Our years of being gypsy liveaboards started with Nomad teaching us the basics on Lake Carlyle. Nearly a decade passed while we stepped up to the bigger and far more capable Kintala while still on the lake. We then moved aboard to meet the challenges of wandering to our hearts' content along the East Coast, the Bahama Islands, the Florida Keys, and the west coast of Florida, a lifestyle we enjoyed for the better part of a decade. But Kintala went up for sale while I went back to the aviation world to try and fill a depleted bank account. It wasn’t long before the idea of trying the trawler life and doing the Great Loop became a new challenge that we made happen. It turned out to be more of a challenge than we expected, complicated by a heart that quit working for me and a shattered wrist for Deb. With the help of many really good people that became close friends and enriched our lives, and a bit more than two years worth of effort, First Light finally settled into her slip near St. Louis and home. That was more than a year ago now. We thought that we would be happy river runners, taking grandkids out for day and overnight trips. We did make a few trips with family and everyone had a good time. But the cost plus work effort to fun ratio was pretty trying. After a lot of serious soul searching, Deb and I have decided that our long-term wandering days have come to a close. It was not an easy decision, but it is the right one.
I have enjoyed a life far better than the one I probably deserved. Deb and I have ridden more than a quarter of a million miles on a collection of motorcycles. We have owned airplanes, both of us being pilots. We have thousands of nautical miles under our various keels, have lived in four states, raised three daughters, and have eleven grandkids. Our oldest granddaughter just got engaged. Our oldest grandson is with us for a while as he works toward his pilot’s license with the intent of having an aviation career of his own. I will admit that one of my biggest disappointments is that, having lost my medical, I cannot act as his instructor, though we are working our way through the ground schooling required. And I have a promise that I will be his first official passenger. It is a bit wistful on the one hand, being back around the perimeter of the world of aviation where I made a living for better than 50 years. But it is kind of fun as well.
Some might find the idea of a life winding down a burden. I do miss the sky, big water, and bending a motorcycle into a fast corner right on the edge of traction. But I do not miss the effort, the endless work, and the many times I skated way too close to the edge that comes with that kind of lifestyle. Deb has often joked that there are a lot of cats running around short on lives—lives that I “borrowed” as my nine were used up long ago. As for the rest? I certainly would not have guessed that we would end up keeping a decades-long running commentary on our life on the water that we shared with whoever was interested. Or that we would end up writing and publishing six books between us. We could not have imagined all we would see, the adventures that we would have, or anticipated the number of people we would meet who became good friends that we have enjoyed and cherish to this day.
We may still to a bit of exploring. Once First Light finds a new home we will explore getting a van-like vehicle in which to do some traveling. Visit friends and family and see some places I have only seen from the cockpit of an airplane far up in the flight levels. They will not be long trips. “Home” takes on a special charm as life settles down to its last few chapters. And we are home.
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