Chapter 65: Gratitude and Answered Prayers

Well if you have been following our journey, you know our last post talked about our MANY challenges with the ICW heading south.  When we last wrote, we had arrived in New Smyrna Beach and had plans to stay in a marina for a few days knowing that some gale force winds were heading into the area this weekend. We arrived in New Smyrna on Wednesday afternoon with a reservation at the municipal marina.  In typical Meraviglia fashion, we arrived as the winds began to gust and the current was running strong.  This particular marina has very short slips (20 feet when Meraviglia is 47 feet long…) and very narrow fairways. The short slips would require Meraviglia to back in. Great.  We got our dock lines and fenders on the port side and proceeded into the fairway. Bob began to back into the slip but the wind kept taking the bow and with little room to maneuver it became clear that would not work.  We motored back out of the marina to move all the dock lines and fenders to the starboard side to try going bow in.  Back into the fairway we motored to try attempt #2.  The wind and current were NOT cooperating. We did not want to jeopardize Meraviglia or any of the other boats in the marina so we canceled the reservation and left in search of a spot to anchor for the night.  We found a spot just south of the Harris Saxon bridge (yes we had to go under yet another bridge!) Despite the wind, we felt very secure and thankful for our new Rocna anchor.  Our anchor is a champ so I am lovingly calling it Rocky! 

On Thursday, we reached out to Sea Love Marina in Ponce Inlet to see if they had space for us to tie up until Monday due to the impending storm.  Sea Love ironically is where the journey began when we first purchased her.  She was hauled out here for the initial survey and we left from here when we first took ownership.  Brenda at the marina was super helpful and said she had room for us on the restaurant dock.  So we weighed anchor and headed back through the Harris Saxon bridge and the George E. Musson drawbridge to get to the marina.  We arrived and were incredibly thankful that there were NO other boats on the dock and we could pull straight in especially since there was an incredibly strong current.  We took a deep breath and sighed in relief at having a spot to ride out the storm.  We walked to dinner to celebrate a safe place to ride out the storm.  Our happiness and relief unfortunately did not last long.  When we returned from dinner the wind and current were ripping and we needed to adjust Meraviglia in the slip as she was being pushed aggressively on the dock.  Bob went to start the engine and we immediately knew something was not right.  It was making a juttering noise in neutral that we have never heard before.  He went down to the engine compartment and could see the propeller shaft turning while it was in neutral which is not good. We quickly made the adjustments in the slip and shut the engine down.  Since it was late, we did not want to text our lifeline, Drew, so we went to bed and tried to sleep not knowing whether it was a simple adjustment or something more catastrophic.  Not a lot of sleep was had.

Early Friday morning, Drew guided us through trying to figure out what was going on.  Unfortunately but not unexpectedly,  it was not going to be the easy adjustment fix.  Nothing on Meraviglia ever is.  The rebuilt transmission was failing.  We could not continue our journey south with this new issue.  We were devastated and again faced with difficult decisions. We could:

1. Give up and try to sell Meraviglia and return to land life.
2. Replace the failing transmission knowing that the engine is still having a slow oil leak and definitely has ongoing issues due to its previous immersion event. 
3. Fully repower the boat and replace both the transmission and the engine.

No matter which option we picked, we knew we were no longer going to be able to meet Nick and Kat in Miami for Christmas as planned so we immediately filled them in to discuss our options. Our children are truly amazing – both immediately offering love and support, reassuring us that no matter where we meet the most important thing is to be together. We decided no matter which of the three options we picked, we needed to head back to Brunswick so we got Kat a new flight to Atlanta to meet Nick and they will drive to Brunswick together. Nick’s flight to Miami was not refundable, but at least Kat’s flight to Miami will be able to be used as a credit later and she could still cancel her LAX parking.  We canceled our Miami marina reservation and moved back into the decision making mode for Meraviglia.

Both Drew, our project manager, and Jamie, our sailing coach, answered a lot of questions to help us weigh our options both technically, financially, and realistically about what we might expect from each choice for the long term.  Bob and I, amidst many tears, talked seriously about whether or not we were ready to give up and walk away.  This journey thus far has been so much harder that we ever imagined. But after much discussion and more tears, we have decided we are not ready to give up yet. So we will return to Brunswick and proceed with option 3, repowering Meraviglia.  This means once the storm subsides, we will hopefully leave on Monday to begin the return journey to Brunswick.  Unfortunately due to the sea state and winds,  we will need to once again navigate the ICW for the return trip but at least now we know exactly what we are facing. 

So you may be thinking, why the heck did Kim name this chapter gratitude and answered prayers when it seems to be nothing but continued challenges???  Since we began this journey, Bob and I have been praying daily for protection and safety, guidance and discernment.  While we have faced many challenges so far, we also have heard our prayers answered for protection and safety.  We have had multiple experiences so far where we felt God’s protection and knew things could have gone very differently. We are still trying to discern if the challenges mean for us to give up and head in a different direction or if they are simply a way to make us stronger and help us to get to where we truly need to be.  We will continue to pray for that discernment and guidance as well as safety and protection.

Gratitude is also something that we have been thinking a lot about especially over the last 24 hours.  When we realized we were facing these difficult decisions yesterday, we were so grateful for the immediate love, support, and care felt from our family, friends, mentors, and our new sailing community.  Nick and Kat, thank you for your unwavering love and support despite what your crazy parents do. You are both amazing and we love you both so much.  Michelle and Margie, love my sisters😘 and thank you for supporting us and checking in on us (and sending us the “Don’t Poke Poseidon- Renaming your boat and staying afloat!!” tips)  Drew, Jamie, and Behan – thank you for your patience and your expertise – we could not do this without you. Uncle Van and Aunt Betsy, thank you for continuing to check on us, your great sailboat gifts, and feeding us!  Thank you to our Seguin Supper Club family- you always have our back and can definitely always lighten our mood- we are waiting for the video of the dance routine, just sayin” 😁 Thank you to our sailing community, especially our friends on S/V Margareta and S/V Chicory in Brunswick (yes, Bill, just needed to come back and see you!) and S/V Loka and S/V Countdown who truly understand the stage we are in now! Finally, thank you to all following along and offering support and encouragement, checking in on us and sending words of encouragement. The messages and encouragement keep us going.  We are grateful for you all and appreciate your continued prayers and support as we begin the journey back to Brunswick.  We will be taking a break to enjoy time with our family over the holidays and hope you all get to do the same.  Happy Holidays to all!

P.S. This is Bob. While I agree wholeheartedly with everything Kim wrote, I couldn’t help but flash back to this little ditty from the television of my youth.