Our first post was Nov 13 2012, after 12 years much has changed, but Gray Matter is still our home. In our first post, we shared our Bon Voyage party, and a month later we left the Bay Area on Nordhavn 6206 to voyage across the Pacific to Brisbane Australia – a trip that changed our lives forever.
We posted a lot in the beginning, then life got busy and we got lazy, and we neglected this blog, but continued to live and explore on Gray Matter. Since our last post 6 years ago detailing our unique drama off the east coast of Australia; we shipped Gray Matter to the US east coast, lived in Boston a few years, cruised up to Maine, Chesapeake Bay, and down to the Bahamas. Last year we ventured to Rio Dulce, Guatemala and completed a major refit of Gray Matter including a full repaint. We are extremely happy with the work and our like-new boat. In the video below, one can see Gray Matter looks better now than the day we purchased her 13+ years ago. With more than 14,000 hours on the Caterpillar main engine, not a hint of exhaust smoke; she runs like new. All systems either replaced, or refurbished including our new-to-us Bauer dive compressor.
A lot has changed in 12 years, however the one consistent part of our life is Gray Matter. Christine is not longer an academic — she joined industry and is now working (full time from Gray Matter via Starlink) as the Chief Scientific Officer of a health-tech company. Mark, after returning to Silicon Valley, “retired” to pursue his childhood dream as a professional pilot. After 1500 flying hours and 2 jet type ratings, he was ready to really retire and now spends much of his time playing guitar (maybe there’s one last career option?).
Most of our cruising friends from 12 years ago are land based now and still adventuring. And of course we have made many new friends over the years, always learning about someplace new to explore. As we sit in the Western Caribbean for our second season here, we could never have planned or even imagined that we would be able to live this life of adventure for so many years, and we are forever thankful – Happy Thanksgiving.