Yorktown

Have you ever listened to someone tell a story and felt you were there? Have you been somewhere, a museum or exhibit and there were reenactors that were so good that you believed they were the character they are portraying in real life? I’ve had 2 of these experiences. Megan was living in Virginia Beach at the time, so we had reason to visit Virginia on more than one occasion. The first was in Colonial Williamsburg in 2007. We were in the Capitol and the reenactor was a woman. She was in period clothing, obviously and was very convincing in her part. There were many of us in the group, 30-40 at least and all ages. She proceeded around the room and telling us the story of the colonials gathering in this room to discuss and plan for the impending declaration for independence. She (I wish I knew her name) would stand behind individuals in the group and whisper in their ear what was said and that person would say it out loud. The entire group was quiet and respectful, it seemed we all understood the significance of what was being said and decided. Somehow, that short tour and her presentation has stuck with me and will forever.

The second time was a year later, at the Yorktown Battlefield. Mike, Sean, Megan and I were there for a tour. The guide this time was a national park ranger, and again I wish I could remember her name. She was in ranger garb, not dressed as a reenactor. We toured the battlefield, learning about various companies and what was happening at each, as well as what was going on “in town”. This included where Lord Cornwallis had his headquarters and where when things got tough, he hid in a *cave* or something like it. The exact area isn’t known, although there is a cave where the townspeople took shelter along the waterfront. Right. At one point at the edge of a field, the guide is telling us about the last night before the last battle. It was to be a full moon, thereby enough light for each side to see what the other was up to. Cornwallis’s men had thought to make a run across the York River to Glouster Point. A storm came up and foiled that plan. The guide proceeds to tell us how this was like a Weather Channel segment of “When Weather Changed History”. Not only was there no way for the British to make a run for the other side of the river, but the storm made it possible for the Americans and French to dig their fortifications and take redoubts 9 and 10 without notice. She was so animated in the telling, I had goosebumps! Again, I will never forget.

So, here we are back in the area. We aren’t making it back to Williamsburg, but for sure taking a better look at Yorktown. Anyone who has followed us for a minute knows we love history. More precisely we like all the old stuff. Old houses. Old buildings in general. Old tools and implements. Old boats. Old furniture and kitchen gadgets. How people used to live and their stories, especially.

While Colonial Williamsburg is a living history (town) museum, Yorktown is a presently lived in town. While Mike walked dogs (King can’t be trusted alone for very long, yet) Matthew and I attended the morning worship service at Grace Church. This church was established in 1697 and has had an active congregation since then. We thought it would be fun to visit, and it was. We met a lovely couple, Betsy and her husband (I really need to get better at name retention). They asked us the usual “where are you from” questions and we talked about dogs and hunting and living on a boat and the ever present “how did you get here from South Dakota?” I told them my story about Williamsburg and the battlefield, and they introduced me to a retired NPS ranger. She was very kind and said she was already retired in 2008 but loved to hear how the presentation had affected me.

We walked all over the small town and visited the American Revolution Museum and the Watermans Museum. On The Hill Gallery features local artists, we spent a bit of time there and made a purchase. It’s just the kind of place we like to shop. There are many little beaches and because it was a weekend, they were packed. The Ben and Jerry’s is a hit as well as a couple of other restaurants and a pub. We didn’t go into any of the other shops this time, but there were a few….. Mike dissuaded me from going into the bookstore. It

We took about a gazillion pictures, so here are many of them. The Schooner Alliance was here in 2008. We took a sunset cruise on it one night back then, so it was fun to see it sailing in the river where we were anchored.

Here’s a short glimpse of our sail out of Yorktown. Sailing with winds of 12-18 knots and making 5-6 knots. We just moved a little north to a new anchorage for better protection from storms blowing in. We will be gradually making our way to Washington DC by June 7th. Mike has 4 shifts scheduled in the ER in Pierre, so we thought that seemed like a good place to spend a few days at a marina and explore some more before he leaves and while he is away.

Slainte’

Long Time No Write

Well, hello there!

Where to begin….. Maybe with a statement of commitment to write more. The commitment is to myself, mind you. I kid you not, I think about writing *something* everyday. It is a sort of mind exercise, that I value. Sometimes I write in my journal. I write notes during my devotions and Bible study, have taken notes and journaled during my knee replacement recovery (more on that later).

Right. So, maybe a brief 2021 summary? When last I wrote, we were beginning 2021 with hopes and dreams and learning to navigate life at what was still a time of the ongoing pandemic. Last year was a decent one for us. Our sailing and cruising plans took a 180 degree turn, but it was GOOD!

We initially sailed down to St Marys, GA. We like the boat yard there and Mike has everything he needs there to take care of our old girl. We did some bigger projects, toured around and ended up going back to SD for a few months in the spring.

Then in June we decided to head north. We thought at first that we would sail the Chesapeake, then decided to keep going for Maine. Boy, are we happy we did that! That is territory that we will go back to. We had visited before, by land 11 years earlier and always wanted to go back. I think that’s the thing with Maine. Each visit leaves you longing for more time there.

The small fishing villages, islands that feel like they have been lost in time, ruins and national and state parks, hikes and trails, even the more “touristy” areas leave their mark. We found areas run by research partys where we learned about scallops and how they are harvested, another an Audubon camp on a nature preserve. Islands without habitation, beautiful rocky bays and beaches.

And then there’s the food. Lobstah, lobstah, lobstah! I am allergic to shellfish, but Mike and Matthew enjoyed it. Actually, Matthew isn’t the biggest fish of any kind fan, but he tried it. I discovered I can tolerate mollusks, while in Maine. So- scallops! I had my first scallops in Booth Bay, with an epipen in hand. Thank the Good Lord I didn’t need it, because I would have had a hard time not finishing my meal. YUM!

Then, there’s the people and history. We took so many walks and visited with many locals. We bought art and other crafts and just marveled at the trusting and friendly natured people we met. Truly incredible.

We had friends from SD visit towards the end of August. Rick and Dr Rachel Edelin are from Rapid City. We have known Rick for years in his life as a Pfizer rep. He and Mike had talked sailing (and any other outdoor activity) as we were planning our exodus. Mike had mutual patients with Dr Edelin, so knew her in more of a professional manner. None of us really knew how their visit would go, they were the first other than family to stay with us on board. I believe we were all pleasantly surprised with how well it went. We shared meals, hiked, kayaked, paddle boarded and talked til we were blue in the face. It was such an enjoyable time and we were blessed to have them.

