Retired...again

As of the first of the month I am no longer gainfully employed. And I am collecting social security checks for the first time. Which, I think, makes me more retired then the last three times I have been retired. A life of aviation work ended abruptly and I retired (1) to go cruising. And though we got in some good sailing the first time “retired” was mostly spent fixing Kintala & The Bear. Nearly out of money a friend offered a job. Kintala took up residence in a boat yard and I went to wrenching on other people's boats. When not on the boatyard clock, I wrenched on Kintala. Kitty partly filled retirement (2) beckoned and I went back to sailing and wrenching on just Kintala. But money was soon short once again and I was invited back to the boat yard. Many months later and with the kitty partly filled we went back to sailing and just wrenching on Kintala; which was retirement #3. But the partly filled kitty wasn't enough to go far. With money once again getting short and getting weary of Kintala, an aviation based opportunity came up that was simply too good to pass. I went back to fill the kitty.

 

Kintala, though by then a pretty well founded boat, was also getting to be more of a chore to sail then Deb and I, as a short handed crew, were comfortable handling, particularly on those dark and stormy nights. (Once an adventure, such nights had become life threatening.) The idea behind this most recent retirement was to get back on the water in two years, on a different kind of boat, and with enough cash to go for as long as we wanted. It was a good plan.

But then COVID hit and the world appeared to be losing its collective mind. In spite of the turmoil we landed in a very good living space with grandkids and family close by. Two years turned into almost five. I enjoyed being pretty good at what I was doing once again. Time in the simulator was augmented by a couple of chances to get back in the sky, all of which had the kitty looking as healthy as it ever had. Life on the water was still the goal, but “when” and “in what” were open to many a debate. Then First Light hit the market, caught Deb's eye, and we beat the next buyer by about 20 minutes with an offer that was accepted. The “in what” was answered but not the “when.” But we had a boat and it was time to head back "out there". Initial plans were made to depart for places wet last November, hook up with family living on their own boat, maybe spend some time in the Islands. But family on the water became family living within a day's drive of St. Louis. The idea of leaving all family for long stretches of time once again, something that had proven far more difficult than I had expected after my first retirement, was something we (particularly me) struggled with. But we owned a boat, and life on the water was still beckoning. 

So now I have retired yet again. But full time cruising on an open ended schedule is not the goal. Getting First Light safely to St. Louis via the Northern half of the Great Loop is the current plan. Once settled at a nearby marina, she will become our floating cabin on the river. A quiet place for Grampy-T and DeMa to enjoy boat living. A less quiet place when the the boat is crewed by grand kids. After years of cruising and now with our third boat, we know full well just how much it costs to “go cruising”. So there is a fair  chance I will be un-retiring at least one more time. I expect the kitty to be looking a bit anemic by time we coast into IL waters. We will see. How life will unfold many months from now remains the mystery it always is. We are heading back to the water; due to cast off in just a few weeks. After that? Plans, written in sand on a beach at low tide.