Happy New Year!

I would like to wish all our family, friends and followers a Happy New Year! 2013 was a year of change for us and we adapted well. 2014 will bring us closer to becoming live aboards and someday cruisers. We originally had hoped to be living aboard in 5 years after her purchase. We are now 3 years in and not really much closer. Everyday life and debt has us trapped it seems. We are making progress of freeing ourselves of debt and with drawing from everyday life, that is what counts. And to be honest, our Sal just is not ready to be lived on quite yet. We still have our dream and are inching closer to setting sail so follow along this coming year as we prepare Sal to be a proper live aboard boat.

Returning from a great day sail!

Bring on 2014!!!!

Where there's a will there's a way

I found this interesting article about a sailor, Martijn Dijkstra, from Holland. I found it very inspirational because he is cruising on what appears to be little money, a lot of hard work and ingenuity. 

http://towndock.net/shippingnews/prinses-mia

Princes Mia in Oriental, NC
(photo from Towndock.net)

Very good article that touched on his cruising philosophy and how he handles problems with little money.

Great read on another wet, windy and miserable day here in southern Virginia

Changes

Just got back from a workout in the park with Crystal, temperature was a beautiful 70 degrees today. 

Now it looks like we're in for some gale force winds and rapidly dropping temperatures overnight. The temps will be in the 30's within 24hrs....

So goes the weather in southeast Virginia.

Go with what you have- An Alberg 30

If you don't know by now, all boats are a compromise. Some shine at certain things and fall short on others. There is always a great debate on which boat is right for this or that. There are many opinions on the subject; just look at any internet forum. My best advice is go with what makes you feel safe, secure and comfortable. But opinions are like assholes: Everyone has one...and they usually stink. 

That being said, I am a firm believer that you should go cruising or sailing with what you can afford. I also believe in go-small-go-now; hence, my reason for buying the trusty old Alberg 30. She is slow, with a primitive inside cabin but I'm confident that she has been there/done that. If I had the money would I have a different boat but it would probably just be a larger version of the same old slow, primitive boat. I love the look of older classic sailboats, and most importantly I get that warm fuzzy inside when sailing with a full keel boat.

I have attached a link to a video of Matt Rutherford where he talks about his circumnavigation of the Americas. In the video he talks about preparing, sailing and traveling on a small 27ft classic sailboat. He says go with what you have or you'll never go. I agree

Link to video

My first sailboat- O'Day Daysailor II

Here is the O'day Daysailor II I learned to sail on 25yrs ago. I had many great sails on her. This is where she is today, hopefully someday she will return to the water once again!

Great sail yesterday

Finally got of the dock yesterday. It was a great day for a sail. Outside temps were mid to upper 60's and wind was out of the west south west at steady 17knots with gusts to 20-23knots. It made the bay a bit rough but nothing too terrible. Here a few shots from the GoPro from the day.

A bit choppy on the Chessie yesterday...these are the conditions Sal likes best!

Is the camera on? yep seems so

First mate a bit over dressed for the occasion

reefed main and working jib seemed about right yesterday for a nice day sail

Putting things back where they belong after a good day out on the water

Classic Trawlers/Power Yachts

 Classic and beautiful yacht

 Holy varnish work, absolutely beautiful!

 Coastal Queen

1914 originally steam powered now has a diesel and in need of restoration named Strathbelle

While I am a sailor at heart and hate using/paying for fuel, I have to say I love these classic yachts. I am sure they are lots of work and cost a pretty penny to maintain, but they are extremely easy on the eyes.

I'd like to take a trip down the intracoastal on anyone of them!

no title necessary

This is how I feel most days... especially when I'm not sailing!

Congratulations to my first mate!

 Congratulations on your graduation of 200hr Yoga Instructor training. I am very proud of your hard work and dedication to your practice! One step closer to going cruising!

 Crystal and her instructors AJ and C'Mae

Funny!

10th Anniversary: Part 1

        I would like to start out by telling you all how lucky I am to find the woman of my dreams. For the last 16 years she has been my best friend and not a day goes by that she does not  make me smile and enjoy her company. 

