Two years have gone by

It’s was 2 years ago 

On September 12th that we cast off our lines, bounced off the dock, looked around, Phew, nobody saw that 🤫, and headed south to begin our sailing adventure.

Our destinations…Turks and Caicos and the Caribbean 

Since we sold the house, cars and the furniture is stored in a container, we have no time limits for our travels.

When we sit in the cockpit, looking at the sunset having a gin tonic or a glass of wine (or 2 🍷) and think of all that we’ve learned, seen, done and all the great friends we’ve made along the way we’re so in awe of the whole experience.

A few of our high moments;

We took the mast down so we could transit the Erie Canal lock system  with it’s low  bridges to get us to the Hudson River. It was one of our first  big learning curves. Do we want to do this again? Nope!!!. We’ll take the outside route in the Atlantic Ocean when we decide to head north. Too much work and having a 52 foot mast balanced on the deck is quite a handful.

One of the things on our bucket list was to go through New York City with the sailboat. As we’re going by the Statue of Liberty we tried to open a bottle of champagne but the boat traffic was unbelievable, so busy crazy. We managed a only a few sips. 🥂.These New York boaters are something else.

Our first Christmas was spent at a marina in Palm Coast, Florida. We strung lights on the deck and it was lovely. Unfortunately our second Christmas was in Titusville, Florida  huddled under blankets trying to stay warm and eating canned chicken. What a feast! Yum! Yum! Couldn’t get off the boat because of heavy winds and I think I broke my finger tying up to the mooring  line. 🤕

On January 12th 2020, we finally crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. What a thrill but also terrifying.  Left at 4 o’clock in the morning from West Palm Beach . Our buddy boat had to turn around because their motor wasn’t strong enough for the current and waves. We were alone for the crossing😱. Rough passage, took about 13 hours and arrived just before dark. So proud, happy and exhausted. Time to crack open a beer 🍻and celebrate this great moment .

We cruised the Bahamas for almost 3 months then Covid hit…

Returned to Florida…. Crossed the Gulf Stream again, our longest journey nonstop, took 40 hours. Yup, you guessed it, cracked open another beer to celebrate this momentous occasion 😂

Rented a car and drove to New Brunswick for 6 months, to wait out the situation. Even worked for a farmer during  potato harvest, I working on the harvester and Mike driving a truck. So much fun,and my sister having lunch and dinner waiting for us every day for the 2 weeks that we worked. Thanks sis 😘

So here we are, season 2.

Made it to the Dominican Republic via the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos to wait out the hurricane season. The plan is to continue down the chain of islands.

In the meantime we are doing all kinds of work on the boat, meeting new people and having a blast. 

What we do miss is seeing family and friends and cooler temperatures, unlimited fresh running water and a big bed. 😀

We’ve had high and lows, great moments and bad ones but wouldn’t change a thing. The journey continues…

Stay tuned

Cheers 

Mike and Pierrette 

Preparing our departure

 Clayton NY 4am surrounded by sport fishermen

 

Sunset in the cockpit 🍷

Stepping down the mastMast all tied down on the deck 

Arriving at a lock

 Inside a lock

Finally down, lock is opening….

Time Square NYC

NYC from our boat

Going by the Statue of Liberty 

 

Anchored in Atlantic City in front of a casino 

Having a cold one

Christmas lights Palm Coast Florida

Big wine and beer provisioning before leaving for the Bahamas 

 Morning of the crossing Entering the Gulf Stream 

Arrived in the Bahamas- Customs and Immigration  Beautiful beach

Coffee on the beach

Turning back…heading for Florida because of Covid 

Going back 

Hauled out at Green Cove Spring marina in Florida

 Potato harvest season

Our best day sailing from Rose Island to Eleuthera Island Bahamas 

Surrounded by hundreds of starfish, Bahamas 

Walk on the beach

Outer Islands Bahamas 

Turks and Caicos 

Sunset T&C

Sunrise Luperon harbour DR Puerto Plata

Beach Luperon

Constanza DR

Being sillyFeeding the piggies