Category: Boating Life

The End of an Era

That’s it – we’re done.  We’re back home.  Obviously, we haven’t been blogging…we’ve been in a weird head space.

 

It was emotional coming home…With every week on the ICW, we got a little closer to our return to society…to normal life.  Oddly enough, as we got closer, we became more and more accustomed to life on the boat.  We got better at reading the weather, more comfortable with things breaking, less bothered by delays…It was starting to get easier, and we were starting to figure it out.  WE WERE HAVING FUN!  MJSailing always said it takes a year before you really get into the groove, and we now understand what they meant.  It was getting good.

 

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

 

We returned to the Mentor Harbor Yachting Club on July 16, 2015.  My folks threw a huge party and really made us feel welcome!  We had cake and expensive champagne.  We put on our smiles for the cameras.  It was amazing, but it really hit us hard – it was the end of an era.  Had we done everything we wanted to do?

 

Honestly, after TARA was safely tied up, we didn’t go back down to the boat for two months – not because we were sick of sailing, more that it was too emotional to be on Tara after living aboard for 10 months.  We couldn’t see her stuck in a marina…or something…

 

It has taken us some time to decompress, think about what we’ve done, and absorb all of the crazy adventures.  In the end, as expected, the hard times have turned into amazing stories that we reminisce about again and again.  In the end, IT WAS WORTH IT.

 

We’re happy to be back to a big bed and hot showers.  We have a comfortable place to live (thanks Mom & Dad!) and a nice grocery store around the corner.  Life is good – we’re home safe and have a lot of incredible memories.

 

In other ways, we are sad.  Operation Tropication has ended.  We know if we did it again, we would do a lot of things differently…we know we would do it BETTER…but that’s life right?  There’s always an opportunity to do it better, no?
Now it’s November.  Many of the friends we met along the way are probably down on their boats now, preparing for their crossing to the Bahamas and beyond.  Many of them are “snowbirds”, which we used to think was a dirty word, but now we have learned to appreciate.

 

We have started looking at boats/magazines/blogs again, thinking about the next adventure.  The reality is – once sailing is in your blood, there’s no escaping it.

 

COMMENCE PHOTO SEQUENCE:

SURFS UP! Folly Beach

SURFS UP! Folly Beach

Haaaaapppppyyyy

Haaaaapppppyyyy

Rent a car and drive to Trader Joes, only to find out it's a freakin' used furniture shop. FAIL.

Rent a car and drive to Trader Joes, only to find out it’s a freakin’ used furniture shop. FAIL.

Sitting in St. Johns Yacht Harbour while the years first tropical storm brews offshore

Sitting in St. Johns Yacht Harbour while the years first tropical storm brews offshore

Mark's first haircut in a long time

Mark’s first haircut in a long time

We love Charleston. Have we mentioned that before?

We love Charleston. Have we mentioned that before?

Virginia

Virginia

AMERICA HAS TOUCH SCREENS TO ORDER DRINKS?!

AMERICA HAS TOUCH SCREENS TO ORDER DRINKS?!

AMERICA HAS CHEAP PIZZA?!

AMERICA HAS CHEAP PIZZA?!

WTF?

WTF?

Front approaching. Nature rules.

Front approaching. Nature rules.

Gearin' up

Gearin’ up

Lovely spring day in the Chesapeake (it got much worse from here).

Lovely spring day in the Chesapeake (it got much worse from here).

Pops happy to be aboard!

Pops happy to be aboard!

Family sail in the Potomac

Family sail in the Potomac

Happy Spinnaker Dad!

Happy Spinnaker Dad!

First Maryland Crab Experience. Holy Old Bay

First Maryland Crab Experience. Holy Old Bay

St. Augustine

Annapolis

Amazing sky in Rock Hall, MD

Amazing sky in Rock Hall, MD

Amazing sky in Rock Hall, MD cont'd

Amazing sky in Rock Hall, MD cont’d

Racing a major freighter into the C&D Canal

Racing a major freighter into the C&D Canal

We were pretending there was an apostrophe in there. D'Urban Highway. Say it with us. D'Urban.

