Miami Beach

Arrived at South Miami Beach yesterday - land of the beautiful people. Too bad that we can't see them because everyone is bundled up against the cold. It is 40s at night and 60s during the day - not really that cold - but on a boat seems much colder, especially to those of us from California. Oh well, it can only get warmer as we head south. The current plan assuming the weather holds is to leave for Bimini in the Bahamas on Thursday.

Today and tomorrow, Dave is trying to finish up the SSB radio and hook up the water maker as it was a real eye opener yesterday how much water we (read that as I according to Dave) used in the last few days, about 5 gallons a day. Doesn't seem like that much to me but of course there is only a limited supply of water on a boat. Boat living really makes you appreciate the little things in life, especially long, hot showers.

I'm loving every minute of it though, and the amazing sunsets every night actually make the lack of showers worthwhile! So poor Dave is working, while a friend (Louise) and I hang out in internet cafes and shop at the mall (thank goodness for the boat dinghy)! Life is rough...

New Year's Eve

It is New Year's Eve and we have made it to Lake Worth just north of Fort Lauderdale. I am quickly learning that sailing is all about the weather. Every evening is the discussion on the plan for the next day with respect to weather conditions and places to anchor. We left Indian Town yesterday and made it to Stuart. Today we motored down the ICW 30 miles to arrive at Lake Worth. Beautiful day with many boaters on the water for the holiday. My first anchorage... Hopefully we will soon be on the ocean with the sails raised. Life is good!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone and here's hoping you have an amazing, wonderful new year in 2010!

Dave, here's to our new web site. Merry Christmas. Love you baby! Three more days.... Can you handle it?

Preparation - Are We There Yet???

Last week I met Dave in Florida to prep the boat and get it ready to launch in the water. What a learning experience! Of course we had to start off the week by doing it right and attending a boat show in St. Pete. Dave was pulled into a conversation on the pros and cons of all the attributes of fishing poles (who knew??) while I watched a cooking demonstration. Sadly for the boat show, the only money they got out of us was for an autographed "Bob Bitchin" sweatshirt for me as I was freezing! Of course there was a party that evening which was a lot of fun with my new friends. Reference the enclosed picture and the photo link for evidence.

The next day we returned to Indiantown where it had definitely warmed up and was very humid. For those of you who don't know, Indiantown is about an hour and a half north of Fort Lauderdale near Lake Okeechobee. Dave and I began by painting the hull and boot stripe of the boat. It went on from there with all the chores to be done but I think replacing the water heater was the most frustrating as nothing seemed to fit. However, attaching the wind generator (for all my loooooong hot showers) was the most interesting as the mizzen mast had to be pulled down. Finally, the boat was ready to be launched by Friday. For those interested, see the photo site for the mast removal and then the movement of the boat into the water by Travelift. Dave was one happy camper to finally see Starshine in the water again!

Since I had to return to California on Sunday morning, we spent Saturday in Fort Lauderdale. Our first trip in Costco to begin provisioning the boat cost us about $400. However, Saturday night at the casino we came out ahead by $400 (thanks Dave for your words of experience)!

Now I am in California finishing up my last week of work before the adventure begins! Can hardly wait!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, it is that time of year again, time to swallow the anchor of secure shore life and head out for adventure. After having worked for the past 6 months I have successfully completed a long list of items on my "personal to-do list". These include: re-stocking the cruising kitty with freedom dollars, completing my 50,000 mile health checkups, selling my house in Leesburg, updating all my shoreside paperwork and finding a crew (and first mate!).

Gail will be joining me for the first part of the voyage down to the Virgin Islands. The current float plan is to cruise the Bahamas in January, arrive in the Dominican Republic by late February, Puerto Rico by late March and then spend April in the Virgin Islands. After Gail heads back to the real world, I need to continue on to reach Grenada before hurricane season starts July 1.

I will be heading back to Florida and Starshine this weekend and I have a long list of boat chores. First on the list is painting the bottom, checking all through hulls and getting back into the water. Then I will install my new electronics (SSB and wind generator) and tackle a long list of repairs and upgrades. Gail will join me in Florida right after Christmas and we will head for New Year's in Key West.

I hope everyone has a great Holiday Season and an awesome 2010! Come visit us in Key West for New Year's or in the Virgin Islands in April!

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