Well we are reactivating this blog. We plan to set sail for the Bahamas this January and then slowly go up the east coast to hopefully Nova Scotia. Both of us are now retired, so maybe this is our swan song on the boat? Who knows. We have no other plans after this trip, so anything (within our physical limitations) is possible.
To bring you up to date, the boat has lived at Longboat Key, FL since we completed the loop in 2014. We have been to the Bahamas three times, and had all children and grandchildren join us along the way. Been to the keys, down to the Dry Tortugas and fished the Everglades several times. Had our grandson certified to scuba dive. Also took our granddaughter and three friends to the Exumas for a senior trip. We have kept busy.
The most exciting thing was Hurricane Ian last year. We were on board in Sarasota watching the forecast make a beeline for our boat. So, discretion being the better part of valor, we bugged out to the Florida panhandle only to find no rooms at the inns. Everyone had closed or were booked out due to the threat of Ian. So we came to our local shipyard in New Orleans to have some repairs done that had been scheduled for a while at a busy Florida yard. Our shipyard promptly completed the repairs, and we decided to head back to Longboat after thanksgiving as Sarasota\Longboat were largely spared Ian’s wrath.
Then THE phone call. The shipyard’s office caught fire, and our boat was next to it… three days before we were to leave.
The marina office.
Poor Perfect Fit.Luckily due to a strong northern wind, the damage was contained to the rear of the boat, and no smoke in the boat. The dinghy was toast. The shipyard promptly started repairs, and six months later we were on our way back to Longboat, after a stressful few months.
Good as new with a new dinghy.
