March 2026 – One Month to go before trading spreadsheets for tide charts
For the past couple of years, retirement has felt a bit like watching the tide come in — slow at first, then suddenly moving faster than you expected.
For a long time the countdown barely seemed to budge. I was stuck at 19 months for what felt like forever. Then somehow it became 12 months. Then 6 months. And now, somehow, I’m about one month away from trading spreadsheets for tide charts.
Of course, New England winter has decided this is the perfect time to remind me who’s really in charge. The boats are still tucked away, the docks are quiet, and getting anywhere near them requires snow boots and optimism. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty waiting.
There are lobster traps to mend, engines to summerize, paint to apply, fiberglass to patch, and a long list of small boat jobs that will almost certainly turn into larger boat jobs. Anyone who owns a boat knows how that works.
Still, after 35 years of meetings, forecasts, and quarterly reports, it’s a strange and satisfying feeling to know the next chapter is finally in sight.
The countdown has officially begun.
And once the ice clears, the real work and the real adventures will begin
