It takes a village + Ep. 1 VIDEO
Preparation for an extended sabbatical from work to sail the big blue has been intense these last months. We’ve had to do everything from prepare our boat; wind down careers; sell, recycle, or give away many of our belongings; sell our car; and somewhere between all of this try to emotionally come to grips with leaving family and friends.
Two days into our trip, sitting comfortably in Neah Bay (the westernmost safe harbor on the northern Washington coast), we are taking few moments to reflect on where we’ve been, what has been accomplished, and the journey ahead. We are also reflecting on all of the things, both big and small, that people did to help get us off the dock. We are blessed with an incredible network of supporters who have listened to us as we stressed out, given us confidence in moments of doubt, and helped us tackle projects, sweating (and sometimes bleeding) alongside us.
This support has come in big ways, such as my father helping me repair the cooling system on our Yanmar engine, or our neighbors Bob and Pam and their infectious joie de vivre for boat life, helping us with a thousand small details. Our dear friend Glenn, The Red Thread’s prior owner, made himself endlessly available (physically and virtually) to help us understand the secrets of our boat. We’ve had friends pick us up to run boring errands just to spend a little time together, or fly in from afar to spend their valuable weekend helping organize our food and medical supplies. We had a dock neighbor offer us his offshore life raft on permanent loan to keep us safe and another connect us with his network in San Francisco to secure moorage for us when we arrive. We’ve received many unexpected gifts along the way ranging from tools, to music, a kindle tablet, tuna fishing supplies, a container of Maggie Bluff’s delicious chipotle chicken wing sauce, a larder chocker bock full of alcohol, and more…all things that will make the voyage more enjoyable. We were blessed with an incredible outpouring of support to prep, execute, and clean-up our bon voyage party, sending us off with wonderful fanfare. Finally, we’ve been blessed with thousands of tidbits of tribal knowledge shared through our community of sailors.
And our Moms and Dads….they’ve loved us through all of the insanity. No matter what is happening in their lives, they told us to keep working at it, always believing in us, and pushing us to take this first big step.
So here’s to you, all the red threads of our life for making this moment possible. You are the village that came to our aid to support us in ways big and small to help see us off on the most important journey of our lives. As Jessie and I sometimes say…our cup runneth over, and over, and more. We love you all.
s/v The Red Thread 
I read your words which resonate with us-your cruising family will carry you through. Fair winds to you both and may our paths cross in either SF or points south.
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Our best wishes for both of you. May the wind at your back be coupled with sunshine, laughter, good health, and an abundance of love and patience for one another…..blog when you can….stay safe. Jeff & Karry s/v – Fantasy CM440 #17
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Thanks a lot, Jeff and Karry! We made it to San Francisco! We had an excellent passage with a few hair-raising moments and many that were beautiful…things are grand! ~Jessie & Neil
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Wishing you the time of your life! Good job on casting the lines.
Deborah S/V Wrightaway
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Thanks, Deborah!! Talk about a week of milestones! One of the most challenges stretches of coastline we will face is behind us. Truly, we are on our way! ~J+N
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Thanks for keeping us posted! Looks like you’re making great progress! Has it been choppy? Could I have handled it?! Receiving your InReach text messages and emails. Do not reply to either of those, correct?! Living vicariously through The Red Thread. Love you!
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WE MADE IT!! Woot woot, we are in San Francisco! Could you have handled it? Yes, you could have. Would you have enjoyed all of it? No, we don’t think so. There were times when it got pretty rough, but The Red Thread did what she was made to do, and we trusted her more with every mile. The fishing, dolphins, and whales were incredible. The nights were wet, cold, and long. Let’s be honest, you want the sunshine…can’t wait to see you down south! LOVE YOU~ Jessie & Neil
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Wow! What incredibly thoughtful words.
We wish you fair seas, sunny days and calm winds. We hope our paths cross one day and we can toast the awesome lifestyles we live.
Warm wishes,
Mark and Cindy
s/v Cream Puff
http://www.creampuff.us
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Thank you so much. I, too, hope that our paths cross. We wish you all the best in your ocean! -Neil
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