We had several mishaps, as is always the case. Our centerboard decided to let itself down….twice. The first time we opted to haul out where we were to make sure we were good to continue. That was a mistake….the haul out was near disastrous as the boat was dropped unevenly in the sling. We got scraped up and lost our grill. The second time was as we were leaving NYC, we knew what it was and opted to keep going despite the horrible banging it was making. We tied it up in Hampton VA and kept going. We also had some “deck love” in NYC at the most rocky dock, ever. But, NYC was amazing, so we aren’t going to dwell on the scuffs. We developed a diesel tank leak in our midship tank. That was a near disaster for a minute. Then a water tank leak presented itself. Then, there was the BIGGIE. Our hull had shown delamination from our first haulout in 2019 and it was time to fix it. This, I think will be an entirely separate post. Mike has documented it well, so I thinking we will talk about it then. I feel like there were a few other more minor issues, but they escape me at present.

We also spent a few days in Montauk, NY, Onset, MA, Province Town, Cape Cod and Newport, RI. All places we would like to visit again. We missed Nantucket and Martha’s Vinyard and several other places. They are on the list, however.

For our last leg, from Myrtle Beach, SC to St Marys, GA our grandson Luc joined us for the first time on board. He had a really good time, and we look forward to having him again this year!

So- What’s in store for this year? Well, Mike has been working on the hull and other projects since we hauled out in November. He has been home for about 6 weeks since then. St Marys is his home away from home, for sure. What he has gotten done, on his own is quite astounding. He has repaired a 12-foot section of the hull. Stripped and prepped the entire boat for painting, among other, smaller projects. I went down for a week in January, then again in February when he was driving home. Once home, he built a new gorgeous wood helm seat (aka Erin’s booster seat) and a swim platform and dog step that will be mounted to the stern. While he was gone, I worked and prepared for my knee replacement surgery. It was put off once when I got covid 2 weeks before surgery was scheduled. So, I worked a little longer. Surgery was March 22 and I have been working hard at recovery since. Physical therapy is going well and I’m going to be given my walking (sailing) papers in a week or so. Mike has also picked up some shifts in the ED in Pierre, where he had worked for 8 years, pre-Voyager. They are, of course, happy to have him back here and there.

We plan to splash the end of May. We will initially go to St Augustine. We really like the town and are hoping Meg, Jon and Luc are able to visit while we are there. Mike will fly to SD to work a few shifts. When he gets back, we will head north. The Chesapeake is our destination for now. We have plans to be in Washington DC in July when Mike has to fly for work again. Other than that, nothing definite is on the dance card. Meg and Jon are expecting their second baby the end of August. So, we will be planning and deciding on whether to be back south before then or for me to fly home to be there when the baby comes. Stay tuned on that decision.

Until next time- Slainte’ Mhath

A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skilled Sailor

Hello!

Over the last few weeks we have traveled a fair bit, not staying anywhere for very long. I had a whole blog post written out, that wouldn’t upload due to poor data service. Now, I can’t find that post- it’s lost somewhere in the laptop. Oh well- I had written it after a decidedly uncomfortable passage from one side of Great Harbour Cay to the other. This was 2 weeks ago already!

We had checked into the Bahamas in Bimini on Feburary 14th after making a night passage from Miami. We spent 3 days there, enjoying a spectacular beach (Radio Beach), getting some laundry done, eating from a street vender and just generally exploring. We made several new friends, one boat, has 4 kids on board. This was good for Matthew as he hadn’t had any kids to play with for a few weeks. One of my favorite parts about Bimini was the sea glass we found on the beach. I’ve never seen so much in one place!

From Bimini we headed to the North Berry’s. We had a nice crossing on the 17th. SV Woven, the other kid boat also crossed. They are on a catamaran and much faster than us. We anchored on the west side, while they made it into the east. The next day we made our way around the north end of Coco Cay, Great Stirrup Cay then down to the east side of Great Harbour. It should have been a couple hour passage and ended up being 4 due to the sea conditions. We had 6-8 foot swell and waves with only 6 or so seconds between. It was uncomfortable, unpleasant and we were happy when we got into the bay and anchored. We hadn’t plowed our bow into waves like that before and were happy nothing broke. Voyager held up like a champ and kept us safe. To keep my mind off the rough ride, I threw out my gratitude and listed my blessings to God. He saw fit to help us pass the time a little more quickly. We immediately took the dogs to shore and swam and played for awhile, on arrival. It was good to be settled for the night.

The next day, the 19th, after running the dogs and visiting with Woven we decided to make our way to Nassau. We thought if we were tired or conditions didn’t feel right, we would stop at the southern end of the Berry’s for the night. As it turned out, we had decent conditions and made it to Nassau just after sunset. And guess who was there? SV VENTOLINES! It was reunion time.

We initially anchored in the harbor near the cruise ships, the next day, we made our way to the anchorage by the marina where Ventolines was staying. Eventually we were able to get a slip at the marina, or at least half of one…. There was a blow coming in on Friday and we were hoping to get in there. The way it works is rather than a reservation, you call them and become a squeaky wheel. On Friday morning Mike called at 0800. Nothing yet. He called at 1000. Nothing yet. He called at 12. Yes, there’s room. He may have also mentioned that our beam (the width of our boat) which is 13.5, is now 12 foot. We aren’t sure if that was what got us a spot or if they really had one. So, we moved with the tide. As it turned out, the slip we got was one fit for a yacht with a 20 foot beam and 100 foot length. There was already another boat there and we were to tie up behind them. OK! So, we did. We were happy to have some security for the predicted winds.

We spent Saturday- Wednesday at the Atlantis, or mostly. Jennifer, Wyatt, Matthew and I did, anyway. The guys would come over to play and we had supper at the condo. We have had a timeshare at the Harborside (part of Atlantis) for 15 years. Matthew has claimed to have all his birthdays there, which isn’t far from the truth. We have mostly come the first or second week of December. So, it’s been either his or Mike’s birthday when we are here. So, we were very happy to be able to use it this year as we missed out last year. To have our friends, the Sivori’s join us was icing on the cake. 🙂

Since leaving Nassau the 27th we have been in the Exumas. This. Is. Paradise. Although, our first anchorage, Elbow Cay was rocky, rolly and overall miserable. We slept in the cockpit, or the saloon just trying to get a few winks in. Voyager was making so much noise with the rough anchorage we thought something would break for sure. We managed to get through the night, then headed south to Samson Cay.

When we were in Miami before crossing over, we had picked up a piece of rigging for crew on Sea Paws. They are friends of the Sivori’s and had been sitting in Nassau for weeks with a broke forestay. So, we were able to get that delivered for them. They crossed to the Exumas when we did and now we have 3 buddy boats in our flotilla. They also have a dog, Willow on board. She likes to bark at the dingys and jet skis like ours do.

Right. Samsons Cay. We stayed here for 2 nights. We recovered from our traumatic night at Elbow Cay and found beaches and sandbars to play on. The dogs were happy, we were happy and we met some other cruisers that topped it off.

