boatlife
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Pine Island
Sitting in the cockpit, as the sun was rising, enjoying my first cup of coffee, I heard a sharp exhale of air, like someone or something breathing. As I glanced across the anchorage at Pine Island, I noticed several dolphins swimming around the boat. This was going to be our first longer term anchorage along Continue reading
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Close quarters are scarier than the open ocean!
Transiting the IntraCoastal Waterway (ICW) has some advantages over going out into the open ocean. Weather conditions matter, but not as much. You’ve got easier access to marinas and docks if you need them. Getting help is relatively easy. It also has some disadvantages…like bridges. It’s pretty well known that for most of the ICW Continue reading
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We are underway!
Leaving the dock at Green Cove Springs was always about timing. I always planned departures and arrivals based on the tide. I didn’t want to fight the tide there and used to my advantage, to either get off the dock or get pushed on the dock. So when we left for the last time, it Continue reading
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Departure Update
On Facebook, when I published last week’s post, I wrote that we were hoping to leave for St. Augustine the next day. I later posted that it was not a full blog post, but that we didn’t get to depart. The more I’ve thought about it, there really is a story there that I think Continue reading
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Everything breaks…all the time…it’s a boat!
When we first made the decision to sell everything and buy a boat for travel, my grandmother said, “Don’t do it. Your grandfather was always fixing something on his boat. Everything was always breaking. You’ll always be working on it.” I thought to myself, well, I’m always fixing something in the house, how can it Continue reading
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Persistence, grit, determination …it’s all needed
Persistence We have been visiting family and friends lately back home. Something that has come up more than once is people’s amazement at our persistence. I’ve heard more than once, “From what you’ve written, I would have bailed a long time ago! I’m impressed by your persistence!” This has been a difficult year. Without a Continue reading
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Living off grid…you need power!
Let’s talk a little about managing power on a sailboat. When we lived in our house(s), I walked in, turned on a light and left it on. I would stand in front of the fridge with the doors open wondering what in the world I wanted (even though I wasn’t that hungry). Run the AC Continue reading
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Headed for a hurricane!
Keeping up with the weather is critical in the sailing world. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s really true. As we all know, things with the weather change, sometimes very rapidly and you have to have a plan for when things change. In late June I joined a boat, we were supposed to go Continue reading
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The Creepy Crawlies
It doesn’t matter where you live, you have creep crawly critters. In houses you can have mice, rats, spiders, or snakes. You just might not be super aware of those critters that you are sharing your space with. On a boat however, your awareness of these critters does become a little more heightened. In December, when we were Continue reading
The Great Wander 