Things are happening again. Not that things stopped happening, I just didn’t have enough energy to care about them very much let alone write about them.
The past 4.5 years since I got sick have been a challenging journey, both physically and mentally. But, at the beginning of this year, at exactly the 4 year mark, I decided that I am no longer sick.
Although my recovery is ongoing, the fact that I no longer feel sick is a tremendous step forward. It’s time for me to seize life’s opportunities and rediscover my passion for marine wildlife photography.
It’s time for a new boat!
I am not really strong enough for a boat yet, but I desperately do not want to miss a 5th year on the water photographing the wonders of the ocean and all the creatures that live in it and near it.
It’s also time to get back in the habit of writing and I really want to take you along with me as my new chapter in life begins: living aboard.
Living aboard has always been a dream of mine. When you’ve lost precious years not being able to live life on your terms, it becomes all the more important to chase your dreams when you can. So my husband and I just bought an old trawler named Vestri, a 34-foot 1976 CHB.
She has 2 cabins, 2 heads, a galley, a fly bridge, and a 120 horse power engine. She is twice as big as my old boat and about 4 times slower. It will take some getting used to. I keep reminding myself that slower is okay when you don’t have to return home each day.
As an aside, in Norse mythology, there are 4 dwarves that hold up the sky at each of the compass points. Vestri is the name of the dwarf that holds up the western sky. Seems fitting doesn’t it?
This summer Ray and I will be getting to know Vestri and, as my energy levels allow, going out on short trips on calm days. I hope that by late summer or early fall we’ll be able to live aboard for a couple of months before we head south for winter in the RV.
The first objective is getting this boat to Campbell River where we spend our summers in the RV. The boat is in Victoria, BC, where we used to live before we became nomads.
Thankfully I know these waters.
My energy levels are going to require me to take it slow, so we have planned a multi-day journey with short hops to get Vestri to her new home.
I can’t wait to see what new photographic opportunities await. I hope the dolphins and whales will recognize me!
As I get back in to the habit of writing, I plan to share all the different techniques I learned that allowed me to continue pursuing photography despite my limited mobility. And you’ll see tons of photos I made over the past few years when my energy for writing waned but my passion for photography persevered.
It’s time to set sail on my new journey. Join me as I navigate not only the open waters, but the uncharted territories of recovery and creativity.
Looking forward to reading all about your new adventures out on your new boat. Love it. My husband and I lived on our Sailboat for one year. Loved it.
You and your husband make me smile. You have gone through a lot these past few years. I love your new approach. Slow is good. One thing I have learned with some illnesses, as we get older, is that you don’t want to push yourself too hard. Regain your energy and strength at your own speed and enjoy. Enjoy everything you can.
Hugs to you both. I will be following….
Dear Anne,
Great news that you are feeling well again.
I love your new boat.
You will really enjoy the slow life that only a displacement hull can provide to sailors/photographers.
Calm seas and tranquil anchorages.
Denis Glennon AO [Austrtalia]
P.S. I will send under seperate mail an article you might enjoy.
This all looks great. I am very interested in learning about the boating life and the natural beauty around it
All the best to you and your mate. May the wind always be at your back. God bless!
So excited for you & Ray! And as someone who “got sick” 10 years ago, I get it! I couldn’t have gotten through the past 10 years without my faith in God. I highly encourage reading the Bible! 🙂
Anne, will be praying for a fantastic journey in your water photography & God will give you strength to endure along with your husband.
Will forward to see your beautiful pictures and your writing. May God bless you both
Oh wow, now I want to buy a boat! So happy for you and looking forward to your new adventures!
We are very happy for you both and hope your new adventure together renews and strengthens you. Having owned a trawler and explored the Great Lakes from the water for 20 years, I know the therapeutic and healing qualities of the water. and its many living things. We wish you both good health, happiness, and safe travels on land and sea.
Lovely to see you back and interested in life again. I look forward to seeing and hearing about your new adventures. Keep on keeping on
Fair winds to you. I wish you nothing but success in your new adventures
Congratulations on your recovery and new desire to follow your dreams!