We were pretending there was an apostrophe in there. D’Urban Highway. Say it with us. D’Urban.

Overnighter! Dark night up the NJ Coast

Overnighter! Dark night up the NJ Coast

Calm Foggy Morning - NJ Coast

Calm Foggy Morning – NJ Coast

FOG HORNS

FOG HORNS

Genoa blaster into Sandy Hook

Genoa blaster into Sandy Hook

33 hours, 170 miles, First overnight sail. Tired n' thirsty

33 hours, 170 miles, First overnight sail. Tired n’ thirsty

BACK TO NYC!

BACK TO NYC!

Printing this and putting it on the wall.

Printing this and putting it on the wall.

Splurging in the city :)

Splurging in the city :)

Continental

Continental

AirBNB loft in Brooklyn. Thanks to our host!

AirBNB loft in Brooklyn. Thanks to our host!

Picnic in the city

Picnic in the city

Cold grey megacity

Cold grey megacity

Liberte

Liberte

Weird Panorama

Weird Panorama

Threading the needle

Threading the needle

Happy/Cold

Happy/Cold

Get your sway on

Get your sway on

WRITE IT DOWN OR FORGET IT

WRITE IT DOWN OR FORGET IT

There's the sun!

There’s the sun!

Back to Catskill

Back to Catskill

Found our stands (amongst the chaos)

Found our stands (amongst the chaos)

Awww yeah

Awww yeah

Spring has sprung!

Spring has sprung!

Damn. Mast down again

Damn. Mast down again

Passing our old friends When and If in Albany! Pretty with the mast(s) up.

Passing our old friends When and If in Albany! Pretty with the mast(s) up.

Lock 1

Lock 1

Rainy barbee solution

Rainy barbee solution

Free docks are great

Free docks are great

Glassy mornings

Glassy mornings

During our trip we were pessimists, optimists and realists.

During our trip we were pessimists, optimists and realists.

High water delay in the ICW = visit home!

High water delay in the ICW = visit home!

Nice to be back :)

Nice to be back :)

Summer backyard greenspace

Summer backyard greenspace

Caitie gets her hair did

Caitie gets her hair did

West Virginia

West Virginia

Sister time at the lake for July 4th!

Sister time at the lake for July 4th!

Saucy Ladies

Saucy Ladies

Sistertrip to Charleston!

Sistertrip to Charleston!

Rocking our July 4th swag

Rocking our July 4th swag

Mad Dog

Mad Dog

Reliving University

Reliving University

Grillmaster

Grillmaster

I wish I looked as hot as she does

I wish I looked as hot as she does

Snoozin'

Snoozin’

Spirit Cake! Cousins!

Spirit Cake! Cousins!

:(

:(

Heart Steaked Box

Heart Steaked Box

Rainy motoring in the ditch

Rainy motoring in the ditch

Casual

Casual

Young punks. The kid second from the right is giving us the finger.

Young punks. The kid second from the right is giving us the finger.

Vintage postcard moment - Holley, NY

Vintage postcard moment – Holley, NY

Who knew?

Who knew?

Happy Place

Happy Place

'Yonce

‘Yonce

Gorgeous weather - Eastern half of the canal.

Gorgeous weather – Eastern half of the canal.

Last two locks - LOCKPORT, NY

Last two locks – LOCKPORT, NY

This is it!

This is it!

They had a disagreement

They had a disagreement

#Enhance

#Enhance

First "Canadian" in a loooong time

First “Canadian” in a loooong time

Tasty

Tasty

MAST BACK UP! Buffalo, NY

MAST BACK UP! Buffalo, NY

Wally workin' on the radar

Wally workin’ on the radar

Doing what he does best

Doing what he does best

Last night - Erie, PA

Last night – Erie, PA

Product placement

Product placement

Don't bug me before coffee

Don’t bug me before coffee

Mmmm...Cake

Mmmm…Cake

MHYC we have arrived

MHYC we have arrived

Smile for the camera!

Smile for the camera!

 

We’re BACK! First week in the ICW!

