Band-Aids, for me and the engine..

Well this morning I got up at 8am and made myself some coffe and got to work. I grabbed my copy of a book by Peter Compton titled "Troubleshooting Diesel Engines" and stuck my nose in it. 

I began to troubleshoot the engine and for the first 4 to 5 hours I had no luck at all. I'd try one thing thinking I had it figured out only to be skunked again by the sound of the Iron Genny turning over and over again but not starting. At one point I got her to fire up and ran the engine for about 45 minutes before it stalled and I was back to square one. 

I'm pretty sure the people on the other moorings were wondering what the heck was going on over here, with all the French words weaving a tapestry of obscenities in the air.  This evening I spoke to the owner of a beautiful cat boat moored behind us and apologized, only to be stopped mid sentence by his wife and given an apology for his tirade while he worked to fix the toilet that exploded on his boat. Ahh the life of living on a boat, even though sometimes "shitty" it's still better than being teathered to land, a mortgage, property taxes and stuck with neighbors you might not like. 

  

So without further delay, here is the video I promised! 

It comes with high blood pressure, busted knuckles, cuts, scrapes, bumps on the head and a whole lot of sweat. I've put band-aids on me and a temporary band-aid on the boat, but it should get us to Marathon where I can deal with the issue of my main fuel cell. (the source of the whole problem)

Ft Lauderdale has been an experience to say the least! The city marina is right next to the Las Olas drawbridge and the operators are hilarious to listen too. They will scream at people every time it opens and sometimes get extremely nasty with people walking. I actually heard a bridge operator tell a pedestrian "hurry the hell up and quit dragging your ass" Now keep in mind this is over a huge PA system. It's gotten to the point where we hear it's about to open and we go on deck to listen to what transpires. 

As a matter of fact Ft Lauderdale hasn't been very friendly at all, the drivers, people in general, everybody seems to have a lot of pent up anger. Today while Colby and I hailed a taxi one of those guys that thinks he is Lance Armstrong decided to try and squeeze between and then got mad at the driver, screaming obscenities and then tore his side mirror off. The driver said sorry and drove away after him. I've heard more horns honked in this city or at least just as many as any other I've ever been in. 

Ft Lauderdale is also not very yacht friendly, with very few anchorages or moorings. The police are a constant harassment to boaters and they just want you to move on, so thankfully tomorrow, hopefully tomorrow, we will. Next stop Miami,,,,,,,,again.. 

Cory 

Marathon Trip.... & Fall

Well we left Indiantown Marina on Thursday morning around 9am after a not so quick stop at the fuel dock, the pump was malfunctioning and it took almost a half an hour to pump 31 gallons of fuel. We got a shove off from several new friends with the promise of seeing them down in Marathon in the next couple months. 

We began down the waterway towards Stuart and made great time, we were excited about going through our first lock and didn't really know what to expect. I had been through a lock in Port Canaveral but it was only a 1 foot difference, this was 14 feet!

Peyton and Jessica took the bow line and Colby and I manned the stern. After a quick hello against the side of the lock wall we were tied up and ready to lock through. It wasn't a big deal and the kids had a blast. 

We continued along and were just about in Stuart when we passed under the I-95 bridge and found a shallow spot just on the edge of the channel. We were motoring and I felt a slight bump, then a larger BUMP as we felt the boat slide up on the shoal, we had officially run aground. Now rather than call for any assistance I wanted to exhaust all other options. I began to work the prop in reverse, then forward while cutting the rudder, had Jess and the kids help me rock the boat while powering etc. Well once we all got in sync we noticed the boat begin to move! We were off the shoal and on our way again. 

We continued along the ICW passing the crossroads at the St Lucie Inlet which was a little confusing, however we navigated through it without a hitch. We finally dropped anchor in Hobe Sound and enjoyed the evening in our own quiet, private cove. We enjoyed dinner and rested while the sun set and our first day was in the bag. 

About 1am I woke up not feeling well (allergies) and couldn't get back to sleep so I set up the charts, guidebooks and laptop on the table and went to work. I charted our next day and was up until 5am writing down coordinates, waypoints and calculating miles etc. I got about an hour and a half sleep and it was time to hit the trail. We awoke to a view outside that was almost like a canvas painted just for us, had a Tervis tumbler full of coffee made and was punching all my hard work into the Garmin chartplotter. We fired up the engine and were back to work making our way down the "Ditch" (The name people give the intercoastal) 

The problem with this route is the amount of bridges you are required to go through requiring you to request an opening and then wait, but actually those bridges are the easy ones since they will open when you call them on the radio. The ones that really slowed us down were the ones that only open on the hour and half hour. They are timed so that a boat going 6kts won't have to wait, which sounds like a great thing, except when going south and fighting the current our boat was only doing 5.4 so it meant every bridge we just missed and had to wait idle 25 minutes or so for the next opening. It really made for a long day as we made our way to Lake Worth. 

We navigated into Lake Worth and made our way to the Lake Worth Inlet where we were going to get out of the "ditch" and go offshore for a run down the coast. The weather was forecast to be wind out of the SSE at 9mph and when we got out there that's about what it was. We raised the sails, fell off on a port tack and began the long sail down the coast. 

The plan was to sail until just before dark, drop all sail and have Jessica motor along into the evening while I got some sleep. As we sailed along I figured out the Auto Pilot and it was working great, this would make the trip much easier meaning watches were really just looking out for shipping traffic. The kids were enjoying the sites, waves and flying fish, it was a great start for their first time out in the open ocean. If only we knew then what was in store for us..

