Category: Deep thoughts

The End of an Era

by markperil@gmail.com on November 6, 2015 in Boating Life, C&D Canal, Chesapeake Bay, Deep thoughts, Delaware Bay, Erie Canal, ICW, Maryland, Rainy Days, Sunny days, Sunsets • 0 Comments

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

Haaaaapppppyyyy

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

Mark’s first haircut in a long time

We love Charleston. Have we mentioned that before?

Virginia

AMERICA HAS TOUCH SCREENS TO ORDER DRINKS?!

AMERICA HAS CHEAP PIZZA?!

WTF?

Front approaching. Nature rules.

Gearin’ up

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

Pops happy to be aboard!

Family sail in the Potomac

Happy Spinnaker Dad!

First Maryland Crab Experience. Holy Old Bay

Annapolis

Amazing sky in Rock Hall, MD

Amazing sky in Rock Hall, MD cont’d

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.

Overnighter! Dark night up the NJ Coast

Calm Foggy Morning – NJ Coast

FOG HORNS

Genoa blaster into Sandy Hook

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

BACK TO NYC!

Printing this and putting it on the wall.

Splurging in the city :)

Continental

AirBNB loft in Brooklyn. Thanks to our host!

Picnic in the city

Cold grey megacity

Liberte

Weird Panorama

Threading the needle

Happy/Cold

Get your sway on

WRITE IT DOWN OR FORGET IT

There’s the sun!

Back to Catskill

Found our stands (amongst the chaos)

Awww yeah

Spring has sprung!

Damn. Mast down again

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

Lock 1

Rainy barbee solution

Free docks are great

Glassy mornings

During our trip we were pessimists, optimists and realists.

High water delay in the ICW = visit home!

Nice to be back :)

Summer backyard greenspace

Caitie gets her hair did

West Virginia

Sister time at the lake for July 4th!

Saucy Ladies

Sistertrip to Charleston!

Rocking our July 4th swag

Mad Dog

Reliving University

Grillmaster

I wish I looked as hot as she does

Snoozin’

Spirit Cake! Cousins!

Heart Steaked Box

Rainy motoring in the ditch

Casual

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

Vintage postcard moment – Holley, NY

Who knew?

Happy Place

‘Yonce

Gorgeous weather – Eastern half of the canal.

Last two locks – LOCKPORT, NY

This is it!

They had a disagreement

#Enhance

First “Canadian” in a loooong time

Tasty

MAST BACK UP! Buffalo, NY

Wally workin’ on the radar

Doing what he does best

Last night – Erie, PA

Product placement

Don’t bug me before coffee

Mmmm…Cake

MHYC we have arrived

Smile for the camera!

Happy Mothers Day!

by markperil@gmail.com on May 10, 2015 in Deep thoughts, ICW, South Carolina, Sunny days • 0 Comments

Happy Mothers Day to all of you moms out there…especially ours
Love Mark & Caitie

Our dollar store hula girl guardian angel looks after us when our mothers can’t be on board

White point “Bonsai”

by markperil@gmail.com on March 7, 2015 in Bahamas, Deep thoughts, Exumas, Surprises • 0 Comments

In May of last year, we went to Japan. It was an amazing experience – I could write a hundred posts detailing how incredible the experience was (but I’ll spare you).

During one of our exploration days out of Tokyo, Caitie indulged me and hopped on the train out to Omiya, which is a town that hosts several Bonsai nurseries, and even a Bonsai Museum. Even though it was blisteringly hot, we managed to check out some amazing 100+ year old trees…in pots

Now, I’ve had a weird fascination with bonsai for a long time. Going to Omiya was like making a small pilgrimage in a way…Now here we are in the Bahamas, and as I was strolling around the bluffs at White Point, I saw tons of wind-swept/weathered trees that reminded me of our visit to Omiya last year.

Caitie will laugh, but here is my inspiration.

Broke Down (and Out)

by markperil@gmail.com on February 19, 2015 in Bahamas, Boat Projects, Boat Work, Deep thoughts, Sitting at anchor, Surprises • 0 Comments

Ok, first of all – we are safe, as of writing this post, and the boat is too. But it was a challenging few days after our first engine failure of the trip, which happened this week (on Valentine’s day, but who’s counting?).

