Well, it has been a long time since my last entry here. Things have certainly changed.

I am back on the boat, living aboard in St. Petersburg, FL. It's a great feeling to finally have the boat back on the west coast of Florida, where she was designed and built!

There are many things to do to the boat to get it ready for a transatlantic passage, so that is what I will be documenting here from now on. Stay tuned, ye who actually read this thing...

I haven't had good enough wi-fi to post photos, except a few here and there on Facebook and Instagram. I updated the map here on the blog so there is a track of our boat and where we have been so far.

We have just arrived in Nassau, and the women (Carlee and Mary Ann) have flown over to join in on the adventure. Nassau will be the last big port before we head home, so we are re-supplying here and heading out in the morning. Back to the Berry Islands we go!

This photo was taken at the Chub Cay Marina back in the Berry Islands, where we were literally the only people at the entire resort.

Another extremely cold day today. We did manage to see more boats today than usual, sailing with a Baba 35 and Pacific Seacraft 34 down the ICW. A pod of dolphins was surfing our wake for about 20 minutes, which is the closest I've seen from Crystal Blue. Just checking in with our location- more to come later.

Well, we arrived in Camachee Cove today, just on the other side of the bridge leading outside of historic St. Augustine. The marina is fabulous; some really amazing yachts and facilities here. I just shaved off the sailing beard I have been growing for the past month and a half, and it feels nice not constantly scratching my face. I do miss having a mustache though.

Leaving Hidden Harbor Marina this morning just outside of St. Simons, it was a bit windy and a little difficult getting out of the slip. One of the hardest things, if not the hardest thing to do when alone or shorthanded is maneuvering the boat at the dock. She is so heavy and has so much windage that a slight current or wind can make things very hairy. No amount of manhandling will move the boat- the engine is the only tool to provide enough force to get her moving fast enough. Anyways, after trying a few different possible exit strategies, we got out safely and started motoring down the ICW, down through the last stint of Georgia, where we touched bottom a few times, ran into some huge swells near the two inlets south of Brunswick, and had yet another cold and windy day with no sunshine. Seems to be the norm aboard ol' Crystal Blue, but I'm not complaining. We made it to Jacksonville tonight, staying at the Morning Star Marina, which is hardly a marina, but a dock on a busy, BUSY seaway with constant waves pounding into the hull. After a 10 hour day of non-stop motoring, I'm just not in the mood. Perhaps a glass of rum? Tomorrow we will hopefully make it to St. Augustine.

Leaving Beaufort this morning was as cold as ever, but by mid afternoon the sun was out and by the time we made it into Isle of Hope Marina, I was wearing a t-shirt. We took on some more fuel here, and calculated that our engine burns about .75 gallons an hour at cruising speed, which is pretty decent for a boat of this displacement. We ran a small ground today going through one of the shallow cuts in the Georgia ICW. It was low tide and the state of Georgia doesn't maintain their section of the ICW, so it's sketchy in certain areas. We managed to plow right through, and didn't get stuck. Other than that small event, the only other exciting thing was passing another Caliber and chatting with the owners, who have been sailing her for 16 years and have nothing but great things to say about the boat. That always makes you feel good. Here at the marina there is a loaner car, and MEXICAN RESTAURANT TONIGHT. BOO YA!

It has been a while since my last entry, and there has been much that has happened since. Long story short, we have put New Bern to our rudder and are traveling further down the windy, shallow ICW in search for Florida waters. There have been a handful of minor malfunctions along the way; including the disappearance of depth data from our network, engine problems, and strong wind delays, which have all actually turned out to be beneficial learning experiences. This is "cruising," as those who do, know. Things will never go as planned. But throughout all of these issues, I have managed to plan Thanksgiving with the love of my life and my family in St. Augustine! I couldn't be more excited. I will update this more frequently this week as I continue to get further south.

Living on board the boat for the past four months has been extremely liberating. Even though almost all of the time has been spent either in the boatyard or tied to the dock, living aboard is extremely liberating. Everything on the boat must serve a purpose, or else there is no room for it. This has forced me to get rid of any extraneous "things" in my life. I couldn't be happier.

