The final preparations

We’ve put a lot of work into this crazy adventure of ours. I like to think that we came into the whole project sober minded and about as well prepared as you could be for how much would this life would take.

Yes, we could have stretched the budget and bought a newer boat with different (and maybe fewer) problems. We knew we were buying a 40+ year old boat when we bought Magic Dragon.

But, despite being as realistic as anyone could be, this life has turned out to be more work than we ever imagined. It’s more work that I reckon anyone could imagine without any prior experience taking on a task like this.

And even though we have not left the USA - much less sailed to the far flung reaches of the world - it has been worth it. All of the blood, sweat, and muttered curses have been worth the experience of sailing up to Key West and anchoring in front of the oldest fort in the USA and voyaging over the same waters that notorious pirates (including Blackbeard himself) used to roam.

We have few regrets so far, but the experience has felt incomplete. We have yet to sail out of United States waters and clear into our first foreign country. But, if things go according to plan, we will get over the particular hump shortly.

Having made our way from New Bern, North Carolina down to Ft. Pierce, Florida, all that is left to do is work through a relatively small list of final tasks to prepare for our first international adventure.

Thank you for coming along with us on this journey.

Much love,

Kirstin & Andy