We sailed along and about 4:30pm I decided to pull the sails down and get a little sleep while Jess took over and just kept an eye out for ships, buoys, markers etc. When I untied the main halyard and gave it slack I expected it to drop into the Mack Pack like it's suposed to, only to find it would not budge. "Oh well I'll just pull it down by hand"... Negative... It was getting dark and figured we could do main sail and motoring and Jess would still be fine for a few hours while I caught up on sleep. I laid down briefly but shortly after I was up again, I felt like I slept for hours but it was barely a an hour.  

When I came up I noticed the winds were increased and the waves were a bit choppier and steeper. I got behind the helm and we motored as the sun completely faded. Jess and I sat in the cockpit and took it all in as we sailed along looking at the lights glowing along the shoreline off in the distance. About 10pm there was a dramatic change in weather, with both with wind and waves,  and by change I mean a dramatic increase in both. Before I knew it we were clocking 17kts consistently on the meter and here I was with a stuck fully battened main sail in the up position unable to reef the sail or bring it down. The wind had also shifted more to the south and we were no pounding straight into the seas, which makes for a rough ride. At this point the seas had increased to a steady 4 ft but with no time between sets, but we were pounding along. We sent the kids below and told them to get ready for bed, they were out in a few minutes even with the rough ride. 

Just before midnight things worsened yet again and I was determined to get the sail down and put on my harness to go forward. I tied myself off and worked my way forward in the dark as the bow punched through the waves like a heavyweight boxer, splashing me wave after wave as I tried everything I could to get that sail down. In defeat I returned to the cockpit and untied myself and began to wonder how this was going to turn out. 

While it wasn't ideal we were moving along and were just off the coast of Miami when Jessica went below to check on the kids, just as she was about to come back up the engine began to suddenly power down then died. I made a couple attempts at restarting the engine, even though I knew the effort was going to be futile. After a couple halfhearted tries I put Jess behind the helm and went below to see what I could do. Well after checking the oil, lines, belts etc I couldn't see a problem. The seas were really too rough and working with a headlight wasn't making things any easier. 

I came up as Jessica was trying her best to keep the boat on course but things were getting worse yet again. So here we are with the faint lights of Miami in the distance, offshore with a stuck main sail and now a dead engine. Waves were 4 to 6 feet now and the audible sound/roar as they were breaking was not a sound I wanted to hear. After doing everything I could I decided the best thing would be to call SeaTow. SeaTow is a service like AAA where you pay a membership fee and towing, fuel delivery, ungroundings and help are given without out of pocket expense. 

I placed my first call for assistance at 1:18 am. 

I gave my gps location, nature of emergency, souls on board, all wearing life jackets and any other information she needed. She then put me in touch with SeaTow Miami and that's where the frustration began. SeaTow Miami said I was at a county line and should actually be Ft Lauderdale SeaTow even though we were much closer to Miami. I was then pawned off on SeaTow Ft Lauderdale, who said I should be assisted by the Miami office. "Let me call you back" the women on the phone said as I began to steam. I waited for 15 minutes while I tried my best to keep the boat on course and then made the decision to turn around, run with the wind and make for Ft Lauderdale to solve the jurisdiction problem for them. I spun the boat around and began to backtrack the 20+ miles for Port Everglades. 

Even going with the flow, so to speak, the seas were rough and we were surfing down waves far larger than any forecast or weatherman had predicted. 

SeaTow finally called back and still didn't have any answers, until I informed them I was already halfway back to Port Everglades. I was put on hold again for 5 minutes, then told "can I call you back?" At this point I'm about done with this whole process but replied with a very short "sure" 

We were less than 5 miles from the port when I decided to contact them via VHF radio and hailed SeaTow on channel 16. We were told to continue our way to the port but to stay offshore and not to come in until they had a boat on the way. ETA 45 more minutes. We arrived at Port Everglades around 3am and were fighting the best we could to not get sucked into the Gulf Stream as it tried it's best to swallow us. 

Things had reached critical mass at this point. I was tired, beat down, cold, wet and more than anything mad. I was mad at myself for putting my family in this position, mad at the weatherman, NOAA weather radio, Windfinder etc, but most of all plain pissed off at SeaTow. The waves were a consistant 6 feet with an occasional larger wave. We were doing our best to shield ourselves behind a huge cargo ship when we heard a loud roar. We looked to port and saw something white roaring at us, it was a breaking wave from another direction and far larger than the other waves. As we sat there in awe of the backhand the Atlantic was about to give us, we looked up in amazement at the height of this thing. It was as if time slowed down and we both knew this wasn't going to be good. The white water on the top of this breaking wave was higher than the bimini top on the boat. 

As it hit we heeled over almost sending the mast into the water before she slid under the boat and it came back to center with a violent tossing motion. I gave another call to SeaTow on the radio and wasn't exactly nice, just as another large, yet not as big wave heeled the boat over. The kids were riding this out below and doing great. At no point did either of them get sick, act scared or seem upset at all. Colby later told us he was listening to the song "Sail" by Awolnation on his Ipod as it lifted off the pillow and floated over his head landing on the other side. 

Just as I was at the breaking point I saw navigation lights heading our direction. A small inflatable Zodiac came speeding over and said "Evening Captain, need some assitance?" "YES SIR!". 