As nice as it is to be safely tied to the dock, it is very easy to start developing cabin fever. Days can go by quickly, and restlessness begins to set in. After all, this boat was meant to be sailed! So yesterday I decided to go out for a quick afternoon sail. I had not yet taken her out completely alone, so I was a bit nervous. I checked the weather map to make sure there were no incoming storms, and although there were some dark clouds out in the river that I could see, the wind had picked up from absolute zero to around 10-12 knots, so it was becoming perfect conditions. I fired up the engine, and begin to slowly untie the lines one at a time, trying to figure out in my head how I was going to manage jumping back on the boat after getting her moving. The boat weighs around 25,000 pounds, so it's quite impossible to manhandle her like I'm used to doing with the ski boat at Lake Burton. You can put all of your weight into pushing her, and she just won't budge. After untying all of the lines, I got a little momentum building and hopped on the boat and reversed out of the slip. Once free of all obstructions, it all becomes a lot less stressful.

I called the Cunningham bridge and asked for an opening, heading out into the Neuse River. I motored for a few miles, then turned at a good angle towards the wind and deployed the genoa and cut the engine. Scotch had found himself a nice spot on the cockpit floor and was passed out within minutes. After practicing some tacking back and forth a few times and getting the hang of it alone, I deployed the mainsail. The autopilot makes tacking alone a breeze- just hit a button and the wheel swings one way while I work the lines. The weather held up and we sailed for a few hours before heading back downwind. Sailing with the engine off, alone with your thoughts, is a great experience.

The tricky part was coming back in. Once I furled in the sails and started the engine, headed back under the bridge, I was approaching the slip. Since there was no one on board or at the dock, I would have no assistance docking. The wind was coming from an unfortunate angle, blowing me into the slip sideways, so I tried to approach from a wide angle and as straight in as I could. I slowed the engine down to practically a dead stop, and inched into the slip. As soon as I knew I couldn't drift away, I jumped off the boat and secured a few lines before shutting off the engine. Overall, a successful landing. I was quite proud of myself, having never sailed a boat of such size alone. Other than leaving and approaching the dock, sailing a forty foot sailboat is identical to sailing the eight foot prams I learned on.

I biked to El Cerro Grande to celebrate my triumphant day on the river. 13 days until Portland... < 3

Finally, OUT OF THE BOATYARD! After three long months of working on the boat, we are finally done with everything on our list, and the boat is ready to rock and roll. All systems go.

Yesterday we departed Oriental and headed for our new home in New Bern, which is about 25 nm up the Neuse River. The New Bern Grand Marina is a welcome change to boatyard living in Oriental. The town of New Bern is much more active than Oriental, with a wider variety of bars and restaurants all within walking distance. There is a large population of liveaboards here, and the moment you hop off the boat there is someone interesting to talk to.

Today Mary and Ray visited my family to see the boat for the first time, and we all had a proper de-naming/christening ceremony for Crystal Blue Persuasion. We said a prayer, and poured some bubbly out for gracious Neptune. Later in the day we were able to take her out for a sail, which just so happened to be the first time we've been able to actually sail her without the engine running. I couldn't be happier with the way she performed. I also learned how valuable the autopilot is. I can see how often it is going to be used.

Tomorrow is a lot of cleaning and getting more things sorted, and hopefully some more sailing!

Well today we finally put the vinyl lettering on the boat, deciding that the boom was the best spot for the name. The transom of the boat prevents a name from going across the stern, and having letters on the side of the boat will dull the paint in the long run.

We also installed the hardware to be able to hoist the dinghy out of the water. Harken 6:1 blocks are used, which basically lifts 60 lbs. for every 10 lbs. of force. This makes it extremely easy to lift the dinghy and outboard out of the water, especially when using a winch. When hoisted, it will sit nicely underneath the solar panels and be protected from sun and rain.

The last thing to do is the windlass!


Dinghy Hoists