"Talysa's" Journeys

Vessel Name: Talysa
Vessel Make/Model: Gozzard 41-C
Hailing Port: Rock Hall, MD.
Crew: Becky & Dale Martin
About: Becky & Dale have been sailing their entire life and "Talysa" is their 6th sailboat. Dale is a USCG certified Captain.
Extra: They are embarking on their first voyage down the ICW!
Recent Blog Posts
25 March 2012 | Rock Hall, MD

Journey's End

We made it!! The weather was so warm, we just continued on and really enjoyed the return journey. Arrived yesterday as a front with rain, wind and cooler temperatures also arrived...great timing..Overall we traveled 2681 nautical miles, ran the engine 414 hours and were aboard (except for holiday breaks) [...]

14 March 2012 | Georgetown, SC

Tidal Ranges and Changes in Latitude

Greetings from Georgetown SC, about 75 miles north of Charleston and 60 miles south of Myrtle Beach. We are ~ 800 miles north of Marathon and 400 miles from Norfolk, amazing cruise. The spring tides the last week have been about 10' with corresponding extreme tidal currents. We have run aground a few [...]

25 February 2012 | Palm Coast, FL

On Our Way Home!

We had an eventful journey of ~ 400 miles to Palm Coast Florida, where we are moored for a couple of weeks in order to visit with family and tour the area. The decision to leave the Keys was hard, but the weather windows were infrequent, so we left with what we thought was a good day on Valentine's Day..unfortunately not 20 miles out in heavy winds we ripped out the mainsail which hampered our speed and options for the next week. We found a sailmaker in Stuart who eventually did the repair, but the weekend loomed..so we went offshore and rode the Gulf Stream all the way north at record speeds of up to 10.6 kts...however we had to hang on as the seas were pretty choppy..imagine if we had full sails! Enjoyed last weekend exploring Stuart, then the ride up the Florida coast has been blessed by seeing many dolphins, birds and odd sights. After arrival here, we did considerable engine maintenance, cleaned the boat and have thoroughly enjoyed real showers, electricity and flushing heads after 8 weeks on a mooring!! Anyway will really enjoy visiting Gainesville tomorrow (home of the world renowned Florida Gators!) and then getting underway back north in about 10 days...only a 1,000 miles to go!!

06 February 2012 | Boot Key, Marathon, FL

Celebrating Bob Marley's Birthday Today

Becky & I hope you all enjoyed the Super Bowl and have big plans tonight to celebrate Bob Marley's birthday! I thought a synopsis of a typical day here might illustrate the lifestyle...we get up @ 6:30 AM to listen to the Cruisers Net weather by the guru, Chris Parker. He does the Keys, Bahamas northern Caribbean at that time. Then the dolphins pass through prior to sunrise ~ 7:15. At 9:00 AM is the VHF radio cruisers net...very interesting announcements, buy-sell-trade and general assistance. Pretty amazing..then the day's activities..we have made 2 trips to Key West, visited Dolphin Research Center, day sails, trips shopping, maintenance and then crafts...such as knot tying, basket weaving and even yoga! There is always something happening. Then we do a 2 hr battery charge and make the tough choices as to where to eat. Sunsets are always a beautiful treat, followed by the sounds of conch shells (yes I have learned how to "play" one). More dolphins and an early bedtime (no TV here at all!!). The Cruisers are very friendly, the locals are very different. Our ride back from Key West on the local bus and last night's Super Bowl party where simply unbelievable!! (full disclosure later). We have been blessed to have family visits the last 2 weeks to experience this and to validate our stories...Anyway we will be here about 10 more days...then moving on...fair winds and following seas to all!

14 January 2012 | Boot Key Harbor, Marathon Fl

We made It!!

Sails are like wings, they carry you to achieve life's goals. Our "Talysa" safely brought us 1370nm to a place Becky and I have always wanted to see by water after coming here as children! We are now in a floating community of ~ 300 boats with a different, exciting culture. More on that as we experience it over the next month. We finally got out of Ft Lauderdale, it was a rough, wet ride to Miami. We anchored in Venetian Isles with a fantastic view of the city and for you northeners don't read this..I dove under the boat and cleaned the prop..amazing swimming on January 10! The next 2 days down the Keys...reef off to port, islands on starboard and ever increasing color, clarity and sea life in the water. Just staring at the sea, seeing the bottom pass by is amazing! Now we need to adapt here to life on a mooring, tough ...will go to beach, snorkel and eat fresh seafood...Anyway we traveled 31 days, averaged 6.3 nm/hr and burned about 300 gallons of diesel.. Thanks to all of you for the great comments...take care and God Bless!