Next stop, Staniel Cay. You may have heard of this little island. If not Staniel, then probably Thunderball Grotto. This is the location of 2 James Bond films. Thunderball, obviously and Never Say Never Again. We snorkeled the grotto before leaving Staniel Cay yesterday. We were anchored nearby, so dingyed over. Ventolines was also there. Sea Paws had gone the day before. I was pretty hesitant about going in because I thought I would have to dive under and through a cave to get inside. I had watched a few of our favorite YouTube channels when they went in and of course, they made it more dramatic. So, it turns out at low tide, when we went, we were about to just swim in. The lowest spot was about 6 inches above water and it was just a point that came down towards the water. The land mass is volcanic rock that is sharp and jagged, so that is what you’re swimming through and under to get inside. There are thousands of fish inside and the coral is so brightly colored. There are many “holes” in the ceiling. We know people have jumped in through the holes but there are signs discouraging that. The ceiling height is probably 25-30 feet, so the distance gives plenty of room for the sunlight to stream down and add to the experience. Unfortunately, our Go-Pro was dead when we got there, so we didn’t get any pictures. I will be requesting some from Jeff so I can share them.

After snorkeling, we made our way a few more miles south to Black Point. This is a very popular place for cruisers. What we know so far is that Miss Ida at the laundromat not only does the laundry but gives the best haircuts in the Exumas. Matthew may give her some business later today. Our first trip to shore, to find the lay of the land, we asked a couple children heading home from school where we could find some ice cream. They directed us to a house that sat back from the road. The resident there sold us some Blue Bunny ice cream from a small room outside her house. We got 3 cones for $6 and felt like we got a heck of a deal. There are 4 restaurants. One of them, Scorpios, offers a cruisers happy hour 3 nights a week. Not only do they offer 2 for 1 drinks, but very, very affordable food options. This is a big deal! We had 3 appetizers Carribean Chicken, conch fritters and loaded fries and it came to under $40. The same thing, the night before in Staniel was $80. You can imagine how welcome this is. We are usually very frugal when cruising. This season, however, we are trying to be more supportive of local entrepreneurs thereby supporting the local people. So, we are eating away from the boat more often.

So, we go to get back into Meg, the dingy, to come home last night at dusk. We look down and there are 2 nurse sharks laying on the floor under the dingys. This was a little unsettling, but they are harmless. We got home and settled and Mike started the generator to run the fridge and watermaker. Since nothing had broken in our adventures so far, I guess it was time. Our generator is now only giving us 90 volts. We need 110. We are now trying to come up with a solution. Sea Paws is lending us a portable generator to run our fridge today. Mike is trying to troubleshoot with people he knows that have some knowledge of generators and researching online. We have a few spare parts and are hoping that it may be one of those that is the problem.

This will bring you, our faithful readers up to speed. I’m hoping to be a little more diligent in writing. We seem to have spent so much time on the go that I haven’t taken the time to sit at the laptop. I will however, try to get a few more pictures up. If we, at some point get a little better wifi service, I will definitely post more often and get some more pictures up, as well.

Slainte’

Back at It

Hello Faithful Followers!

So sorry it’s been so long, but we are back! /) /) /)

While we were on land, I fell off the blogging wagon. We got busy with building and diy projects, then we both went back to work for a few months to refill the kitty somewhat. Mike made several trips to Voyager to get some projects done, so we wouldn’t all be sitting in the yard waiting to launch, while he worked. We still were there 2 weeks, but that wasn’t so bad. Mikes brother Nick and niece Sophia came for a few days. That was fun as we hadn’t visited with them in a very long time. We explored a little, Nick helped with the boat and Sophia and Matthew played chess, PS4 and piano together. It was a great visit!

SV Voyager is currently sitting on a mooring ball at St Augustine. We love it here, this city is just very interesting and pretty. So, that said, we aren’t in a huge hurry to push on. Mike is getting a few things repaired that we found along the trip the last 2 days. You know what “BOAT” stands for, right? Bring Out Another Thousand! He found our stuffing box (keeps water from coming in around the propeller shaft) was leaking substantially. He called a friend back at the boat yard who gave him a few ideas on repairs and that’s what he has done today. It is fixed and we can be on our way tomorrow. Another project Mike decided to tackle today is installing a wireless control for the windless. The controls at the bow gave out last year, so Mike has had to give hand signals from the bow for me to operate the windless from the pedestal. He is now installing/connecting the AIS cable. AIS (automatic identification system) allows other vessels to “see” us on their navigation systems. This makes for safer passages and also gives such information as boat name, whether is under sail or power, speed, heading, etc. When haling another boat we see on the horizon, it’s handy to know who and what we are calling. We may need to do this in order to make corrections in our heading to avoid collision, etc.

Tonight we are going to do a haunted history tour of St Augustine on one of the trolleys. We love history, so it should be fun. The dogs and I have taken several walks and investigated some historic parts of town, the National Cemetery and some narrow alleys that quite frankly felt colonial.

When Mike used a Lyft yesterday he felt compelled to give the driver a history lesson, as she had only recently moved here. He was able to give her a complete history on Henry Flagler’s contribution to the city and the state of Florida. He was quite an upstanding guy and influential with his prestige and money earned from being the brains behind Standard Oil.

Mike made several short video clips while doing boat repairs. I call them “Mike’s hacks”. I think I’m going to put them together for a short YouTube video. That will be coming soon- stay tuned.

So, anyhoo- we are once again on the water and gradually heading south. We have some friends we met in Green Turtle last year we are hoping to meet up with as they are also in St Augustine, presently. There are a couple other friends we met in Miami that we hope to see there in a few days. Overall, this is an exciting time as we begin our sailing season for 2020-

Slainte’

Back to Land Life….For Now

Right. We have been home for 3 weeks. This should have been an easy transition, right? Nope.

We were/are so happy to see our family and friends. We have missed them so much! We have had lunch dates and play dates. Mom and Dad came up for a birthday party we held for Megan and Luc (because we missed their birthdays) and we met them for a picnic on Fathers Day. We have seen the “big kids” and our grandson, Lucian almost daily. All of this does our hearts so good. Missing them was the hardest parts of being away.

M and nephew Luc.

M, Luc and nieces Adlee and Quin.

M and Luc.

Luc watching the fire.

I received these irises from a patient about 12 years ago. I call them the Marlyn irises.

We received our Sailboat Story Merch and thought we should show it off.

Just another day….the essentials.

