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Yesterday we awoke to a welcome sight, rain clouds in the distance! After bashing our way into the wind and waves from Mangrove Cay to Great Sale Cay, the boat was covered in salt. I had rinsed it off with salt water the night before and that morning the rain washed away the rest. (It … Continue reading »

This morning we woke up early and got underway just before sunrise. The winds had picked up overnight and were driving a pretty solid 2-4 foot chop across the bank. As we turned to Great Sale Cay we turned off the motor and sailed on a close reach just off the winds and the waves. … Continue reading »

Last night we transited the Ft. Pierce inlet just as it was getting dark. On our way out we had to fight the tide and it was a little rough at the entrance. A Coast Guard boat pulled into the inlet behind us and followed us closely, then turned on his blue patrol lights. For … Continue reading »

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s sailors’ superstition that it’s bad luck to depart on Friday. We left on Thursday at 9:00 p.m., not entirely to avoid leaving on Friday, but I thought it couldn’t hurt. Oh was I wrong…. The bad luck started on Thursday afternoon, the marina was closed for the holidays, so I … Continue reading »

Well, I thought that we’d have good wifi here in Portland, but that’s not the case. There’s plenty of wifi networks, but none of them stay up long enough to put a post with pictures up on the blog. So sorry, still no photos. Yesterday we had a “spirited” sail. The leftover swells from Sandy … Continue reading »

Over our coffee this morning, Sabrina and I had the following conversation: Brad, “When does XM start playing Christmas music?” Sabrina, “I don’t know, maybe today? It’s November.” ……awkward silence….. Both of us, “Time to go south.” The warm air that Sandy pushed north is now dissipating. The highs up here over the weekend are … Continue reading »

Late last night the northern reaches of Sandy passed over us here in “The Basin.” We saw gusts to 45 knots and pounding rain, but she passed us here without incident. As we laid in bed, listening to the wind howl in the rigging and the mast vibrate in the wind, we were very happy … Continue reading »

On Saturday we moved Joint Venture to a tiny little bay called “The Basin.” (It’s a different “The Basin” from the one we explored by dinghy back on Vinalhaven.) After snaking our way through the hidden entrance, and avoiding some shallow spots, we arrived into a true “hurricane hole.” We are completely surrounded by tall … Continue reading »

A little backstory regarding Joint Venture…. back at the Annapolis Boat Show in 2008, Sabrina and I were shopping for a diesel heater, and we were shopping HARD! We had spent two winters living aboard JV- 2006 wasn’t so bad, 2007 was downright cold. In 2007 we had huge electric bills to run electric heaters … Continue reading »

Today it is exactly one month since we departed Chesapeake City for Maine, and we’re ecstatic to be here. We had a great sail on Friday afternoon, brisk wind, calm seas that hadn’t built yet, and bright sunshine. Throughout the night the wind gradually died as the waves built, but by dawn we were passing … Continue reading »