That day is finally coming. We are waiting for some parts and one more repair then we will be heading to those southern latitudes next week. This last couple of weeks has allowed us to test out the boat, get comfortable with her, learn the systems, we are now in the serious provisioning stage of preparations.

We took her out on a five day voyage to test systems and see what we did not know. Larry learned a lot about her. The boat is much more complex then our little race boat was. We have a heater, inverter, freezer, refrigerator, solar and its interaction with the batteries and demands of lights and appliances, then you have the two heads and they are electric. The anchor and chain are huge so thank goodness we have an electric windlass to bring the anchor up. And not to mention our trusty engines and the tender. Mechanic says they are the best engines ever made!

This morning we had a radio professional come by to go over and answer questions regarding the single side band radio and VHF. Navigation and the chart plotter is another area I am learning. Larry is proficient at navigation but had a new toy in the chart plotter.

So much to take in and to learn before heading on the adventure. Two crew will join us for the trip down and we will fly them home.  This takes to pressure off me to do half of the watches through the night.

Last week our good friend Jean and his son John introduced us to fishing and its gear. Wow. He knows what he is talking about. Fishing is not luck. I have not fished since 1972. However, I was quite lucky....I won all the fish catching prizes at Brian's 8th birthday party in 1970.

Rocky is not adjusting so well. He is convinced that it is not a good idea to potty on the Pet Loo on the fordeck or anywhere else on the boat. So.....we are putting real grass on top of it to try and convince him.

Our next blog will be from Mexico. Bon Voyage!

Found THE boat!

Hellooooooo to our Baby! 

 Our 'Sun Baby'. Can you believe we move to Florida to find our boat and sail from there yet the best boat we could find was in San Diego?

The boat has passed all surveys to our satisfaction and we are closing soon! Here she is again! I never really thought this day would come..... I am all in now!

She will go into the yard for some maintenance followed by a shake down cruise to Catalina. Then we install some gear (new sail!) Final provisioning then off the Sea of Cortez with its sea life, quiet coves and lapping water against her hulls.

Larry found me the perfect boat. She has been well cared for by her owners and is very comfortable. He is adding a "go fast in light air" sail and I add the food and my projects (quilts, sewing, books). I am about to learn a whole heck of a lot about myself.  I expect to find that Peace Corp Volunteer down deep inside again. I never really thought I would have to....but it is the nice quiet life I long for and the ocean life Larry longs for.

Vamos a ver!

 

In our move to Florida we found that most boats in the tropics are pretty beat up and would need a few months of work to be ready to cruise or live on. Seeking guidance from our friends back in San Diego we found out they were considering selling their well maintained  catamaran. The boat resides in the slip next to our former slip on "I" dock at the club.

After looking at their boat from our boat as we went in and out, or just enjoyed our cockpit after racing, for the last few years....now we will be looking at the world from her decks!

So once again we embarked on a trip to cross this great country of Texas, er, I mean, USA. :-)

Rocky's preferred sleeping location en route is on my co-pilot seat with me, facing backwards on his head rest.

We stopped in Fairhope, AL to visit Aunt Dee, Dick and family. Renewing family ties enriches our lives and this visit did not disappoint! We delighted in tales of boating, spearfishing and family history along with meeting my cousin's beautiful young family.

Dinner at sundown--all the gulf seafood you can handle.

Drum roll please! We arrive to San Diego to survey the boat! Better photos to follow! Could Rocky's Ocean Adventure be upon us??? We even have a new sail on order!

2004 Lagoon Catamaran

All ready for cruising with solar panels, dinghy, water maker and more!

The original owners in Seattle cruised the boat with their small children. Her name is Sun Baby. The name might be going with the sellers...we are working on a name!

Home sweet home.

Stay tuned.....cruising within the month?? Can Beth find home at sea? Will she venture past the Sea of Cortez? Can she make it to Panama, the Caribbean and then to Florida? Will Larry go right instead of left, to the Marquesas? The suspense is unending....first, let's have breakfast....

Our North Port, FL rental

Our little rental home in North Port, Florida provides a central location from which to check out boats all over Florida. The place is interesting from a Californian's perspective. The housing tracks have all the infrastructure but are only 0% to 50% built out. The "vacant" lots are forest. Who would have thought forest, not swamp! There are lots of pine trees and sabal palms all supporting millions of squirrels (Squirrel!), rabbits, bald eagles, osprey, spiders and yes, we saw our first snake!

Across the street is a vacant lot, home to the Florida ecosystem.

Rocky watching squirrel.

Squirrel watching Rocky. Can you see him atop the dead palm frond?

