February 2021

February 28, 2021March 1, 2021

What’s next our Boating Journey?

For the past couple of months, many of our followers have asked us “what’s next for Boating Journey?” In this week’s blog and episode, we’ll share our thoughts and plans for 2021. First, let’s go back to why we started Boating Journey.

Back in 2012 I started reading true story sailing books as an escape from my reality (working non stop running our wine shop). That got me hooked and we started dreaming about cruising the world. I was fascinated by the details each author shared in their books. How did they remember all of the details of each trip or destination? So in 2013, Boating Journey was born (see that first post here). I decided to document our travels including boat shows and Caribbean vacations, as we worked closer to our dream.

Boat Trials

Before Scott and I could set a plan for cruising the world, first we had to make sure Scott liked boating. He had never owned a boat nor stayed the night on one. In 2017, we purchased our first cruiser, a 2001 Bayliner 3055 Ciera Sunbridge. It was a great boat and we cruised all over Puget Sound. He was hooked! After we owned the boat for 18 months, we decided to sell it, so we could save up to buy our liveaboard boat.

However, just a few months later, we toured a Bayliner 4087 (in February!) and decided to make an offer. This boat gave us a much better liveaboard experience and we loved it. But when the pandemic hit in early 2020, we found ourselves stuck at the dock. All of the marinas were closed and so were many anchorages. We knew this was not our actual liveaboard boat, so once again we sold the boat to begin saving for “the one”.

Now What?

We sold our Bayliner 4087 in July 2020 and managed to stay active on the water the rest of the summer, including a charter trip through the San Juan Islands. This weekend, we sat down and went over the options for Boating Journey’s Blog and Channel:

Option A

We find our liveaboard boat AND slip
It has to be within our budget

Option B

Continue looking and touring possible liveaboard boats
Look beyond the PNW for liveaboards (which could require us to relocate)
Share boating experiences (is there something you would like us to do and share with you?)
- Trips: whale watching next month and USVI in April
- Boat Shows: go back to Annapolis, maybe attend Fort Lauderdale too
- Experience something new: hot tub boat powered by a wood fired stove, rent a day boat for the day, maybe rent a houseboat on Lake Roosevelt, cruise on Lake Diablo

No matter what our options are, we are committed to investing in our experiences to share those with all of you. One way or the other, we’ll be on the water this year and we look forward to a fun year!

As always, thank you for following our boating journey. You can follow us on social using @BoatingJourney. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch this week’s episode below. Next week, we take you on a tour of a 41′ Cruisers Yacht, so tune in!

Cheer, Scott and Ally

February 21, 2021February 26, 2021

Bayliner 4788 Tour at Fisherman’s Terminal

Scott and I finally toured a 1998 Bayliner 4788 MY last week. Since we have owned two Bayliners many people told us to look into a 4788. This boat is currently moored at Fisherman’s Terminal in Ballard and we spent the afternoon exploring the marina as well.

The tour was impromptu and so we didn’t get a chance to take our time taking professional photos. The broker did tell us that the owner has added many upgrades to this Bayliner 4788, including a camera system to help him easily navigate and dock the boat.

Interior Upgrades

One thing you’ll notice immediately upon entering the salon is the upholstery and carpet are new. The two chairs are original to the boat and have not been redone. The salon has the same granite counter our 4087 had, but the wood is much lighter than what we had. This is because the owner also had all of the wood refinished.

The galley has decent counter space, similar to our 4087. It has an upgraded SeaFreeze fridge that is nice and roomy. The shades are all electric and move up and down with a press of a button! How cool is that?! The stovetop / oven is a Princess, the same model we had on our boat. You know how picky we are about the sink and this boat has two sinks, one of which is decent size. At least you can get a pan in it!

Drinks anyone? Check out the “wet bar”. Next to the sink, is a countertop blender! Haven’t see one of those in years.

The Two Helm Stations

A few steps up from the salon area, is the interior bridge. I was shocked by how great the visibility was from this bridge. Normally, we never use the interior helm station, but in this case you would want to. The captain’s chairs (upper and lower) were both recently upgraded and the best part is you can move it around (it’s not anchored to the floor). These chairs are very nice upgrades to the boat.

You can access the upper fly bridge from either the stern (via a ladder) or from the interior bridge. I was disappointed that the upper bridge didn’t have a table or a good area for entertaining. A large portion of the upper deck is used to hold the crane and dinghy.

For us, entertaining outside is important and we definitely want an area that has a table with seating so we can enjoy the outdoors during the summer.

The Sleeping Quarters & Heads

As you move down the hall, you’ll find one stateroom on your port side and the day head on the starboard side. Straight ahead is the master stateroom.

The first stateroom has a great design, as the bed is not on the ground level (like many aft berths). This makes it much easier to get in and out of bed.

The day head had lots of storage space and it did have a separate shower, which we like. I wasn’t too keen on the lip of the day head or shower in it. I would definitely trip on both of them.

As you move down the hall, you’ll find the washer / dryer combo. This is a definite must for a liveaboard boat.

The master stateroom is actually an island berth in the forward cabin. I don’t know what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it. I need a full walk around bed, so I was bummed to see that this was the design.

Apparently, the Bayliner 4788 was designed so that you could remove the partition between the master stateroom and the guest room with the bunk beds. That is exactly what this owner did and for privacy he put up a curtain. They use it primarily for extra storage, so this made a lot of sense.

I was also amazed by how much storage the master stateroom offered!

The master head has plenty of room, but we were shocked to see it has a bathtub! Now that’s a liveaboard boat!

Overall Impression

This particular Bayliner 4788 is beautiful and comes with a lot of great upgrades. The owner has taken really good care of this yacht and it shows. Is it what we are looking for? Unfortunately, no.

