Sailing Ohana

The oldest marina in Nassau was our next destination, where we bought fuel, groceries, did laundry, and bought a couple of things we needed for the boat. And by “a couple of things”, I mean fishing stuff. Nassau is not our favorite place – it’s rough and the marina was crowded. We had a nice…

This was a very special part of our journey over pristine, shallow waters. The photos attached are unedited. The colors are mind-blowing. We anchored over night and it felt like another planet. On the way, Jackson and I made conch ceviche and created a horn from a conch shell. We both decided that we do…

We sailed with our new friends on Adiona to an anchorage off of Gun Cay, where we found a wonderful, private little cove with a reef and rays who would approach and let you pet them. Jackson harvested a conch for us and we planned to make ceviche. We would have stayed longer in this…

We properly re-named the boat, following all the superstitious traditions, hoping that Poseiden would give us a break and once we were properly logged into his all-important record books. We did the de-naming ceremony before the boys went to bed, but because it is bad luck to christen a boat with its new name on…

Making the best of it, we dragged the kids on the inflatable raft all over Biscayne Bay, doing “donuts” and jumping waves. I took Morris to the dog beach where people were so excited about him that they even asked me to let them pose for photos with him. We had to get another round…

Finally seeing a “weather window” that looked promising, we started completing our requirements for crossing over to the Bahamas. This meant a couple major grocery/provisioning trips, covid tests, plus a vet visit for Morris, all to be competed within 24 hours of arriving on Bimini. Obtaining the required health permits and pet permits, cruising documents,…

While the boys stayed with Tommy’s parents (Noni and Pa) at their house in Mims, FL, Tommy and I sailed from Port Canaveral to Ft. Lauderdale with Richard, a captain with whom we were required to sail for our insurance company. It was irritating that we had to fulfill the requirement at first, but as…

SO MUCH work went into getting this 2016 Leopard 44 sailing vessel and former charter boat in workable condition. It was in rough shape after neglect by its charter company in Seychelles and abuse by charter guests. The word that our surveyor (pre-purchase inspector) used to describe most of the systems was, “tired”. Tommy (with…

We left the single-digit temperatures in Colorado to drive to Florida. Tommy and I took turns driving, so that we only had to stop for one overnight…. a hotel in Georgia. The boys and Morris were absolutely amazing and made the best of it by napping, playing trivia podcasts with us, and playing/watching on their…