So, what are we doing? We are settled back into our camper. Mike, has several wood working projects going and we are continuing our “sell everything so we can keep sailing” project. Anyone need any horse halters??? How about some automatic horse waterers? A car? A truck? Maybe some home furnishings…..? There are repairs to be made. The barn, windows, sucker rod fencing that needs welded, etc. It’s the basic upkeep of owning a place. I’ve made some new curtains for our room in the camper and I’m helping Sean around his place and we are re-established at church. We have VBS coming up, which is always a fun week. The boys (our former foster kids) will be staying with us for a few days this week, as well.

Fathers Days fishing K1 and one of his fish.

M with his fish.

K2 and his fish.

Mike being Mike with his boys.

Putting my little Singer to work.

New curtains.

Peonies from Seans.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how the Lord has used us this past year. The conclusion I’ve come to is that where I was the most miserable, He was using us the most. For example, selling our practice. I went through a bit of a depression while this process was happening. But, the new owner is realizing her dream of being her own boss. Another example, the hardest, was when we let the foster kids go. We, in all honesty, would have kept them forever. We asked about getting them passports and taking them (knowing that was very unlikely). My heart was torn and then Lynn said she had prayed about it and wanted to pursue getting licensed and potentially adopting them. This, although so hard to deal with at the time, has been ideal. Lynn has blossomed into genuine mom material. She and the boys have been blessed beyond measure and to see the positive changes in the boys, because of what she can offer them has been completely worth it!

Cleaning up the tree that had to come down.

Falcon modeling the stump.

M learned how to mow.

Moved these posts to be sold.

When we left, we had been in our camper for 6 months and although tight, was not uncomfortable. We missed the hardest and longest winter in recent history (not that we are complaining about that) but it would have been terribly uncomfortable if we were continuing to live in the camper. Then there was the boat yard. Six weeks that WAS a little uncomfortable. We ended up with a much more sound boat than we started out with AND more importantly, ended up spending the next 3 months with a family, the Sivori’s, who will be life long friends. The Lord saw fit to put us within 4 miles of each other when starting out when we were all expecting to be on completely different schedules when we met in Brunswick 2 months before. Add all this to personalities that compliment each other, boys that are the same age and what I think was especially important, was that we were all taking off into unknown waters (literally) and had each other for support, back up, friendship and companionship. I’m not sure I would be so “boatsick” of it wasn’t for meeting these wonderful people!

So~ I miss waking up to the bluest and clearest water on earth, wondering what the days adventure will be. I miss looking out and seeing a random pod of dolphins, or a ray, or sea stars and other fish. I miss the gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) rolling of the boat when I go to bed. I miss Matthew having his own room, hopefully this is remedied soon. But, I’m happy to have my dog, Cookie to wake up to and my big kids and grandson very nearby. My closest friends that I can call and suggest lunch, or a movie, or a sip and paint class. I can see my parents within a few hours drive. I’m happy to sit with my church family on Sundays and being able to participate and teach my crafts class for VBS again this year and celebrate the Fourth this week in the church parking lot. This is why we came home and why we will be hear for a few more months.

SV Ventolines — Missing this crew like crazy!

Well, I’m off to do some yardwork and sort some things for donation.

In the meantime, if you haven’t watched our YouTube videos check them out. If you would like better video quality and a few glimpses of us, check out Sailing Ventolines YouTube channel. Links to both:

The Preys Project/ SV Voyager

Sailing Ventolines:

Slainte’

Florida

Right- On May 14th we crossed back to the US of A. This started out as a somewhat rolly ride, but cleared relatively quickly into a pleasant 8ish hour sail. We began the crossing at Cat Island, Bimini.

We entered Miami through Government Cut and anchored off Fisher Island. This was basically a wide and barely deep enough spot in a bay across from where they load cargo ships. We checked in to the US on the app in this location and then went around the corner to Virginia Key. This was a pretty anchorage in front of a long beach, but it was very populated. The beach was busy and there was a lot of boat traffic. There was commotion at night as well as traffic from the nearby road. After setting the anchor, we took Meg and went looking for a place to eat, American Food! Jennifer found Salt and we headed to the U of Miami nearby. There was a dock there, but a guard for the school said we couldn’t tie up there. There was another short boardwalk that they suggested we use, so we did so. The food there was terrific and we met the head of security. Evidently he had seen us pull up and had contacted the guard on duty that there were 2 families looking for a place to tie up. He said they get some people that aren’t there for the restaurant or any good thing and they run them off. He was afraid we might be run off. We received great service and had an exceptional time here. We were feeling pretty good about being on American soil, again.

We were able to take the dogs to shore, although we chose to do so after dark when the beach had cleared out. We had to row from the swim buoy’s also, so it just was better this way. There was an ice cream truck and food tent as well, serving Latin food. The Sivori’s and Matthew and I shared a Lyft to Target the next day. Matthew was soooo happy to see a “real” store again! He bought several gifts for family, in anticipation of going home in a few days.

From Miami we went south to Elliot Key. This was a short trip, about 3 hours. We spent one night here. When we anchored and went to bed, there were four boats, including us. When we awoke, there was approximately 500 boats. We headed further south the next day towards Key Largo. We anchored one night at North Key Largo, near Turkey Point. We took a quick ride on Meg through the mangroves, it was nice to be off the boat for awhile. Then onto the Anchorage Resort marina the 20th. We had a bridge to go under that was immediately adjacent to the marina, extremely shallow depths (the only place we touched bottom, the whole trip) and a bit of a current. It took 2 attempts to get into our slip, but it was reasonable smooth, anyway. Do you know what the best benefit of a marina is??? AIR CONDITIONING! Unlimited power means our AC runs nonsop! We had a full day there before we headed to Tampa and enjoyed the pool and our first meal from McDonalds since December!

We stayed in a motel the night of the 21st after driving our rental car to Tampa (5 hour drive) and Matthew and I were at the airport at 0500. We shed some tears, but had a good flight. He slept most of the way. When we deplaned, dad was sitting at the gate. I ran Matthew over to the exit doors and tearfully hugged and waved goodbye to him. Jamie had brought Helena and that was a great diversion for him.

Dad, Mike and I drove back to Key Largo that night. We stopped first along the way to pick up some folding bikes Mike had found and bought on Facebook. Then we found a sushi restaurant that was amazing! I think I ate my weight in sushi! We got home at 11pm.

Thursday, we ran around Key Largo a bit and went to marine thrift stores and gift shops. We met Brad and Shelby from SV Falkor, which was in the slip to our port side (left as you look forward). They are a young couple and she had just turned 28 the day before. They have 3 rescue dogs on board, so we were all immediate friends! They live aboard their Spindrift 43 pilot house sailboat in Miami. She is a beautiful and unique boat. When we went to town, we gave them a ride as we still had our rental car. It was fun! For giving them a ride, they blessed us with a colorful tiki that now sits below our dodger. Jennifer had given me an ankle bracelet that day and dad had brought me a tshirt from Mom. I was feeling pretty special. Jennifer had recently given me a necklace of hers with a Walt Whitman quote:

“Now, Voyager, sail thou forth to seek and find”

We agreed that as she already had this necklace when she began her trip, it was just one more piece of evidence that we were meant to travel together and become life long friends. I will always cherish this necklace!

