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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
After 3 evenings in Dunedin, we continued south on Monday, Feb 27 to Egmont Key, passing Clearwater Beach along the way. We were back in familiar territory, at least for a while, as Clearwater was our arrival point after our overnight Gulf crossing on our first Great Loop. Though we …
On Jan 31,2017, Tom flew to Dog River without Paula as she had a very swollen knee and knew she could not climb the ladder to the boat while it was out of the water. But Tom had work to do while Life’s TraVails was on the hard. Over the …
Now that we were getting close to Thanksgiving, crews were getting their boats settled and thinking about home. At 6:30 AM, we drove Berrlin and Debra to the Pensacola airport for their flight to Denver. Because we originally thought we were taking the boat to Dog River Marina, we had …
The day had finally come! At 8:15 Monday morning, November 14, 2016, Tango Papa’s Tom and Paula and Satisfied Frog’s Berrlin and Debra (with beautiful flowers in hand) climbed onboard Life’s TraVails and we pulled out of Fairhope, the last small town before finishing our Great Loop. Glorious Dei and …
11/9 – 13/2016 Summary: While we had planned to spend just one night at Kingfisher Marina in Demopolis, AL, we were feeling like we were moving a bit too fast (not part of the plan) and behind, so we opted to spend a second night and get caught up …
10/1 – 8/2016 Summary: When we pulled into Aqua Yacht Harbor, on November 1st, we had technically left the Kentucky Lake and started down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (Tenn-Tom), the start of the remaining 450 miles to Mobile, AL, half of which was on the Tenn-Tom. The Tenn-Tom varied from somewhat …
10/26 – 31/2016 Summary: We left Buzzard Rock Marina on 10/26/16 and headed south, which is really “up” the Tennessee River on Kentucky Lake. (Don’t sweat it; it confused us too.) We found the lake/river journey to be very enjoyable and scenic with lots of bird life to enjoy. Our …
10/10 – 25/2016 Summary: On October 10th, we returned to the boat and found it in good shape, but dirty. (We never knew how dirty spiders were!) Quincy, the mechanic, returned with the rebuilt alternators and, with a little more investigating, found the reason we’d had so many problems – the …
9/19 – 28/2016 Summary: We left Alton Marina early morning on September 20 and pulled back out on the Mississippi River, with our first lock just a mile downstream. We were back out with the big boys – tugs (also incorrectly called towboats… really “pushboats”) with as many as 56 …
9/12 – 19/2106 Summary: We picked John Kelley up early at the Peoria Airport and did some supply shopping on the way back to the boat. John had taken the red-eye from Phoenix so was ready for a nap. While John napped, we drove across the river and took a …