We were en route to black point from Georgetown in the Exumas to meet Caitie’s parents for a week visit when we heard a squeal and a hint of burning coming from our Diesel engine. We cut it quickly (thankfully) and after a quick series of deductions and tests discovered that our fresh water circulating pump (that which circulates the coolant) had seized and was not allowing our alternator vee belt to cycle around. Despite spending a lot of time and money organizing spares for this trip, this, of course, was not one of them, so there was no easy way to fix it on the spot. We were headed almost directly upwind and there was no way we could sail to black point before dark, especially since this involved getting through one of the high current cuts from the Exuma sound (aka ocean) side of the islands to the bank (aka shallow) side.

Since there is no real coast guard or towing service here, we issued a pan pan and luckily had two high powered dinghies come assist to pilot us in through a cut and onto anchor. This went smoothly enough, except for the fact that we were now anchored at an uninhabited island, 30 miles from civilization and our newly arrived guests. To add insult to injury, our cell phone cards had unexpectedly expired and we had no email or phone communications. DRAMA!

After taking our dinghy to a few nearby sailboats we managed to get an email out to Caitie’s parents as well as a weather check to decide what our plan would be. After much deliberation, we decided to continue up to black point and try to fix the engine on anchor there (with the assistance of a newly flown in part from Florida), with the hopes of still salvaging some of the visit. A very kind Bristol 47 sailboat towed us out of the cut the next morning at slack tide, which was still very scary as the wind created a “rage” condition of steep, short waves that jerked us around. We managed to sail the 30 miles up the Exuma sound in high swell but safe conditions and had an adrenaline filled downwind run through Dotham cut (hitting over 8 knots), passing by the steep rock walls closely but safely. We anchored under sail and even managed to get in to have a celebration drink with Caitie’s parents at their rental cottage.

We’ve ordered our replacement parts and have had to sail off and onto anchor again, to move to a slightly safer location for a heavy northerly front coming in tonight. We have been channeling the spirit of Lin and Larry Pardey (wherever they are), as their books of sailing around the world in small boats without engines have been sources of inspiration and awe on our trip so far.

Although this has been really challenging, emotionally and logistically, to deal with this situation, it has been a learning experience and will hopefully make a good story… Once it’s all sorted out

PS – Thank you so so much to our boat friends (and family) for reaching out to offer assistance, encouragement and kind words these past few days. We are beyond grateful and only hope we can pay it forward.

M & C

Eye See Dubya (ICW) – the good, the bad, and the ugly

by Caitlin Lefroy on January 15, 2015 in Deep thoughts, Destinations, ICW • 0 Comments

Don’t worry – Bahamas photos aplenty are coming your way soon!

But in the mean time, before we totally let the turquoise waters wash away our memories of the past couple of months, here are a few highlights and lowlights of our trip from Norfolk, Virginia to Miami, Florida.

Most deceiving waterway name: Dismal Swamp Canal, Virginia

This short stretch right after Norfolk was some of the most picturesque waterway we saw the whole way down. It captured the feeling of autumn more than the Hudson and Erie Canal combined.

Least serene anchorage: Mile Hammock Bay, North Carolina

100% humidity, tornardo warnings in the SE, rainbows amongt torrential downpours, army helicopters and black ops officers doing dinghy drills on the “don’t even think about going to land” restricted zone, and the circus show of too many snowbirds learning to set anchors with strong wind in bad holding.

Best site for sore eyes (/cold bones): Saint John’s Yacht Harbor, South Carolina

After a long and cold stretch through North Carolina, the spectacular shower facilities at St John’s, coupled with the timing of a Thanksgiving break with family, warmed us up both physically and in spirits, which were low and needing some warmth.

Best reason to slog through the marshes of Georgia: Cumberland Island, GA

Easily one of our most cherished memories is this nature preserve and all round magical place. We hope it will stay undeveloped and preserved for future generations.

