I’m not sure I ever imagined myself voluntarily heading out into the Atlantic Ocean at 3 a.m. on a 43’ sailboat. But that’s exactly where I found myself on January 4 and I was pumped. Our first destination was Carolina Beach, NC. We planned to sail approximately 65 miles in the ocean and then tuck […]
Three Offshore Hops to Florida Read More »
After traveling for five straight days, we decided to take a few days off to enjoy Beaufort, NC. This is one of my favorite spots along the ICW. There are palm trees lining the ICW, tourists in the streets and dolphins in the river. It is the first place where it feels like we have
We finally left Deltaville for the season on Friday, December 20. We were still waiting on the delivery of our life raft but we decided that we couldn’t wait in Deltaville any longer. We had a good weather window, despite the cold and we decided to take it. Our plan was to try to get south
Beaufort By Christmas Read More »
Getting the engine work wrapped up and moving onto the boat was a big step but we had a lot more planned. We spent the next month and a half working through our long list of projects. The most complicated project, by far, was installing a forward-looking sonar (FLS) system. The purpose of an FLS
Back in the BoatYard, Part 2 Read More »
Pulling into the boatyard, 194 days since we left Alaya in the spring, Lucas and I were very nervous. How’d she fare without us? Was she full of squirrels? Full of water? The boatyard had checked on her while we were gone but this is the longest we’ve ever left her alone. We scavenged a
Back in the Boatyard, Part 1 Read More »
In the sailing world, people like to remind you that a “Sailor’s plans are written in the sand at low tide.” This sentiment is 100% true but it’s one that I, as a planner, have struggled with at various times in our boat journey. My latest struggle happened during our October transition period between island
As you can tell from the past few blog posts, I love Mackinac Island. I loved it from afar for many years as a daytime visitor. After this summer, I can say I also love it as a seasonal worker and resident. Seeing it up close every day for the past six months only deepened
October: Good Bye, Mackinac (For Now) Read More »
Throughout August, our friends and co-workers kept telling us, “Just wait for September. It is going to be so slow and wonderful.” By this time in the season, we were all growing a little weary of peak tourist season. Lucas and I both looked forward to this “Slow September.” Before we could judge September for
A (Not So) Slow September Read More »
I’d like to take you back in time to 1997…I was eight years old living in Chelsea with my parents and siblings. My parents got involved in this community effort called TimberTown, where they helped build an amazing wooden playground about a mile from our house. The preparation took months but the structure was built
Quick Aside: Timbertown Read More »
We learned early on in our time here that August has a reputation on Mackinac Island – Angry August. Who is angry and why are they so angry? We weren’t sure but we were very curious to find out. The month started very busy, with many visitors to the island and the fort. On August
August: Angry or Awesome? Read More »