On A New Tack

 Key West Boat Show and Additional Information on the Vision Yachts 444 Summary We had a great trip down to Key West (okay, actually it was the next island up; Stock Island). The Stock Island Marina Village and adjoining Perry Hotel are absolutely beautiful.  If you are in the area and need a place to stay (and have the means!), it is a great resort.  We were fortunate in that we booked it early for the event and got the room at 1/3 the price it was the week leading up to the boat show.  Admittedly, it was Spring Break, so that may be their peak price for the year for all I know. We had spoken to Tommy and Amy from Sail Away Catamarans a few times before the event and even had a chance to speak with Thomas and Terri, the owners of Kon-Tiki ahead of time too.  What an absolutely great group of people! Additional Information

We Launched our YouTube Channel! We recently launched our YouTube Channel and posted our first video!   Here is the link to your channel . Here is the link to our first video . Check 'em out and let us know your thoughts! Sue and Mike

Friday, April 11, 2020 This weekend was supposed to be the Easter Cruise to the Beaufort, NC docks BUT, that got canceled because that town doesn’t want us. So instead of that, we’re doing some maintenance that’s been on my list for a while, namely replacing the coolant pump on the engine. Everyone that’s ever worked on a boat will tell you that everything takes twice as long as normal. Well, when the town your boat is located in is on a Covid-19 lockdown that prohibits non-residents from basically going into town, that makes things even more challenging. Fortunately, everyone in the boating community in Oriental is awesome and willing to help as they can. So we can still call businesses, place an order, give a CC number and they will deliver to your slip! Shout out to Pat, Lori and Teresa at IWPC, and Jim at Bow to Stern Boating!! The front of the engine had some surface corrosion and missing paint, seemingly from leaking coolant at some point in her past. While the pump...

What will hopefully be the only Annual Update Given that aside from healthcare workers, grocery store/food delivery chain employees, the entire planet suddenly has a lot more free time, what better time to try to get in the habit of updating this Blog! Going forward, I'm going to create at least three types of posts, which can be filtered on the right side, under "Pages".  The current three are Sailing Related Posts - Kind of obvious General Posts - Basically all posts that are not sailing specific Technical Articles - For the dorks out there So what's happened in the past year. Found and bought a boat (1997 Beneteau Oceanis 40 CC in New Bern, NC) Moved it to Oriental, NC "The Sailing Capital of NC" Amazing place, BTW.  Great for a weekend trip.  People are super friendly and it is super relaxing to go there. Had it "on the hard" (out of water) at Deaton Yacht Service to do some work, bottom painting, etc. Named it Betelgeuse. ...

We've sailed a few times, we want to sail more and we want to find out if we can actually live on a boat. After speaking with Jim at Bow to Stern Boating, we had learned that they would like to be able to have a 38ish foot monohull to add to their charter options. This is an interesting size boat.  It's plenty large enough to have a comfortable salon and galley, a nice cockpit, two decent size cabins and long enough to be able to reach a respectable speed (see my Tech Article to learn more about boat speeds ), but not so long that it is hard to find a dock and not so deep a draft that would make sailing it in the shallow waters of the Pamlico Sound a problem. The one notable downside is that in that length it is usually not quite long enough to have 2 heads, and at the end of the day, everyone wants their own bathroom! So, I went onto a few sites to start looking for used boats, surprisingly, quite old used boats (that happen to have been well taken care of).  Yac...

Wow, very delayed in posting this; got stuck in "Drafts". End of an amazing trip We ended up doing some work from the saloon in the morning on our laptops, packed up our belongings and tidied up our cabin and then we all headed to West Marine and Sailorman before being dropped off at the airport.  The flight back to Raleigh was easy and Chuck and Lucy were happy to see us a day early.  Reflecting back on this trip, we learned quite a few things, aside from just building our sailing skills.  First, Sue and I don’t get seasick easily. Second, we never felt claustrophobic or like we didn’t have enough room.  Third, the Leopard 45 is a beautiful boat and I could easily call it home.  Fourth, Bob, Melinda and Andy were super easy to spend a week with on a boat (and we’re looking forward to circumnavigating Vancouver Island next year even more!) Fifth, and most importantly, this trip didn’t push us off of our retirement plan; if anything it ha...

