Thoughts on sailboat life

A lot of people have asked me whether or not I actually enjoyed the trip, and how I feel about sailing - and I realised that I never mentioned that anywhere. So here goes. I can't say I really enjoyed it too much until Antigua - but up until that point we hadn't spent more than a day in any location (apart from St. Thomas) and I just never felt relaxed - like the minute we anchored we were preparing to leave the following day. In Antigua, due to computer problems, we had to stay there a week and I REALLY enjoyed that - great island, loads and loads of cruisers, and I finally felt happy on the boat. But I don't think it was until we got to Dominica that I really fell in love with boat life - it's the most wonderful island, we met the greatest people and had the best time - and I started sleeping more than an hour at night, and I got used to the boat noises, and I felt safe and secure really for the first time since leaving home. Maybe it was the "boat boys" and their security watches, friendliness, professionalism and the sense that they really take care of the cruisers there - or maybe it was just Dominica itself - friendly, beautiful island. Anyway, whatever it was, it was the turning point - I just loved it from there on. I didn't, however, really love the sailing aspect - mostly the wind was unpredictable, ranging from 3 knots to 30 knots, changeable within a few seconds - seas were mostly around 10 feet and it was just way too boystrous for me to relax and enjoy it. The autopilot was always going off course and I struggled to cope on my own during the day unless it was a really gentle wind. Don't even get me started about overnight passages - they were all BRUTAL - very high seas, strong winds, and as I was struggling to cope with the boat on my own in daylight, there was no way I could handle it at night. I did try one night, but within seconds the autopilot had blown us off course, there were no stars/moon/landmarks anywhere and within about 10 seconds I had us aiming towards Australia and could not bring Delphinus under control. I could barely let go of the handrails in the cockpit, it was so rough - so Phillip realised that perhaps I wasn't ready to handle the boat in hurricane ;-) conditions.
But apart from the actual sailing, I loved loved LOVED boatlife and can't wait to get back to Delphinus. The boat way of life is incredible - so simple, true and calming, with great people, wonderful sights, and dolphins along the way - does life get better than that?

Hopefully we'll do Cuba and the western Caribbean next year if all the conditions are right..... but frankly, I don't care where we are as long as I am on the boat with Phillip, I am happy.