Well here we go again. Bought an island packet in 2020 and have been “hudlowing” it up for the ride to the coast and beyond. (hudlowing is a term used for “it is already in great shape but i can improve this”) We are installing the watermaker this week and will be leaving on November the 8th 2021 Monday. Our boating friends Barry and Andrea will be sailing away with us in their awesome sailboat “Caretta”.

We have been working since 2012 when we came back on the Unwinder from our first sailing adventure! I should have called the blog “a boat a book and a (many prayers)prayer”. I have been spending a lot of time with my grandson while taking care of things at Hudlow Axle and of course our Rottie Dana. She will be staying at home with a sitter while we are gone. While being semi retired we finally decided lets go back to the ocean on a sailboat. SSOOO we decided to go to Kema Texas and check out the Island Packett 41 SP Cruiser. So we checked it out came home went back and bought it and had a mini adventure coming up the GICW from Kema, Texas to Mobile, Al to home.

I just wanted to welcome everyone back to the blog and hang with us on our many adventures with the “Big Moose”! We will be traveling down the Tennessee river to the Ten Tom Bigbee to the Black Warrior and to Mobile bay. And from there who knows? Thanks for checking out the blog!

Captains Log: Improving a boat is making many new brackets! OH and a pimped out dinghy is a must.

Steve and I have been working at our shop since we concluded our Sailing Adventure. We have had a few small adventures since then, going to Alaska, diving in Belize. and working on our house. The business we own keeps us very busy so hardly any sailing. Our sailboat is at the marina in Chattanooga TN awaiting a new owner. I shall never forget our wonderful adventure on her, and how it always brings a smile to my face and then i wander onto the internet looking for blue water boats. I continue each day to look at one or more of our sailing pics. The things that stand out in my mind the most is the Atlantic storm, Spanish Wells, the NASTY NASTY Nassau Bahamas (YUKKKK) and the overpowering sense of peace when Steve would be asleep on deck and  i would be navigating out in the big blue sea! There are no lazy people on a sailboat, i preferred to work the lines and sheets and let steve hold on to the wheel. (when the seas were restless). Here are some pics of our new adventures!

I have certainly learned a lot from this adventure, about me, about Steve, and just about everything else, lol. Being back on land is so well so. I think everyday about the great times Steve and I had on those waters with each other. The one thing i learned that stands out is that Steve can handle even the worst situations with a smile and some huge b—-! When I think of the stuff we went through I realize that we can handle anything together. We spent 6 months together and still love each other just as much as we did when we left if not more. I miss the beautiful waters and warm weather so much. Living on the water is so different than being on land, it is a life of true paradise. The warm mornings in the Bahamas the beautiful azure blue waters and warm sands beckon me back to the world that needs little if any material comforts just sand sun and peace. There is so much to say i dont know where to begin about the trip! Well let us start with learned lessons. Lesson number one- Listen to the Captain no matter what. Cause his face gets awful red when you don’t 🙂 Lesson number two – yes you have to use those big sheets called sails no matter how scary it is at first! ( new sailors will know what i mean). Lesson number three-yes the boat leans until the rail is in the water! NO you wont fall off the boat if your holding on. Lesson 4 – those are lines and sheets not ropes. (sailors look at you funny when you say rope). Lesson 5 – yes the sail makes a lot of noise in the wind and no i cant turn it off! ( you feel funny after a while if the sail is up and you dont hear it), Lesson 6 – if we both pull the same direction on the lines when pulling in the mainsail it will not go in! One line in and  one line mild tension only. Makes for a long day when you have to be tied to the mast to sew the clue back on the mainsail because you both pulled in the same direction (in the gathering winds) at the same time. There are so many little lessons and big huge lessons i could go on and on, but i will cut it short by saying i got to lesson number 1,256 before i stopped learning this trip. As a sailor you can sail all your life and never learn everything about sailing! The other exciting lessons i shall add in as i go along. We learned to live together in a small space and enjoy every minute, we learned that if there is tension one goes to the front of the boat while the other stays inside, i liked staying inside that way i had the bed to lie down on hehehehe. I learned that if you are in a storm the boat can take way more than you can (been there done that got the wet soggy t shirt). The ocean has a mind of its own and you just have to roll with it! No traffic signals no road rage ahhhh sweet, although i did run into what i call anchorage nazis in the abagos. Little scared fellas that are fearful you will get too close to their anchor line. Sailing at night isnt so bad its very quiet and peaceful (unless the wind picks up then its back to work). Sailing isnt always nice and easy it is a lot of work to maintain your course set the sails just right. Catching fish isnt always easy, so i had backup chicken and mac n cheese. Having a generator and extra gas made our journey much better. You learn to sleep with the boat moving constantly back and forth all the time. The scariest lesson YES you have to be tied to the boat sometimes to prevent falling over! and NO the waves do not subside on command. i tried didnt work. 😦  i will write more tomorrow, we are back in town and work is keeping us very very busy and that is why i am just now writing this post! STAY TUNED I WILL BE BACK SOON!

