The Simplicity Project, Nos.19, 20 and 21

morning in the pocket

Not our boat! This is a neighbouring boat. I love the way the sun glints off it in the morning.

We’re living on our sailboat now, in a lovely intimate marina in the Manatee Pocket, at the mouth of the St.Lucie Inlet in Florida.

This is the same place as we were last year, and it was so heart-warming to be welcomed back by many friends we made during our stay then.

Our original plan was to head to the Bahamas after the Christmas holidays, but the best laid plans….as you know…

It turns out we have to replace our mast and rigging before we sail anywhere — no need to go into the whys and wherefores here — and we just have to accept that that will take some time.

I’m still doing my Simplicity Project so the next two images will reflect that.

four winds3

This is the hull of the boat of the couple slipped next to us. I loved the way the sunlight divides the water into triangles at one certain point in the morning.

The couple in the boat next to us have sailed and lived aboard their sailboat since 1986. They have helped to develop the charts for cruising the Bahamas and authored articles on sailing topics. They really know what it means to be sailors! People on boats make friends fast and help each other out all the time. To me that’s one of the great attractions of this kind of life.

lines

It takes big lines to tie up a big boat! We have boats — both power and sail — of all sizes here.

These last three images may not quite fit the simplicity brief but they do show a glimpse of life on our mastless sailing vessel.

sailboat without mast

Bob ties us up at the dock.

I’ve circled where the mast is supposed to be.

breakfast

Breakfast on the boat. We have one burner and I don’t need more than that!

bob and charles

Bob and Charles enjoy a quiet moment in the cockpit just before dinner.