Boat Christmas

35 Comments

Should I start gushing about my boat now, or wait until I’ve at least crossed some open ocean? Seriously, I’m just loving the Grand Banks. I’m sitting here trying to think of something that I’m unhappy with, but coming up blank. A couple of days in I turned on the … Read More

Southbound

33 Comments

With Christmas right around the corner we let Ouest and Lowe exchange their gifts to each other a few days early—Lowe got a Captain’s hat, and Ouest got a Little House on the Prairie bonnet. Both of them were super stoked. Finally underway. That look pretty much says it all. … Read More

Preppers

49 Comments

Crunch time. No matter how long you take to get ready to go cruising, the last week will be insane. Our Bum friend finished up our names just in time. I don’t know why we waited so long to get those ordered up—it’s not as if we were debating on … Read More

Eight

47 Comments

Eight years. I look forward to this little girl’s future, while at the same time I pine for her past. Which, I suppose, is all the more reason to work hard at living in the moment. I could go on and on with superlatives that describe Ouest, but at the … Read More

Always Water

10 Comments

I wouldn’t say “provisioning” has started in earnest, but multiple boxes and cans of the same thing have been coming home from the store pretty regularly these days. St. Augustine has turned out to be a pretty cool place to have a boat with kids. We’ve got the marina right … Read More

Builders

19 Comments

We’ve always got “garbage” piled up next to the dock locker that the kids use to build different things. It’s gotten to the point around here that our neighboring boats are even dropping off their boxes for our kids to use. By day three I had everything pretty well assembled … Read More

Thanksgiving

26 Comments

Just in time for Christmas. Lowe managed to hold on to all of his teeth until they came out naturally—seems to imply that he is just better than his sister at protecting his face when he wipes out. We went down to New Smyrna Beach for the big kite festival. … Read More

Kids Life

11 Comments

The kids found a cast net left behind in the dock locker and immediately added it to their arsenal. One two-minute Youtube video later Ouest was casting like an old pro. Lowe was still a little too small to get a good swing on it, so he’s sticking with his … Read More

Manatee

30 Comments

Going up the mast is quite different on this boat, with a top-of-mast height of just twenty-four feet. We’ve been up there clearing all the old crap off. That big goofy round thing on top, that was performing the important task of gathering HD tv signals from the air to … Read More

Family in Florida

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The daily routine here usually includes a trip to a nearby beach along the Tolomato River, if not out to the ocean beaches. They like to jump into the middle of the river and ride the current. Ali just shakes her head in disbelief of their bravery. On one of … Read More

Halloween

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While Uncle JJ was in town we went on over to the lighthouse. I don’t know what Lowe was doing, but I swear he wasn’t going to the bathroom in the corner. And from there we went to the fort in town. We’re going to have to start keeping the … Read More