What are we Doing?

They say a sailor’s plans are written in the sand at low tide. Boy, is that true.

Over the past month, our plans have changed about a thousand times. I think Lucas and I know what’s going on but when we describe it to other people, we feel like this…

So for all of our confused loved ones, I’m going to attempt to explain in this post.

First the TLDR version: No Bahamas for Alaya this year. Alaya will be stored in the Chesapeake April through October. Lucas and I will be working on Mackinac Island (Michigan) May through October. Back to cruising in November!

Now the full story. Buckle up!

As we worked our way down the coast, we had the general goal of taking Alaya to the Bahamas this winter. Neither Lucas nor I have ever traveled to the Bahamas but it sounded like a great place to go. We had no idea what actually cruising the Bahamas would look like but we figured we would figure it out as we went.

Central Florida and Grand Bahama Island are only about 70 miles apart, a very short distance relatively speaking. The challenge to the crossing is not the distance, the challenge is the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream is a massive northbound current that flows up the entire East Coast of the US. To get to the Bahamas, you have to cross through the Gulf Stream. There are a lot of places along the coast you can leave from and every sailor has their opinion of what’s best. Wherever you leave from, you must wait for a solid weather window to make this crossing. Any wind with a northerly component will create dangerous waves (wind against current = BAD) and should be avoided. There have only been a few crossing opportunities since Christmas and even some of those have been marginal. As spring approaches, opportunities to cross should become more common but who knows when that shift will occur.

So why haven’t we crossed yet?

There are many reasons, including:

The weather has been crap this year.
We wanted to take our time getting down the coast.
Alaya wasn’t quite ready.
Other things have come up.

How the heck is Alaya not ready? Good question. While a boat is never “done”, there were a few items that we needed to finish before we were ready to cross. A continuing project – the water maker and a new project – the traveler.

Side note: A traveler is a critical piece of hardware that controls the aft section of the boom and mainsail. We noticed on our sail from St. Augustine to Cape Canaveral that the starboard side of the traveler was moving a lot whenever our mainsail luffed in the bumpy seas. We quickly dropped the mainsail and added this repair to the top of our mental to do list. Upon inspection, we discovered there was a significant amount of rotten core in the area of the deck where the traveler was through-bolted. Water had gotten into our balsa core over the years and it had rotted away. This core problem is not unusual for older boats like Alaya and we have already replaced three other sections of rotted core. So, not a season-ender but a pain in the butt.

So, we found ourselves in central Florida in early February at a junction. Do we slam out these projects and head east to the Bahamas? Do we keep going south along the coast to the Florida Keys? Do we just stay in Stuart forever? Do we start heading north?

All were totally valid options. To make matters more complicated, there is the question of our summer plans.

Summer means hurricane season along the eastern seaboard. Per our boat insurance policy, Alaya needs to be north of Savannah from June 1 through November 1 to reduce the risk of hurricane damage. Since we move slowly, like really slowly, we need to figure out our summer plans well in advance.

We’ve decided to pursue seasonal employment to refill the sailing kitty. Top of our list of ideal summer employment is Mackinac Island. If you haven’t been to this beautiful island in Northern Michigan, you need to. It is one of my favorite places in the whole world (we sailed there last summer). We both have always wanted to live on the island for a summer and this year seemed like a great time to try.

During the last week of January, I was offered my dream position working for the island’s state park! This was just the beginning of our Mackinac Island journey though. We quickly learned that housing is a big challenge on the island. Most housing on the island is dormitory style, which for two people living on a boat, isn’t a problem. The problem was finding a dorm where Lucas and I can be roommates. We eventually found a way to live together. Lucas applied, interviewed and was offered a position with the same organization, which means we can room together. We need to report to the island on May 1. We are thrilled!

So, where does that leave Alaya?

After much discussion, we decided that Alaya would not go to the Bahamas this year. We were concerned about getting stuck there with the way the weather has been this year. We also didn’t want to rush our first trip there. It was a hard decision but it was made easier by the wonderful people and facilities in Stuart. We will keep Alaya here for a few more weeks before starting the journey north. Alaya will be stored somewhere in the Chesapeake Bay area while we are in Michigan. We will resume cruising in November, with a 1,000 mile head start compared to this year.

And Lucas and me? Don’t worry about us! We are super excited about our summer plans. Although we would have loved to take Alaya to the Bahamas this year, we are excited to take her next year. We also were lucky enough to visit our friends on their boat in the Bahamas in mid February but that’s a story for the next blog post!