On the road again!  We love being back.  We loved being “gone” too, but being back has its perks.  Full fridge (including BEER, the most expensive commodity in the Bahamas allegedly), calm water, cell phone service and familiar scenery.  We are making great time up the coast, flying through Florida, Georgia and part of South Carolina already.  Loving doing the ICW better this time – warm weather, local knowledge, and a few more months of boating experience are making this trip up way more fun than our route down.  Here are some road-trippin highlights so far:

Slightly less beardish

Slightly less beardish

The Big Mainland

On the road again (this time, red to PORT)

le journal

le journal

CUMBERLAND ISLAND 2: The Found World

CUMBERLAND ISLAND 2: The Found World

Still one of our favourite places

Still one of our favourite places

IMG_0058 IMG_0068

Sunrise...sunset

Sunrise…sunset

IMG_0084

Sunrise...sunset

Sunrise…sunset

#streetstyle in Beaufort, SC

#streetstyle in Beaufort, SC

Happy hours and free BBQ?  Southern Hospitality!

Happy hours and free BBQ? Southern Hospitality!

Beautiful Beaufort, SC ("Bew-fort")

Beautiful Beaufort, SC (“Bew-fort”)

Forrest Gump celebrity spottings.

Forrest Gump celebrity spottings.

Schwing bridge / full moon

Schwing bridge / full moon

IMG_0138

Us

IMG_0620

Rough winter for this guy

IMG_0986

Fort Matanzas, Florida. The black and white makes it look kind of epic…but it was about the size of a garage.

IMG_1009

BBQ in the Georgia marshlands (Wally’s leg, GA)

IMG_1015

Beers in Beaufort, SC

IMG_8650

Navigation. “Easy in. Weird current vs wind but quite scenic (for FLA)” – anchorage reviews by CL

IMG_8656

Love dees manatees

IMG_8661

The land of 1000 bridges

IMG_8686

Wow – wasn’t expecting to wear this guy again. Frig!

IMG_8703

This guy gets us every time. Hard to tell whose hair it might have been…

IMG_8725

Classic ICW anchorage morning on the Herb River, GA

IMG_0124 IMG_0129 IMG_0136 IMG_8695 IMG_8745 IMG_8750 IMG_8769

Home Sweet Boat Home

We have been trying to do this post for ages, to finally show y’all what this little boat home looks like.  However, mostly it looks a lot messier, so when we had cleaned it all up for my (Caitie’s) parents’ visit, it was our chance to capture it in a moment of calm and cleanliness.

Welcome to TARA!

IMG_0203

Companionway stairs hide the Universal/Westerbeke 44HP Diesel engine. Navigation station to the right of the photo (which is the port side of the boat), and cabin (aka our bedroom) on the starboard side.

 

IMG_0202

Nav station, VHF radio and power switchboard for the fridge, lights, fans, etc. We are constantly turning things off to save power…although less so now that we have awesome sunny days powering the solar panels!

IMG_0201

Galley! The fridge is top-loading (the two rectangles on the left side of the picture) as well as an amazingly sweet bottom-access door, mostly leading to a cool compartment of beer. The stove and stovetop are run on Compressed Natural Gas, which unfortunately is not refillable outside of a few key stops in the USA, so we often cook outside using a propane Coleman stove or BBQ. Double sinks, including a salt water foot pump, are a lifesaver when piling up a days’ worth of dishes. Gear hammock sadly devoid of fresh fruit, but awesome for preventing bruising underway.

IMG_0199

Salo(o)n converts to be a double bed, as well as a large table for dinner and dominos matches. Our dry food stores are in the wall cupboards as well as behind the settees (couches). Water tanks (108 gallons) hide under the settee cushions.

IMG_0196

The head! There is a shower behind the door, but we exclusively shower using a solar bag in the cockpit, to save water/power.

IMG_0194

V-berth / guest suite all cleaned up for my parents! Normally filled with all sorts of fishing gear, extra sails, cold weather clothes…

IMG_0188

The master suite.

IMG_0195 IMG_0191 IMG_0187