For months we had been talking about how we wanted to spend our 10th wedding anniversary. I really wanted to spend it sailing the Chesapeake on our Sal. For those that don't know, my First Mate and I met on a boat, got married on a boat, and both love being on a boat. It seemed fitting to me that our 10th anniversary be spent on a boat; this time it would be our own boat, our Sal. Unfortunately, Sal was really not quite ready to go. Her v-berth has been in a construction state for...well...way too long. I am sad to report it is still that way today (updates on this later). After much debate and a few direct commands from the First Mate we decided on a road trip to Cape Cod. We had talked about going there earlier in the year to visit the newest additions to my family but just couldn't iron out any solid plans. If you love boats and the ocean but are forced to be land-bound, there's no better place than Cape Cod. Now we had a destination that was meaningful to us.

We headed off on our trip on the actual day of our anniversary. First we were going to spend a few days at Yogaville, a special yoga community and ashram, for Crystal to take part in her teacher training. We drove out west to the ashram in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, on the James River. It is beautiful there. When we arrived we set up our tent and had a nice relaxing evening. The next morning we woke up before the sun and headed to the top of Mt. Kailash to look out over the river valley and hills.

 Premium sunrise viewing spot for sure. A misty pale morning.

"I think Cape Cod is that way....yea...I'm sure of it."

Looking down at the Lotus Temple

On the James River during our hike

After our trek to the top of the mountain we went hiking for a good 2 hours along the James River, then went for a late breakfast of coffee and freshly baked goodies at Mandala, the small cafe there. It was just about then that Crystal's yoga classmates showed up. They were here as a group to further study some of the spiritual points of yoga. When they all headed off to practice I went down to the campsite to set up my portable amateur radio station and spent some time listening to the airwaves and trying to make radio contacts. After a few hours Crystal and her friends returned and we enjoyed the rest of our day together. The next morning we woke up early and broke down the tent. We were both very eager to hit the road and get to Massachusetts for the rest of our anniversary adventure.

Still Here

Still here and planning on posting more about our recent trip. 

Been super busy with work and school. First mate has a new job, congrats to her. I now work in different department where I work so I am back to day shift and learning new equipment. Finally, I have graduated from the first stage of my captains course. I am now a OUPV Captain and still in school working on the 100 Ton and towing endorsements. Stay tuned!

Stuck in Port!

Normally this is a bad thing, especially since we were going to take our Sal out on the Chesapeake exploring for our anniversary. Well, because of TS Karen we changed plans. Our change of plans led us to a very special place. We got to visit family and eat great local to the area food! I will do a more lengthy post about our trip but here are a few images. More images of family and sites coming soon

A great 10th anniversary!

Schooner Virginia

Yesterday while out for a great afternoon sail we had the pleasure of seeing the lovely Schooner Virginia under sail. She was sailing out of Little Creek Inlet on Southern Chesapeake Bay. What a beautiful vessel!

American Way!

Early Morning Sunrise

A few days ago I decided to head to Sal early in the morning. I was greeted by this beautiful sunrise.

The time will come when this will be the view I wake up to every morning.

Summer is just about gone

And good riddance! While I enjoy nice weather I am not a big fan of anything over 70 degrees especially if the sun is shining. Great thing about summer winding down is that it means the temperature will be as well. Great for everything outdoors.

I know the blog has been a little slow lately and that is mainly due to life getting in the way. My new job has me working some crazy shifts and sometimes long hours. While this may seem like a step in the wrong direction for becoming a cruiser it really isn't. This job has relieved me of a lot stress that was present at my last job and now that I am a few months in, I am starting to get a routine down. This has allowed for more sailing.

Another new development in our adventures is that I am working towards my 100 ton Captain license. I am attending the local maritime school at night. I have most of all the prerequisites complete and just need to pass the exams. Hopefully by the end of the year I will have my captain's license completed. I am obtaining this with the hopes of being able to get summer work in ports while traveling and cruising the US. We'll see, either way it is always good to have on the resume.

First Mate and I are starting to plan an extended stay on our Sal for early October. We will keep you guys posted on our plans and adventure as it gets closer.

Out for a sail last week.

Breakin the Chain!!!

Spinnaker Photo- Alberg 30 Flying her Asy Spinnaker

Our Sal under sail in 2011, making good headway with cruising spinnaker.