Transforming F/V Charlie III from tragic to......

Without exaggeration the latest boat project, for us, has  been at least 11 years in the making. My husband has been studying, shopping for, and viewing fishing vessels (F/V) for at least 11 years. He has searched from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland and down the East Coast.......All while we have been creating a family, making a living, getting through Foster Care licensing, adoption, and a few moves.....Am. I. Glad. It. Is. Over????? Hell yes! The transformation of F/V Charlie III has literally felt like having a sister wife! At least she has finally started making money and is not just spending it all!

I wish that the story of her history were one of profit, harmony, and smooth sailing, but that is not the case. There is no doubt that this boat was designed to be seaworthy. Fortunately, her tragedy didn't occur on the water! This boat was a vision. A vision a father had for his son.

My husband spotted this boat on Craigslist, while we were living on Isle au Haut (a remote island 6 miles off the coast of Maine). The boat was located in Scituate, Massachusetts about six hours away. In the time between finding the listing and the time we got the boat to Isle au Haut there were around six trips to and from Scituate. This included a round trip steam, by boat. The return trip had our new vessel in tow as she was not ready to run on her own power. During that time my husband got to know the previous owner and learned much about his connection to the boat.

I have to be honest....the first time I  saw the boat it was sitting on boat stands in an impound lot....I was in awe as I pulled up and saw just how big this vessel was. Then...I boarded the boat. I could have killed my husband. This poor boat had been neglected for a long  time. Everything was rotten and punky. Holy Mother what the F*&* was he thinking?? That is what went through my mind. He saw something I didn't. He knew he had found a great deal. He knew there was much to be done, and true to form, he has stayed the course.

At first, the conversations with the owner could be less than friendly at times. He was quick to get heated and it made the boat all the more rotten to me. As we came to know more about the owner's relationship with the vessel it became very clear why he had such a hard time dealing with the boat.

This was his vision for his young son. He had a plan to get this boat fishing for his son, to set him off on the path to success. To cheer him on and teach him the way, something that most Captains hold in the very fiber of  their being. This young son was also a father. He had started the next generation for their family..........The vision that was held for the future of the vessel, the future of father and son all came to an end. That young man was killed in a car accident. His little one was left without a father. His father was left with a hole in his heart...and there was the boat, a constant reminder of the what would never be.

The boat sat in that parking lot for about six years. Six years of reminding everyone what they had lost.

For all of the tension that this boat has brought between my husband and I, I pray that we will never know the pain that this boat symbolized for her previous family. I pray that now that our vessel is ship shape and has new life breathed into  her that somehow there is healing for her other family. Once she is painted in the spring we have plans to make that trip to Scituate once again, this time under her own power. I think seeing the boat in a fresh condition may provide a release of emotions that will hopefully bring even just a tiny bit of comfort to the sadness left by that broken vision.

We have four sons, and a daughter that may just out-fish them!! So, in honor of our children, and with the intention of setting a new course, we have opted to rename our vessel. F/V Charlie III has shed her old skin and transformed into F/V Troublemakers! Trust me, the name fits!

Blessings to you!

Thanks for reading,

Island Momma

Life is meant to be an adventure.....

So, it is easy for us to get stuck in a routine, to set the boundaries of our life neatly inside of a box. To go out of our comfort zone can be very uncomfortable. In fact, some of us never go outside of the box. Others of us, from time to time, set out on an adventure looking for something with the promise of excitement. No matter what you choose, it is your life to live. This life holds an individual journey for each of us. Our paths cross at different points along the way offering lessons through the relationships we forge. On an offshore island, with very real, tangible boundaries, we can easily forget that there is a whole other world out there. This island living can, if you are not mindful, leave us to become too entwined in the lives of the other 54 people we share the island with. This island living is a beautiful, magical privilege. Island living is a culture. I have come to understand that each island has it's own culture.

I am an island girl born and raised. I understand that island living is a way of life that only the saltiest of us can endure and appreciate. When you are so deeply connected to an island, there is no other place that you feel truly at home. My husband and I, and our 5 little kids, committed to trying life on a new island. An island 4 hours away from the one we grew up on. This was a ballsy commitment. In the fishing world you are very aware of "territory" on the water. So for us to move our family from our home port to a new one took a lot of planning and lengthy conversation.

When you are from an island you feel a huge sense of ownership and pride for the beautiful rock you live on. You are connected to those you grow up with like they are all family. You fight like family, you party like family, and you are there for each other when the times get tough. Island people can be set in their ways, stubborn if you will. We are not interested in outsiders coming into our world and making any changes, because the way we do it is, "the way we have always done it."

So with all of this said, let me get to my point. Here is what I know for sure: * Appreciate every lesson as it comes * Life your life the way you need to live it * Let others live life, their way, as long as they are not harming you

There is more to this story, but if I told you the whole thing now, what fun would that be??? To be continued.............

Homeschooling against the grain....

We have been a homeschooling family for four years now. When we made the decision to move to a remote island we opted to give the tiny, one room school house a whirl. Our three school aged children brought the school population up to seven. We thought such a small class size, with two teachers, would be a comfortable fit. Well, as time went on it just became clear that homeschooling just fits better, for us. Life on an island is complicated in many ways. The biggest challenge for us is to keep the food stock plentiful. A shopping day means that we all leave the island together on the Mailboat. In the off season the Mailboat makes only two trips a day. So we leave at 8:15 am and return at 5:00 pm. When the kids were in school here, this meant leaving part of our family behind, on a remote island, a boat ride away, with terrible cell phone reception between us......That leaves an anxious mother feeling very unsettled. Then there was the added obstacle of planning "trips off" (island talk for trips off of the island). Planning trips off revolved around the Mailboat, our fishing schedule, the weather, and the school schedule. So, for us, having one less entity, public school, adding to the feelings of isolation, equals relief.

We have begun to plan our new school year for 2015-2016 and we are so excited to have found the world of Waldorf. It just takes what we have already been doing and seriously fine tuning it. While doing my research I discovered this great support group, and great Waldorf Essentials curriculum. I would highly recommend this to any family interested in approaching homeschool from a Waldorf perspective.

The trouble with homeschooling on a tiny island is this.......The year round population of 55 depends on the public school for a handful of jobs. The seasonal population of around 350, depends on the health of a community to keep the island going. The school is an integral part of a sustainable year round island community. So, for us to take nearly half of the school population out, to homeschool.......left some ruffled feathers. In such a small community you are almost always VERY aware of EVERYONE'S opinions. Turns out, we are homeschooling against the grain. Turns out, these are my children, they do not belong to the island community.

Blessings to you.

Thanks for reading,

Island Momma