Having Tim’s parents on board was a lot of fun, and I’m not just saying that. Think about the small living space that is our boat and realize how difficult it could be having guests aboard. There is a saying, “If you’re in the boat, you’re in the way,” and it’s true on our boat even with only four of us, so I was expecting 6 people to be a bit challenging. However, Gary and Marsha were very easy to have on board. While we get to go to remote anchorages and experience picturesque scenery, life on the sailboat isn’t exactly luxurious. We have to be careful about conserving just about everything (water, propane, electricity, trash, etc.) and not to mention how hot it is. But there was never a peep of a complaint or even a hint of being uncomfortable (although we did go through ice cubes and a very fast pace).
Sure, it was their vacation, but that didn’t stop Tim from putting his mom to work. In addition to bringing us the wind scoop that she made while still at home, Marsha sewed us a huge sunshade for our foredeck while she was here. It makes a huge difference when the afternoon sun is on the bow. It was quite comical too, while in San Juanico with 20 kt afternoon winds Tim wanted to test the sunshade and everyone was out on deck trying to put up the sunshade without getting wiped with an end or a bungee cord. Marsha was actually hand stitching the sunshade when Kim from Star Passage came over and offered to loan us her sewing machine. What a difference, except Marsha is a night owl like Tim, and one night I woke to a noise that sounded like a freight train running through the boat. It was Marsha cranking away on the sewing machine and hanging out with Tim into the wee hours of the night. Kim also loaned us a grommet gun, which also made the job easier, and cut down on the noise of Tim’s mallet pounding trying to get the grommets in place. Marsha also hand sewed our mainsail stack pack which had torn almost along the whole length of the zipper. If you haven’t read Marsha’s recap of the trip, you should check it out, because it actually sounded like she had fun, not like we put her in a sweatshop and made her sew all day long. Gary helped Tim with a few projects too, and it was especially nice to have his help when Tim went up the mast to check on our VHF antenna connection and clean the mast track.
Swimming, snorkeling, and eating actually took up most of our time while Gary and Marsha were here, so maybe it was a vacation for them after all. I just asked the boys what their favorite memories are, and Brenden said spearfishing with Grandpa and Alex said playing games with Grandma. It was a really important visit for the boys because they miss home and family so much, and they loved sharing part of our new life with their grandparents.
Gresham Family Exodus 