Best place to learn the art of keeping a sailboat in one place without an anchor: Southern Florida

Paraphrasing a sailing quote, anybody can make a boat move, but it takes some skill to keep one in the same spot. Try doing that with a couple knots of current pushing you towards a bascule bridge that doesn’t open for 15 minutes, coupled with the hoards of motor boats and jet skis that blast by you, and then do it every few miles for a couple of days. OR sail outside and skip it!

Best reward for making the 1095 mile trek: Key Biscayne

Although we were obviously keen to go to the Bahamas, I’ll admit it: it was really nice in Key Biscayne (just south of Miami). It was hot. The water was beautiful and turquoise. We had a great anchor spot in well-protected No Name Harbour, and the town of Key Biscayne has all the upscale amenities you could want, plus hilarious golf carts driving on roads beside luxury vehicles.

VICTORY

by markperil@gmail.com on January 15, 2015 in Deep thoughts, Destinations • 1 Comment

It’s crazy, but we’re here!!

We had waited for over a week for a weather window (I know, not that long, but you try with 4 months of anticipation building behind you!), and when it finally came we were excited. UNFORTUNATELY, I (Caitie) woke up to rather aggressive lightning and rain around 2am before our planned 5am departure. 4:30am came and it was raining harder than we had seen this entire trip, with consistent lightning strikes to the south. Frustrations were high – we had already “staged” (prepped and moved anchor to be closer to the sea) and were ready to GO.

When the US Coast Guard came on the radio at 4:30am and announced a Small Craft Advisory and high winds, which completely contrasted the JUST released NOAA forecast online, I was pissed. Having spent a lot of the past week reading Bruce Van Sant’s “Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South“, I was adamant not to take any “third party” weather at face value, so I called the Coast Guard to verify their radio announcement.

And, can you believe it – they had made an error. It was yesterday’s forecast. I knew that it didn’t match what was posted but wasn’t willing to cancel our planned crossing just yet, and when they confirmed that there was NO small craft advisory, we decided to give it a go.

And although it was a higher risk crossing, given the thunderstorms still looming nearby, we had a safe and easy passage. Frankly, it was easier than the average shallow draft day on the ICW.

So, 120 nautical miles later, here we are in the Berry Islands, eating conch fritters, drinking rum punches, and celebrating a hard earned destination: Bahamas.

1/4 of the boats packed into No Name Harbour

Madman

Last sunset in the USA!

click this pic. you’re welcome.

Happy New Year!

by markperil@gmail.com on January 1, 2015 in Deep thoughts, Florida, Surprises • 2 Comments

…OH and please enjoy this great rant on the awesomeness of Saskatchewan in the winter.

Happy New Year tout le monde.

Phase Two.

by markperil@gmail.com on December 4, 2014 in Deep thoughts, OpTrop • 1 Comment

We are back on the water, and have officially commenced phase two.

What is phase two, you ask? Phase two is when we stress less, warm up, and enjoy more. period.

We realized that, after reflecting on the first half of the adventure, we have been on such a mission to make progress south, that we viewed any delay as a setback…every day was targeted to be 50 miles…and any anchorage with good holding acceptable as long as it wasn’t too far off the trail. There were places we missed, because they fell outside of the “plan”.

Now don’t get me wrong, we have seen and done some amazing things since we cast off on September 23rd, and we are ecstatic to have made it as far as we have SAFELY…but we have spent a lot of that time feeling pretty cold, waiting for weather, and often kinda stressed out about “progress” and making sure we “do everything right”. I know, I know, tough life not working and traveling on the water, but it actually HAS been a challenging couple of months for us. Anyone who knows us knows that we like to be in control and to have a plan, and this trip has been an exercise in learning to go with the flow and learning to let go of our control and just live in the moment. It’s been hard learning!

So, after the most relaxing Thanksgiving break we could ask for, we are striving to live more in the moment, to not stress too much about every little boat/anchorage/marina thing, and to be present. Tonight we saw dolphins playing in our wake as we anchored, followed closely by large pelicans swooping and diving as the sun set over the South Carolina marshland surrounding our anchorage.

