Hello Positive Waves!

Meeting Positive Waves was surreal. 

We worked with the team at Boreal for over a year to configure the boat to exactly how we wanted it, from anchor size to autopilot choice to lamps and fans. We had a multi-page spreadsheet that we emailed back and forth with Jean Francois at Boreal and we had numerous phone and email conversations. Hans and I flew to Treguier at the end of January (right when coronavirus was exploding in Wuhan) and saw the boat at about 90% completion. She looked like a boat and we could imagine  her finished, but she was still covered in protective plastic in places and the electronics and the galley weren't installed. 

When we walked down the dock yesterday evening and saw her tied up in a slip, it was like all the imaginings on paper materialized in real life. The kids ran down the dock and we implored them to "slow down, you don't have life jackets on!" Freja says that as she walked down the steep dock her legs were shaking from excitement and from sitting in the car for so long and she felt like she was going to slip and die. Thankfully her legs stayed strong and we made it to the end of the dock. Positive Waves was exactly as we hoped and planned for. Gorgeous and tough and so shiny. New boat smell? It's a thing. 

Matilda's cabin, aft starboard. The kids chose their cabins based on where they slept on m/v Rhumb Line. Matilda to starboard, Freja to port.

Freja says this is her seat for homeschooling.

And this is where she'll sit when she's talking on the radio. Boat kids, boat kids, calling all boat kids!

First impressions: shiny, sparkling, bright, and everything in exactly the right place. There were a few things I hadn't imagined because I didn't know what they would look like: the master control panel showing solar input, tankage, battery life, voltage, and surely more; the huge solar panel; the condensation catchers in the hatches; the size of the lockers; and so much more. 

We spent about an hour on the boat opening and closing lockers, testing the beds, spinning the winches, and imagining sailing and living on Positive Waves. We'll spend this week learning about the boat with the Boreal team, going for a test sail, and moving all our stuff onboard.