That night, Jennifer, Wyatt, Shelby and I stayed up until midnight painting the wood that Jennifer and I had collected in our travels. The guys talked and we were creative. I love the pieces we made and the time spent together!

We were off to Elliot Key the next day. We hoped that because of some weather coming in we would be in a less busy sight. Not so…. So, the next night we went back south to Card Sound. We anchored off some mangrove creeks. We had drinks and played cards on Falkor that night. Dad was worn out and stayed home. We had taken a dinghy ride through the mangroves for a few hours and enjoyed the change in scenery. The temperatures were gradually becoming warmer and we especially appreciate a breeze when at anchor. That morning we had seen dolphins playing between the 3 boats. Shelby and Brad had also seen a couple of nurse sharks, but we missed those. Shelby coined us the Pirate Brigade! I loved having the 3 boats and new friends nearby. We all played around one more day, then on Monday headed back to Miami. Falkor went to their home port and we dropped the hook back at Virginia Key. After everyone settled we met up for a farewell meal at Whiskey Joes across the road. We dinghy’d over then after Brad and Shelby took me to the grocery store for a few last minute provisions. What a sweet couple they are! More new life long friends! What could be better?

The next morning we headed north for West Palm. As we headed out of Government Cut, the waves were bottlenecking into the channel. We estimate the waves to have been about 6 foot and very close together. Voyager plowed through them, burying her bow in the water several times. It was a relief to turn north once out, and get out of that! We were able to catch the edge of the Gulf Stream and made decent time. We were making high 9’s (9+knots) and were happy with that. We anchored near the Palm Beach Sailing Club where we had been in March, so we could take the dogs to the dog park. The next morning we were headed north again after fueling up at the Riveria Marina fuel dock.

Missing this crew like crazy!

We weren’t sure if we would pull an overnighter or not when we left, but we did, indeed. The gulf stream kept us at around 11knots and we were screaming along! Typically, if only under sail with 12 or more knots we can expect around 7 knots of speed, so this was amazing. We arrived at the Conch House Marina in St Augustine at about 4 pm on May 30th. There was a brisk current and the wind, which had been minimal all day picked up as we approached. The marina was somewhat narrow between docks and I had trouble lining up to the slip we were directed to go into. As I started in, the wind and current took Voyager back. I then narrowly missing a few other boats, swung around, doing a 360 and we pulled in to a slip across from where we were supposed to be. It was embarrassing and humiliating and I was so glad no one got the footage (that I know of). The dock hands were great and made light of the whole thing. Mike said he thought the Lord was keeping us humble as we were feeling like we had this whole sailing thing down. He’s probably right. I tend to get a little too big for my britches and this brought me down a notch.

We weren’t sure how long we would stay, but planned on leaving Saturday if Rocky was able to haul us out on Sunday. Well, turns out St Augustine is a pretty great place to explore! Mike and I finally tried out our new bikes, riding to the Sailors Exchange (we had driven there from St Mary’s in Feburary). This is a marine style thrift store that has absolutely anything you can imagine for a boat. We then got a Lyft to Mojo’s BBQ and had a late lunch with Ventolines Crew. Oh. My. Word. This place is amazing. The food was delicious. We split the “whole hog” between the 3 of us and still had food left over. And the price was reasonable. We walked around a little after. Dad sat and enjoyed a beer while Mike and I walked around the outside of the fort, Castillo de San Marcos. We really had no idea of the history of this great town and were fascinated! So, we spent an extra day and took the trolley on the tour and were able to see a few more points of interest. The architecture of the Flagler College, formerly the Ponce De Leon hotel is gorgeous. We missed the guided tour, but will do it the next time we are in town. We also saw a bit of the Governor’s House and then the Lightener Museum. This is unlike any museum we have been to. Apparently, Lightener, from Chicago, would buy up estates after the stock market crash in the 30’s. This led to his being the owner of an especially eclectic collection of “stuff”. He bought the Alcaraz Hotel for $150,000 to house his collection. When this was a hotel, it was unique in that it had the largest indoor swimming pool of the time and this pool had 2 upper, balcony style levels, including a ballroom where Henry Flagler would have orchestra’s play while swimmers enjoyed the pool. There was also a steam room and various bathing apparatus for his clienteles every whim and well being. The architecture here is also lovely. This was the second hotel built by Henry Flagler after bringing his wife to St Augustine for a healthier environment and finding transportation and accommodation lacking. Henry Flagler, if you aren’t aware, was the partner of John D. Rockefeller in the creation of Standard Oil. Rockefeller had stated that Flagler was the one with the ideas. Well, he saw a need in St Augustine and not only built a railroad from Jacksonville to Miami, but a hospital, churches, the 2 resort style hotels and several other beneficial businesses. He bought a 3rd hotel, the Casa Monica from a friend who had built it, then realized it wasn’t going to turn a profit. Flagler was there, checkbook in hand thereby owning the 3 largest resort hotels all within one block of each other. He was quite a man! This is an era of wealthy living that will never be repeated. It was grand and high end and sparkly and excessive in a way I don’t think we have seen since and won’t see again. We truly enjoyed our time in St. Augustine and plan to return and spend more time, there.

So frusterating

Trying out the new bike

Mojo BBQ

The Old Drug Store

Old City Walls

Tiny Baby Lizard saved from the pool by Jennifer

Some fierce looking Spaniards

The pool is now a restaraunt

Because I have a thing for staircases.

Smoothys!

Tonight, as I write, we sit on the hook in the St. Mary’s river. We will be hauled out at the boat yard, tomorrow morning. We had a decent motor sail up from St Augustine today with very little wind and almost no height to the sea state. When we said good bye to Jeff, Jennifer and Wyatt this morning, it was a surreal farewell. There were many tears shed and I tear up now thinking about having left them. We had literally been side by side for 3 months. Besides my mom and brothers, I rarely talk to anyone every day, but that’s how close we have become to this family. Mike and Jeff have hashed out sailboat issues, speculated on the weather and routes. Jennifer and I have folded each others laundry and shared midnight Facebook and YouTube finds. This is a relationship that took us off guard and completely sucked us in! We have related to each other many times how we are so sure God put us together. We needed each other for this journey and were happy to oblige. The timing, our personalities, our gifts and talents, our children’s ages, all these attributes meshed so well, there is no other explanation. I’m so glad we followed through and went where we were led.