Good morning everyone! Two days to Rossville! Steve was gone when i woke up and he came in with me breakfast just a few minutes later :-). We started on washing the boat, scrubbing all the dirt and salt off to make her pretty again. We washed her all day long took a break to get more cleaning supplies then back to work. We finally got finished scrubbing the boat cleaning the inside and storing the things that stay on the boat. Oh and did I tell you the winds have blown 15-20 knots all day here at the marina and our boat is still in the water. Yes we rocked and rolled and cleaned, I think it may catch on as a new way to clean your boat just hold the sponge in one spot and let the wind blow the boat back and forth, LOL.

I slept late today while Steve explored the marina and took care of the boat details with the marina guys. I went to the garbage to throw some stuff away and heard Steve whistle so I went over to where he was and we just hung out for a while. As we walked through the boat yard we saw so many neat boats. The yard is full of sailboats and people working on them owners and workers for the marina. I found one I wanted but it is not for sale. It is called Sea U Soon. It has windows in the back of the boar and neat windows on the side with a full keel and beautiful woodwork. I met a young woman who was cleaning her boat and stated she had her first boat when she was 7. I have the utmost respect and am in awe of women sailors out on the open ocean. To do that takes an extreme amount of guts and let me tell you most men dont have them that big. The women who sail with adrenaline junkies also deserve a lot of respect or need a mental examination, :-). I have had a ton of excitement, fun and adventure with my captain and have learned a whole lot while on the boat. Being back in the states is so good, I have everything at my fingertips. The boat does not have anything to cook on it so we are eating our except for cheese sandwiches we have those in abundance, lol. I wish i had someone to give my refrigerator stuff to, people here don’t want it but in the islands it would be gone in a heartbeat. I dont have anyway to keep it cold for 10 hours so out it goes. We got a lot done today and more tomorrow. Everyone stay tuned we are almost home. I will post a lot of pictures on the last pages as soon as i get consistent internet signals.

Whew more running around town picking up last-minute stuff for boat and things for boat cleaning. I also had to go get lidocaine for Steve’s sunburn. WOW you never know how much you miss being a spoiled American with everything at your beck and call. Boy are we privileged to be here. I hope we can keep this place strong. I was overjoyed to “drive” thru Mc Donalds and get breakfast. Funny what you miss when you dont have it. I walked through the boat yard today and looked at all the sailboats there. Some were hurricane damaged on the back row, and had been salvaged. Their once majestic masts gone and the boards that had kept the raging seas at bay ripped into ragged shreds like toothpicks. If i have learned anything it is that nature takes no prisoners. A lot of people were cleaning, repairing and unloading their boats so that they could work on them. This yard lets you work on your own boat. Which is great. We did not realize that the boat yard has been divorced. (not going to even go there). Lets just say we made sure our boat is taken good care of this boat yard has the best reputation around and has been family run for 35 years. Ft Pierce is a nice little town. Our friends Carol and Ron called us and we met them at Port St Lucie 18 miles south of us. We walked into this very neat town with all kinds of neat little stores and all kinds of restaurants. The place we ate had some wonderful tex mex and seafood. The restaurant was so neat the way it was made. It reminded me of Naples. Very neat and clean with all kinds of scenery, our friends were staying in an awesome marina with ameinities out the yang. I would love to be there but it is just a marina not a boat yard. There was a beautiful riverwalk and rocking chairs by the water tosit and relax in and watch the boats go by. We walked back to their boat after we ate and sat and talked until midnight almost. Steve and I had a wonderful walk back to the van and got home at a little after midnight and fell asleep. An end to another great day.

I got up early started to pack stuff in the van a little at a time so we dont have to do it all at once. I spent half a day just packing “a little bit” into the van. You never know how much stuff you have in such a small space. I am glad that i used just about everything i took with us on the boat. We spent the rest of the day figuring out what we need to take off and when. The main mast has to be taken down due to the bad storm when it was torn off the roller furling a few blog entries back. (far back in chub key). The few stitches i put in it has held wonderfully but we never could pull it completely out due to that fact. We put some stretch in those sails out on that ocean I assure you! Some sheets (lines) have to be replaced, some small cosmetic work, ton of cleaning, taking the heavy generator off the boat and on and on and on…………………..  I finally sat down and just relaxed going to take it easy because i know when i get home i will be busy for a while. Gonna miss this boat life. Steve and I have had a wild wonderful time and we will never forget or regret it :-). I saw manatees again  they are so neat. Huge creatures just playing in the water. Lot of big fish here in the marina but we are not fishing today. Well my time is running out to write my blog, our adventure will soon be at an end, maybe :-))