It will be exciting to see your photos from all your past trips!
I have really missed hearing from you and seeing your photography! So happy to hear your improving enough to purchase the boat and start traveling again.
Best of luck moving forward,
Good for you girl
Well done Anne. I too had a live changing experience that kicked me in to putting in play a long desired travelling retirement. Up til then I thought I had all the time in the world but when your heart just stops for no apparent reason when you are behind the wheel of a bus, you get a real wake up call. Now I spend my time fulfilling my plan to have no plan touring South East Asis
Good for you and Ray! Congratulations on your new boat and a new adventure.
Hi Anne, great to see you are up and about again. It has been rather quiet these past few years without your posts prominently domination my feeds. So welcome back and looking forward to seeing more of your photos and stories.
Good luck with your slow journey
James
Go for it, Anne!!
Woo hooo!! Congrats on Vestri and wishing you the best for your new journeys! So glad you’re feeling well again. Looking forward to news and photographs along the way. Best regards…
It’s really great news that you’re feeling better! I can’t wait to read your blog again!
Good news all around. Happy to hear you are feeling well enough to embark on this new chapter. I look forward to reading about your adventures aboard Vestri.
I wondered where you had disappeared to but am
glad you can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. I look forward to seeing your photos.
Kia Kaha
Linda NZ
Great news! You’re living one of my bucket list items. I lived on a 32′ steel trawler. She’ll keep you busy. ; )
HI Anne – I’m very glad to see you back. I’ve always admired your talent and whatever the physical issues you’re having to overcome, it seems like your new photos are as good as the old ones. I wish you all the best. I’ll stay tuned.
Welcome back, have missed your writing and photos, enjoy your new boat and please share with us your journey. Please take it slow and have fun and relax on the “slow boat”.
Absolutely fabulous! You are going to live what I dreamed of. Looks like a great boat and man, do I love a trawler! May this be the best voyage yet!
You can’t keep a good man (or woMAN) down. You go girl and let your heart and mind be your guide.
God Bless you!
Welcome back & lots of prayers for a full recovery. So glad to see you back and that you have not given up hope. Looking forward to seeing your beautiful wildlife photos again.
Wow, that is great news. Looking forward to sharing yours and Ray’s new adventures. Taking it slow sounds pretty good to me.
Enjoy your new boat and the new adventures that await.
I am so very thankful and excited for this new adventure for you.
Hi Anne … I’ll look forward to all your adventures, photos and blogs. I’m glad you have found healing and a new ‘freedom’. Sincere best wishes with the maiden voyage!!
Blessings
Andrew
Tasmania
How exciting! I can’t wait to read more and see more of your amazing work! Healing prayers being sent!
Have been wandering now and then why there was no communication reaching my box.
Glad to hear you’re back in action, ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’, as they say in the circles I found, coincidently, my new interests four years ago.
Be well Anne,
Kaz
Hi Anne
That’s an exceptionally good-looking old trawler you folks have purchased. From the photos you have shared I can see your photography of the marine mammals around you has certainly NOT been standing still!
All the best in your adventures,
Steve Miller
Wishing you and Ray all the best Anne in your new adventures!!! Take it slow, stay well and enjoy life at sea! Looking forward to following your ocean adventures and photography.
Cheers,
Dianne
Anne, I am so looking forward to reading/sharing everything about your adventurous life ahead. I have been with you for many many years & love your stories & lessons. Take care & I see you in my Inbox.
Fantastic plans! I’ve been following your blog for several years now and am glad to hear you are on the mend physically and mentally. Enjoy your new boat and adventures and, like everyone else, I am looking forward to reading all about it. As we get older, life forces us to slow down and sometimes, that’s not a bad thing. I watched a YouTube video by Kim Grant (a Scottish landscape photographer) about the 1M challenge for macro photography and it made me stop and think – a lot. You see so much more when you do slow down and truly look. Fair winds to you both.
Glad you are back…I missed you!!! You’ve inspired me to get my camera out again and get to the trails and roads. Your new boat looks amazing. Happy sails!!
