Ayla’s Voyage Blog

Hi Everyone! Again, my apologies for not blogging regularly! We have been in the Big Apple for several days, and there is just so much to do, that time got away from me! I’ll do my best to get back on track.

Anyways! About two weeks ago (sorry for the delay on this story) we slipped our lines from the mooring ball in St. Augustine, Fl and headed out to the mighty Atlantic Ocean for our longest open ocean voyage ever! As you might imagine, I was thrilled! Five whole days bobbing in the crystal waves and enjoying family time with no contact. If we never had to pull in, I think I would be happy.

Life underway is relaxed, yet it isn’t a luxury vacation either! When you are out in the open, you have to be watching the weather like a hawk as well as radar, radio traffic, engine systems, electronic functions, and many more things. Every hour on the hour, we check the engine room for leaks, cleanliness, and temperature. It is really important to maintain a smoothly running engine room environment while underway.

However, saying all that, we still have all the time in the world to relax and enjoy being out at sea.

My favorite time is at night when the stars are so brilliant, the sky looks white. Even though we are not allowed to go outside at night when underway, we can stick our heads out of the side doors and breathe in the fresh ocean smell and look at the majestic sky clouded with twinkling stars. The sunsets are also amazing, for all you see is it dipping into the sea. No buildings or land to block it. The reds and oranges are so dazzling, it took my breath away every time.

During the day, I get a lot of school out of the way. I do a double session, meaning I put two days of school into one. The days are long out there, and it gets school closer to graduation (just from sixth grade). We also love to watch movies. At night, my mom usually would watch one with dad and I, then she would go to sleep downstairs to prepare for her 3:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. shift. After that, dad I and I would watch another movie (I was usually asleep about three quarters of the way through). During the day, we cooked, played wii, played cards, talked, read, and napped. Also, one day, after watching Get Smart, I created a laser field in our salon out of string and proceeded to twist and turn through it…while the boat

was rocking back and forth!

Dilly’s life underway was mostly trying to sleep. She either curled up on the floor, behind my books, or on the dashboard. When on the dashboard, she braced herself with one paw, and peered out rather timidly, though she got much more comfortable as the days progressed.

When we pulled into New York Harbor at 9:00 p.m. it was exciting to see the illuminated skyline, but it was also sad. Being out at sea feels safe, peaceful, and is magical. I really did enjoy NYC, yet I can’t wait for our next long crossing…