Good People

Yesterday we said goodbye to our friends Marina & Marcelo. Their departure, like the friendship itself, was completely unexpected and took us by surprise. Over a month ago they made an offer on a boat in Antigua, and the owner finally decided to accept. One moment they were planning on sailing back to the US with us on Cielo, the next they were buying plane tickets to Antigua. We expected to spend the next two months with them, and suddenly we had to say goodbye.

It is a different and fantastic lifestyle we live on the boat - the only life I can imagine where the following could have happened: We met Marina & Marcelo in St. Maarten, where they were crewing on the last boat we looked at before looking at and buying Cielo. That boat was purchased in Rhode Island and sailed down to the Caribbean and we ended up anchored right next to it in St. Maarten. That crewing arrangement didn't work out for Marina & Marcelo and just a few weeks after meeting them, we invited them to move aboard Cielo for a couple weeks until they found a more permanent crew position. We got along so well and enjoyed each others company so much that we all agreed they should just stay aboard until we got back to the states where they would look for their own boat.

It is impossible to describe what a joy they were to have aboard. We hiked, fished, sailed, lobstered, cooked, did yoga, and looked at boats. In six weeks of close quarters living there wasn't a single ill word uttered among us. Everyone shared tasks evenly, willingly, and happily, from cooking to cleaning to working on the boat. It had been a seamless transition from two people to four on a small boat. From Marcelo's ubiquitous wake-up call of "Good Morning, Good People" to Marina's endless production of wonderful items from the galley, they became a wonderful and loved part of our daily lives. In six short weeks, they had become family. Then, a mere 24 hours after the surprising news, we were saying goodbye and I was ushering them into the dinghy hoping they didn't see the tears in my eyes.

More than anything else, they represent what we love about our lives living aboard - the wonderful people you met and friendships you forge. We are sad to see them go, but happy that they have found a boat and can begin making it a home. We hope to see them again this fall, but for now, goodbye, good people. We miss you terribly already.

Posted by: Kevin