Beginning of a New Season
End of a season
07/04/20 – 08/25/20 – On July 4th, we returned to the boat because there was a couple interested in seeing Life’s TraVails, which you might recall had been for sale for eight months with very little interest…but we were in the middle of COVID-19. Before leaving Marathon, Tom had started stripping …
Quarantined in Marathon
Click on any image to expand 03/29/20 – 06/02/20 – When we last talked, we were in Marlin Bay Marina in Marathon with tentative reservations through the end of April, but with plans to head for The Bahamas the beginning of April. Well, April came and went, and our reservation was …
Canada to Florida Keys
08/13/19 – 03/28/20 – We imagine most of you have noticed we haven’t posted any cruising news lately. It got to be too much of a burden for Tom to format pictures to Paula’s writing, and we just decided to discontinue our blogs. But exceptional times call for exceptions, don’t …
Thousand Islands, Ontario, Canada
08/04/19 – 08/13/19 (Remember you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.) We were excited to begin exploring the Thousand Islands with whatever time we could spare before making our way back to the US. We had heard from several cruising friends how beautiful it was. The Thousand …
Trent-Severn, Ontario, Canada – Part II
07/18/19 – 08/03/19 On July 18, we drove the 120 miles to Toronto to catch our flight to NC for Paula’s Dad’s 102nd birthday party. Unfortunately, many flights were canceled due to thunderstorms in Chicago and on the East Coast. There were hundreds of scouts stranded in the airport bound …
Trent-Severn, Ontario, Canada – Part I
6/30/19 – 6/30/19 One of the main reasons we decided to keep the boat after finishing our first Great Loop in 2016 was because we loved the Trent-Severn Waterway and wanted to return to Canada and do it again, taking more time. After we started, we made the decision not …
Rideau Canal, Ontario, Canada
6/16/19 – 6/29/19 OK, OK, we’re a little behind, as you can see by the dates above. But…we were in Canada, and there was too much fun to be had! We’re now trying to catch up as we make our way back down the East Coast toward the Chesapeake and, …
New York City to Kingston, Ontario, Canada
6/2/19 – 6/15/19 After leaving the New York Harbor and the amazing experience of being the only boat moving on the water (see our last blog), we headed north up the Hudson River. On our first loop, we took several days to explore along the way, but this time we …
Annapolis to New York City
5/22/19 to 6/2/2019 Last we talked, we were waiting for the Blue Angels show over Annapolis as part of Commissioning Week for the Naval Academy. That next morning, we dinghied into town again (only a 5-minute ride) and after walking a bit, had a sidewalk lunch at Mission BBQ and …
Norfolk, VA to Annapolis
5/15/19 to 5/21/19 After our return from our home in Phoenix to Life’s TraVails at Atlantic Yacht Basin (AYB) just south of Norfolk, it was time to continue north into the Chesapeake Bay. We left Wednesday morning, May 15, with the goal of Solomons, MD, about 127 miles 2 days …
Wrightsville Beach, NC to Norfolk, VA
4/26/19 to 5/1/19 When last we left you, Tom and Lorenzo were working on our port engine at Seapath Marina in Wrightsville Beach, 14 miles short of where we had ended the previous day. With the elbow Lorenzo made installed, they started the engine. All seemed well until they found a …
Beaufort, SC to Wrightsville Beach, NC
4/21/19 to 4/25/19 April 21 at 6:35 AM, we left Lady’s Island Marina near Beaufort, SC. It was clear and nice, but still cold – 50°overnight. Though we left early, we had 5 boats pass us in the first few miles of the Coosaw River, so everyone must have thought …
Jacksonville, FL to Beaufort, SC
4/14/19 to 4/21/19 Slack tide occurs when the tide is changing direction at high or low tide, leaving it basically motionless for a few minutes (or up to about 30 minutes depending on the moon) as it changes directions. That is the best time to dock or depart. The tide …
Fort Pierce to Jacksonville
4/3/19 to 4/13/19 We had done some math before leaving Miami on March 30th and figured out to hit the Erie Canal by June 1, we needed to do an average of 25 miles per day. The canal closes during the winter and reopens in mid-May. Early June allowed a bit …
Marathon to Fort Pierce
3/25/19 to 4/2/19 After replacing the partially varnished steps and entry door, we had a lovely travel day from Marathon to Key Largo with only about 5 knots of wind when we pulled out of Marlin Bay Yacht Club. The water was beautiful shades of blue and we saw 6.5 …
Two Weeks in Marathon
3/12/19 to 3/24/19 Monday, March 11, dawned with some scattered clouds but fine conditions for a Florida Gulf side passage. Unfortunately, the winds and sea conditions were too high for the Hawks Channel (Atlantic Ocean) passage where we had hoped we could snorkel along our way. On the Gulf, seas …
Key West
3/4/19 to 3/11/19 The Keys are grouped into 3 distinct regions – the Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys – each with a bit different geology, history, culture, and population density. From the largest and northernmost island, Key Largo, to the tip of Key West, the Keys are linked by …
Back on the Boat – Fort Myers to Key West
2/21/19 to 3/3/19 We are back on the boat! After 20 months of being off the boat due to , we once again returned to Fort Myers to restart our second Great Loop. Our journey would start by heading south past the Everglades toward Key West, new territory for us …
Sarasota to Ft Myers
When we returned from the boat to Phoenix in early March because of Paula’s swollen knee, we hoped we could find out quickly what was causing it, get it fixed, and resume our 2nd Great Loop. It was not to be. After 9 weeks and 9 doctors at home, there …