John (the SeaTow Capt) gave me a bridle and told me I would have to go forward and attach a line to each side of my bow. This wasn't an easy task with the bow dipping underwater with every crashing wave, but it had to be done. I put on my harness, tied myself in and made my way to the mast. I slid along the lifelines as I climbed over the dinghy we had lashed to the deck. I took the lines he threw and began to attach them to the cleats on the bow. As I was attaching the second one I felt the boat dip and my legs were in the ocean, a wave had swallowed the bow of the boat and I was knee deep in Atlantic water. The force tore the second line from my hand and my heart sank as it faded into the dark water. The SeaTow Captain somehow got it to me again and after a couple more tries and a few more dips in the drink the line was secured. He hopped on the radio and said "Captain don't worry, I've got you now" 

We talked on the radio as we tried to figure out where to put a boat with stuck main sail. There are very few anchorages or moorings in Ft Lauderdale and we made our way through the channel with our crippled boat in tow. Once inside the weather calmed, protected by the land and buildings. I figured this would be a great time to try again to get my sail down. I went forward and tried again, same result.. "damn" then I had an idea! I had Jess get me a spare line and throw it up on deck. I ran the line through the first reefpoint and back down the other side, grabbed both ends and basically sat and put my weight into it. There was the sound of something popping free, something hitting the deck after falling down and then the best sight ever, the sail coming down. It still didn't exactly fall down, I had to muscle it every inch, but I was able to get it down. I then requested to be towed to the city marina so I could attach to a mooring ball. He pulled us up to it, I hooked it with the boat hook and secured it to the boat. At this point I collapsed on the deck and just sat there for a second. 

John tied up to our boat to do the paperwork and we thanked him several times for coming out to get us. When I signed the paperwork I looked at the total, 1,294 dollars! However since I had spent the 169.00 prior to departure for the yearly membership my cost for the tow was 0.00 

After he left Jess and I sat there for a minute and I passed out in the cockpit. I awoke and went below to find them all passed out as well. At that moment I realized how lucky I am and what a special family I am lucky to be blessed with. I began to fall back to sleep, securely tied to the mooring ball and listening to the sound of the water lap against the hull as I passed out. 

We awoke and I rowed the dinghy across the Intercoastal to the city marina office. I spoke to the dockmaster and signed all the paperwork to stay for a few days. We were talking about the ordeal I just had and he pointed to a large commercial fishing boat that was at the end of the dock "those guys came in too, took a wave up on the fly bridge and knocked out most of their electronics" I made my way over and talked to the Captain, he said from what he could tell the waves were around 6 ft with occasional 8 footers and one that hit them broadside was close to 10. I told him what happend to us and he said "glad we are both here to laugh about it" We shook hands and I headed back to the dinghy to pick up Jess and Peyton. 

So here we sit in Ft Lauderdale at Los Olas Marina, safely attached to a mooring ball as I work on trying to repair both the engine and the sail. My main concern is getting the Yanmar 3gm30f running and getting us out of here, even if it has to be via the ditch ;-)

I'll update again tomorrow with the progress I make, if any! Hopefully it will be with a video of the engine running. For now cooking up some chili in the pressure cooker. Nothing like chili in 8 minutes!

Cory

Santa Is Not The Only One Making A List

So as Santa is making his list and checking it twice, I'm making a list of my own and just trying to check some of the things off. Our departure date is up in the air and could be anytime between Christmas day and January 4th depending on equipment and my ability to get the boat ready. There are far more things involved in making a trip like this than you would think if you've never done it before. It's quite daunting actually and the smallest mistake could turn out to be a big deal. 

I've looked over maps, charts, cruising guides (Thank God for Skipper Bob's ICW guide) and planned a route using paper charts, websites, GPS coordinates and a little bit of guessing. We will be doing a mixture of Intracoastal Waterway and going "outside", this will be the first time Jess and the kids have been offshore so I will wait for a good weather window to make it not terribly traumatic. Then we make the run from Lake Worth down to Biscayne Bay before heading in to the West side of Key Largo. From there we take the West Side of the Keys to either Channel 5 bridge or come in and under 7 Mile bridge into Boot Key. 

Each day I make a To Do List and try to check off as much as I can, hell sometimes I even write one or two things on there I've already done just so I can cross them off right away. Yeah, yeah I know, but it really does help me get stuff completed. Tomorrows list includes

1. Run Jib Halyard

2. Grease Pulleys 

3. Fill Water Tank

4. Test Holding Tank

5. Operate Windlass

6. Check Bilge Pumps & note GPH

7. Jack Lines for offshore

8. Post Ads for both cars on Craigslist

9. Clean Decks & Cockpit

10. Rewire Port Navigation light

That should end up being a full day, but I can't tell you how much fun we are having doing all this work. Tomorrow morning we also have to say goodbye to more friends as they head out on their adventures, but I'm sure we will run into them again soon. Dan and Linda (see blog post below) are making the trip to Key Largo and are leaving around 9am. Today Dan and I ran into Stuart and did some shopping at the hundred dollar store (West Marine) as well as grabbed some last minute items around town. I had some needed safety equipment as well as new paper charts I wanted to have on the table before taking off. 

Last night we went to a cookout here at the marina and some of the guests set up a PA then played some music. Our friend Claude played guitar and fiddle while his wife Michelle (They are from Quebec) played keyboard. Colby and I got up and played a bit and I ended up sitting in with them for some Beatles, Dylan and Eagles songs. It's amazing how music finds me wherever I go, even in the middle of Florida ;-)

So that's it for right now folks, mostly just getting ready for the trip to Marathon. Testings systems from batteries to the new pressure cooker. I filled the propane tank today and we made some Matzo ball soup on the stove to test it out. Anchored out we shouldn't feel like we are lacking whatsoever, we have everything to be self sustainable. That brings me to number 11 on my above list, make another list for provisioning! Food, drinks, soap etc. I swear it never ends.. Actually I hope this all never ends.. 

Merry Christmas!

