June 11, 2012

Don and I received a call this morning from our oldest son, Justin. He was calling to see if we were going to be able to come home this summer.  I told him that we weren’t sure yet, but I said why, J?  He said well I’m going to talk about my life at church on July 15, 2012, at the First Presbyterian Church, Whitewright, Texas.  I said, you are going to give your testimony and he said yes.  I was so proud of him, that it was hard for me to speak.  Justin had gotten into some trouble many years ago and with God’s help he has turned his life around.  Also, this Church has supported him and been with him thru it all.  God, the Church and his family never gave up on Justin.  Now he will tell the community who saved him.

We are so proud of all our children.  They have each one had issues to deal with in their life and have all turned around and are going in the right direction.  Justin and family live in Randolph at the present and are planning to move to Whitewright in the very near future.   He is married to Brandi and they have 3 children.  Jeremy and family live in Pottsboro about ½ mile from Don and me. He has two great sons.   Holly and family live in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is married to Matt and they have two daughters.  We miss all of them and our wonderful grandchildren.  One good thing now is that we can talk to them or email them as much as we want to, since we are in Puerto Rico.

Don and I took our dingy to San Juan to be fixed.  It had gotten a slit in the side in the incident and we needed it fixed before we transport the boat to Ponce for repair.  Got it back and waited like they told us to do before putting air into the dinghy.  We put the air in last night and this morning it was flat.  We were upset, but the work is guaranteed.  Now back to San Juan this week.  Oh well, I can get another shopping day!

Had to transport the dingy on top of the car!

We are doing great!  Our attitudes are good too.  Like Bob Bitchin (Author) says:  “Attitude is the difference between an adventure and an ordeal.”

Until next time:  Have a Great Day!

Love, Don and Janis

June 6th

Hello everyone.

Good News!  We have everything finalized with the ship that hit us on Friday, April 13^th.  Don and I like to refer to it as our “Good Luck” day.  We are in such high spirits. We are ecstatic the way things worked out.  We thought things were taking too long, but it has only been 7 ½ weeks.  It seemed like an eternity, but as we look back, it has gone very quickly.

One thing that I haven’t shared about the night of the incident is that Don went flying off the starboard side of the boat, as I was screaming he grabbed for something, anything that might still be left on our boat.  He was able to grab one lone stanchion bar and wrenched himself back up the side of the boat.  We believe that is when he cut his foot.  I do think that I was even more frightened than actually seeing that ship coming right at us. The thought of not being able to find Don in the dark, deep ocean was agonizing to me.  As soon as he got back to the cockpit we hugged and thanked God.  

Yesterday we pulled the dinghy out of the water to clean the barnacles off of Plane to Sea II. Disgusting to say the very least, I even got a little nauseated at the sight of the way it looked. We had the bottom painted with paint that sloughs off the sludge and it did work pretty well, but the sides were caked with gunk.  Hey, just one more adventure in the Furness’s log, which seems to be never ending these days.  We are eager to add it among the list; it won’t be lonely next to all the other quests.  For the ones that know us very well, the saying “the bad news is Don Furness is along and the good news is that Don Furness is along” is so very true.  All kidding aside, I’m so thankful to be with Don Furness.

Another challenge for me has been tying up here at the marina.  We are used to anchoring and being tied on all four sides has been very different for us to get used to.  It goes to the right then to the left, front then back, all in this jerking motion each time we get waves.  I’m surprised that I haven’t been sea sick.  We enjoy the freedom of going to one side at a time and the boat moving slowly around, this back and forth is for the birds.  Don is glad that I feel that way, because as we travel we can’t afford to stay in every marina that we come across.  That would get very expensive, very quickly.

More next time!

Love, Janis                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Moving On...

Dear Blog followers: 

Moving on……and that is exactly what Don and I are doing, moving on with our lives.  Life is too short to mope around and feel sorry for ourselves.  God gave us a break, a real BIG break and we are going to make good use of the time we have left.  I read in a magazine that as a sailor, if you dig deep, you’ll remember that first time you experienced the joy of sailing.  There is a direct lineage from that point to where we are today and how sailing has changed our lives.  We know why we sail.  It is an intimate relationship.  How can we share that with others? With our children and grandchildren? With friends?  With our families?  We could choose not to sail, but that would end our passion.  We feel that would be a tragedy.  We choose to sail!!!!!!!  One thing that we have learned as we have grown older is that one of the greatest gifts is sharing what you have passion for or what you have acquired through your hard work in life.  One thing for us is sailing and we will continue to share with you our adventures as we move forward.  Thank you for reading. 

