Month: November 2015

Happy Boatsgiving

Happy Boatsgiving

Nov 28, 2015 | , , , | 3

Our arrival in St. Augustine meant the beginning of the end for our merry band of sailors, collectively known as the Rico Rally. The stone of melancholy is settling as we come to accept that the significant bond we’ve formed – our routine of sharing meals and coffee time, sailing, and working on boats – is coming to an end. Tomorrow, Jon will sail s/v Hecla south, bound for West Palm Beach, while Jasaru and Nightingale Tune remain here, waiting for parts to finish up our davits and solar panel projects. Before scattering to the wind, we enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving together. For Brian and I, it...

Read More
Into the Ditch

Into the Ditch

Nov 20, 2015 | , | 3

Big waves and a damaged bulkhead aboard our buddy boat Jasaru made us reconsider our plan to sail on down the coast of Florida from Frenandino to St. Augustine. So it worked out well that we’d anchored near an inlet to the ICW (Intracostal Waterway or “The Ditch” as some sailors like to call it), a boring but calm alternative to the open ocean. Our caravan of three pushed on under motor, carefully navigating the often shallow and poorly charted waters. That brand new depth alarm saved our bacon more than a couple of times during the trip. Having spent the last few days anchored between two stinky...

Read More
Out of the Darkness

Out of the Darkness

Nov 18, 2015 | , | 6

As a natural born chicken, overcoming fear has been my single greatest challenge in this new life of ours. When facing a new experience, my imagination automatically goes into overdrive, hell bent on convincing me that whatever it is, it will surely kill me. So, imagine the full-on war waging in my brain as we made the (calculated/informed/rational/people-do-this-all-the-time) decision to take to the sea for days on end.I’m happy to say, it was so worth it. Having completed the 30 hour sail from Hampton, VA to Cape Lookout, NC, we were feeling more confident about spending multiple nights at sea. Sleeping in shifts, cooking...

Read More
Learning by Doing

Learning by Doing

Nov 14, 2015 | , | 2

Packs of dolphins sprang out of the water as we rounded the point into the scenic anchorage in Cape Lookout, NC. It was the perfect ending to a 30 hour sail that marked a few big firsts for us. The decision to “bust our cherry” (as Justin so eloquently put it) for overnight sailing was not one taken lightly. Brian and I  knew that eventually we’d have to overcome our fear of this unknown experience, and as we weighed our options for getting to Florida – either motor down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) for the next couple weeks or...

Read More
Transformation

Transformation

Nov 10, 2015 | , , | 2

Hauling out three weeks ago, we’d braced ourselves for a painful and boring stretch on the hard. Instead, we stumbled into a routine of work and play with comrades in the boatyard who taught us many new things and inspired us to be better and more self-sufficient sailors. Brian, myself, and our boat are forever changed from this experience. During our final days in Deltaville, we’ve thrilled to see the fruits of our labor as we wrapped up projects one by one. With Counselor Justin here to school us, we largely got over our fear of messing up our boat,...

Read More

Never Miss a Post

Instagrammy

Instagram did not return a 200.

Follow Sea Biscuit

#catsonboats

#catsonboats