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My next post will likely be from South Dakota. We have projects there to wrap up. We may try and make a few dollars for the next season, but mostly we will be enjoying our family. Matthew has never been away from us this long and we really aren’t sure we will do this again. We miss him madly! Megan turned 31 today and we will have a party for her after we get back.

If you haven’t checked out our couple of YouTube videos, do that. They aren’t great, but you can see what we’ve been doing, rather than read about it, if you choose.

Slainte’

Boat Yard Life Episode 2

I haven’t written in awhile. I will attribute this to the old adage “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything”.

A pretty Island Packet that was just hauled out. This is how close we are to the lift.

While this is mostly true, our life here hasn’t been bad. We have met some extremely nice people. We have made some friends. Boat schooling is going pretty well. We aren’t in the frozen tundra of South Dakota. Being here for the last 6 weeks isn’t where we planned on being, and this has led me to being a little resentful of being away from family and friends to just “sit here”. One of the first people we met said, “when you’re sailing, you learn to let go of plans”. Touche.

This is how we stay in touch

Megan and Matt talking.

One of the friends we have made, Chris (S/V Water Frog) has spent the last solid year making repairs that weren’t in her survey, which, interestingly, was also done by the same surveyor we had. She wasn’t able to sail for a couple years, so didn’t begin getting her boat ready immediately, thereby wasn’t aware of the true condition of her boat. The resident boatbuilder, Ron, who has somewhere around 35 years experience has been overseeing Mike’s work and making recommendations on how to proceed with Voyager. John, the rigger had a similar situation with his boat and was able to tell us right away when we hauled out, what the problem was with our deck. Rocky and his family have been amazing. This is his yard and he lives on site. His son, Clayton, 5, has entertained us with his driving prowess (he sits behind the wheel of side by sides, a dirt bike, the heavy forklift, basically anything with wheels) and has kept Matthew busy on his trampoline and playing.

Ron has said he would happily put his name on any work Mike has done. The gentleman in the Tayana next to us has tried relentlessly to get Mike to work on his boat. When he realized Mike is actually a physician by trade, he couldn’t believe it. John has offered Mike a job doing the wood work on his boat. I guess if we wanted to stay here indefinitely, he could have a job!

This is a “through hull”. It needs to be clean and able to turn.

Mike calls this severe atherosclerosis, there’s supposed to be a hole in the center of that for waste to pass through.

All cleaned up and shiny.

I, meanwhile, teach Matthew and we go on field trips. I keep the dogs out of the way and try to keep them safely exercised. I help Mike when I can. I’ve mixed epoxy, held the backs of nuts and bolts, removed stanchions and plates, pulled a portlight to replace, painted and painted and painted, sanded the new fiberglass on the deck (I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN) and I clean the galley before I prepare every meal, due to the constant dust from the construction.

Dogs, not getting into trouble for a change.

Family card night.

School at the park.

Tightening and replacing hose clamps.

Tabby Sugar Mill.

Mushroom.

Mushroom

Fly Agaric Mushroom. This is the mushroom we suspect made Katniss sick. Copious amounts of saliva and urination, hallucinations, tremors and agitation. Not fun!

Mushroom

Mushroom.

Some of the sites we have taken in are the submarine museum, the Cumberland Island Museum, the Amelia Island Museum, the Tabby Sugar Mill and various restaurants. A block from the yard, I found an old, very small cemetery. There’s a stone there for a Revolutionary War soldier! We have met some friendly dog owners at the dog park and boat schooled at the parks nearby. We have learned about local mushrooms due to Katniss deciding it was a good idea to taste several varieties we found in a local park. This was a scary occurrence and we are still keeping an eye on her to make sure she is ok. This dog is constantly pushing the limits on safe activity. She eats everything and gets herself into some perilous situations routinely! She has worn me out cleaning up after her! Because of this, she is well known in the yard, not something I’m especially proud of.

Matthew role playing at the Cumberland Island Museum.

Cemetary near the yard.

Clayton and Matthew.

All in all, this is part of the adventure. We are learning as we go and making friends. No experience is wasted and we are hopefully blessing those around us as they are blessing us.

We have been advised to write a letter to the certifying agency of the surveyor we used due to the number of issues that weren’t listed on the survey. While we haven’t done this yet, we are certainly considering it. We just aren’t sure how much more energy and time we want to give this, other than getting the boat repaired and back in the water. On one of my walks, I found a house down the road. It resembles a mansion and is considered a “handyman special”. There’s a dilapidated tennis court, fountain, pool, etc. The asking price is less than we sold our house for. I jokingly said if we were going to be here awhile, we might as well take on another house rebuild, too. At least the dogs would have a yard while we worked…..

Slainte’ _/)

Why are we living in the boatyard when we are supposed to be sailing?

Murphy’s Law/ Myers Law/ God’s Timing~

Maybe I should just learn that my timing and urgency isn’t necessarily the Ultimate Plan. Maybe, I need to learn patience and not to rush my plan. I’m guessing this is the lesson. On Saturday at about noon, we threw off the dock lines and headed for the fuel dock on our way out of Brunswick. After fueling up and dumping the head, we departed. ONE mile and just across the bridge we encountered the first problem. While checking the engine, Mike found that the front of the engine was streaming antifreeze and steaming. Mike had replaced all the hoses on the engine, except one that wasn’t included in the hose kit from American Diesel. The piece of hose (an old rubber cap) that wasn’t replaced cracked and antifreeze was streaming out of the engine. So, Mike and Dad devised a plug and got her rigged so we could make it to an anchorage. We were by now about 1 1/2 hours behind schedule.

See a problem with this cap?

M at the beginning of our first day.

Headed out of Brunswick.

Happy to be underway.

Trying to stay warm.

The channel leaving Brunswick has markers 8 miles into the sea. Therefore we have to motor or sail that far out before turning south. We opted to cruise out of the ICW because it gets a little hairy behind Jekyl Island and we weren’t wanting to risk running aground. However, we got out to the last marker and the seas were pretty rolly. It wasn’t scary and the wind was only 9-11 knots from the NE, but it wasn’t comfortable. We had 3-6 foot seas coming from what seemed like every direction, but was mainly the north. We got our cutter sail up and headed south. The temp was in the 60’s and the breeze was brisk. (Side note; I’ve been wearing my North Face coat most days since leaving SD. Not something I thought would happen. Funny how one climatizes so quickly.) Mike was pretty seasick after he went below deck checking the engine. Matthew had a bit of a meltdown, then decided that he was comfortable on the floor of the aft cabin wrapped in his blanket.