Wow, very delayed in posting this; got stuck in "drafts". Favorable Wind!!! This was a great day to be sailing!  We were able to leave No Name Harbor with daylight, so we were able to take the tighter, quicker path out to the Atlantic, passing behind Stiltsville.  We decided to sail ESE to the 3 mile line to empty the holding tanks. We then turned North to head up to the cut at Ft. Lauderdale. The wind was variable, but was mostly coming from the NW, given us just enough angle off the wind to be able to sail along the Southern Florida coast without having to tack too often.  We played around with the auto helm and learned how to use the auto tack feature, which let us press one button and switch to the other “side” of the wind, the same angle off the wind. We would press the button, then easily move the Genoa from one side of the boat to the other, quickly and easily right from the helm.  The trip took about 6 hours but only required a few tacks. We ...

Calm seas, but head-on winds After a very refreshing night of sleep in an actual bed (not on various spots in the cockpit and saloon), we woke up early to another beautiful day!  We did our morning checks of the engines, cleaned the raw water strainers and had breakfast. We pulled up the anchor, secured it and the bridle and started our trip up the outside of the Keys.  Our plan was to get to No Name Harbor , located at the very bottom of Biscayne Bay, just South of Miami. This was one of our stops during our ASA sailing school and is a great anchorage.  This day was pretty uneventful.  Even though the trip from Boot Key to Biscayne Bay requires a gradual turn to port for the entire trip, the wind magically made the same turn and we motored the entire way.

Exciting! Time to actually hit the water!! (or did the water hit us...) 7am  and we were up and at 'em! Melinda made some delicious egg and asparagus scramble that we had on a tortilla, along with some diced melon.  The folks from American Yacht Outfitters were back by about  8am  to get the last few things done.  They wrapped up the rest of the items from their punch lists, the water tanks were topped off from the dock pedestal and we were heading to the fuel dock right around about 9:30am.  Right when we wanted so we could have the best/longest wind for our sail.  Nick, from the outfitters, took the helm to bring us to the fuel dock and after about 50 gallons of diesel, the half full tanks were topped off. Bob did a great job of getting us out from the fuel dock and back to the narrow channel to Charlotte Harbor, which we would take to get to the Gulf of Mexico.  The plan was to motor until we got out to open water in the Harbor before raisin...

Vendors meeting deadlines and submersible docks The trip to help move of friends Leopard 45 from Jacksonville to Ft. Lauderdale started with a flight down to Punta Gorda Airport.  We left the ground in Raleigh just in time to avoid the early AM thunderstorms that were forecast to become possible PM tornadoes. When we landed at PGD airport, Bob was already waiting in baggage claim to pick Sue and I up (which was super nice).  We then went to do perishable provisioning for the trip and divided and conquered the shopping list.  As we were driving to the Burnt Store Marina, Bob warned us that there were a number of people on the boat, trying to get things like their vinyl enclosures and cushions squared away before they departed.  They had been promised that everything would be done by that Friday.  They got close to completing on time. SV Counting Stars at the Burst Store Marina Our cabin (Port Aft) On the plus side, the folks working on the boat,...

It's been a month and we haven't been on a sailboat, what do we do? Ever since our Learn to Sail vacation, we have been thinkin about another opportunity to sail.  We still had the potential to sail on S/V Counting Stars in April, and a possible trip with Lisa and Jesse to the BVIs, but that wasn't for a while, so we had to start looking at other options. A Google Search of "bareboat charter NC" returned a few results, one of which was Bow to Stern Sailing , located in Oriental, NC. They were exactly what we were looking for and they were an easy 2.5 hour drive from our home in Cary, NC.  Oriental is a small town on the Neuse River, a brackish tributary to the Pamlico Sound.  The Neuse River, which starts as a small freshwater river in Raleigh becomes a 2+ mile wide body of water by the time it reaches Oriental and the area sees great wind for sailing. We called and spoke with them and I wasn't sure if the ASA certifications would be enough, but after a...

