Mike and Debbie Leave Again

This morning we bid farewell to Mike and Debbie. As with the departure of all long time residents, they were sent off with the same conch blowing that accompanies the farewell to the sun each day. But with a departure, the conch seems to take on a meloncholy tone that says, I wish I could go with you or we will miss you here in Boca Chica. Watching the boat sail a way makes you long for adventure in new places and diminishes our community by the departure of a member. But, Mike and Debbie's leave takings are unique here. They have left 17 times. Four times they returned within hours. Sometimes they returned in days. Once they went to Marathon, 45 miles to the north, and stayed for a month before returning, and one time, they made it all the way to the Bahamas. Time will tell.

Last week Terry and Cindy left...again. They left last year for South America, stopping overnight 70 miles away in the Dry Tortugas. Wild winds running counter to the Gulf Stream, snapped their boom as they left the Dry Tortugas. So they limped into a Florida port for repairs. While there, a massive storm battered their boat against the docks causing $60,000 in damage. This year they tried again, stopping once more in the Dry Tortugas. When they left, heavy winds crashed over the bow, slowing their progrss and soaking them, Terry fell ill, and they decided to return to Boca Chica to regroup. They left again Monday, and yesterday we received an e-mail from Mexico. They were victorious. They claimed that bands played, parades were held, and people applauded wildly as they sailed into Mexico at last!
Each departure is a small victory over stagnation that can too easily dull our lives, and each new port an even bigger one.