OK we are off again into the beautiful azure and teal blue waters of the Bahamas. I am going to miss the see thru waters. You can see all the way to the bottom of the Bahama banks. We had a sunny day and decided to sail in our bathing suits and get some sun. The water was calm and the sail was awesome. We listened to several weather reports on the radio from other boaters and there were storms behind us and around us but the weather stayed pretty for Steve and I. There were several other boaters on the water today going in all directions. Mainly to Manatilla key up north, little bahama bank site and west end where most boaters jump off and go to the Florida coast thru the gulf stream. We finally got to memory rock and several other boaters anchored out after we got there. Steve and I decided to keep going because the water was too rough to stay there. Steve took the first 4 hours and i took the next 3 hours and he took the last 5. The water was calm the wind was good but had clocked around to hit us on the bow,, it happened as soon as I stepped out the door and onto the deck. Steve looked at me and said, “what did you do?” Now we know i can change the wind direction. I can make millions, lol. I went down for sleep after my stint and Steve traveled on. I woke up and went on deck took the wheel and let Steve fall immediately to sleep. He and I were both exhausted from the 2-3 day sail without adequate rest. As soon as we got to Riverside Marina at 7 or 8 AM and tied up we paid our bill for docking and went to sleep. Got up went to get a rental van and ate lunch and headed back to dock to recover some more. Oh did i not mention Steve got sunburned very well so we just slept and recovered from the sail. If you dont think it is exhausting try it just try it. We like the boat yard here, we have to have our boat hauled out on the dry some work done and back into the water at some point. I am tired and getting off here to find my glasses and sleep . Goodnight everyone.

We are leaving today to sail toward Florida and HOME! We did not leave until 1PM we were going to explore GTC but we had such a beautiful day we just waited until grocery stores opened and bought supplies and left for the banks and home. We took the golf cart out this morning though and tried to explore all we did not see yesterday on our fast tour over to Bluff House. I took as many pics as i could while Steve raced across the island. We did slow down and go through the old part of town and look at the old houses. We stopped at a garden full of busts of important people from Green Turtle Cay. We ate lunch at a little bakery and restaurant about eleven and waited on a grocery store to open. Well on the boat again and out to the banks. We traveled all day to the Great Sail Cay and anchored out about 11 PM at night. Steve had read about a great anchorage that would protect us in the SE winds, all the other boats were in a little cove but we anchored out by a bank in the open. We had a wonderful night and heard the other captains complain about being rocked all night. I am so proud of Steve knowing that we would not be protected in the cove due to wind direction. It was a rough night going through a small pass before we anchored but we made it and sleep was goood!

Up early and ready to roll, went and said goodbye to our friends Debbie and David Goodrum and sailed off into the wild blue yonder. It is a beautiful day today and the sailing is wonderful. We decided not to stop at Man O War Cay and on to Green Turtle Cay, lucky we did we barely outran a big squall behind us. We passed little islands along the way, there are so many down here and we love it. One looked like a houseshoe the other like a big foot and then we saw some that looked like the ones on Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We did not get to go to the cave that they filmed Thunderball at. (That is in the Exxumas). Well we finally made it to Green Turtle Cay and anchored out after we navigated a tricky channel with a lot of narrow spots in it. The channel was called Black Sound. Our anchor held the first try and we got our dinghy ready and headed to town. First thing we did was find a golf cart to rent and some place to eat. Before we could eat i read my email and found out that our friends Ric and Nancy had not left yet! They were still at the Bluff House Marina. I told Steve and we left to that side of the island right away ( I was so excited i forgot to change my tshirt covering my bathing suit top) They had invited us to eat dinner with them in the email if we made it to the Cay. We snuck up on them at the marina and surprised them. It was so good to see them again we had left them at Marathon Key in Fla.. They have a black mouthed cur dog named Sadie, and even she was excited to see us. We sat and talked about all our adventures and went to a small patio bar on the ocean and was sitting outside when it started to rain and then it just poured down on us  so we ran back into the enclosed area. Well another diet coke for me bartender. We waited out the rain ran to the golf cart sat on wet seats and went to the nice restaurant at the marina. Wet clothes and all! They had some wonderful conch fritters and Steve had some awesome grouper. We sat with another couple at the marina also and laughed and talked for a while, then off in the golf cart in the dark cool and rainy. We enjoyed the ride and finally got back to the boat. O yeah we left the hatches up and the rain had gotten my cushions and quilts wet. I finally got everything hung outside to dry hopefully and wiped up the water and went to bed. Luckily our bed did not get wet this time.