Great news from you today Anne! I look forward to travelling on your next chapter.. Wishing you Wellness and wonderful new experiences.
I’m so pleased to hear that you are, as you no doubt always have been, thinking positively and towards the future.
Enjoy Campbell River!
Way to go, Anne and Ray! I can’t wait to see your photos again. I have been retired now for 4 or 5 years, and it’s GREAT! Lots of camping and hiking. I like Vestri and admire your strength and desire. SLOW is GOOD. In fact I have also been a follower of Warren Miller and highly recommend his autobiography if you get a chance. He has made several quotes, one of which I try to live by. It is: “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be a year older when you do.” In other words, do the things you want to do NOW. There is no reason to wait. I find this particularly good advice, the older I get. GOOD for YOU and RAY! LIVE LIFE TO IT”S FULLEST NOW!
Glad you are feeling better Anne. I will be looking forward to reading about your new adventures this summer.
Hi Anne, I am glad you are better, as an amateur photographer, and a person with health problems for the last four years i know how you feel. I have not been able to get out much, maybe a day here and there. So I am glad to hear that you are getting back to the things you love. Have fun and enjoy. Looking forward to seeing your new work.
Enjoy, Dave Plagge
Anne,
Here’s wishing you continued improvement, and much success in your photographic and nautical journeys!
LDM
I am so happy to see you on this new journey, and can’t wait to see your photos and writings. I have followed you for a few years now, and I have admired you. Yuki
So happy you are feeling better, and ready to start a new chapter.
Wishing good health, and happiness.
Marisa
I love it! So happy to hear and see you are enjoying life the way you wanted after a little hiatus. I know the power of nature and happiness will boost your recovery.
Looking forward to hearing about the next chapter.
Paula
Yay! Safe travels and new adventures. Can’t wait to read about it!
This is wonderful news to hear that you are no longer feeling sick. I’m excited for you and Ray as you get to know your new boat and spend time out on the water again this summer and fall. I will look forward to your writing again as well as your photos! Blessings to you both on this new adventure. Julie
Congratulations – she’s a beauty! It’s wonderful to hear that you’re making continuing progress on the health front, and I have a feeling that you’re going to absolutely love living aboard that trawler. You really are living my dream, and I couldn’t be happier for you. Looking forward to seeing your wildlife/marine photos. Keep feeling better, and enjoy your new home on the water!
Hi Anne,
Congrats on your new boat and renewed adventures! I look forward to hearing all about it.
All the best – Susan
P.S. I had to scroll down forever to leave this comment. You (and your photography) are loved by many.
Congratulations! I’m so happy that you are well enough now to move forward with your dreams. On the road in the winter and on the sea in the summer sounds like the perfect plan. I’m eagerly looking forward to your future posts and photos. (Oh boy, a BOAT!) Here’s wishing you and Ray, and Vestri, fair winds and following seas.
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” ― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
P.S. But what about Snoopy? Sold?
Best wishes, Anne! I hope the new vessel works out wonderfully!
Congrats Anne on your improving health and your new summer home! Looking forward to reading about your new adventures. Safe travels!
“Namaste – I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light, and of Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one.”
Dear Anne – May the trawler create all the Love, Light, Truth and Peace that you yearn for and may that be mirrored in your work and in your health…
Thank you for the example you set and for the images that so Inspire…
Love
Mias
I’m so happy for you both! May this new boat be a vessel to open the door to the world that you love. At 81 I’m still doing the surfing photography that I love. Shadow passed on a few years ago but I found a Baja street dog named Ruby who travels with me now and is a real sweet heart. In a few weeks the two of us will be leaving Baja and heading up the coast to BC going from surf break to to surf break. It would be great if the four of us ran into each other. Just do what you love and everyday will be a step forward.
Best Wishes,
Mike and Ruby
Such exciting news Anne! You will have no problem navigating living on the boat with all your RV experience. Prayers for smooth waters and a wonderful journey.
Great to see your feeling better again. I’m looking forward to seeing your photos.
Go girl!!
So happy for you. I am partial to sea friends. Looking forward to your new adventure stories.
