In Four Months, We'll Be Gone! Somewhere...

So I started this blog so people can keep up with us on our upcoming trip. I've been planning for quite a while now (a few years maybe?) to take the boat and sail south. The idea is to play and have adventures while I'm still young and, relatively, unattached. A while back, I convinced Trevor to come with me. Adventures are more fun if you have someone to share them with. And some extra funds don't hurt, either.
We've been planning to take the Tennessee River over to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, which heads right down to Mobile, AL. From there, we'll cross the Gulf to somewhere on the west coast of Florida. Then on to the Keys, probably the Dry Tortugas, possibly the Bahamas, and generally floating to wherever we feel we can make it. Island hopping and coastal cruising are pretty much all my 27' Hunter can handle, so we won't be crossing the Atlantic or anything. For that, we're gonna need a bigger boat.
Together, we've been fixing up the boat, making it seaworthy and livable. At this moment, it's up on blocks at Sale Creek Marina, getting some fiberglass work done and a new swim ladder put on. (I had a rope ladder that was an adventure in itself to climb.) We're also in the process of rewiring the mast and putting on new navigation lights and a swanky VHF antenna. We may be done with this part of the boat fixing this weekend. Wow! Progress is good!
So you're up to date on the boat.
And now there are complications. What I've been working toward for years is now being threatened. There's a pretty big oil spill in the Gulf (by "pretty big", I mean catastrophically gigantic and still spewing). And do you know what oily water does to a marine engine? Very, very bad things! Diesel engine death. Currently, the oil is all around Mobile, which means we cannot go that way. Is there another way? Not really. So right now it's wait and see. It's possible things could be cleared up considerably in a few months. Maybe we'll still get to go according to the plan. More likely, it'll still be a big mess, so we're working on contingency plans.
Whatever happens, we're retiring and going somewhere at the end of October. It'll start with a boat trip, possibly only three weeks to get the boat back to the marina where my family keeps all of their boats. It's considerably cheaper there than keeping it in Chattanooga, and the family will be there to keep an eye on it. If the big boat trip is postponed, we may take off to Europe or Australia, or some other exotic and amazing place. Maybe even Mexico; everything is cheap there, especially tequila! So we won't burn through all of our money in two months. Maybe when spring rolls around, the oil will be under control. If it isn't, maybe we'll take the boat up to the Great Lakes and across to the Atlantic. Lobster in Maine? Yes please! Or we may just backpack around Europe until the money runs out.
Whatever happens, we're going to travel and have a great time. We've worked hard for this, and we won't be stopped by factors outside of our control.
And now there's a handy blog so you can follow us.