We send our love, Don and Janis

Happy Mother's Day - to the GREATEST!

Since we can't be together and I can't even send you mail, I thought I would just type in the words on the card I bought for you.  They really say it all.  I love you!

My Mother's Daughter
I am all of the experiences we've shared and each of the things I've done on my own.
I am the stories we've read in books and the ones written in my heart.
I am the traditions passed down through the years and the new ones picked up along the way.
I am my mother's daughter, different from her, and yet the same, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be.

Update

For those that aren't aware, I wanted to finally update the blog with information on Mom and Don's accident that occurred on April 13th.  Below are emails from the days following the accident.

Saturday, April 14th:

Mom and Don had a serious accident at about 2am Friday morning while en route to Puerto Rico in the sailboat.  This is the Cliff Notes version of the story:

While sailing overnight from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, their navigation system alerted them of another boat but they were unable to see a boat.  Shortly after, a large Freightliner appeared in the darkness with no lights on it.  Don was able to turn the wheel and give the boat throttle quick enough to prevent a direct hit but they were still hit on the side.  The boat did a 360 and continued to skim the side of the ship.  A lot of damage was done to the boat but it was not punctured and did not sink.  Mom and Don enabled their emergency plan and notified the U.S. Coast Guard.  Other boats they were travelling with were nearby and came to assist.  The ship that hit them did not stop and did not answer radio calls.  By the grace of God, the Coast Guard was less than 35 miles away and made it to them quickly.  The sailboat was towed in and they transported Mom and Don to safety.  I was notified Friday morning around 8:45am.  Within an hour or so I was able to speak with Mom.  To say they were rattled would be a severe understatement.  There are too many “God” moments to count them all.  They were both awake, they were both together in the cockpit, the Coast Guard was close by, etc, etc, etc.  God is good and he was at their side the whole time.

Today, things are a little better.  They are safe and alive and that’s really all that matters. Don has an injury to his foot but is ok.  The Coast Guard helped them find a hotel last night and today they were able to get a rental car.  Their phone is not working so tomorrow they will go to the AT&T store.  They decided to take today and just decompress so nothing was done with the boat today.  There is not a marina in the city so they will have to find a way to get the boat moved in order to have it repaired or whatever they decide to do.  I think they are still decided on the next steps. 

I’m sorry for the long note but I promised an update once I had one.  I will keep everyone posted as I know more.  

Please continue to pray for them and ask for calm in their hearts.  They are safe and grateful.

Friday, April 20th:

Good Morning!  Just wanted to check back in and let everyone know that Mom and Don are doing much better.  They’ve had a good week.  They were able to rent a car, get a new phone (number is still the same) and begin to get things in order with the boat.  With assistance from the Coast Guard, they were able to locate the ship that hit them but due to issues around the jurisdiction, I’m not sure anything will come of it.  In the big picture, that is the least of their concern.  I think the peace of mind that comes with being able to KNOW what happened is more than enough for right now.  Anyway, Mom and Don were planning to fly to Charlotte tomorrow for a few days but decided to delay the trip until next Saturday (April 28^th).  They just needed some extra time to get the arrangements made for the boat.  

I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything new.  Thanks to all of you for the thoughts and prayers you’ve sent their way.

Bound for Puerto Rico!

Was able to speak to mom this morning and they are on their way to Puerto Rico! Assuming the weather holds up, this is a trip that will take approximately 48 hours. They have a plan for bad weather but if all goes well they will be there by end of day Friday. Pray for their safe travels. They are sailing with a group of boats so others are near, definitely makes me feel better. They enjoyed their stay in the Dominican Republic and are looking forward to lots of sight seeing during their next stop. I believe they may even rent a car!

Luperon, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Just received word from Mom that they have arrived safely in Luperon, Puerto Plata. Here they were able to meet up with friends from earlier in the trip so all is well. Mom sent an email earlier in the week and they are having the most amazing time. Meeting locals, exploring with a couple that have a vacation home in the DR and just soaking it all in! One day even involved a scooter ride from a local man to his family restaurant for lunch. So, everyone is safe, happy and making the most of this amazing adventure. Not sure how long they are planning to stay in the DR but the next stop is Puerto Rico! I'm jealous.