Return to Seasons

This is the first in a series of posts discussing my favorite boat designs. While my ocean miles are minimal, my opinions about boats are not. From my brief experiences on well-seasoned boats such as Helbent and Sojourner and my time aboard new boats at the Strictly Sail boat show in Chicago this past January, I have managed to compile a pretty lengthy list of needs, wants, and deal breakers for our future vessel. Rather than create a list of desired features, I thought it would be more interesting to create a post about potential boats that might fit the bill, with plenty of visuals and links to examples currently on the market. Whenever possible, I will also link to YouTube to show the boat in action.
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Day 3 was a jam packed day! Check out a bit of footage from the day here. We started with a breakfast of champions – no, not Wheaties, but instead our favorite concoction of scrambled eggs with corn. After an early breakfast, Jeff noticed, and heroically fixed, a near-disastrous head issue. I won’t gross you out with the details, but trust me, this is not a problem you want to have on land or at sea!

I was particularly eager to get going that morning as we were heading out into the Gulf of Mexico where I would get my first ocean sailing experience. We spent about a half hour getting the boat packed up tight for our adventure, being sure to store everything that could fly around in choppy water in lockers or settee storage.

On our way out to the gulf I asked Jeff to give me a few demonstrations on sail changes so that I could have some hands on experience maneuvering the vessel under sail. The first thing he taught me was how to tack and jibe. Continue reading →

After waking up from a strange end-of-the-world nightmare, complete with zombies and nuclear holocaust, I was quickly transported back to reality. The pleasant realization that I was not destined to be food for the undead, but rather, would spend the day on a quiet mangrove-covered island became quickly apparent when I crawled out of the companionway and caught site of the anchorage we had navigated into at dusk the previous evening. To our starboard side was a small key bustling with pelicans. To our port side was Cayo Costa, a densely forested island with a small boat dock and ranger station. Off our stern an impassable opening to Pine Island Sound. Off our bow, a small bay speckled with a dozen or so yachts bobbing in the protected waters.
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Our day began with a leisurely breakfast with Jeff’s parents in their beautiful North Port home. We had spent the night before riding around on their golf cart, drinking rum cocktails and searching for alligators on the golf course abutting their property. Marilyn and Jack (Jeff’s folks) had done all our provisioning for us, purchasing the list of foods and goods we had compiled plus a few special treats (Pyrat Rum rather than Mount Gay and homemade gluten-free chocolate chip cookies!)

As we drove down to the Burnt Store Marina, we passed through miles and miles of urban sprawl. I had never seen so many strip malls! When we got to the gate of the marina, we gave our name and got clearance to meander through a maze of condo lined streets toward our waiting vessel. Jeff went down to the dock first and met with Loretta, one of the crew for SWFY. She showed us where to get buggies to bring our provisions onboard and gave us a basic overview of the boat. Two trips to the car and 2 full buggies later, we had brought all of our provisions and luggage aboard.

Sojouner at the dock

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