We're Back

After getting the boatyard work done, I returned home to take care of some things while Rover got used to her new digs at the marina. I returned to the boat about a week ago...this time with my wife (who is giving this boat thing another try) and our dog. 

 There were several goals for this trip. One was to wrap up a few (hopefully) minor boat projects. We also wanted meet up with some friends in both Oriental and Southport. And most importantly, to refamiliarize ourselves with life aboard a boat and do a few short trips with the boat to see the local area and test out systems for our big trip in the fall. Yes, the trip to the Bahamas that was planned before the pandemic. 

When I was last at the marina, there was a Leopard 43 behind me that was for sale. I met the owner and found out he was actually familiar with this blog. It always amazes me how large and yet small the cruising community is. Unfortunately, he was not around much before the boat was sold and I was busy on the phone getting some insurance issues resolved when he last stopped by. Andy, wherever you are, I hope you are well.

Recently Sold Leopard 43

The boat was sold and the new owner departed with the boat for new adventures...or so I thought. Imagine my surprise when the Leopard returned a few days after we arrived back at the marina. The new owner, Tom, has owned other sailboats in the past, but I believe this was his first catamaran. He was preparing the boat for a trip south to its new home in Florida. I spent a couple days helping him get things ready for his trip, getting the sails put up and providing what little knowledge and tips I have about Leopards that were not specific to my model. My wife and I spent a couple evenings talking over sundowners and meals, and quite enjoyed his company. I do love how cruising allows one to make friends from all walks of life so quick and easy. 

Since Tom had prior boats, he also had duplicates of a few items that are often handy on boats. He already owned folding bikes, so the older ones that came with his boat were extra and unneeded. Given the limited storage space on a boat, duplicates or spares of such large items only serve to take up too much of that coveted storage space. As a result, we were gifted and now have two folding bikes again. Having been stored on a boat, they are in need of a little TLC (mostly cleaning, adjustment, and treating some rust with Ospho), but are functional and we look forward to using them. 

Another big item that he had was a spare watermaker. Most cruisers that don't have one, wish they did (particularly in places like the Bahamas), and I am no exception. Since he had two virtually identical Rainman portable watermakers, we were able to make a deal and I purchased his spare. Ironically, now I have to figure out where to store it...lol. But being able to make fresh water from the ocean when needd instead of having to pay for and haul water at Bahamas prices I know will come in handy and make the trip even more pleasant. 

Rainman portable watermaker
(Picture from Rainman)

Tom, I hope your trip south is going well and I hope our paths cross again in the future.

We were also able to catch up with some, now long-time..at least by cruising standards, friends in Oriental. My friends at The Retirement Project have moved from a blue water cruising sailboat to a trawler and will soon be starting a trip along the American Great Loop. It was great getting a chance to catch up with them and swap stories over a meal. Safe journeys on your new adventure my friends!

Having spent a number of years in Southport, we had some friends there that we wanted to see. A convergece of several factors, had us make the long drive there a couple days ago. We met up with some of those friends at the marina and then went to one of our favorite seafood restaurats in Southport. If you are ever in Southport and want some good seafood at reasonable prices, check out "Provisions" (officially, I think the name is The Provision Company). 

West Marine recently had a rasonable sale on line (yes, you read that right... reasonable... at West Marine), so I've now replaced much of the running rigging. It also gave me a chance to practice adding eye splices to double braid line using a fid set I was gifted a number of years ago. I still have to follow the written insructions (pdf), but I seem to be proficient at it, albeit very slow. 

As I write this, we are waiting for the weather to calm down so we can finally get the sails back up (the last window was when I was helping Tom). A couple day sails after that and we should be ready to do some exploring of the area. Mabe we will go check out the Albemarle ...again... and hopefully not chased away by a hurricane this time. Then there is Cape Lookout and the outer banks. Much to explore.  Can't wait to get back to using Rover for what she is meant to do.

Thank You!

I continue to be surprised by my readers.  Okay, sometimes I'm surprised I have readers beyond a couple friends and family.  I guess the mundane tasks of preparing to cruise are more interesting than I think...either that or some of you are extremely bored. :-)

In any case, I have met more than a few people that I didn't know until I started this blog.  I've written in the past about meeting people while I was in Denver taking sailing classes and shopping for our boat. I've met others since I bought the boat. In fact, I've met folks via my blog at every stop I've made since I bought the boat. The last couple days I've had the chance to meet a couple people who wanted to meet once they found out I was in Southport, NC.

The first couple was in Southport this past weekend taking their ASA 101 and 103 courses.  So much has happened that it seems almost a lifetime ago since my wife and I were taking our first ASA courses in Colorado.  They are lucky they can take a course on the coast and not on a lake or reservoir...I'm sure that will give them a better feel for what ocean sailing is like.  They seemed pretty tired when they arrived, so I'm sure they had a busy day their first day of lessons.  They got to see my boat (which seems to always be a mess amid the constant projects that are going when I'm not sailing) and we had a nice chat. I wish them luck in their continued classes and future sailing plans.

The second couple lives a couple hours away and came down to take me out to lunch and talk about my experiences thus far.  They had actually offered to help with my boat move as well, but schedules just didn't seem to work out.  We talked about experiences of looking for and buying a boat as well as a variety of topics related to this adventure.  It amazes me that people I don't really know would want to drive that far to meet me. It's really neat to get to meet people that share the dream and I hope I didn't disappoint.

On a related note, another blog reader I met a while back has volunteered to come help me move my boat from Southport up to the Deltaville VA area.  So, with any luck I'll make my insurance requirement to be north of Cape Hatteras by June first.

So, I just wanted to say thank you to all my readers.  The kind words, encouragement, offers to help, and chances to meet and discuss this crazy thing are all appreciated.