A big Universal Hug to you!
Linda
Go get that boat Ann, and send us tons of photos! Wish you the BEST!!!!!
We have a common phrase in my cultural background that says, “Use it in good health”. You have, unfortunately, discovered the hard way how profound that sentiment can be. So on the purchase of your new boat, I wish that you do, indeed, use it in good health!!! Looking forward to living vicariously through your activities.
I am so very happy for you, Anne! Looking forward to reading all about your adventures and viewing your amazing photography. Wishing you the very best of good health, success, joy and love.
Stay safe and happy,
Smiles,
Karen
Anne, I have admired your photography since I saw your work on Facebook. As a hobby, I love landscape photography. My husband and I have traveled a lot of places searching for a photo. I became ill a couple of years ago, which has limited my travel. I miss it. I don’t think it will ever be the same, but I am not giving up. I spend my time now writing. I have no intention of being a well-known author, but it keeps my mind busy. You are not alone in your battle to improve your health. I can’t wait to see your post.
So happy to hear that you are feeling better now and taking on new challenges. The boat will open up so many new vistas for you to photograph and that in itself will help you heal. Looking forward to your blogs again
So happy for you Anne., for both your improving health and on the purchase of your new boat/home for the summer. Can’t wait to see what you get up to on your new adventures and to read all about it. I love whales and dolphins and seals and otters too. LOL. Too bad I don’t live near the ocean. All the best to you and Ray.
ANNE,
It has been years since we last exchanged posts; I was SO HAPPY to “hear” from you! Best of wishes for your continued progress; we are familiar with autoimmune disease(s) — your progress can also be an inspiration for others, as I’m sure you know. Prayers going out to you as well.
Your “new journey” sounds exciting — especially aboard that great-looking yacht! I hope and pray you will soon be enjoying exactly what you have been anticipating! God speed . . . .
This is so exciting!! I’m looking forward to living your new adventure through your words.
The picture of the orca with the water pushing over its head and the spray of the blow in the air is absolutely amazing! What a unique view of these charismatic ones! It’s captivating.
Anne,
Please take care and be kind and compassionate to yourself.
Nancy
Glad to have you back.
Hi Anne,
I am so pleased to see you contacting us all again an to hear the good news of you continued progress with your health. As they say “Steady does it, and steadily achieves it”!
You must be getting excited with your up-coming ventures as well as getting to know your new acquisition. It is going to be bug adventures all round!
I look forward to reading all your posts and relishing all your photographs.
Have fun, stay safe, look after yourselves and each other! xoxox
Great news for you , your health your boat and Ray! I enjoy seeing your photography and will be looking forward to more in the future. You are inspiration to so many to get out and do what you can now! ️
Glad to read about your plans. I look forward to your adventures!
Hi Anne,
Great to hear that you are on the mend and have an exciting new venture planned. Good luck and keep on keeping on!
Great photos! I have been following Ray for at least 7 years now. It is so good to hear that you are feeling better. From his last video it looks like your having a great time on your new boat. Your photos are fantastic, I just joined your news letter and just read one of your e-books. I have been trying to get to talk myself back into take more photos on our trip here to Alaska this summer. I think it is time to get a newer and better camera. 🙂
Hi Anne,
I’m so happy for you! You are going to enjoy the summer and get back to the things that you love. This is really a step forward and I know it will be wonderful for the both of you. I’m getting ready to start my annual journey heading up the Pacific Coast from Baja to BC doing my surfing photography thing.
Enjoy your summer,
Mike
Have missed your blogs and photos. So pleased you have your mojo back and feeling stronger. Yes take it slowly and always remember less is more. Health issues do blindside us and I too have had a difficult 5 years.. But feeling better and taking out my camera more. Your beautiful photography is so inspiring. Enjoy the boat
Warm wishes
Rosie
Hi Rosie, Sorry to hear you have been going through a health struggle too. Not being able to live your life the way you want is so much harder to deal with than the actual sick part – at least it was for me. I’m glad you are feeling better and getting out with your camera again too. Sounds like we have a lot in common! Take care.