10 January 2012 | Ft. Lauderdale, Sylvan Lake

Ft. Lauderdale is a Magnet!

Hopefully all have had a wonderful holiday season! We sure did with a series of great family events. We returned to Ft. Pierce last Wednesday and resumed our journey south on Friday. The first day saw us make Lake Worth (Palm Beach) and we were so impressed by the homes and boats. Saturday we went offshore for 57 miles to Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale. Many boats out, and upon entering the harbor, saw 7 cruise ships..all getting ready to depart. Pretty wild with all the mega yachts, large sport fishermen and day trippers. On Sunday we departed south towards Miami and saw another 7 cruise ships..then we burst an oil line, very rapidly anchored and got towed back. Had a messy day cleaning 7 qts of oil out the bilge. On Monday we got all repaired, cleaned (more oil..yuck) then departed this morning for Miami inside to see the "Condo Canyon". Anyway we timed/waited for a number of bridges (frustrating) and got within site of downtown Miami..and then there was the Tuttle fixed bridge at 57'..Ug we need 59'..so we turned around , through all the bridges and now back to Sylvan Lake, Ft. Lauderdale were we where Saturday. Hopefully tomorrow will be a charm and we will make Key Biscayne...

Journey's End

25 March 2012 | Rock Hall, MD
Rainy & Cool
We made it!! The weather was so warm, we just continued on and really enjoyed the return journey. Arrived yesterday as a front with rain, wind and cooler temperatures also arrived...great timing..Overall we traveled 2681 nautical miles, ran the engine 414 hours and were aboard (except for holiday breaks) from October 10 to March 24...The experience was great..it improved our skills as sailors, cruisers and mechanics. The daily uniqueness of life, ongoing adventure and interactions with nature, dolphins and geographies was so rewarding and we never tired of it. Also the people we met, both ashore and cruisers created many new friends, diversity of lifestyles, beliefs and ways of living certainly created much food for thought. Finally the time together as a couple, helped our relationship as we see each other from new perspectives and make up for the times lost during our working lives. The best synopsis comes from Solomon in Psalm 107 : They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the wonders of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.
Thanks to you all for your interest and comments!
Hopefully next fall/winter we'll do it again plus the Bahamas.
Fair winds and following seas to you all!

Becky & Dale Martin

Tidal Ranges and Changes in Latitude

14 March 2012 | Georgetown, SC
Sunny, warm and clear
Greetings from Georgetown SC, about 75 miles north of Charleston and 60 miles south of Myrtle Beach. We are ~ 800 miles north of Marathon and 400 miles from Norfolk, amazing cruise. The spring tides the last week have been about 10' with corresponding extreme tidal currents. We have run aground a few times, but managed to get off so they don't count..we just touched!! Enjoyed shore stops in Beaufort and here....both small really southern towns with fantastic hospitality and food. We have been blessed to see more wildlife, birds and dolphins on the return. The solitude is surprising, for example yesterday we traveled 75 miles and passed only 2 other cruising boats!! Tomorrow promises to be a real treat as we will be in cypress swamps for a good bit of the day, finally have left the marshes behind after about 250 miles of same.

While "Talysa" stayed at Palm Coast, Becky and I managed to visit family in Gainesville and Seminole Florida...a great break to stay in a house with real bed and bath..but we are in a good cruising mode now. We do miss the Keys latitude and in particular attitudes..oh well next year will be here soon!!
All the best to you all..
Becky & Dale

On Our Way Home!

