Chapter Three (Patience)

Well as of today February 26, 2017, we have everything provisioned for the boat.  We are now waiting for a last minute late delivery that is being sent from Colorado to us.  It will most likely be here tomorrow or possibly as late as Tuesday.  However, if it takes until Tuesday, then we don’t have a weather window to sail off until the weekend?  It is so frustrating?   In addition we had some unexpected issues with one of the wind generators.  On Friday we took it down, headed to Fort Lauderdale to an electronics business.  They fixed it and we came back 6 hours later. I hoisted Steve up the Mizzen,and  then he put the generator back into place.  He is now making sure all of the electronics are in working order.  It was a long day for both of us.  Me because I don’t understand all that goes into maintaining a boat and him because he is only one guy trying to take it all on!   So, here we sit on the boat not knowing when we can leave?  What I do know is that we can’t push it and leave until everything in place, wind speed and direction as well as tides?  Tomorrow we will return our rental car so we need to have everything that we need in place. And then we wait! And then wait for appropriate weather to cross the gulfstream.

Chapter two

This has been a very busy month. Even more so than the previous year or so. We have had so much to think about and so much planning to get ready for our first big adventure.  As you know this is a first for Steve and I.  Steve has been working very hard to get “Solmates” ready for this “First Adventure”.  Now we have to work on getting our house and our Colorado life on hold and secure to be sure that it is here when we return. Also, getting things at my work at Advanced Neurology organized so I can be gone without major Chaos?  I am very thankful that I have been given the opportunity to be gone and return when we are back.  I hope I have done enough to make this happen.  We have an amazing staff at work!  I have assured them I will be as available as possible, to help them via email and phone.

Imagine trying to plan on having everything you could possibly need for 3 months?  Here in Colorado we needed to get our home secure.  We have people looking in on our home on a regular basis.  We are so thankful for them.  Our trip was delayed when we found Steve’s Mom was ill.    We were able to help bring her home after a long battle with her illness.  She is finally on the road to recovery and has lots of family and friends to help in any way they can.  We will stay in touch with them. We have tried to assure all of our family and friends that we will be safe and take care of each other. Captain Steve has investigated and purchased all the latest technology to assure our safety.  As I mentioned, it is difficult thinking about what we could possibly need from home for the next 3 months?  From Clothing (We don’t need much) to emergency supplies, first aid equipment etc..  I guess if we forget it we buy it when we get to Florida and make lists of things we would do different next year?

So, on February 20,2017 we fly away to Fort Pierce Florida.  We then will board “Sol Mates”, get her  provisioned and ready to set sail.  Steve has been watching the weather closely.  There are so many factors to take into consideration.  The tide, the wind and wave speed and direction and approaching weather systems.   Once all of those things are in place, we leave Fort Pierce, we will then sail south to Lakeworth.  We will probably try to connect with others that are headed to the Bahamas.   We plan to leave early in the morning before sun rise and sail across the gulfstream onto the Bahama bank before night fall the next day. Depending on the weather we will be able to clear customs a day or two later at Spanish Cay or Green turtle Cay.

We will post again with pictures once we get to Florida, until then!

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.

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