After a month in Marathon, we’re nearly finished with our DIY bimini. With just a few more finishing touches, including modifications for the backstay, the radar pole, and the solar panels, we’ll be ready to take off to The Bahamas.
While in Boot Key ...
This is it! We’re off to The Bahamas…or so we plan. After last minute provisioning, we leave Marathon and set sail to cross the Gulf Stream. Even though we’re making good time, beating to windward takes its toll, and we decide to call an audible. For...
“How far are you behind real time?” We get asked this question a lot. All videos online are behind real-time by some amount, unless you’re watching a live stream. Some are more-so than others, and ours no doubt, have a significant delay. Why?
We exp...
Crossing the Gulf is a big milestone and right of passage for any sailor heading south. With a swift northern current churning up extra chop it can make for a bumpy ride. We've heard plenty of horror stories, but know to take all that dock talk with a grai...
Since falling in love with the idea of cruising years ago, Lauren has had one dream: Go sailing aboard our own boat to clear turquoise waters — just the two of us — before having kids.
After two years aboard, sailing Lake Michigan, motoring down the ...
It’s island time, baby! In this episode we take you exploring with Rahm, discover some amazing seascapes off the beaches of Great Guana Cay, cook the best coconut French toast, and start to assimilate to cruising life in the Bahamas.
We also fly our dro...
We’ve arrived at idyllic Elbow Cay, a Bahamian island with a little bit of everything: an adorable little town, a handful of surf breaks, showers, a coffee house, one nicely paved road, rum cocktails, and even a game of bingo.
Of all these things, surf ...
Sometimes it’s nigh impossible to craft the perfect video title. After our struggle with last episode’s title, we think we nailed it with this one. Let us know what you think. ;D
Storms threaten, and a dragging anchor one evening puts us on edge. The ...
Crystal clear water surrounds the islands in the Bahamas, but you can’t drink a lick of it. No surprise, it’s salty. The islands themselves have virtually no groundwater either, so where does it come from? There’s three options: It’s either shipped...
Come along on a POV journey to single-handedly sail Soulianis off anchor. Since the engine wasn’t started, Kirk forgot to check on the dinghy painter—and it all goes downhill from there.
Normally we have our specific roles and routines; but the change...
The weather is changing, and the longer we wait to leave the islands, the smaller the chances become for finding a good weather window. After three weeks of dodging storm front after storm front, we decide to make a dash for it, leaving the Abaco Islands o...
We’re back in the US of A! After arriving in New Smyrna Beach, we make our way north on the ICW to St. Augustine, then hop on bicycles to explore the nation’s oldest city.
It’s storm season in Florida, where small but fierce thunderstorms are whippe...
*** This is Part 2 of 2! Watch Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/BCXG2zYyq2g ***
Just as we’re about to tuck Soulianis away for the summer season, our good fortune with Mother Nature runs out. Did we really expect to get through of all of these storms scot ...
If lightning hits your boat, hope Zeus taps it lightly, like he did Soulianis. After a thunderstorm rolled through St Augustine, Florida, we weren’t even sure if we’d been hit. But the over the next couple of days, we discovered more and more electroni...
It’s tempting to think we’re cursed. After our boat was struck by lighting, we thought Mother Nature might go easy on us for a while. No such luck.
After leaving the boat on the hard in Florida, we drove up to the Midwest to put some miles between us ...
It seems ridiculous, but it’s the reason we worry so much about our boat. It’s the reason we agonize over every little decision about maintenance and upgrades. Our boat is too nice.
When we bought our boat, the surveyor declared it to be in Bristol c...
Maintaining a 40-year-old sailboat can be mentally draining. To be successful, not only do you need be a good electrician, diesel mechanic, plumber, seamstress, cook, project manager and sailor, it also doesn’t hurt to be a good bartender.
We tackle a p...
We’re makin’ moves. The mast goes up, the engine gets a checkup, as does the rudder assembly. It’s time to get the boat back in the water — after we figure out how to finagle the centerboard back into its trunk.
But that’s not all... Big changes...
The boat is afloat, and we are on our way south! Just because we left the yard though doesn’t mean the boat work is finished. Duh. We still need to tune the rig, bend on the sails and climb the mast to attach the instruments. There’s a bunch of plumbin...
As liveaboard cruisers, we’re forced to learn how to do new things all the time, whether we want to or not. Luckily for Kirk, he thrives on figuring things out for himself. Then our chosen lifestyle must mean he’s found fulfillment and happiness for li...
Time travel with us in this episode to NOW! -- April 2021 -- for a real-time update, and to meet our lil' babe, Renata!
Many folks warned us that being parents is one of the most difficult and rewarding experiences they’ve had in their lives. Because w...
“There’s good news and bad news.” When someone says that, is it ever really good? 😂
On our way south down the east coast of Florida, we stop in Stuart to have a professional rigger from Mack Sails take a look over our standing rigging. We had a b...
What would you do if it seemed like the world was ending? Would panic set in as you began thinking about all the things you didn’t do, the places you didn’t go, or the relationships you didn’t spend enough time nurturing? Or would you carry on living...
Tough question to answer isn’t it? We get to ponder this while several storm systems hand out lightning bolts and wind gusts aplenty in this episode!
If bad weather is on the horizon, our instinct is to find a safe anchorage and hole up while it blows o...
This gorgeous sail in the blue water of the Atlantic was one for the books, despite Kirk doing lots of fishing and no catching, and Lauren almost losing her breakfast. Join us as we sail fifty miles south against the Gulf Stream along the east coast of Flo...
This the end of an era for the two of us! With our first baby on the way, our cruise down to the Keys becomes our unofficial babymoon. We relish slow sails, beautiful sunsets, good food, and enjoy our last season aboard as a couple.
Hope you enjoy!
Laure...
One last blissful trip before the baby arrives... that wasn’t exactly our babymoon! After anchoring in Key Largo, a tropical depression moves over bringing sustained winds and day after day of thunderstorms. As soon as the sun breaks, we’re off sailing...
…because then it wouldn’t be special! The weather, wind and waves all came together on our sail from Marco Island up to Ft Myers. Even our erratic (and nearly departed) auto helm, Otto von Cranky, decided to pull some weight! As our cruising journey as...
This is it — our very last sail for just the two of us, before we add another crew member! We look back on the three years we’ve spent on our boat, what’s fun and not so fun about monohulls, and what our biggest goal in life is.
Hope you enjoy!
Laur...
Huge life changes are on the horizon! We’ve known for a while that our Tartan 37 won’t be our “forever” boat. With a baby on the way, she’s getting a little small; but we’re also ready to start approaching sailing in a whole new way. Knowing th...
Very excited to share with you the birth of Renata, our baby girl! After leaving the boat in Florida over hurricane season, we spend the summer preparing for the addition to our crew. We finish a room at Kirk’s parents, add a third car seat to Chip the v...
We’re back to the boat!! This is our fourth season aboard — but this time, baby Renata is along for the ride!
The boat needs some work before we splash, as usual. In the past, Kirk and I would live in the boatyard, sleeping in the van and working ever...
When we first bought our sailboat, we didn't know anything about boat repair. Now, a few years and dozens of boat projects later, we've acquired quite a bit of experience. With similar projects popping up a second time we don’t feel so clueless anymore!
...
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