Cory

New Boat & New Friends

Here we are almost a week later, finally settled in our new boat Kainoa (Ky Noah). The amount of work organizing everything that came with the boat was staggering, I think I have a list of spares so complete if you gave me a hull and some sails I could build another boat! We have spares for spares, extra alternators, starters, belts, filters, impellers, pumps, as well as boxes and boxes of stuff like adhesives, glues, lubricants, wire, meters etc. All of this was delivered to the dock after we officially bought her, in a minivan packed from floor to celling. (with the seats removed)

Everything is now organized and it's location written in a binder as well as in the process of being put in the computer so I can hit Command F and locate whatever I need in seconds. This system added quite a bit of time to the storing of everything, but wow is it all worth it. 

There will be more pictures to come, but for now here is Kainoa

Kainoa is a 1979 Watkins 36A Aft Cockpit Sloop

Finally having things organized also allowed us to entertain some new friends and we invited the first guests onto our boat. Dan and Linda have been working, planning and saving for almost 10 years preparing for the trip they are now on. They are taking their boat a 26 McGregor to the Exumas after a brief stop with friends in Key Largo. Dan commented the other night while sitting around the campfire "People I know always say "ahh someday I'll do that" and I tell them to show me where someday is on the calendar" We all know that most people will never be able to let go of that fear and just do something. Dan and Linda set a plan and are now executing it, I can't wait to hear how the next few months pan out for them. 

Indiantown is a neat little place filled with people from all over the world working on their boats, helping each other and sharing knowledge. This is more of a boatyard then a marina and we can't wait to get some salt on our skin and let Kainoa stretch her legs a little on the open sea. I'm pretty sure as soon as we find a good weather window we will make the trip down the coast to Marathon sometime after Christmas. 

We will be taking the Intercostal from Stuart down to Lake Worth, but then we will go offshore and make a run down to Biscayne Bay where we will come back in and finish out our run on the West side of the FL Keys before crossing under 7 mile bridge and ending at our home base Boot Key Harbor in Marathon. More photos of the boat will be coming shortly.. 

Lot Of Time Since Last Update And A LOT Of Changes

Have you ever gotten behind in something? Then when you got far enough behind it seemed like you couldn't catch up.. Well that's kind of what happened with the blog over the past couple months but now its time to get back to updating. My last update has come and gone, meaning we had purchased a new boat and it's now sold to someone new. I'll try to condense the timeline and catch it up now. 

We had gotten sick of the houseboat and really wanted a small sailboat we could take out sailing more often. Red Solo Boat was placed for sale and sold to friends of a friend of ours (stay with me) at which point we purchased a 1977 Coastal Recreation Balboa 26. "Roxy" had been owned by some other friends of ours Bob and Beth and she was a beautiful classic Lyle Hess designed boat. This became the kids school, bedroom and pretty much their boat. She sailed well and was more balanced than anything I'd helmed. 

In late Oct we took a trip to Key Largo and stayed at the Key Lime Sailing Club (KLSC). KLSC has cottages that come with a 22ft sailboat that is yours for the week along with kayaks, snorkel gear, bicycles and just about anything else you can think of to keep you occupied. Of course we were there mostly for the sailing and enjoyed multiple days of pods of Dolphin swimming with us, 5 hour long tacks, Manatees, Mangrove Kayaking etc. The days flew by and we only left the resort on the last day to take the kids snorkeling at John Pennekamp reef. Both of them dove and didn't want to leave, even after 4 hours in the water. There is a trip report for KLSC coming in the next couple weeks on another blog I started for my travel photography and writing, I'll post a link for that blog soon. I will be posting travel reviews, reports and am trying to submit several of my short writings to larger publications. 

We also stopped by Marathon City Marina at Boot Key and spent the afternoon (election day for time reference) exploring the marina and local area since this is where we would like to call home once all is said and done. 

When we arrived back in TN I don't think any of us actually came back mentally, especially me. I became determined to find a way to get back as soon as I could and was obsessed with shortening our timeline once again. Now keep in mind we had started with a 5 year plan, which was promptly reduced to a 3 year plan, then a 2 year. So here we were in the 2 year plan but I was hell bent on getting out of here far sooner. 

I was actually having a rough day, slightly depressed, it was raining and I was hatching a scheme to get us down to Florida when I came across and ad looking for a crew member  "1 Crew member needed for one way trip from Port Canaveral FL to Puerto Rico. I thought to myself "This is it!, a chance to get some real offshore experience before I set off with my family" I sent a message and waited for a reply. I mean I actually sat there and waited for an hour or so, checking my email every few minutes with excitement, only to be let down like the kid in the movie A Christmas Story. (damn no decoder ring!) Anyway 3 days later I received an email then a phone call and within a day I had accepted the spot, bought a plane ticket and started packing. Funny thing is I had no time left to take at work, didn't ask at that point for a leave of absence and did not have the slightest clue what the hell I was doing. I did know that in less than 7 days I was leaving to go offshore on a 9 day trip. 

I think sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission and in this case lucky for me it worked out, but if only I knew what God had in store for me on this trip. This trip is also being written about and will be a short story when it is finished. I kept logs of the trip with coordinates and wrote about everything I saw, felt and did. This should make for a pretty good writeup once I get it finished. I also have hundreds of photos from the trip to go through and to be honest it's almost become a full time job keeping everything documented. After returning from my trip I tried to get settled back into "normal" life and did my best to just deal with the fact it was getting cold, I was getting old and I needed to be free. 

This brings us up to where the story gets good.

Since getting diagnosed with cancer my life has undergone a dramatic change, my views have changed my zest for life has increased and my desire for self sufficiency and freedom is at an all time high. I have also learned that God has a plan for me, if I follow his plan things go amazingly smooth, if I don't it gets a little bumpy. When I feel like there is something I should be doing I do it,  I leap without asking questions or why, and since this began I've been amazed every time with how it all just turns out. 