We had by now decided we weren’t going to make it to our original destination of St Marys river at the southern end of Cumberland Island. We chose the northern end in the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway AKA The Ditch) to anchor for the night. This took several hours to reach and was after dark as we came in to St Andrews Sound. We were praying the GPS was accurate as this was new territory for us and there are shallows several miles into the Ocean. At our first marker approaching the sound, we hit 9′ depths. Our draw is 5’4″, thankfully, but that was a little uncomfortable. With Mike and Dad both watching for the markers, we made it safely to our anchorage and dropped the hook. We then made supper and settled in for the night.

Car carrier passing us as we headed out the channel at Brunswick.

Where we anchored.

Beautiful sunrise.

Awaking to an amazing sunrise, we broke our fast and headed down the Ditch for St Marys. On our way, we had a few other very shallow areas (6-7′ in one place) and passed a Navy Submarine Base. This was very cool. There is a large “degaussing” station in the channel to navigate around. Apparently some cruisers have been witness to subs coming into the base. Unfortunately, this wasn’t to be for us. We made it to the mouth of the North River, where we would approach the boat yard to haul out to paint the bottom. We anchored for about an hour and made lunch and waited for high tide. The approach is a narrow river that is shallow at low tide. We followed succinct directions that are provided by the yard and made it without problem. About 3/4 in we had a dolphin escort, which was fun. We had seen a few along the way, as well- it’s always exciting.

When we arrived we were pulled into the lift backwards. We hadn’t hauled out before, so this was all new to us. These men are skilled, let me tell ya. I had minimal maneuvering to do, as they guided us and pulled on Voyager with gaffs. As soon as we were in the sling, they assisted us off the boat. I walked the dogs and tried to keep the peace between our dogs and the yard dogs. I soon saw Mike approaching with a not so happy look on his face. It seems that one of the crew noticed “oil canning” on our starboard side. This is basically a deformation of the hull- it looks like dents. This is caused by a weakness in the deck with the knee, hull and deck beginning to separate. Not good news for us! If we hadn’t hauled out to paint the bottom at Mike’s insistence it could have been detrimental for us. The rigging attaches to the chain plate. The chain plate attaches to the knee. The knee is supported by the hull and the deck. In a strong wind or rocky sea, this could lead to a de-masting of our boat. (A few years ago we had experienced a de-masting on our MacGregor 25- that was traumatic enough- nothing compared to what this would have been.) We discovered the deck was weak from previous water damage and had bulged upward 3/8 of an inch. The tabbing on the hull that attaches the knee to the hull had separated 1/4 of an inch. When will I learn to listen when Mike is feeling particularly led to do something?

So- that night, Sunday, we painted the bottom of the boat with 3 coats. Voyager remained in the sling and we discussed and prayed about the situation. We were happy to find that a boat builder and rigger were both available for consultation as well as the many other “experts” who live or hanging around the yard.

The next morning after all the opinions were made, it was decided we have at least 1, maybe 2 or 3 weeks of work to do. Voyager was presently unsafe and needed to be dealt with. After coming out of the sling and put on stands, the hull shape improved, minimally. Where the deck was raising at the placement of the chain plates, weight was applied. That also helped, minimally. Mike began ripping into the interior cabinets on the starboard side. He found the interior woodwork was rotten and easy to remove. Thankfully, he didn’t feel he needed to dismantle the fronts, where the stained glass doors and beautiful teak wood work are appealing to look at. An assessment and more conversations, now also including the man who conducted our survey, showed where the fiberglass on the hull was separating from the knee. More bad news.

Oil canning

Oil Canning

Oil canning

Seperation at knee

Where the knee is seperating, seen in a mirror.

Cabinetry being dismantled.

Showing how the new support will go threw this slates and be fiberglassed into place.

Now, Mike has rigged a frame inside the boat that stabilizes the hull and it has regained the shape. When he did this, our aft cabin door began closing easily. We had thought humidity was to blame for the difficulty in closing it the last few days. So, with that sorted, a plan for restructuring and reinforcing was made. Ron, the boat builder and John, the rigger have made several stops to see how she’s looking and make suggestions and guide Mike through the process. This week, beginning tomorrow, we will move into a motel while the fiberglass work is done. The dust and fumes will make it necessary. This is absolutely not what we had planned on happening and are pretty disappointed. However, since it has happened, we are grateful that it was found here. This is a one-of-a- kind place with helpful, friendly people and great service. We aren’t wonting for much.

The museum at Amelia Island.

Great Dog Park

Dog park

Sean flew in to Sanford/Orlando Friday night. I went to pick him up and we returned to the boat at 0200. He and dad will fly back to South Dakota Monday. The boat is going to feel so lonely! My mother’s heart has been so happy to have Sean here and Dad has been with us for nearly a month. I’ll miss the company and old stories.

Eating around the frame that’s keeping the hull’s shape.

Cemetery at St Marys. the oldest grave is marked 1801, we saw 1802. A Revelutionary war Captain claims the oldest marked grave.

Yesterday, we explored St Marys a little. Unfortunately, due to the government shutdown, the Cumberland Island museum and all services are closed. We had fun, anyway. We have also discovered a fantastic dog park and spend time there, everyday. We have met other dog owners there and enjoy visiting with them. We woke up today to a calendar notification on my phone telling us it’s our anniversary! After 11 years, I finally have a reminder that we notice. Mike and I are neither one good at remembering this, for some reason. Maybe we will get a lunch out as a reward- haha!

Right- so I think I’ll sign off, here. There is much work to be done and writing this blog post has been a process- it’s been lost and revamped and I’ve been trying for awhile to attach photos. The Wifi is sketchy and Mike likes to review the details of what’s happened to be honest and precise. Here’s a couple provisioning pictures (remember how much I was dreading that task), the second also shows the cabinetry I was hoping to save.

First trip to Sam’s

Stowing the provisions. Pretty starboard cabinets I was protecting when Mike starting dismantling.

So- with that said-

Slainte’

We have moved onto the boat~ now what?

We made it. We arrived in Brunswick December 28th at 0200. We were beat, had a decent sleep then welcomed friends from South Dakota aboard at 1100. We have been here a week and a day, now, it feels like longer and I want to get out of the marina. The boat work continues and we still need to provision.

We met our sweet friend, Sonja and her daughter, Amanda along our route. It was so great to see them!

The Bergmans were in the area when we arrived and joined us for lunch after seeing Voyager.

I’ve been reading Sailing Totem (veteran sailors that have been cruising with their kids for over 10 years) posts on provisioning and feeling a little less anxious. She really tries to buy fresh food where they are, but takes into account the high cost of destinations. The Bahamas are a high cost destination. All produce is imported, as well as everything else. Since the thought of doing without “fresh” produce almost consumes me, this has been a good blog to be reading.

Ok~ enough~ what have we been doing?

