Our new home floats!
We arrived in Jacksonville, Florida on Monday December 6th, 2008, after a six day drive across the U.S. from California. With huge anticipation we marched into the marina office at Ortega Landing and were handed our key. There she lay, all by herself at the last slip on the furthest dock, beautiful, and quiet. We unlocked the boat and for the first time stood inside our new home all by ourselves. Johnny and Susan, the previous owners, had left us two beers in the fridge, a box of chocolates, and many other goodies as we came to find out. We don't drink, but it was a heartwarming gesture and welcoming from them! This long anticipated moment had finally come, and not without anxiety, at least on my behalf. Here we were, fully committed to this adventure, with no going back. How would we really like it after all the years of dreaming and planning???
First mistake
So eager were we to sleep on our boat that first night in Jacksonville that we immediately started unloading boxes from the Jeep and carting them onto the boat. This turned out to be a huge mistake, because we soon found ourselves inundated with boxes and stuff in a very small space, while simultaneously trying to go through all the systems, spares and supplies that were left on the boat for us. Within half an hour we could barely move, turn around, let alone sit down anywhere. To top it off, we had exactly twelve hours left to go to the train station to pick up another twelve boxes before they would start charging us to hold on to them! AAAHHHH!!!
As we tried to plough our way through our self induced mess, my cortisol levels started rising very quickly as we became aware of one thing - back in California we had packed all this stuff that suddenly seemed completely out of place, and way too much!!! I kept thinking: "what were we thinking!", and of course kept obsessing about all the clothes and books Dave had brought along, all the while trying to justify that all the herbs, acupuncture and medical supplies and text books that I had brought along were completely essential to this endeavour. How clever the mind is at trying to outsource and blame! It made me a bit tense to say the least,and Dave kept asking me if I was sure that I would actually be able to enjoy myself at some point! Looking back, I can forgive myself, as I realize that all the adaptations and changes we were having to make would have seemed pretty radical to most people. I mourned California and our friends, and I kept thinking about all the creature comforts I was relinquishing to fullfill a dream I wasn't sure would live up to its expectations. You have to imagine it - suddenly sleeping in a sort of v-shaped bed that takes a contortionist to get out of at night and having to walk a quarter mile just to go to the loo at the marina. (We were still unfamiliar with the special toilet system on the boat, so we did not dare to use it!) Then waking up in the morning, surrounded by fog, and with condensation everywhere, including our mattress and blankets. To top it off - no place to sit or be comfortable due to the many boxes!! What in the world, I wondered, had I inflicted on myself and my husband???
Outcasts
Being tied up to the last pier and last slip in the marina, with very few other sailors around us, surrounded by power boats and in a very upscale marina made us feel a little strange. The previous owners had told us that they had felt somewhat uncomfortable too. This was exacerbated when a day after our arrival the locks were changed on the plush shower facilities so we could no longer use them. We had to use the lesser of the three showers, as the others became "members only" showers, or so we assumed. It may have been totally coincidental, but it did nothing to make us feel totally welcome there. Our beat up Jeep stood next to gleaming SUVs and other fancy cars, and we kept feeling a bit like outcasts. However, I must say that nobody there was ever rude to us. In fact later on we learned the true nature and kindness of one of the employees there, Bruce, who truly did us some huge services and was incredibly helpful wherever he could be. Rumors we heard outside the marina made it appear that this particular marina was primarily in it for business, and it felt to us that the only reason they accepted us was because they were unable to fill up their slips with the large power boats they truly would like on their docks.Settling in
In total it took us two weeks to find a place for all our stuff and settle into the boat. Luckily Johnny spent several hours on the phone with Dave to explain how things worked on the boat, and we still keep a booklet handy to write down questions as they arise. Johnny hit the nail on the head when he told us that the learning curve on a boat was not a curve at all, but vertical! They had been through it before of course, and totally understood! Eventually we figured out how to do things like turn on the oven, use the Lavac system on the head, find all the through hulls and know what they are for, how to start the engine, how to adjust this or that and hundreds of things more. It will be a while before we know it all!
In addition we had to also find our way around Jacksonville to buy food, open up a P.O. Box, buy boating equipment and find local craftsmen who can help us do the work on the boat that it needs. To my complete delight Whole Foods just opened up in Jacksonville, which made the absence of Trader Joes a lot easier to bear!Maiden Voyage
Through several recommendations we finally located a boat yard which could install a roller furlling system on our boat, a new genoa and mainsail, as well as haul out the boat for us for a bottom paint job that it needs. The boat yard is about twenty miles south of Jacksonville in Green Cove Springs, which "forced" us to set off on our "maiden voyage". With some encouragement from Johnny & Susan, and a helping hand from dear Bruce, we finally came upon a day where the wind wasn't howling (as we had a few cold fronts passing through), and so with a knot in my stomach we untied the lines and before we knew it we were out of the slip, bowsprit and everything still intact! We had heard how hard these types of boats are to maneuver, and our slip was rather tight, so we had some trepidations. But lo and behold it turned out to be easier that we thought, and my husband as captain did a fabulous job getting our lovely boat on the way down the river.
I immediately found myself on the VHF radio hailing our very first bridge requesting passage - the bridge keeper responded kindly with: "where are you Captain?" (which made me feel quite proud) and opened the bridge up for us. Shortly after passing through we grounded Anam Cara for the first time. Dave used all the long forgotten swear words he never uses! Luckily we had been forewarned that this was likely to happen as the entrance of the river inlet is quite shallow. We ploughed our way through, and with a wind chill factor below thirty degrees farenheit, made our way up the St. Johns River. Following the river markers that were far and few between was not quite as easy as expected. Our chart for this part is over twenty years old, and we prayed that they were still about the same, as we have not yet installed all our electronic navigational aids. 
When passing under the Interstate-295 bridge (which supposedly has a 65 foot clearance, about 10 feet above our mast) my heart about stopped beating, hoping that we would clear the bridge! However, the skills from years of sailing expeditions came back to me easily, and between the two of us we found our way down to Green Cove springs. Three guys were awaiting us at the dock, and with little fuss and their expert hands, we were soon tied up securely, and could relax. Tom, the owner of the boat yard, turns out to be a very helpful, friendly and all around good guy, and we feel at ease about putting our boat in his expert hands! Not to mention we were immediately included as family to their Christmas Party that evening!First Christmas on Anam Cara
Christmas arrived amongst all the hussle. We had had no time to buy each other presents or send out a single christmas card. However, Christmas could not just come and go for either of us, so at the last minute I managed to get a few pine branches and make a small holiday decoration that just fits on our table. We bought a little turkey meat at Whole Foods, sweet potatos and brussel sprouts, and on Christmas eve cooked our first little holiday dinner in our tiny galley. Everything has to be cooked in shifts, as the stove, even though it has three burners, is a bit too small for all my favorite pots and pans that I brought along from California! But somehow we managed! We even had a present each to open from my parents, which were most welcome! Slowly but surely our beautiful boat started to feel like home!
Christmas Day we drove up to Brunswick, Georgia, where we had an invitation from some very dear friends, Vince & Michelle. To our great fortune they moved there from California a few years ago, and have built their dream retirement home on an acre of land, right in the heart of a small forest. Their home is absolutely gorgeous, and we enjoyed their hospitality and wonderful food immensely! How truly blessed we are! Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2009 to all of you!
