S/V Passage - Refitting a Classic (& Building Our Skills) Before Cutting the Docklines

We are working toward our dream, one step at a time, and are prepared to make mistakes and learn from them so we become better cruisers every day.

Vessel Name: Passage
Vessel Make/Model: 1980 Pearson 365 Ketch #324
Hailing Port: Chicago, IL
Crew: David Cole & Brodi Cole
About:
We started sailing in 2004 when David's dad bought his first sailboat, a 30' Hunter on Lake Michigan. David spent many hours on Lake Michigan and when his dad upgraded to a 42' Hunter, even made several multi-day crossings between Florida and the Bahamas. [...]
Extra:
In early 2010, we made a 5-year plan to pay off our debt, save money, buy a sailboat and take off for the adventure of a lifetime. One year into that plan, Brodi discovered an amazing deal that resulted in us acquiring "Passage"-a 1980 Pearson 365 Ketch-three years ahead of "schedule." We hope this [...]
Home Page: https://www.ouroffbeatlife.com
Social:
14 March 2019
30 May 2012 | Chicago, IL
19 March 2012 | Chicago, IL
16 February 2012 | Chicago, IL
03 January 2012 | Chicago, IL
13 December 2011
12 December 2011 | Chicago, IL
09 November 2011 | Chicago, IL
02 November 2011
01 November 2011 | Chicago, IL
19 October 2011 | Chicago, IL
13 October 2011 | Chicago, IL
12 October 2011 | Chicago, IL
11 October 2011 | Annapolis, MD
10 October 2011 | Annapolis, MD
02 October 2011 | Chicago, IL
20 September 2011 | Chicago, IL
12 September 2011 | Chicago, IL
11 September 2011 | Chicago, IL
04 September 2011 | Chicago, IL
Recent Blog Posts
14 March 2019

A New Adventure!

It's been a while since we posted anything because kids add an unexpected spice to life and our implementation strategy for leaving the rat race has changed a bit. We still plan to 'cut the docklines' and travel the world, but sadly it won't be with Passage.

30 May 2012 | Chicago, IL

Back on the Lake!

The blog may have been quiet lately but we sure haven’t been slacking! After receiving the spring bridge schedule (we can only put the boat in and take it up river on certain days approved by the city), we had a mad rush in April to cut our [...]

19 March 2012 | Chicago, IL

Big News!

We weren't kidding when we said in the last blog post that March would be full of big news...as you may have guessed from the photo, our crew is officially expanding to three! Baby Cole should be joining us around September 2, 2012...just in time to help us winterize Passage! In case you're wondering, [...]

16 February 2012 | Chicago, IL

Winter Update

We haven't been MIA because we're busy with boat projects...sadly it's been the exact opposite. While winter in Chicago has been a bit more temperate that usual, it still hasn't exactly been ideal for boatwork. So we've been focusing on home projects that were neglected throughout boating season...how [...]

03 January 2012 | Chicago, IL

Too COLD for Cruising

We truly thought more boatwork would get done this winter, but now that the holidays are officially over it's hard to motivate ourselves to willingly spend significant lengths of time outside doing boatwork when it's already skipping the freezing point entirely! It's official, January is NOT a good time [...]

13 December 2011

Cool Website

I just found a cool new website, and wanted to share. Love the pic/quote on his main page, too!

12 December 2011 | Chicago, IL

A Month of Updates

It's been a rather crazy month for us, without really any time to even sit down and log our updates. The weekend after our last (and only) post in November we did head back down to the yacht yard to get some more stuff off the boat, and try to figure out our head/plumbing system. Our biggest challenge [...]

09 November 2011 | Chicago, IL

MOTIVATION

Motivation. That one little word has so much "baggage" associate with it, but in my mind truly defines the doers from the dreamers. Ever since Daylight Saving Time ended over the weekend I've struggled to maintain my level of motivation. Between the [...]

02 November 2011

Hump Day, Quote Day!

Well, he wrote the quote anyway...

01 November 2011 | Chicago, IL

Not MIA!

We went down to the boatyard to see Passage on her cradle last Sunday, and it was amazing that it took just 20 minutes to get there! When we got to the boat, we packed up a few things to bring home for the winter as well as started to look at the holding tank to determine how we will remove it. We also [...]

MOTIVATION

09 November 2011 | Chicago, IL
Brodi / Winter is Upon Us...
Motivation. That one little word has so much "baggage" associate with it, but in my mind truly defines the doers from the dreamers. Ever since Daylight Saving Time ended over the weekend I've struggled to maintain my level of motivation. Between the sun going down around 4:30pm, the rain, and the COLD weather setting in...the motivation to stay inside and warm is easily overcoming the motivation to run down to Passage after work.

As you can see from the photo in this post, we've been busy "talking" about boat stuff...David has even been designing slogans for our boating 'gear' next summer...but actual boatwork and boat visits have not been frequent. We did make it down there briefly on Sunday afternoon, but the door hadn't been installed on the shrinkwrap yet. We briefly thought about cutting a slit into the wrap, but then realized that the stuff we needed to get off the boat probably wouldn't fit until the door goes on. So we headed home with a rainy day at the boat rather wasted. With how crazy stuff has been outside of boatwork, it was kind of nice to have a lazy day.

But as I think about all the projects we still need to work on, knowing we could have done work and didn't starts to worry me. Now I wonder if we can get even half or most of our to-do list done before we launch in a few months. The cold wuss in me wonders if perhaps we should take the holidays off and start fresh after the new year...but the determined part of me knows that all we need to do to get through the winter is a space heater from Home Depot. The question now is which part of me is more motivated? It's suppose to be in the 50s and cloudy this weekend, so in the short term it'll be the latter.

I have big plans to finally get all the cushions off the boat to recover them. As many readers who've been on our boat this summer know well, poor David has a thing about spiders so I need to clean all foam (lavender is also a natural spider deterrent) before starting to recover any of it. At least I'll have lots to do after work so I won't feel as guilty about not going down to the boatyard after work during the week! If we're really on top of things, maybe we'll start stripping varnish off the interior woodwork...if at least one visit to Home Depot actually happens, then we'll be on our way to productivity...keep your fingers crossed!
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