OUR FIRST SAILBOAT

Having owned a previous boat, we aren't going into the process blind.....we kinda know what we want this time.

Our previous boat, a 3-cabin Beneteau 411 was a great boat...it was perfect for what we did, which was to cruise the Bahamas for 6 months at a time. While doing that, we learned that for full-time cruising we wanted a larger boat and we needed a 2-cabin version this time (much more storage). With a 2-cabin we will still have the extra cabin for visitors and could resort to using the galley table/berth if necessary.

Notice in the above paragraph I used the words "wanted" and "needed"....there definitely is a difference. The Lord willing we will get what we need, but whether we get what we REALLY want......I doubt it. What we really want, our dream boat, is a two-cabin 2004 or 2005 Beneteau 50. That ain't gonna happen; with the economic turndown "that ship has sailed", so to speak. A more realistic boat will be a Beneteau 473 or worse-case a 423.

While the boat market is a buyer's market right now, so is the real estate market. That's great for buying the boat, but not so good if you were thinking of selling a house and some other properties. So, what we ultimately get will greatly depend on what we net (I made a ryhme :-) ] for some of the real estate we sell (now decided to rent out our house) and how long we want to wait before taking the plunge, buying the boat and leaving. The longer I work, the more money we save for the boat and the kitty; but I have never been know to have a great deal of patience, and..... how long will the boat market be a buyer's market. Ahh, the dilema.....

We have enlisted a yacht broker in Hilton Head, SC to assist us in the search...we met him when we sold our other boat, and really liked him. He brought the buyers and was friendly, and professional. We have told him what to be on the look-out for and that we were going to be patient and wait for the right boat at a great price. He has been very helpful thus far. We will give him a plug later in the blog.

MOUNTAINS AND MOTORCYCLES

For one month every year my sister, Karen, and I are the same age. Don't worry, Sis, I won't tell how old I am.

For the last couple of years, she and her husband, David, have joined Dahleen and I on a motorcycle riding vacation. We combined riding the bikes with various other activities like tubing in Helen, GA; renting jet skis on Lake Chatuge (NC/GA border); rafting the Nantahala River in NC, and playing miniature golf and watching shows in Pigeon Forge, TN. We love riding the mountain highways in N. GA, NC, and E. TN and have enjoyed their company immensely.

We hope they will join us in the Caribbean in the future because they are fun to be around.

OUR HOME ON THE ROAD



Just who in the world are we?

Greg: retired military helicopter pilot, former residential general contractor, currently a HEMS (helicopter emergency medical service) pilot.

Dahleen: former military service member (10 years), retired real estate agent, wonderful wife and help-mate to Greg. :-)

Combined we have:

a daughter-Lindsay with husband Geoff, and our two grand-daughters, Reece and Addie;

a son-Angel and our grandson, Tristan.

I know, I know...we are too young to have grandkids :-) They are a delight to be around, and we wish we could spend more time with them. We hope that the future will include lots of time with family and friends as the visit us on the boat in the Caribbean.

We both love the ocean....sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling, beachcombing, etc. We also enjoy reading; spending time with each other, friends, family; we are also interested in Bible study and teaching Bible studies, and we are looking for opportunities to combine our love of cruising and mission work while in the Caribbean.

We are currently traveling across the country in a motor home as I work as a float pilot, wherever needed by my company. Having done it now for 6 months, we are enjoying being together working, traveling, and saving for the boat.

Welcome! Just a little background before the actual chronological blog....We decided to do this blog for several reasons; the first: it will serve as a diary/ship's log for us once we get underway; secondly, it will allow our friends and loved ones a way to follow us as we are away from them, and somewhat out of contact; thirdly, as information and enjoyment to those out there who are either going to follow the same dream of a sailing/cruising lifestyle, or are doing so vicariously through us.

Having followed cruising logs for years, we understand how much info we gained by reading other sailing blogs, and how much we enjoyed reading them while we were "dirt dwellers".

We have done this before...this cruising thing, that is. We bought a Beneteau 411 in 2004, refit it with a genset and a watermaker; replaced the bimini, and mainsail; added a dodger, a rocna, a new dinghy and motor, and then left in Jan '06 right after our first grand-daughter, Reece, was born. Leaving Charleston, SC, we traveled down the ICW (the ditch) to Port Royal Sound then jumped offshore to St. Augustine; stayed on the ICW from there to Lake Worth, then offshore again to Biscayne Bay and Coconut Grove. We stayed in Coconut Grove, at anchor, for a month finishing watermaker installation, and waiting on weather to cross the Gulfstream.

We crossed over to Gun Key, then crossed the Bahama Bank to Nassau, where we stayed several days. When weather allowed, we then began our Exuma, Bahama cruising adventure sailing to Allen's Cay, and then moving as far south as Georgetown before having to head back to Charleston at the end of June '06.

It was an invigorating, eye-opening, and totally enjoyable 6 months...it was just an 'appetizer' compared to the 'feast' we hope to enjoy in a couple of years. We absolutely loved the lifestyle of cruising.....it rocked! The Good Lord willing, we plan to do it again for an indefinite period of time in a few years. Our plan, written in the sand, is to cruise for as long as we enjoy it and our health allows it.

We have just recently begun working toward that goal by starting to liquidate and consolidate our 'stuff" in preparation to rent our home out and purchase another boat. The boat search has begun, but we are in no rush at this point....too many other things to accomplish first.