New Adventure

Well, Dave finally found a crew member (at least for a few months). We plan on setting sail no later than the first of January and there is so much to do! He is leaving for Florida next weekend where I will join him in a few weeks. He has a long "list" of chores to get the boat ready which I am sure he will post soon! As for me, Dave has warned me that I am primarily in charge of the cooking so I am assuming he will catch a lot of fish for me to cook! I am spending the majority of my time reading basic "Sailing 101" books as there is so much to learn. Thankfully, I know that I am in the hands of a very experienced sailor and no worries (except if the engine dies)! On the contrary, I am very much looking forward to this trip and know it will be the adventure of a lifetime. More to come.....

Fall is in the air

Getting ready to head south! Went to the Annapolis Boat Show yesterday and spent a bunch of money - on necessary equipment and fun!

I now have a liferaft, EPIRB and all the safety stuff needed to go voyaging. I also bought a Walker Bay inflatable kayak for fun! On top of all that, I have sold my house in Leesburg and that has been keeping me busy; cleaning out the house and figuring out what to do with "stuff".

The "Current Plan" is to head south in December to get Starshine ready and then sail further south ahead of winter. We need to get below about 10 degrees N before Hurricane Season kicks up again in July. After this El Nino year it may be more active and interesting. Then it might be gunkholing through Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and the ABC islands before the change of season and transiting the Panama canal to explore the the West Coast of N America. Or something along those lines...

I still have about 250 things left on my getaway list but I am making progress. Almost done spending (and making) money and nearly complete with the myriad of arrangements required to leave the real world behind. This being the second time, I should have almost everything taken care of this time. All loose ends closed and freedom almost achieved.

Good luck to Bristol Rose, departing soon for half way around the world. I'm still a little behind you, but hope to catch up some day!

Stay tuned, Dave and Starshine

Summer in VA

It is now definitely summer in Northern VA - but it is probably worse down in Florida where Starshine waits. No hurricanes yet, in fact El Nino is heating up and it may be a very slow year for storms - that's good!

I am still working and saving for the fall, and trying to decide exactly what the next adventure will be. I am in the process of collecting all the big ticket items I wish I had last year. I am researching computers, SSB radios, EPIRBS and life rafts. At lest I already have my wind generator so I will have enough power to run all the new gadgets!

I am still looking for crew! Anyone who wants to spend a week or a month or more sailing down through the Caribbean please let me know! Once I have plans firmed up a little more, I plan to put a calendar on this website with a rough float plan and people can sign up for a leg or two. I plan to leave from Florida in November (after I get all my new stuff hooked up and working) and sail down through the Carib to Panama. After that, who knows? Stay tuned and keep cool!

Route of my Bahamas Voyage

View 2008/2009 Cruise in a larger map


This is a rough map of the route I took from Deale, MD down to Florida; to the Florida Keys; over to the Bahamas; and, back to Florida. I left on November 10, 2008 and returned to Florida on May 9, 2009 - 6 months and 2700 miles!

Back in the USA

After 6 months and 2700 miles, Starshine is back on the hard in Florida. She is resting quietly in Indiantown. Florida, all set to weather the hurricane season. Indiantown is about 30 miles inland and is about as safe a place as there is in Florida.

Brett and I left Green Turtle Cay, Abacos on May 5 and went straight through to Ft. Pierce, Florida. We had great weather and a great crossing, a total of 166 miles in 33 hours. We sailed about half way and motor-sailed the rest in fairly light winds from the East. We anchored in Ft. Pierce and then took the Okeechobee Waterway up to Indiantown the next day. Finally, we cleaned up the boat, hauled her out and rented a car to drive back North.

I am now working as a consultant for a while until the next adventure.

Visitors in Marsh Harbour

Well, I'm still hanging out in Marsh Harbour, but have had some visitors. Matt was here for a week and we met up with Steve, Ruth, Ian and Rees who rented a house in Hope town for a while. Next week Brett is coming to visit and will help me sail back to Florida. Here's a few pictures of some of my visitors as well as a shot of Marsh Harbour from space taken by the Ikonos satellite. This was taken last Friday and Starshine is anchored somewhere in the Harbour!

Eleuthera/Abacos Pix