The Beginning, Chapter one!

Steve and I have been planning and preparing for this adventure for more than 20 years. The purpose of this blog is to keep all of our friends and family who are interested, in contact with us and able to  follow our journey.   We love the ocean and we love to travel. We love our family and friends and want to share.  

Steve has always been around boats and water his entire life.  He was used to power boats most of his life.  He can drive any boat and his aviation background has given him much respect for mother nature and understanding of navigation. He decided that if we were going to see the world on our own he would have to learn to sail because there is not a gas station in the middle of the ocean!  We purchased a 26 foot sailboat in 1999 sailed in Colorado for 12 years.  That was “Paradise too”.  Then, over the last seven years we have chartered several bare boats in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and the Grenadines.  We have tried monohulls and catamarans.  We wanted to try different styles and sizes to work on our comfort levels and skill. We are both comfortable on the open ocean.   I just pull on the rope he calls out and get the drinks and food prepared. I am blessed to be able to tolerate being on a heel for extended periods and we both have a high tolerance to seasickness. I take my “first mate” job very serious!

Steve retired from the Windsor School district in the spring of 2014 after 32 years of service.  He began preparing for our journey.  He had been shopping for the perfect boat.  We started looking at boats more than 7 years ago.  We have looked at more than 100 boats in the Caribbean and the entire east coast.  He wanted to have a boat that was strong and seaworthy as well as one that could be sailed by one person if need be. We were looking for a boat built in the early 80s when petroleum products were cheap and world cruising fiberglass sailboats were way over built because they weren’t sure how fiberglass would hold up. It turned out to be much stronger than anticipated.

Steve was in Fort Pierce looking at a boat that we thought we were going to purchase.  As it turned out, that boat didn’t work for us.  As he was terminating that contract with our boat broker, she took a call from a couple that were looking for a broker to sell their boat. He took a look at ”Blue Pearl” and knew right away it was going to be the right one!  It needed a lot of work but had all of the charm we were hoping for!  So, we bought the “Blue Pearl”.  She is a 38,000 lb, 45 foot Bruce Roberts custom ketch built in the Taiwan shipyards in 1981. Perfect!

After countless hours of work and remodeling (Probably more than 1000 hours), we got  the ”Blue Pearl” into prime condition.  She now has all of the latest electronics and safety equipment as well as convenience and comfort equipment for extended cruising. We had a  Renaming/ Christening ceremony in March of 2016.  It is now and will remain “Sol Mates”  Sol in Spanish means sun.  This double meaning fits us perfectly.

Though we have done some off shore sailing with Sol Mates, this will be the first real extended cruise. It is said that “the most dangerous thing on a boat is a schedule”. We of course have a plan but no rigid schedule and are flexible on our plan as weather permits. We have three months to explore the more than 3100 islands and cays of the Bahamas with only 30 having people living on them. The plan is to cross the gulf stream from Palm Beach and make our way East through the Abacos. Then out into the North Atlantic and South to Eleuthera, south through the Exumas, long island and finally the Ragged Islands. Our route back to Florida has yet to be determined. Overall, the trip will be 1500 to 2000 miles and we will be back at the end of April. In May, the boat needs to be prepared and hauled out of the water before hurricane season beginning June 1st.