We have made it halfway through our journey and completed one year living on a boat!  During the time we’ve had the boat we’ve sailed from Florida to Maine, back down to Virigina, through the Atlantic Ocean to the British Virgin Islands, down the Caribbean to Dominica and back up to Florida through the Bahamas and now back into the Chesapeake Bay.  Phew!!  We’ve been moving around a lot and probably have done about 6000 miles on Ryana.   After all this moving around it’s time to stop and reflect on the previous year.

Our greatest accomplishments in the past year:

1.  Still being married!  Living on a boat in close quarters 24×7 can be stressful!  But we are hanging in there!

At our April 30, 2011 wedding in the British Virgin Islands.

2.  Keeping Stanley alive and not quarantined through 11 Caribbean countries!  We underestimated the amount of bureaucracy we’d have to go through to have Stanley with us and often got frustrated by the paperwork run around.  But, having Stanley with us is more than worth it!

Stanley guarding the life jackets.

3.  Keeping the boat and crew safe and sound!  Sailing all those miles by ourselves would be tiring.  We were lucky to have friends and family come visit and help crew the boat.  Thank you to all (in order of appearance):  Jack, Cynthia, Greg, Cindy, Chuck, McKenna, Brett, Sally, Kay, Tokkie, Graham, Tony, Jeff, Kacie, Pete, Patrick, Kara, Dwane & Beverly.  A special mention for Greg who has visited us the most number of times (3) and was with us on the Atlantic passage and to Brett who was with us the longest (6.5 weeks).

Brett keeping watch for lobster pots in Maine.

Greg at the helm somewhere in the Atlantic on the way to Tortola.

Other thoughts and statistics about our year at on Ryana.

In 365 nights on the boat we spent:

• 20 nights out at sea
• 117 nights at anchor
• 133 nights on a mooring ball
• 95 nights at a dock

The longest we stayed in one place in the Caribbean was in Antigua where we stayed in Falmouth Harbor.  This was our favorite Caribbean destination and we had a great time.  It’s located right next to Nelson’s Dockyard which is a great place with a long history.

The longest we stayed in one place anywhere was Annapolis.  Annapolis also happens to be our favorite East Coast destination!  It’s a great town for boating, has great happy hours and you can either be in the social tourist areas or go to some of the more low key places in Eastport.

While we enjoyed all the places we went (some more than others!) it was really the people we met who have made this trip enjoyable.  Nothing bolsters your spirits like arriving in a new port to see friends there!  The new friends we’ve met and the old friends who have visited are what has made this trip great for us.  Thank you!