Last night Larry and I took Rocky out back for his evening potty break at the old Inagua Street home in North Port. We stood right on the edge of the concrete in the patio spotlight. Larry and I spoke while we told Rocky to "go potty".  Fifteen seconds later Rocky spots a small rabbit not three feet from me on the grass. He chases the poor thing and it runs to my feet!  I yell "Woo, Woo!" and continue yelling "woo, woo" for what seemed like minutes. This eventually turned to "Run rabbit run!" as they went around the shed three or four times.  Finally, to give the rabbit a break I yelled "Rocky in the house!" before the rabbit was caught.
 
Lucky rabbit!

Larry just laughed and laughed at me. In hind sight, I think Rocky was pacing the poor thing.  He did not really know what to do with it. But the adrenaline was pumping!

Stay tuned...Rocky may be getting his boat soon!

Strictly Sail Miami Boat Show 2012

Strictly Sail Miami Boat Show was over five days. All the boats were so big and fancy. Wow. Really just too much. But fun to tour.

L.'s favorite was the Outremer 49 named "Kitty Cat". It is orange and you can see it behind me. We all know orange is fast. Also the skyline of Miami, as we were right downtown, next door to where the Heat play.
Miami is quite the metropolis, lots of traffic and crazy drivers. And we thought So-Cal was bad!

We spotted the biggest manatee yet at the boat show. It was about 8 feet long, and about 4 feet around. He was pretty sedate. They just sit and sleep and sun. No wonder they are hit by boats regularly. His tale was huge! It looked like he had some barnacles on his back, but no scars anywhere, so is most likely young. While we watched him he burped and tooted. Lovely....nature...

Stay tuned. We made our first offer on a boat(not at the show), but have heard nothing yet. Will Rocky's Ocean Adventure really happen?

The Sandbar and the Myakka River State Park

We had a nice visit from my sister-in-law Patti.

She came to watch Rocky while we went to the Strictly Sail Miami Boat Show for four days as well as the vacation in this warm and green state.

Here is Patti and I at our favorite Anna Maria Island restaurant, The Sandbar. Note the "sugar sand" beach. It is very fine, soft and white! This is a stone's throw to our property. Beware, this place is a mandatory stop for all visitors!

 On Patti's last day we went to the Myakka River State Park.

Rocky sits on the center console of the truck and navigates the way there. We call him "The Tri-pilot".  He hunts for cows along the way between naps. He now knows the word "cow" and will go a bit nuts if you utter the word. Often we need to refer to cows as "Friends of Rocky".

The Myakka River State Park is one of the largest and oldest parks  in Florida having been opened in the 1920's.

Aside from the wildlife and foliage, we were excited to see a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) structure in great condition. The log cabin below made of palm trees for walls and the roof is made from the common southern yellow pine which is very hard and full of sap.  Quite flammable.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was created by President Franklin Roosevelt in March 1933, just three weeks after he took office.  The country was in the midst of the Depression, and the CCC put unemployed young men to work and revitalized the country’s natural resources.

The 1930s enrollees, or “CCC boys” as they were often called, earned $30 a month with $25 sent home to their families

From 1933-1942 three million men were part of the “Tree Army.”  They built trails, roads, campgrounds and parks; planted trees; protected stream banks; tackled soil erosion projects; and fought fires and floods. 

 The floors are time polished travertine which is just compacted shell from thousands of years. The woodworking, hand hewn beams and metal work are very cool.

Note the door hinge below. downright medieval!

Now for the wildlife:

Educating the Rockstar.

One of five alligators spotted in the area. Yikes!

 A swim, my pretty?????

By driving through the park slowly, we not only saw alligators but wild boars, turkeys and a couple deer.  The hikes are under canopies of oaks and palm trees keeping the hot sun off you. Great place to visit.

new home

Wildlife is a bigger part of Florida then I realized. There are birds and cranes everywhere. Best sightings were a flying pink Flamingo and a plethora of alligators along the highway near the Everglades. We are in a rental house in a half developed housing project. Undeveloped lots are wooded with pine and palms.  The squirrels are an endless entertainment to Rocky as they chatter and leap from fence to palm fronds.  No mosquitos yet and no alligators this far north (see next blog entry!) therefore Mama's happy nervous. Massive spider seen at trash can....it is now L's exclusive responsibility to empty trash...

We plan to be here for a while. Time will go by quickly. Strictly Sail Boat show in Miami is coming up, Beth's trip to San Diego and perhaps Larry to St. Maarten to look at boats in late March. Spring training starts March 1 or so. There are at least three ball parks within 1 hour from here (Rays, Red Sox, Orioles, Pirates).

Aside from eating right and exercising, I am trying to finish a quilt I started in 1998!

Rocky is quite a help. He likes to be right in the middle.

So life is about catching up on personal things at this time. Hopefully we have some boat and cruising news for you soon.