The dream we have shared of cruising when we retire has finally come. We bought Shamrock in Stockton Missouri in 2007 and weekend sailed her in the lakes of Missouri and Oklahoma until we decided to hang up our careers and go for it in early 2014. [...]We had planned to keep the boat on Kerr Lake in Sallisaw Oklahoma for a while to do all the work and additions we wanted for cruising, but the winter of 2013 sent us running south, away from the bitter cold. We were so lucky to find Old River RV park to call homeport for our RV and a slip for Shamrock. We left Oklahoma in March of 2014 and started our adventure heading down the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers to arrive in Perdido Key 1000 miles and 25 days later.

We have spent this past summer refurbishing, outfitting and performing preventive maintenance on Shamrock. Since we are living in paradise, we also took advantage of the beautiful waters around here and took 2 and 3 days sails, finding quiet little coves to anchor and just soak in the beauty, while [...]

waiting out hurricane season. We have been blessed with an extraordinarily quiet tropical season. Ed replaced the exhaust system, remounted the engine, secured a great propane stove and tank mounts off the stern, added auto-pilot, solar panels, dinghy davits and inspected the rigging. Meanwhile I reupholstered the salon cushions, bought a new memory foam bunk mattress, made sunbrella covers for all the cockpit accessories and created much needed storage down below. I restored the teak on deck, what a cosmetic difference that makes! All the while having a fun time living on the stretch of land between the Gulf and Old River!