Living The Dream

Most of them dream... We LIVE IT.

Vessel Name: Santorini
Vessel Make/Model: Mariner/Mayflower 48'
Hailing Port: Punta Gorda, Florida
Crew: Tom, Dawn, Chico & Kamala
Social:
13 August 2016 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico
28 July 2013 | Punta Gorda, FL
28 July 2013 | Punta Gorda, FL
22 April 2011 | St. Andrews Bay, Panama City, FL
21 March 2011 | Panama City, Florida
16 March 2011 | Port St. Joe, Florida
14 March 2011 | Tampa Bay, FL
12 March 2011 | Ft. Myers, Florida
11 March 2011 | Ft. Myers Beach, FL
03 March 2011 | Isla Mujeres, MX
25 February 2011 | Isla Mujeres, MX
17 February 2011 | Colon, Panama
14 February 2011 | Panama City, Panama
07 February 2011 | Panama City, Panama
05 February 2011 | Isla Toboga
02 February 2011 | Golfo de Panama
01 February 2011 | Panama
31 January 2011 | Bahia Honda to Ensenada Benao
30 January 2011 | Bahia Honda, Panama
Recent Blog Posts
13 August 2016 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Back in Isla Mujeres!

It's been a fast 3 years since moving to Punta Gorda, FL. Although we haven't done much sailing, we have made some very nice improvements and upgrades to Santorini. We had her hauled out for bottom paint - this time applying Petit Trinidad 75. It had been 5 years since her last paint job with Trinidad [...]

28 July 2013 | Punta Gorda, FL

Home At Last

We moved into our new house end of May 2013. Tom towed the SeaRay down and put it in storage. We made several trips down to move, but sadly left Santorini behind in Panama City, Fl until we could prepare her slip in Punta Gorda.

28 July 2013 | Punta Gorda, FL

Getting Our Freedom Back

After swallowing the anchor in Panama City, FL for 2 years we are looking forward to getting back into cruising mode. We were certainly grateful for Tom landing a job when he did - it saved us when our businesses went bust. It was tough working 8-5 M-F with 1 week of vacation after having been self-employed [...]

22 April 2011 | St. Andrews Bay, Panama City, FL

Settling In on the Gulf Coast

We had a great trip back to OC. It was wonderful to see everyone and a relief to finally move the rest of our stuff. We stopped and stayed with family and friends along the way during our trip home. We missed the kitties, and they missed us even more. Our neighbors, Don & Kelly live on a houseboat [...]

21 March 2011 | Panama City, Florida

Back to the OC

Well it's only been 4 days since we sailed into port here in Panama City, FL but we're already heading back to Orange County, CA. My friend Beth is engaged to a great guy named Alan. He happens to own a private jet. They flew in this afternoon from Key West for a short overnight visit and are returning [...]

18 March 2011 | Panama City, Florida

Mission Accomplished: Over 5000 miles in less than 5 months!

We finally made it! We sailed into St. Andrews Bay at 2 pm on St. Patrick's Day, it was a very moving experience! There's nothing like achieving a many years long goal. The people here are wonderful - everyone is SO NICE! Southern hospitality is alive and well.

Seeking Refuge in Bahia Santa Elena

08 January 2011 | Costa Rica
When we went to bed at dawn in Bahia Santa Elena we were the only boat there. When we awoke at about 10:30 am, we were delighted to be surrounded by the group we'd been with in Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua. Passion had come in and was off our stern, Mentor was off our bow and Blue was anchored on the other side of them. In comparing notes, we'd all had a tough go of it, although no one had the harrowing experience we did of losing our anchor in 50 knots of wind.

Mentor was on a mission as Cindy's dad was on his death bed and she needed to catch a flight home. Although the Papagayo winds were still howling a good 40 knots, Mentor left the next morning. They called to report conditions as they rounded Key Point to Blue, because they were trying to decide whether to leave that day or wait until the next day. We listened in to Mentor's report "It's not bad, blowing about 40 knots". Pacific Northwest sailors certainly have a different perception of conditions! Blue decided to go anyway but we decided to stay put that night and leave the next day - hoping the wind would die down.

Tom was really sick and loosing weight. He had very little appetite and was feeling lousy. We went ashore in the dinghy anyway, just to get out and stretch. We went with Passion, but had trouble locating the hiking trails described in the cruising guide.

It was getting rough because of the wind and Passion wanted to go up the estuary. We decided to go back to the boat. Tom decided we wanted to put around the shoreline in the dinghy, then we found a protected gravel beach that looked inviting. It was a fish camp, with a fire pit, old nets, shells, etc. We hung out and walked the shoreline for a bit.

We were ready to leave and hopped back in the dink. As we got closer Tom said "Is that an optical illusions, or is our boat REALLY CLOSE to Passion?" I said "It must be an illusion." But as we approached, it was clear that our anchor had dragged and our stern was about 3 feet from Passion's bow. I was off the dinghy before we tied up, fired up the engine and put her in gear to keep from hitting Passion. Tom quickly ran to the bow and pulled up the anchor. We moved closer to shore and further from Passion. There we were, in this great big bay, only one other boat and we drag anchor to Passion - like a magnet. How does THAT happen??

That was the second time our secondary anchor had dragged, so we were losing faith in our ability to continuing anchoring. We looking at the guide books and there was only one marina within 100 miles: Marina Papagayo. It was expensive, but safe. I was starting to feel sick too and we might need to find a doctor.

We decided to head to the marina the next day at first light. Fortunately, waiting a day had been a good move. The wind had died, so much so that we had to motor the 40 or so miles to the marina. With the seas calm and no wind, we were fine with using a little fuel to reach a peaceful place.
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