Commence Phase Two.

What we’re thankful for

by markperil@gmail.com on November 29, 2014 in Deep thoughts, Destinations, OpTrop, South Carolina, Sunny days • 0 Comments

Thanksgiving…what is there to say that hasn’t been said? It’s a time to celebrate the awesomeness of family while devouring endless food and beverages, throwing around the ol’ pigskin, and making regular runs to Wal-Mart for festive tablecloths. Ahhhhh…

This time ’round it’s especially nice to come to the lake house in South Carolina. After being on the water for two months (just the two of us), it’s nice to spend some time on dry land, spending time with family (and getting some time to just CHILL)!

Always a welcome sight!

What’s the first thing we* do? Go out for a sail. WTF, right?

*”we” actually just refers to Mark and Walter*

The Hunter 28 responds well to a light breeze and had us ripping around the lake for the afternoon. When we got back, for the first time ever, we docked completely under sail! It was fun, but the look on our faces says a lot

Good QT with pops

The actual Thanksgiving day/meal was awesome as well, though most meals are awesome when you start with an afternoon Bloody Mary bar hehe….

All in all, Thanksgiving was a major success. We still have a day or two to hang out, but I don’t think we ever wanna leave! We need to remember the beaches in our (hopefully not-so-distant) future.

THANKSGIVING SUCCESS!!!

Day in the Life: What do we DO all the time?

by Caitlin Lefroy on November 8, 2014 in Deep thoughts, OpTrop • 1 Comment

Preface: Many people have asked us “what will you DO with all your time on this trip?”. It turns out, planning where we are going and how we will get there takes up a lot of it.

Here is our Buzzfeed Top 10 (ok, 13) list of “What we do”:

1) Wake up, check weather (NOAA marine forecast, passageweather.com, “civilian” wunderground), make coffee.

2) Check engine, bilge, rigging, fuel, etc. Put on sweatpants.

3) Check iPad charted route on Navionics app, make sure we can make it (considering we slept in an extra half hour and now only have 9 hours of daylight to go).

4) Pull up muddy anchor chain and get under way. Read Active Captain reviews about our prospective anchorage/marina and make judgements about the people reviewing them (“He said the ice cream was expensive, but a large portion, so overall a good value”).

5) Wipe sea spray off face and bungee down ipad after large wave breaks. Check NOAA forecast again to make sure the weather is not building.

6) Make lunch. Determine if it’s a light weather afternoon (beer with sandwiches?) or a heavy one with a tricky harbor to navigate later (no sandwich, no beer, just Cliff Bar)

7) Take turns steering and snoozing, watching out for other boats (“is that tug boat moving?” / “I think it’s actually a lighthouse”). Also, crab traps. Perhaps boaters should consider boycotting those delicious little crab cakes considering the pots are basically booby-trapping the entire Chesapeake bay.

8) Start checking your watch, boat speed and chartplotter ETA compulsively at 3pm, knowing that you have a 2 hour window to make it in to harbor, find a spot to anchor and get all sorted out before it gets dark.

9) Turn on engine and speed up, growing increasingly hungry, cold and anxious to arrive on time. Realize you’re now going against the current and have slowed down 1 knot. Rev up.

10) Spend 20 minutes motoring around at a walking pace, arguing over which spot to anchor in (“when is low tide again? depth sounder reads 5 feet…”). Commit to one, set the anchor, and crack a beer. Use a coozie (to keep your hands warm). Enjoy the sunset for about 10 minutes then realize it’s now early November and freezing cold – go down below and make the early bird special.

11) Check weather again before 8:30pm bedtime, plot out tomorrow’s route and anticipated anchorage/marina and get a good nights sleep.

12) Wake up to howling wind at 1am. Check NOAA weather. Check anchor. Check landmarks around you. Convince yourself you’re not slipping. Go back to bed. (Still wake up frequently to check all those things again)

13) Finally fall asleep as the weather calms. Wake up to a gorgeous sunny fall day on the Chesapeake Bay, knowing you’re headed south towards warmth and mai-tai’s.