NIRVANA Epilogue

August 17, 2023

It’s been just over four months since I’ve returned home after our two-year sailing adventure, and I feel the need to sum up the sv NIRVANA saga with this epilogue.

First to say, sv NIRVANA is no more. Will had an eventful passage from Florida to Long Island, NY, much of it solo as each of his crew left the boat for one reason or another, including sea sickness. On the first leg, the steering cable and autopilot broke, and on the next leg, the gooseneck fitting broke, each time causing him to lay over awaiting repairs. If that wasn’t enough, he had emergency gallbladder surgery! Thankfully he was just outside of Annapolis when this happened and not up a remote creek in the Chesapeake as he was the day before. I took this opportunity to spend some time with him at anchor while he recovered.

Finally, approaching the inlet at Fire Island, he encountered a channel that was mismarked and ran aground. After spending twelve hours lodged in sand, he was pulled off and then towed twenty miles south to the nearest boatyard in Freeport as he was taking on water. Although it was after hours, they immediately hauled the boat, which revealed major structural damage to the keel and interior frames. Eventually, the insurance company deemed it a total loss, which was in fact a relief as the prospect of selling a damaged boat would have been worse. Will then made two trips by car from Long Island to South Portland, stripping the boat of all our belongings and saying goodbye to our beloved Nirvana.

Much as we loved the boat, Will had been feeling for some time that the Freedom was not up to ocean passages and was torn about keeping her. As is typical of his orientation toward life, he soon saw the silver lining—the decision to let go of the boat was taken out of his hands. And thankfully, because it was totaled, we maximized our financial return without having to sell it ourselves.

Will then spent the next several weeks driving around New England and beyond looking for a more solid, offshore boat that he can call home, which he found back in New York. It’s a Brewer 12.8, which is a modified version of a Whitby 42, a true, blue water boat. He’s now in the process of driving back and forth from South Portland to Staten Island bringing all the stuff back to his new boat and getting it ready for living aboard in the fall.

Painful as it’s been to let go of the boat and our lives together aboard, we each deeply appreciate the adventure we’ve had and acknowledge that everything changes.

So where does this leave us? We’re in uncharted waters to be sure, as we attempt to keep our relationship going while I choose home on land and Will chooses home at sea. Our plan for cruising Maine this summer has evaporated, and at this point, I’m unsure how much time I want to spend aboard a boat. It’s a new rhythm that invites new challenges and adventures at the opposite extreme from being together 24/7 as we’ve been for the past two years. We may or may not be able to pull it off, but we’re giving it our best shot by staying open, honest, and as connected as we can.

Meanwhile, I’m using this transition time to reorient to my life on land. I’m grateful to be back home with my dance community, friends, and family. And I’m thrilled to be spending time with my beautiful granddaughter Mariah Maeve, now four and a half months old and sporting a big smile as well as budding teeth!

As I’m now officially retired, I have all the time in the world to explore what’s next. To wit, I’ve found myself digging in the dirt and watching plants grow, which is new for me having spent most of the past ten summers sailing. And I’ve been enjoying Portland and its environs with fresh eyes.

This month, I’ve had my first article published in Points East, a New England sailing magazine, with another to follow next month about owning my own boat. I’m also revisiting my desire to work with people doing embodied coaching to support personal growth (www.natashasalvo.com). And I’ve signed up for an acting workshop to get back into the Portland theater scene.

While it’s not the Bahamas, it’s summer in Maine, which is such a glorious place to be, even if it is on land!