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.

Back in Isla Mujeres!

13 August 2016 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico
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 70 in CA - virtually NOTHING growing on the bottom in spite of rarely having it cleaned. Impressive!

While she was un the shipyard we had a bow thruster installed - my, my why didn't we do it sooner! What a great thing to have on a yacht with as much windage as she has. Just before that Tom installed a 2 cubic foot freezer in the cold storage next to the fridge. Now when we catch those yummy fish we can freeze them for later! Another great upgrade was the refrigerator door Tom installed where the front panel used to be. Not only can we retrieve dropped beer cans, but the entire bottom of the fridge is now usable space where it was wasted space before. He used the teak panel he cut as the front of the door - looks fabulous!

Most recently we removed the tired, worn out canvas top. Tom constructed a new hard top cockpit cover. While we are in Mexico this month Fortune Canvas is making and installing the new enclosure. We raised up the front part so the whole cockpit cover is now high enough to stand under - no more hitting our heads on the way to the companionway! More solar panels to support the freezer will go on top.

In June, we closed on a vacation rental property located on our favorite Caribbean Island - Isla Mujeres. (See www.castellito.com) We flew down with our 2 cats for the month of August to escape the S Florida Summer heat and supervise the construction of a new pool. After or lease expires in May 2017, we'll be moving back on Santorini. We can't wait!
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