Saturday Dec 7th there was a knock on the cabin top and in the rain stood a stranger. "Can I help you?"  I said, wondering who this guy was and why he would be knocking on my boat. "Is this boat for sale?"  he said, to which I replied "Not really, but it could be if you are serious and buying".... Well within the hour the man reached into his front pocket and said "I'm not sure why, but God told me to put a blank check in my pocket today and walk up to your boat" There on the bow he wrote a check out for the asking price of our baby, his penmanship suffering from the deep woodgrain of her bowspirit. In minutes we had sold Windsong, our plans were put in the blender once again and God had something in mind. 

I had been looking at an Endeavour 32 for sale that was the same exact year and build as ours and belonged to a friend of mine in Pensacola. His boat however was well equipped and had many of the things Windsong needed already done. I gave him a quick call and was crushed when he informed me that the boat had sold that morning as well. "It wasn't meant to be" Jessica said as I began to panic and began obsessively scouring sailboat ads for a new boat. By the end of the day I had sold our 26 Balboa as well and we were boatless, even if only technically, we had until Friday to vacate. 

Fast forward a couple days, laying in the vberth of our,,, (err I guess actually someone else's) boat I had revisited a sailboat I looked at on Sailboatlistings in the past, and saw they had another reduction in price. Now what we would have in our pocket after selling still wasn't even close to the much reduced asking price, but it was a boat I really liked. To finish this chapter of rambling let me just shorten how the rest happened. 

I made an insanely low offer on this boat, spoke to the owner and explained who we were, what we were doing and what we were using the boat for. I got to do this all prior to him receiving the offer from the broker. I explained why I offered the number I did and how it wasn't meant to be a low ball offer but an offer of everything we had saved. About an hour later I got a call from Gordan saying "My wife and I want your family to have this boat, she feels like your family needs it" Once again divine intervention? Our offer was less than half of the original asking price and somehow we had a buyers agreement, we sat in amazement wondering "Now what?" 

Here I sit exactly 10 days after that knock on the cabin door in Indiantown Florida, on our new boat a 1979 Watkins 36 Aft Cabin writing and updating the blog with a whole lot of real news. We packed up our cars Saturday afternoon and without thinking just moved to Florida to move onto a boat we had never even seen in person. Crazy? Yeah we've got a few screws loose I'll admit, but damn it sure feels good to be crazy sometimes, especially when it's warm outside and I'm soaking up sunshine with a pair of shorts in December. 

So to close this up. 

WE DID IT, WE MADE IT! 

More on the crazy adventures of the Young family coming in the next few days. 

Cory

Big News, Smaller Space!

Posting from the phone so I'm keeping this short, but we have some news to share and will be posting more shortly. *hint* it involves a new boat :-)

Too Tired For Pictures

No pictures this update but we did a much needed cleaning day on Windsong that included a lot of scrubbing, vacuuming, sweeping and a mess of teak oil. But after an entire day spent sprucing her up she is shining like a new dime and ready to sail, the only problem is there is no wind today! 

Colby and I will be performing at Mama's Java in Nolensville,TN tonight at 8pm for the Nolensville Music Night. I'll put up some pictures and video from the night at a later date. 

Adios 

School Is Now In Session

Well we finally got all the curriculum and supplies for school and yesterday was the "first day" Colby is in the 8th grade and Peyton in the 2nd. Well lets just say homeschooling is not easy for anybody, all of us were struggling with getting started and figuring out a routine. 

Well I'm happy to say that even though Colby made the comment "this sucks, just put me back in public school" and Peyton stormed off mumbling something about me under her breath that I'm pretty sure involved smothering me, the day ended well and we got a lot sorted out. Today I found out they finished their work before 1pm and were relaxing with a different attitude then they had the night before. So they started around 8am and were done before 1pm but did twice the amount of work then they were slated to do by the curriculum! 

We are using an accredited school from California called Seascape Center that provides all the books, work books, supplies etc for the entire year all sent to us. We package the work up and send it off for official grading and transcript record keeping around once per month. They get extra credit for activities such as field trips and events, PE can be hiking or paddling the paddle boat around the marina and we can assign extra work for them to send off like reports for credit. 

Their day can be broken up with fishing, swimming, going downtown or just about anything at any time, the flexibility this allows is great and I think it will be a perfect fit for this oddball family.

We are closing in on the 1 year to go mark and I'll be honest it's enough to make your stomach tie into a knot, scary but exciting.

Some pictures of the kids their first day.

Anchors Away, and Away!

Well it's been a month since our last update with much more of the same, which does not leave a lot to report. We are ending our Summer with some cooler weather and overall it's been a great one. Time does appear to be flying by quickly and our 1 year mark is quickly approaching.

Friday afternoon Peyton and I pushed off the dock and motored out from the marina with almost no wind but a close destination, we headed for a nice cove around the shoreline. Shortly after Peyton and I arrived at the cove Jessica and Colby motored in with the dinghy and we setup to stay for the next couple days. Some people from work were having a get together and had decided on the same cove which made it very convenient and meant 2 days of relaxing, so we thought..

Friends of ours Jimmy and Cheryl came out and tied up to us for a long overdue dinner we had promised for helping repair some things on "Red Solo Boat" and we cooked a meal I've aptly named "Cajun Fajitas" which include Andouille sausage, red peppers, green peppers, a full onion and some special spices! Those along with some mixed drinks made in the magic bullet meant I had an extremely early night and was asleep before 9:30, actually I fell asleep in the cockpit while talking with Cheryl and Jimmy. We had a peaceful night that was cool and comfortable for sleeping and the kids slept outside in the cockpit.