At 7:45am we woke up to the sounds of voices in the cockpit of the boat.  Voices that we didn't recognize. Long story short, the Captain stayed out very late (4am-ish), eventually walked back to the boat, but "decided" to stop and take a nap on the front lawn of someone's house.  After his nap, we woke up and called an Uber to take him back to the boat, not quite sure of where he was.  It turns out he was only a 5 minute drive to the boat. Oh, and then there was Charles, he was one of the voices we heard in the cockpit, along with two others, all of which returned to the boat at 7:45am.  Charles was probably a little drunk, but his two drinking buddies were pretty well gone. It took some time to get rid of them, but after we did, we had breakfast, had a quick review and then took the final test for ASA 104 (we scored 95 and 99). We were 101, 103, 104 and 114 certified! We cleaned, packed up and said our farewells to the Captain, Charles, Caroline and "A...

Day 6 was the trip back up to Ft. Lauderdale.   We started the day early and were all eating breakfast before 8:00am. After breakfast we performed Engine Checks.  One of "About Time's" engine was new, the other was original.  It was quite easy to tell which was which (both visually and audibly). After the engine checks and topping off the oil in guess-which-engine, we took the ASA 114 test.  I got a respectable 94%. Before leaving the Harbor, we did some close quarter motoring drills and then left the harbor and  turned south to go around the Southern Tip of Key Biscayne. After getting just beyond the bottom of the Key, we turned, raising the sails and headed out to sea for a mile or so, then turned north to head towards Ft. Lauderdale. We had great wind and the benefit of the Gulf Stream, so we were moving along at a very respectable 10 kts! Eventually the wind shifted and weren't getting quite as much speed, but I ended up at the helm fo...

Another strong breeze for another great day of sailing! No test today, so we just had sailing and MOB (Man Over Board) recovery practicing.  We left from our mooring ball with Sue at the Helm and took us expertly out of the narrow channel, especially given the current and wind, which was stronger as we left the protection offered at the mooring ball. Captain Keith gaves just a destination and asked us to come up with the plan and the expected ETA.  We plotted the course, factoring in some tacks we would have to take and gave an estimate of 12:15p. We arrived to what was basically a wide open spot out in Biscayne Bay and we started learning and practicing four methods of MOB recovery: Figure 8 - Good if you are in warm water and are not really in a hurry to get the victim back on board and want to go on a bunch of points of sail. Broad Reach/Close Reach - A lot quicker and involves only two points of sale.   Quick Stop - By far the easiest and quickest wa...

This was a great day to sail.  A nice consistent 20 kt wind and otherwise nice weather in Biscayne Bay! So, I had to get up around 3am and re-apply bug spray because the mosquitos were finding me through the hatches we had opened to get some airflow.  I managed to walk up in time to re-apply before beocming light headed from lack of blood supply. I wake up for good around 6am to a beautiful sunrise above the Atlantic visible from across the small, 200yd wide key.   After breakfast, we walked up to the top of the Boca Chita Lighthouse, which is usually closed.  The view of Miami was pretty amazing! I took the helm to bring us out of the anchorage and into the narrow channel as we headed towards Coconut Grove; our next stop. We continued to take turns at the helm practicing points of sail and taking turns grinding the winches and were averaging around 8kts, which is about top speed for a 37 foot catamaran. Sue taking her turn at the Helm ...