Getting “stuff” put away, organizing, changing our minds and reorganizing, Mike has gotten the solar up and wired, but now finds that our old panels from Summer Breeze are working marvelously, while the 4 new panels are barely working at all. He has fixed a leak in our hanging locker and gotten the dingy outboard running smoothly. I got the safety net put up and feel like it looks pretty good (I was skeptical). Have bagged up dog food and made a few decisions on how to stow that (huge endeavor with 2 large dogs on board), made lists and more lists.

Beautiful picture the Cammack family gave us.

Having our kids within view.

Stowing food

How the solar looks atop the bimini

Matthew has made 2 friends, Max is 15, Wyatt is 9. The younger one and Matthew seem to have really hit it off. We hope to see this family in the Bahamas later. Based on the current outlook, they could be behind us a couple weeks.

So, what’s left to do? The lists is as follows:

-fix the diesel leaks, there are 2

-finish the solar

-install the refinished handrail on the aft deck

-put trim pieces on the kitchen sink counter

-provision

-replace boom lift block

-Replace the traveler block

-jerry can boards

-install closet shelves

-investigate DC power for the fridge

-install a pvc pipe to house the small propane bottles for the grill

Still a list…. granted several of these can be sorted in a day, but the big items have taken over and demanded more time than expected. Add to this that I have had a cold and have now shared it with my Dad and maybe Mike this has slowed us down somewhat. Matthew has not succumbed and has kept busy with his video games and toys when not working on school work. We have taken the kayaks out some and he has fished off the dock with Max and we went down to the Yacht Club on New Years Eve. We aren’t the social butterflies most cruisers are, so the New Years Eve celebrations were fun, for about an hour, then we went home and played Phase 10. I’m sure we will make more trips to the club events before we leave. They have an exercise class most mornings at 0900. I’d like to take part in that, but can’t seem to get myself moving with this cold to be in public by that time. Yesterday, after we finished up school in the library in the club house, I visited with a gentleman about the benefits and draw backs to homeschooling and how well (or not) homeschooled kids do as adults. He shared some statistics I hadn’t known. It was an insightful conversation. I appreciate meeting these people from so many walks of life, their views and experiences are always interesting. I also had a great homeschooling conversation with Wyatt’s mom. She is using a curriculum we considered (ABEKA) and loves it. I’m storing all this information for when we make curriculum decisions next year.

Taking a break to Kayak

What happens when the fire extinguisher that’s attached to the companionway ladder is activated by the dog going up the ladder. We don’t recommend this.

Another break, checking to see whose legs are longer….

Season 1 Jamie and Season 2 Claire overseeing the activity.

Falcon gives his approval of the new mattress topper.

Playing a game before church.

Happy New Year!

Right~ so, while I am getting whiny about sitting here not sailing, we are networking and making friends and learning from other sailors. We have made acquaintance with 2 separate people because of the dogs, alone. Weimaraners stand out and draw attention. Something we have learned with the dogs on board, is that not all stowage areas are dog proof…… Hard lesson learned.

So~ until next time~

Slainte’

T-6

We are in the 1 week count down for leaving South Dakota for the boat for the next 6 months. This last few days has been constant review of lists. Provisioning list, general packing list, how bills will be paid, what bills there are, having the dogs taken care of to get into the Bahamas, having the camper ready to be left while we are gone and most importantly spending time with family we won’t see for awhile. Of course, we are trying to do school in the midst and Christmas is around the corner.

Last week we were in the Bahamas on a vacation that had been planned before we owned a boat or had a definite plan. It was nice to relax without all the preparation we have been doing. Mike has barely been home (in SD) as he has been working the ER in Pierre then travelling to the boat, otherwise. He has been working like crazy and I was so happy he had to take a break- he needed it.

As for goodbyes, my very sweet Bible Study group had a bon voyage party for our last night of study. We made sailboat tree ornaments and they blessed my with food for the boat. I had complained enough about the provisioning prospects. I strongly dislike shopping and the thought of buying roughly 6 months of food in one trip was making me nauseated! I took home a kitchen sized garbage bag (double bagged) of soup mixes, baking mixes, muffins and more to take! About 50# of food! This was an amazing send off! Of course, we had delicious snacks, as well. One of these ladies won’t be here when we return, so it was a two fold going away gathering. I will miss these Sisters in Christ immensely!

Our Pastor also called us forward last Sunday the congregation to pray over us. What a comfort to know so many people will be lifting us up! We are truly blessed.

This next Sunday we will have a get together with Matthew’s birth family, who have all been like family to us. We will have supper at a pizza joint that has an arcade and the kids can play while the adults visit. We are going to miss these people like crazy!

We had an early Christmas celebration with my brother’s family this last Sunday. They will be traveling to WA state this weekend, so we had to say farewell to them a little early. I’ve always thought Jamie and I were very close, we have some sort of communication daily. He has been away on deployments with the military, lived on the other side of the state, that sort of thing. He now has a lovely wife and beautiful 1 year old baby as well as their older kids and it seems a little harder.

My dad, as mentioned in other posts, will be going with us. The plan is he will spend our first 3 weeks with us on the boat, then fly home. Our son, Sean will fly down and visit for a weekend, then the 2 of them will fly home. Dad will be a help and I will delay a couple of goodbyes for a few weeks. I really am not sure how the full time cruisers deal being away from home…. maybe they already were, so it’s not so jarring?

Mike has seen to Voyager having several updates. I wanted him to do a separate post on all of this, but he only gave me his list. Mike is a man of lists… He has lists for everything. So, take my word for it, he has done a ton of work. There has been a new kitchen sink installed, a big (for a boat) farmhouse style stainless one. The faucet was already a newer one, so it’s overall gorgeous, now. He has gone through countless hose clamps, fixed the windless, repaired the voltage regulator and alternator, flushed heat exchangers, wired the solar panels, built bimini gutters, among several dozen other things. We should certainly be ready to throw off the dock lines! There will be a stop a day or two out for a haul out to paint the bottom, but we should be underway shortly thereafter.

Rain gutters completed

New sink

Old sink

sewing the rain gutters on

making fitting for solar panels on bimini top

rain gutters for water collection

Running the Barnacle buster- began as clear water, now coca-cola color.

Matthew began taking guitar (for the 2nd time) about a month ago. Last night he played his first recital. He has done well and we look forward to his playing on the boat. He still plays piano and has practiced that everyday at the house when we are doing school. I love to hear him play and hope he will continue into adulthood.

Matthew will also be in charge of some posting as part of his writing assignments. Look for these special blogs in the future.

I think I’ll go ahead and close out here. There’s probably more news, but I’m short on attention span. I would like to write more regularly as we go as I would like to see our growth while sailing. I know there is so much to learn and comfort to be gained. Bare with us 😉

Until next time~ Fair winds

Here are my precious people-