Morning came right before the rise of the sun and Jessica and I enjoyed some coffee thanks to a kettle and Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee. Now I have become somewhat of a coffee snob and between the storage and the grinding of my beans only minutes before brewing, I've developed a taste for a good cup of Joe. I didn't exactly have high expectations or much hope for a cup of instant coffee but lets just say it was better than most drip coffee I've had. This means while out sailing I"m sure we will have a section of the boat dedicated to some of these since they are both convenient and easy to store, making daily coffee not a task. After coffee and a breakfast that consisted of eggs & sausage we settled in and enjoyed the sunrise.

We received a text from the person coordinating the EMS/Fire get together and they decided the chosen cove was too far from where the boats were rented. Another cove was picked out but it meant pulling anchor and sailing halfway across the lake to the new cove. There was a slight wind around 5mph and we decided to raise sail and slowly make our way over there. Sails up and rushing along with no sound but the water,,,, well that and me barking orders *whistle* We sailed into the cove with everybody already there and we anchored just off to the side. We enjoyed the afternoon with old friends and some new ones and the day wrapped up around 2pm. Now the forecast had called originally for no rain, but  that afternoon it sprinkled a little and I rechecked the forecast and it said 10% of showers, however the radar showed a system off to the northwest that I thought was odd considering the above. About an hour after everybody left we noticed the thunder and lightning moving in and the sky began to darken. Attempts to recheck the rader were thwarted by crappy AT&T cell service but I could tell this was not going to be good.

We were anchored in about 20 feet of water and I had originally let out around 100ft of rode with our anchor that afternoon since there was hardly any wind. At night I always let out far more than necessary for piece of mind and I went on deck to do it before the weather got to bad. I let out around 150ft of line and closed everything up to ride out the storm. I wasn't familiar with this cove but while swimming earlier I checked the bottom and it was pure muck and silt with no real substance, it occurred to me this could be a problem but at this point we had to let it ride. Right before going below the rain began to fall and the lightning dancing all around us I thought I felt the feeling of drift and the anchor dragging. Jess insisted I was paranoid and we buttoned up the hatch.

After making a sandwich and listening to the howling of the wind, which I later found out topped out around 35 to 40mph, I opened the hatch to check since it had switched direction. Well it's a good thing I did because the direction it shifted (also not the forecasted direction) was blowing us toward shore, and well lets just say shore was less than 30ft away! We were as close to grounding our boat as you could get without doing it! I had Jess open the seacock for the engine intake, Colby flicked on the battery and I had the motor fired up in a matter of seconds. Now there were two critical jobs at this point that needed to be done. 1. keep the boat off the rocks and 2. Get the anchor up.

At first Jess tried to pull the anchor up but it had grabbed ahold of something, which was probably a rock since we were so close to shore, and she couldn't raise it. As we very quickly switched positions Jess took the helm and I began to pull. Now I"m not a little guy and if I throw my weight into something it's normally moving but this anchor was locked down! Pulling a 14,000 lbs boat against a 35mph wind in the driving rain aint fun, and it isn't something I wanna do again. (Anchor windlass is being moved way up the list now lol ) After managing to pull up all but the last 30 feet I had Jess drive over top of the anchor to try and pop it, it finally broke loose and I got the last bit in. The rain was driving so hard it felt like hail and visibility was down to almost nothing. What really makes you mad in the middle of a situation like this, is the fact that the whole reason we had to do it was because the damn anchor wouldn't hold, now it doesn't want to come up!

Maybe it was all the idling, driving in circles or just something that needs to be addressed but the engine began smoking and the snap decision was made to raise sail and kill the engine, after all this is a damn sailboat! I had Jess point us into the wind and I raised just the main sail, once up she fell off to a starboard tack and the boat heeled over hard. Here we were full sail in strong winds but moving away from land. The kids were below and the only thing they had to do was make sure everything was secured and put away so things wouldn't fly around. Not 5 minutes into our sailing we caught a stiff gust and the boat heeled over, that's when I heard Peyton scream as an entire jar of salsa along with a full tub of potato salad took flight in the cabin crashing to the floor.

Then just as quickly as it all started it was over, the winds died down and the clouds parted. Jessica and I looked like two drowned rats, cold, wet and left wondering "What the hell was that about!" The decision was made to head back, clean up the boat and regroup. The rest of the sail back was uneventful and docking was a breeze. We enjoyed the rest of the night with some friends at the dock and all was right with the world.

This was actually a great experience for us and we all did well under pressure, I'm proud of my family and how we got it done when we had to. I'm sure a few years from now we will look back and chuckle at how tame it was compared to what we have yet to face. It's hard to explain but it's moments like this when you truly feel alive, and unless you've had moments of pure excitement you won't understand.......

 

Big update, big fun!

Well this past Monday was a great day of sailing, with consistant winds and blue sky. The kids and I pushed off the dock around 9:30am and sailed her back into the dock around 5:30pm. In between was a great time and the kids did all the sailing! We set off on a port tack and sailed for almost an hour without changing a thing except adjusting a sheet or two here and there. Colby was at the helm the entire time including as we sailed right through the narrow & shallow channel at Andersen beach swim area. The winds swirl and change direction quite frequently in there and with not much room for error it was a challenge. This narrow pass is a challenge for many people that choose to sail in between the land masses, many don't even attempt it. 

After passing through the channel and rounding the island Peyton took over and without much help was able to sail us through past Bear island and Party cove. Peyton was at the helm for quite a while and several times I was below deck and not even up in the cockpit. She is beginning to lose her fear of heeling the boat and is starting to gain much needed confidence in both the ability of the boat, and in herself.