25 February 2012 | Palm Coast, FL
Breezy & Cool
We had an eventful journey of ~ 400 miles to Palm Coast Florida, where we are moored for a couple of weeks in order to visit with family and tour the area. The decision to leave the Keys was hard, but the weather windows were infrequent, so we left with what we thought was a good day on Valentine's Day..unfortunately not 20 miles out in heavy winds we ripped out the mainsail which hampered our speed and options for the next week. We found a sailmaker in Stuart who eventually did the repair, but the weekend loomed..so we went offshore and rode the Gulf Stream all the way north at record speeds of up to 10.6 kts...however we had to hang on as the seas were pretty choppy..imagine if we had full sails! Enjoyed last weekend exploring Stuart, then the ride up the Florida coast has been blessed by seeing many dolphins, birds and odd sights. After arrival here, we did considerable engine maintenance, cleaned the boat and have thoroughly enjoyed real showers, electricity and flushing heads after 8 weeks on a mooring!! Anyway will really enjoy visiting Gainesville tomorrow (home of the world renowned Florida Gators!) and then getting underway back north in about 10 days...only a 1,000 miles to go!!

Celebrating Bob Marley's Birthday Today

06 February 2012 | Boot Key, Marathon, FL
Windy, sunny, scattered showers
Becky & I hope you all enjoyed the Super Bowl and have big plans tonight to celebrate Bob Marley's birthday! I thought a synopsis of a typical day here might illustrate the lifestyle...we get up @ 6:30 AM to listen to the Cruisers Net weather by the guru, Chris Parker. He does the Keys, Bahamas northern Caribbean at that time. Then the dolphins pass through prior to sunrise ~ 7:15. At 9:00 AM is the VHF radio cruisers net...very interesting announcements, buy-sell-trade and general assistance. Pretty amazing..then the day's activities..we have made 2 trips to Key West, visited Dolphin Research Center, day sails, trips shopping, maintenance and then crafts...such as knot tying, basket weaving and even yoga! There is always something happening. Then we do a 2 hr battery charge and make the tough choices as to where to eat. Sunsets are always a beautiful treat, followed by the sounds of conch shells (yes I have learned how to "play" one). More dolphins and an early bedtime (no TV here at all!!). The Cruisers are very friendly, the locals are very different. Our ride back from Key West on the local bus and last night's Super Bowl party where simply unbelievable!! (full disclosure later). We have been blessed to have family visits the last 2 weeks to experience this and to validate our stories...Anyway we will be here about 10 more days...then moving on...fair winds and following seas to all!

We made It!!

14 January 2012 | Boot Key Harbor, Marathon Fl
It's 5 Oclock Here All the Time
Sails are like wings, they carry you to achieve life's goals. Our "Talysa" safely brought us 1370nm to a place Becky and I have always wanted to see by water after coming here as children! We are now in a floating community of ~ 300 boats with a different, exciting culture. More on that as we experience it over the next month. We finally got out of Ft Lauderdale, it was a rough, wet ride to Miami. We anchored in Venetian Isles with a fantastic view of the city and for you northeners don't read this..I dove under the boat and cleaned the prop..amazing swimming on January 10! The next 2 days down the Keys...reef off to port, islands on starboard and ever increasing color, clarity and sea life in the water. Just staring at the sea, seeing the bottom pass by is amazing! Now we need to adapt here to life on a mooring, tough ...will go to beach, snorkel and eat fresh seafood...Anyway we traveled 31 days, averaged 6.3 nm/hr and burned about 300 gallons of diesel.. Thanks to all of you for the great comments...take care and God Bless!

Ft. Lauderdale is a Magnet!

10 January 2012 | Ft. Lauderdale, Sylvan Lake
Warm & Sunny
Hopefully all have had a wonderful holiday season! We sure did with a series of great family events. We returned to Ft. Pierce last Wednesday and resumed our journey south on Friday. The first day saw us make Lake Worth (Palm Beach) and we were so impressed by the homes and boats. Saturday we went offshore for 57 miles to Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale. Many boats out, and upon entering the harbor, saw 7 cruise ships..all getting ready to depart. Pretty wild with all the mega yachts, large sport fishermen and day trippers. On Sunday we departed south towards Miami and saw another 7 cruise ships..then we burst an oil line, very rapidly anchored and got towed back. Had a messy day cleaning 7 qts of oil out the bilge. On Monday we got all repaired, cleaned (more oil..yuck) then departed this morning for Miami inside to see the "Condo Canyon". Anyway we timed/waited for a number of bridges (frustrating) and got within site of downtown Miami..and then there was the Tuttle fixed bridge at 57'..Ug we need 59'..so we turned around , through all the bridges and now back to Sylvan Lake, Ft. Lauderdale were we where Saturday. Hopefully tomorrow will be a charm and we will make Key Biscayne...

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