Calico Skies Sailing Archive – Page 2

They say Birds of a Feather Flock Together and that's exactly what transpires in this episode! We are lucky to cross paths with Dan and Kika of @Sailing Uma and like it often happens in the cruising lifestyle we become friends quickly and get right to the ...

In this episode we prepare for Hurricane Dorian. We spend the days leading up to the storm planning - First by scoping out protected anchorages, and then by considering how best to manage potential storm scenarios. Besides just storm strength alone, there ...

In this episode, we say goodbye to Lake Bras d’Or and our summer season. We head out for open ocean and make the 250 mile brisk sail to the South Western tip of Nova Scotia to wait for winds to change in our favor before continuing on. It’s a chilly, ...

In this episode, we say Goodbye to Canada and our magical summer adventure. It’s time to make some miles and when you choose to travel as far and as often as we do, the consequence is that we must keep moving. It’s already past mid September and as sai...

After 2 years and over 16,000 miles, we are back in our home waters! This episode begins with our arrival into Newport RI, where we spend a couple of days tackling the to-do list. Bill works on the outboard and together we load up on provisions. It's then ...

In this episode, we arrive back into our home Port in New York for the first time in over two years. Soon after, we’re headed towards the big apple where we lived for over a decade before setting sail on Calico Skies. Its a whirlwind being back in such a...

In this episode, we tackle the hardest and very WORST thing we've ever done to the boat - And that's including numerous rough passages. We embark on the "removing our rotted starboard bulkhead and replacing it with a new one using fiberglass" project, and ...

So did I kill Bill? How does this story end?? This project was so intense. It really was one of the hardest things we've gone through together. Fiberglassing our new bulkhead required planning, preparation, and precision. While living at anchor towards th...

In this episode, we face late season temperatures after leaving Annapolis two months later than we planned. We begin our journey down the ICW mid December, only to find ourselves facing a haul out early January. Upon leaving, we deal with frigid temperatur...

In this life, we consider 'bad' things to be learning experiences. Whether its a breakage or a tough passage, every challenging situation teaches us and in doing so makes us better sailors, happier cruisers and in many cases, stronger people. In this epi...

What got us through four long and sometimes miserable months of boat work on the East Coast late fall into winter? Dreaming of floating in the incredible turquoise waters of the Bahamas! In this episode, we recover from our treacherous, gale passage in th...

We spent many hours dreaming of the Exumas when we were working on Calico Skies this past fall in Annapolis. With waters rumoured to be even more clear and beautiful than anywhere else in the Bahamas, exploring this new-to-us-territory was a tantalising fa...

In this episode we continue our hop down the Exuma island chain, taking care of some important to-do's as we go: A huge load of laundry and the ever present task of finding wifi good enough to upload a video! Theres no prettier place to take care of thes...

There's a first time for everything and after three years of cruising the Bahamas we finally made it to the fabled Promise Land. Sailing into a new place that we'd heard about for so long was pretty exciting. As we approached, we were greeted by breathtaki...

In this episode we take one epic road trip and explore all that the Bahamas' incredible Long Island has to offer. We fell quickly in love with the place and it's numerous and superb white sand beaches, and magnificent views as we made our way around the is...

In this episode, we sail from Long Island to Water Cay, north of the Ragged Island chain and enjoy perfect conditions with light breeze and the clearest, bluest water we’ve ever seen. We are visited by a dolphin and manage to catch a fish for dinner. The...

In this episode, we travel to the Southern most island in the Ragged Island chain in search of protection from an impending storm. The Ragged's are known for having few islands that offer wind protection from every angle but thankfully, we were able to mak...

In this episode, we travel to the Southern most island in the Ragged Island chain in search of protection from an impending storm. The Ragged's are known for having few islands that offer wind protection from every angle but thankfully, we were able to mak...

In this episode we get down to the business of enjoying what the Ragged Island group is best known for, unspoiled wilderness. After weathering a five day wind storm in South Bay in last weeks episode we are keen to start exploring and get some time in the ...

This episode depicts the early stages of our 'covid experience'. In it, we begin to make our way back up the Ragged Island chain enjoying a beautiful sail with our Code Zero or Gennaker. Upon arriving to our new spot we enjoy a bonfire on a gorgeous white ...

In this episode we experience all the best of what we consider to be ideal Bahamas cruising: Buddy boats to socialize with, friends supporting each other, and all in an incredibly beautiful and largely untouched paradise, abundant with sea life and filled ...

Behind the scenes of cruising life there is a huge heaping pile of kind-hearted souls providing support and helping us through rough patches. These people are always ready to lend a hand with a project or boat fix, give advice, share knowledge and resource...

In this episode we sail up the Ragged Island chain to Double Breasted Cay, a spot we will soon call home for the remainder of our time in the Bahamas (spoiler alert it's a LONG time). We decide to race our friends Ryan and Jerra on our sistership Zinzi and...

In this episode we work out one of the more pressing issues we faced while we were 'stuck' in the Ragged Islands during the pandemic late Spring - How to get food. At the time, the Bahamas had banned inter-island travel which meant that we either had to he...

This episode depicts the birth of the TTYC or Two Titty Yacht Club, a sweet little spot on the beach at Double Breasted Cay that we end up spending a LOT of time at - Beginning in the early days of the Pandemic right on through the end of our Bahamas seas...

Our experience during covid sounds like something out of Gilligan's Island; twelve strangers find themselves isolated on a deserted tropical island for months on end learning to survive and forging life long friendships in the process. Before the pandemic...

The season is beginning to change in the Bahamas where we've been spending our time during the pandemic. In this episode we move out of our anchorage at Double Breasted Cay for the first time in 40 days, a new record for us! We're headed to a birthday part...

This episode marks the beginning of a new chapter, as the Covid Crew begins to disband and go separate ways. We experience some fantastic sailing as we start our long trek north towards the States. Being a particularly windy year we almost always had enoug...

Well, it had to come eventually: The end of an era. We stayed as long as we possibly could, but with hurricane season quickly approaching we have no choice but to say our sad, final goodbyes to the Covid crew and leave the Bahamas, pointing the bow North. ...

We’re headed North and it’s day two of our passage from Flamingo Cay at the top of the Ragged Island chain to the Berry Islands, located at the northern end of the Bahamas. It's mid June and this is a hot, light air trip. Along the way we encounter a U...

Well this is a first for us, Calico Skies is setting out to sea for an eight hundred mile passage without Grace onboard. What?! Ya! In this episode, Grace joins the S/V Delos crew to help sail her back to the US and play with little Miss Nugget. Always up...

This episode opens on night two of our passage from the northern part of the Bahamas to the east coast of the US. For this passage, Grace has joined our friends on Delos as crew and Bill has set sail solo. Together, we’re buddy boating on a northward tra...

It’s day four of our offshore passage north from the Bahamas headed up along the east coast of the US. Bill is about 30 miles offshore from North Carolina when the rod head on the forward lower shroud exploded. He’s sailing Calico Skies solo and Grace ...

When the rod head on our forward lower shroud broke on the fifth day of Bill's solo passage headed North from the Bahamas he had to divert course near Beaufort, North Carolina and head inshore. Grace is crewing on our friends boat s/v Delos and we’re ahe...

In this episode Bill is working on some rig upgrades since the mast is down - It had to be removed because a rod head popped when he was solo sailing Calico Skies offshore the east coast of the US, near Beaufort North Carolina. He begins by removing all te...

It's a big day...after nearly a month of being without a mast it is being re-stepped! We took it down for inspection after the rig failed off Cape Hatteras and while it was down we added an exit point for a second spinnaker halyard and replaced/upgraded o...