As the old saying goes, the two best days of boat ownership are the first and the last… 

This week brought our ability to put this saying to the test when we offloaded our last few belongings from Gadabout and signed the closing documents for her sale. 

We wholeheartedly agree that the first day of owning Gadabout was one of the best. The excitement and anticipation of the upcoming adventures was a constant from that day forward. As for the last day of owning her, it was so far down the list of best days it doesn’t even make the cut. There was certainly a sense of relief. After all, the sales process – prepping, repairing, negotiating, jumping through administrative hoops – was quite stressful but walking away from Gaddy one last time made us sad.

Just over ten years ago we took possession of what would be our home away from home, this vessel that would take us to places near and far, on coastal waters and ocean passages. There were highs, lows and everything in between during our time on Gadabout. 

The highs were really high – pinching ourselves when we arrived somewhere so remote there was no other way to get there; celebrating moments and milestones with old and new friends from around the world; viewing and interacting with wildlife in ways we never imagined. 

And the lows were very low – those times when the butterflies in our stomachs turned into bats and we wondered what the hell we were thinking being out there, a lone dot in the middle of a huge ocean, trying to figure out how to fix whatever had just failed. 

There is absolutely no doubt in our minds, however, that the highs far outweighed the lows. The whole experience was a grand adventure, that’s for sure, and Gadabout kept us safe and comfortable throughout it all. 

To celebrate, we thought it would be fun to share a few fun facts from our cruising chapter:

• Total number of nautical miles traveled: 21,218 (or thereabouts)
• Total number of nights underway: 87
• Longest passage (underway, without touching land): 20 days from Isla Isabela in the Galapagos to Hiva Oa in French Polynesia
• Longest period spent motoring: 67.75 hrs (ugh!) from Tonga to New Zealand (to beat a storm, which we did)
• % of nights spent at anchor vs. marinas vs. underway: 48% at anchor, 45% in marinas, 7% underway (on overnight passages)
• Longest stretch without a marina stay: 18 months, May 2018 to Nov 2019. From the time we left Panama we didn’t stay in a marina until we arrived in New Zealand.
• Number of Countries visited: 13
• Number of places w/boat projects: Trick question… ALL, of course!

One final note… 

This chapter of our lives was as amazing as we had hoped but what put it over the top was sharing it with so many people, both virtual and in person. We were fortunate to have friends join us along the way… in Alaska, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Galapagos Islands, Tonga and New Zealand, and even on a couple long passages (Thanks, Tom!), and many more following along from home. Meeting so many new friends along the way was icing on the cake. We feel so blessed to have you all in our lives and we hope our paths will cross again soon!

Watch for our next post where we’ll answer some FAQs about the cruising lifestyle and our experiences, in particular. And stay tuned… Gadabout (the vessel) may have been re-homed but our Gadabout Life continues and we have plans in the works for the next grand adventure. For now, here are some of our favorite pics from this chapter… Thanks for tagging along!