We then anchored in a new cove just around the corner from our marina and spent the afternoon swimming and listening to music the kids wanted ( God help me, I can only handle so much Boy band stuff ) We had a great lunch and the kids and I got plenty of sun and fun. We raised the main sail and I put Colby at the helm while I raised the anchor and we sailed off the anchor and all the way into the slip, pfft who needs a motor ;-)

Several years ago our digital camera broke and we hadn't replaced it, and to give you an idea how old it was I think it was 3 megapixal. Well after much research on the subject and reading I decided it was time to spring for a new one, and considering where we are going next year I don't want just "ok & so/so" pictures of this. I picked up a nice digital camera to help chronicle our trip in super detail, every bead of sweat and every grain of sand ;-) We are now the proud albit confused and overwhelmed owners of a Nikon D5100 SLR camera. These are a couple shots taken yesterday.

Today the kids and I went for a hike that consisted of several miles of rocky trails that we foolishly did all wearing flip flops. We had a great hike and got several shots with the new camera of nature, the kids and some really neat creative shots. 

It was around 100 degrees today and after that hike the kids couldn't wait to hop in the water. It was a great day and the kids are whipped... Of couse so is their father lol.. 

My day..

Today was a nice day to chill out on the air-conditioned boat.

We went out to go and see if we got any mail in the P.O. box and we did get some mail so we now know it is working. 

We went to the Old Hickory Dam and saw the water was stirred up a little bit. We saw the locks and found out where we are going to come out and explained to Peyton how it works.

Then we came back to the boat and we took a long nap.

We woke up and me and Peyton did the dishes in our bathing suits. After we finished we both jumped in the lake then rinsed the lake water off. I cannot wait for dinner tonight, we are going to have fajitas, they will be so delicious.

Tonight we might do some cat fishing and might get a good sized one. Also a 3D movie to watch tonight. I cant believe summer is almost over =,(. But i am glad that we are going to leave in one year, on my BIRTHDAY!! Its a great birthday present!

New plans, new departure date

Well after reading the book "Simply Sailing" it made me realize we will never be "ready", we will never have "enough money" and we are wasting valuable time with our kids while we try to attain those two things. With that in mind Jessica and I have revised our plan and departure date.

Our original plan had us leaving TN on Windsong Sept 28th 2014 which would be soon enough, however not soon enough for us! Our new plan is a departure date of Sept 28th 2013.. That's right 14 months from now!

Our lease here at the current marina expires in April/May at which point we will move Windsong to Old Hickory Lake and to a marina there. Red Solo Boat will be put up for sale and we will live in Windsong as we finish preparing.

We plan on shoving off early morning, Sept 28th 2013 on Colby's birthday with friends, family and any well wishers to see us off. We will be motoring down the Tombigbee waterway through countless locks, twists and turns. The trip to Mobile Alabama will take around 3 weeks or so and we plan on taking our time, after all we have no schedules, clocks or restrictions holding us back from doing whatever we feel at the time. Once we enter the Gulf Of Mexico the options are limitless. This should put us in the area at the very end of hurricane season and give us the winter to enjoy as well as plan what to do next. 

We have talked about doing our refit work in Marathon but recently other options have presented themselves and might be a better choice. Ft Meyers, Merritt Island and a couple others are intriguing as well while we work on the boat and prepare her for the salty drink. Getting the required work done as efficiently and cost effectively as possible is a high priority. 

From there I don't know, but I do know that St Croix is high on the list of places to get our feet wet. It has several advantages for us including being part of the US. This gives us the chance to work a little if we choose and stay as long as we want without any restrictions. 

I guess the clock is ticking, speaking of which it's time to re-oil the teak wood!

GET OFF THE BOAT!

So the weather hasn't exactly been great the past couple weeks with temps over 100 degrees (up to 109) and lack of winds. Well today at 5:30 I woke up to the sound of the halyards clanking in a 10kt breeze. I rolled over, told Jess good morning and then promptly told her to get her stuff for work and get off the boat!. Peyton woke up to the sound of the engine starting as we pushed off from the dock, we waived goodbye to Jess and off we went, just the kids and I. 

We went out and raised the main sail with Colby at the helm, the kids had pulled up the fenders/bumpers, secured the safety lines and stored the dock lines. The weather window was about 2 hours before another front had a chance of moving in and we wanted to make the best of it. After raising the main and getting started we forced Peyton to get up, come topside and then take the helm. Peyton spent the next hour at the helm with very little intervention from me. While sailing we had some cinnamon buns, drinks and just enjoyed a windy day. 

Now Peyton still has some fear of heeling over so we kept it just main sail only without deploying the jib. It kept the boat pretty much upright with very little lean, while slow it was a great way to help her build confidence in her ability. At one point I was inside the cabin up in the vberth while Peyton steered Windsong through a 10kt breeze. At another point I was up at the bow pulpit (very front of the boat) up in the what I refer to as the Titanic scene part of the boat, while I looked back at her. 

Coming in we had a little bit of a incident where the main sail got stuck up as we sailed into the marina, but we managed to recover and it turned out ok, however we did have to start the engine to finish docking. Our main halyard had a bad spot in it where the sheath was worn but the core was fine, well this time the sheath got caught up on the mast and wouldn't let the main fall. So today we will run into WestMarine and pick up a new halyard for replacement, about a 150.00 fix. (OUCH) 

Overall great day with the kids so far and it's only a little after 9am. Coffee on the porch with them and their little cream and sugar doctored cups, then washing dishes and getting the boat all bundled up and ready for the rain that is headed our way. 

So remember, unless your sailing, if there is wind and I haven't been out in a while "GET OFF THE BOAT!" lol. 

Red Solo Boat

WELCOME HOME Colby & Peyton!

We present to you the Red Solo Boat

1970 Gibson Drifter

Well we managed to keep the secret and surprise the kids! When they left for Michigan they had no idea what or where they coming home to live. They were not sure if they were moving into an apartment, house, or a tent, and trying to keep all the secrets we had in store for them was really tough, but it was all worth it in the end. 