Sue and I woke up at about 700 am and I decided to go for a swim in No Name Harbour.  It was a little cold at first, but I fixed that with a lap around the boat. It is a really nice State Park and would be happy to return here! Once everyone was up and moving, we pulled the hook and moved over to the face dock while there was an opening.  Captain Keith made us a breakfast of Pancakes and Sausage.  We gathered up the track on the boat and deposited that while we had the opportunity.   We then took the first our our tests, the written exam for ASA 101.  I aced it at 100%!  We left No Name Harbour around 10:00 and returned to Biscayne Bay were we headed mostly North, tacking back and forth until about 12:30p when we hove to so that we could have lunch. After lunch we all took turns practicing all the points of sail.  For those of you that don't know, that would be: Port Tack, Close Hauled (heading up as close to the wind as possible)...

We woke up early, un-tied and cast off with Sue at the Helm, motoring the 30 minutes down the ICW.  We timed our departure so that we could make the timed openings of the two bridge between the boats slip and the cruise ship port of Port Everglades, where we would access the Atlantic. We entered the Atlantic and turned South to head to Miami.  Unfortunately, the wind was directly on our nose, so it was about 6 hours of motor-sailing along the coast. Sure, we would have preferred to sail, but it was a really relaxing trip and Sue was driving the boat like a boss! After motor-sailing, we entered the Miami area, motored past the Miami Boat Show location and then down to No Name Harbour, where we dropped anchor and stayed the night. FYI, the mosquitos AND the no-see-ums both found me quite delectable.  Grrr. On the plus side, the first beautiful sunset of the trip! - Mike

Saturday night, after being introduced to the boat and each other, we sat down in the Galley and came up with a meal plan and then a shopping list, by grocery store department, for the week to come.  We walked about a half mile to a grocery store, broke up the list and went shopping!  We also walked across the parking lot to the liquor store for some other essentials ;-) With our three carts worth of bagged groceries, we hailed an Uber XL for a ride back to "About Time".  We stowed all of our groceries in the galley, which honestly all seemed to disappear in to so many nooks and crannies.  While the boat lacked in storage in the cabins, there is a surprising amount of storage in the galley/saloon.  We honestly probably could have provisioned for 150 meals instead of the 75 we provisioned for. For dinner, we walked about 10 minutes to go to a burger place called BRGR STOP.  Glutenous menu of piled high burgers and milkshakes, which were really good....

Time to Learn to Sail!! The Boat Show was fun and helpful, but not the main reason for the trip.  What is this sailing thing about anyways?! We started the day (Saturday) in Miami and took an Uber up to Dania Beach to look at a few boats for sale, just to get an idea of what'd out there and see some Leopard 44's currently on the market.  We're currently thinking that getting a 3 or so year old used boat will get us the best value; that's when the depreciation is worst and when the first owner is usually doing upgrades to the boat, that we would likely want or at least appreciate. The Leopard 45s are brand new and are selling at a premium.  Again, we love that boat, except for the 4'11" draft (and the brand new price tag).  The Leopard 44 is almost as nice, available on the used market (sometimes) and has a 1 foot smaller draft.  We looked at two 44s and it was obvious that the mainteance done by the previous owners makes a big difference in the look of...

Miami Boat Show - February 14-19, 2019 - Miami Marine Stadium Miami is not known for being a reserved, sleepy hamlet and that is reflected in the boats, yachts, electronics and people we saw at the boat show! We rented an Airbnb in downtown Miami, right next to the water taxi stop that would bring you to and from the boat show.  Unfortunately, Lisa and Jesse were not able to join us, last minute, because of a new job Jesse had taken that required him to be at the Pentagon for a meeting the Friday of the Boat Show.  Didn't seem like going to the Boat Show was more important than whatever the meeting was about, so we understood their not being able to make it, but were disappointed to not be able to spend a few days with them. Leading up to the Boat Show, we booked some appointments to look at Catamarans like piqued our fancy.  It is possible to schedule an appointment to see a yacht while at the show, but you may have to wait a while, but honestly, booking ahead o...