sprung a leak, but a water maker made that a non-issue. Our starter was a little temperamental, but banging it helped. We fretted about running the engine because we weren’t exactly sure how much fuel we used on an hourly basis, but to our relief, we arrived with 20 gallons to spare. At the post parties, my former students thought it was fun to say they’d now doubled their sailing experience. They definitely made up for limited sailing experience. I can’t wait to see them again in February and hear how they’ve adapted to the cruising lifestyle.

I had much to be thankful for the next week in Los Angeles—celebrating the uneventful crossing at Thanksgiving with my sister Chris and her husband Rick, my niece Laura and her husband Brian, my nephew Justin and his girlfriend Alie, and the newest member of the family, a blonde Cocker Spaniel named Lucky. All are doing well. Rick and Chris love living in LA. Laura’s yoga business is thriving. (I’m looking forward to going on one of her retreats!) Justin just started a new job with a French-based internet company. Though I saw the ocean from a distance, I wasn’t drawn to the beach. Hmmm.  Do you think twelve days of solid ocean views might be the cause?

So what does one do during the winter in a cold climate? I’m having to rethink this now that a delivery I was to make from Cape Verde to the Caribbean was canceled. Since I’ll be home until February, there’s enough time to do some redecorating and as anyone knows, one thing leads to another, meaning a change in one room parlays into a change in another and another. I’m actually looking forward to the “destination” more than the “journey”, but I will persevere. I wonder if/how the end result will affect my nomadic tendencies. We’ll see this time next year.

I hope you’ve succeeded in the intentions you may have set for yourselves for 2014, and that you excel at those you set for yourselves for 2015.

Here’s to a holiday season of love and peace,

Vicki