My Grandparents brought Colby & Peyton home on the 4th of July, early in the morning. They thought they were coming to the marina because we were hanging out there, they had no clue it was their new home.

So we are adjusting to life on the Red Solo Boat and even better yet, we have moved Windsong directly next to it so we can have more space and privacy when needed *wink*

This move will allow us to cut time off our overall departure and maybe leave much sooner, as well as give the kids a small taste of the life we are moving towards. They spend the days Kayaking, swimming, fishing and of course sailing. They will have the biggest classroom of all, full of adventure, fun and much needed time together as a family. 

We keep pushing towards our goal and finding more ways to get there quicker. So far this journey has been amazing and all along the way things have just been falling into place as if this was what we were meant to do. Thank you to all of you that have been supportive of what we are trying to accomplish with our children and our lives, you are all a part of this.. 

Partner in crime

Fathers day started off with a few errands and a beautiful day on the lake. There was the threat of a little foul weather later on in the day but it turned out to be very nice. Around 1pm I looked at Jess and said "hey lets sail, forget the weatherman!" So less than 15 minutes later we were raising sail and cruising away. We sailed to a secluded cove we have been to a couple times and sailed the boat right into the little cut without a hitch, dropped the sail and turned into the wind right as we dropped the main sail. Windsong's anchor snatched the muddy bottom and got a good bite securing us in place. The water in this particular cove is around 10ft deep and with the chance of bad weather coming I let out 100+ Ft of anchor rode to give me the scope to hold whatever came through.  

We were out there for several hours and watched everything go north of us on the radar. We enjoyed a few beverages, lunch and a dip or two in the lake sans bathing suits! We decided to pull up anchor and sail back to the marina, but at this point the wind had died down substantially. There were a couple good runs where the wind would hit 15 to 20kts for 10 minutes then drop back to 5. They were much better than gusts, I just wish they would have lasted longer. The photos above show a little bit of heel and great sailing. 

Overall one of the best Fathers days ever, the only thing missing were the kids!. They are still enjoying their time up north in Michigan with Grandparents. There is a big surprise coming but it can't be unveiled until they get back so the cat doesn't get let out of the bag early. 

Sailing has been a therapeutic venture for our family and has really brought us closer together, not just in living space (lol) but in our family dynamic. There is so much to learn and there are so many aspects to this sport you could never master them all. I saw a quote once that said "You spend such a short time learning to actually sail and the rest of your life trying to perfect it" Every time we raise the sails we learn something. Either we learn a new skill, trick or we just learn something about ourselves. I have learned that different people learn in different ways and I need to have more patience while passing on what I learn. 

Jessica is just about the best first mate I could ask for, she keeps me on an even keel.. I think every day how lucky I am to have found a women that not only puts up with someone as crazy as me, but is almost as crazy herself, it really makes for an interesting life ;-) Love ya Jess!

Pivot Point

Photo of our boat by Sarah Thurman

Well today is shaping up to be a pivotal day in our transition. We are tying up loose ends at the house, will be having our last garage sale on Saturday morning and we have found a better solution for our living arrangements. There will be more on this in the near future, but it involves the acquisition of another vessel that has a substantially greater amount of room. This will help for storage as well as additional "hang out" space. 

It's amazing how difficult the small things can be like getting kids registered for school. We didn't intend on homeschooling the kids this year and planned on waiting until the next year, however the whole address thing is proving to be a slight issue. We might very well begin doing it this year and will find a structured program to suit our needs. 

Sailing has been great out here and we have been sailing on average 3x per week and there has been an effort to not just sail but to practice anchoring, man overboard drills, sailing into a cove, leaving under sail power after pulling the anchor etc. It's been quite fun and I've had a great time taking on new challenges. 

Jess and I are both missing the kids as they enjoy their summer with Grandparents in Michigan. Now just because we are missing them doesn't mean we aren't enjoying the time ;-) We never really had any alone time after we got married since Jess got pregnant a little over a month after, but we are really seeing what the future holds after having a month without little ones lol..  

Thank God for cancer.

The other day I got an email reminding me I haven't posted in a while, I'm still amazed someone is actually reading this! Plans are moving along and we had a great Memorial Day holiday spent entirely on the boat, though there was no wind and it was stifling we couldn't have asked for a better time. 

As a matter of fact we have all but moved on the boat already and pretty much have no desire to leave. I have been staying on the boat since the 24th and Jess and the kids have been there full time since the 25th, and although life is different, it's not easier, it sure is better. With my schedule of 24/48 it means I feel like I"m on vacation every 2 out of 3 days and I'd say my stress level is almost non existent. Now don't get me wrong there is still stress, but it's not only manageable but it's the good kind!

The kids are out of school and will be spending almost the entire month of June in Michigan split between their great grandparents and Jessica's parents. I hope they enjoy the summers with them half as much as I did when I was a kid.  

The more I adjust to a life of simplicity the more I can't believe it took so long to realize how much stuff rules our lives, how deeply the need to consume is engrained in our society. I can honestly say the more we get rid of the happier it seems we are and the less complicated life becomes. I've found that having "stuff" comes with more baggage and work, and life is hard enough without all of it. 

This journey isn't just about taking a my family, buying a boat and sailing to far away places. It's just as much about becoming closer while teaching Colby & Peyton another way, another way that includes more time for living. Imagine only needing to work half the hours you actually do, having more money available and all that extra time on your hands. It's attainable, you can do it too. Find your dream and then find a way to make it happen. To me seeing the world with my kids and sharing what little time we have is way more meaningful than a new car or TV. 

I've felt the feeling of thinking the end of the road is coming quick, it's made me a different person. All I can say is Thank God for Cancer..