Continued from Goodbye #boatlife, Part 1: The stranger looked at Astrologer, pointing out various spots while Jason nodded in agreement. Not wanting to interrupt them I neared, I smiled while scooting past to climb aboard and continue packing. As if on cue, Jason popped in the cabin. A knot appeared in my stomach which, five-seconds ago, was not there. He informed me that the stranger’s name was Greg, and as Jason picked up a box of animals crackers, I leaned against the counter to brace myself for what was next.“It’s crazy,” he said, throwing a gorilla cookie into his mouth.“I think he’s interested in buying the boat.”
“So…how did this happen?” I said, swallowing the knot which had now traveled to my throat. Jason threw another animal cookie into his mouth, unfazed. A giraffe, I think. “Greg approached me and said he’s been looking for a small sailboat with a cabin tall enough to stand in. We’re about the same height,” he said, polishing off another cookie. “So, he’s coming back with his friend in an hour for a tour.”
Shoulders slumped, I nodded and shuffled to the v-berth to finish packing.
I thought back to the first moment I stepped on Astrologer (and maybe you’ll understand what I mean).
Sometimes, when you visit a place or meet a new person, it feels familiar like you’ve connected before in some parallel universe.
That’s how it was with Astrologer.
When I climbed into the cabin for the first time, it immediately felt like home. Like, all the adventures we were about to have were already inside of me, waiting to be relived.
From that moment, the adventures began even before we left the dock: A winter in Washington, complete with snow, rain, howling winds, and a bout of depression (me) broke us in as a couple.
And sailing from Washington into the Pacific, along the coasts of Oregon and California, crossing the border to the Baja peninsula, cruising the Sea of Cortez, and finally down the mainland coast of Mexico solidified our strong partnership.
Not only that, sailboat life became an identity. We were a “boat couple,” and Astrologer was our second mate.
The experiences we had on this little vessel – rough seas, learning to live together in a small space, the tricks of finding alone time when you’re out at sea, and the emotional places we’d visit in between – became our first home together.
So, it wasn’t just selling a boat for me. It was the end of a huge chapter of our life together.
Astrologer was more than a sailboat – she was irreplaceable.
Yet, at the same time, I realized how selfish it is to keep her when we didn’t plan to live full-time on her anymore. And to think of her rotting away in a boatyard only pained my heart more than letting her go. Astrologer is meant to be loved and enjoyed. Even if I wasn’t onboard.
Greg came back with his friend the next day, and as Jason showed them around, I sat on the deck. I’d chime in with tips for the radio and how we only filled the water tank with filtered water. Jason pointed out the weather cloths lining the cockpit and port light covers I sewed. As the men checked the engine, I climbed under the boom, silently wishing the boat goodbye.
Less than an hour after the tour, Greg came back to make an offer.
But while Greg and I kicked around small talk waiting for Jason to return from loading the van, I couldn’t help but be skeptical. How could you not of someone interested in buying your home? But right at the moment in our conversation when I thought that Greg and I had nothing in common, he said something that made me realize we were actually on the same page.
He said that he sees life like a big puzzle, and each person we meet and experience we have are the little pieces that complete the full picture. As he looked towards the horizon, he told me Astrologer was a sign for him, a serendipitous moment he’d been waiting for.
It was that moment that my heart unclenched.
You know the saying, if you love something, set it free?
Well, as Jason and I shook Greg’s hand later that day to seal the deal, that’s exactly what I did.
Please enjoy a small photo journey of our life with Astrologer below!
S/V Astrologer: 2016-2019
She didn’t even have a mast on yet, sweet thing.
I cried, so happy to finally be in California and out of the grey, cold, weather of Washington!
(The scary time was a gnarly windstorm near Point Arena in California.)
This is Los Gatos, a small bay on the Sea of Cortez side of Baja, Mexico.
Finally made it to the pictures we dreamed about in the cruising books!
The perfect sunset cruise, couldn’t have asked for a better last time on the water.
We left in our van right after this picture was taken.
Want to see where it all started and get some helpful tips about living on a boat, too? Check out this I Heart story here: Boat Life T.M.I.