I really want a FULL walk around bed that I don’t have to hop into every night (remember, we’re living on this boat). While I love the entertainment space on the inside, there really isn’t any outside. The cockpit is too small for a table and chairs and the upper helm only has seating. Those are my two “must haves” for a liveaboard. If you want more information on this Bayliner 4788, please email us and we’ll send you the link. Many people ask us why we don’t include it in our blog or vlog and that’s because the link will become invalid when the boat sells. We don’t want to have any links on our website, that don’t go anywhere 😉

Fisherman’s Terminal

Fisherman’s Terminal opened in 1914. This marina is open to both pleasure craft and commercial vessels. Look for celebrity ships from Deadliest Catch! One caveat about this marina is it is not secured. The docks are open to the public.

The Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial memorializes more than 670 local commercial fishermen and women who have been lost at sea since the beginning of the 20th century.

Scott and I love that Fisherman’s Terminal is so close to us. If you recall from our previous blogs, we often buy our seafood from the Wild Salmon Seafood Market, located at Fisherman’s Terminal. There are also three restaurants and a gift shop at the terminal. Be sure to check it out next time you are in Seattle!

As always, thank you for following our journey. Next week, we sit down with you and share our thoughts on what’s happening in regards to our blog and vlog, and our search for a liveaboard boat. Follow us on social @BoatingJourney and please subscribe to our YouTube channel, by clicking on the video below and hitting “subscribe”. Cheers, Scott & Ally

February 13, 2021February 14, 2021

Swapping out the BVIs for the US Virgin Islands

Back in 2019, we booked a bareboat charter to the BVIs (British Virgin Islands) for March of 2020. We were the first group to be postponed due to the covid pandemic and it was probably a blessing as we may have been stuck down there. The four of us (Scott and our friends Ben & Maria) rescheduled the trip for February 2021. We were thinking that surely the pandemic would be over by then, right?

Opening up the islands to tourists

In October 2020, many of the Caribbean Islands started allowing tourists back, but under very strict guidelines. The BVIs implemented one of the strictest policies making travel there near impossible. First you had to have a negative covid test before boarding your plane. Then you received another test when landing and would then need to quarantine for four days. After four days, you take another test and if that is negative, you are allowed to tour only certain (non-tourist) locations on the island for another four days. After that, you were allowed to visit approved mooring fields and marinas on day nine.

Since our charter is only for five days, these rules would not work for us. As a result, we moved the charter to April 2021, in hopes they would ease up on the restrictions. That has not happened and it looks like they are here to stay for most of 2021. In addition, all water ports are currently closed and we were arriving by ferry from St Thomas.

Change of plans

Since we had our airfare booked (arriving in St. Thomas), the four of us decided to continue the trip and visit the US Virgin Islands. Ironically, Scott and I have traveled to many Caribbean islands, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Dominica and St. Maartin, but never the US Virgin Islands.

Our plan is to stay three nights on the east end of St. Thomas, then take a flight to St. Croix. There we are staying on the northeast end for four nights. We were going to take a ferry to St. Croix, but in the end the flight was easier and much faster. From there Scott and I are heading to St. John for three nights, so it is a stretched out trip.

Boating in the US Virgin Islands

Looking at the excursions that are offered, there are a lot to choose from! Kayaking at night looks interesting and they also offer an eco kayak trip. We definitely want to go sailing and snorkeling a few times and squeeze in a sunset cocktail cruise too. If you have any recommendations of “must do” excursions in the US Virgin Islands, please let us know!

Scott and I have wanted to retire in the USVIs for a long time, so it will be interesting to see if this destination meets our expectations. We could have moved our Moorings departure from Tortola to St. Thomas now that they have a base there. But honestly, we have been waiting for years to do the BVIs and we didn’t want to swap that out for the USVIs. Maybe after we boat around in April, we might regret our decision. We’ll see.

Our trip takes off on April 23rd for ten days. We do have to complete an online profile for covid and provide a negative test before we can enter the islands. For this trip we did buy trip insurance, as things can change at any moment.

Tune in next week for a tour of a Bayliner 4788. Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel (see Star Clipper video link below). As always, we thank you for following our journey!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

February 1, 2021February 1, 2021

Tour a 2018 Sea Ray L590 Fly Yacht

The Seattle Boat Show was this week and everyone loves to tour the yachts during a show. This week, we take you on a tour of a brand new (executive demo) 2018 Sea Ray L590 Fly yacht.

Sea Ray stopped building boats over 40′ in 2019 and they only made a limited number of Sea Ray L590 Fly yachts. This is the only new L590 on the west coast and a really beautiful yacht. With a full enclosure, it is perfect for cruising in comfort in the Pacific Northwest, especially because every level has heating and air conditioning.

Entertaining in Style

This yacht has plenty of room for entertaining. The cockpit has seating for over 6 people and it comes with a fridge, icemaker and grill! Plus the joy stick controls are located on the port side for easy docking from the stern.

The interior offers a large open salon with plenty of entertaining space. This includes a comfy couch, ottomans, large flat screen tv and a built in bar. Plus the “up galley” allows the chef to mingle with guests while prepping dinner. The settee offers seating for 6 people comfortably too.

More Entertaining Space!

If that’s not enough entertaining space for you, check out the fly bridge. It has seating for 12 plus people (pre-covid of course), a fridge, a grill and sun pads to relax on.

Liveaboard Comfort

When I think about living on a boat, I wonder how we can make the transition from a home to a boat comfortably – especially here in the PNW. Taking a tour of this yacht, I would have no issues! The master stateroom has plenty of headroom, lots of storage, a full walk around bed, a desk/makeup station, a large flat screen tv and a comfy lounge area. The closet even has an icemaker in it! This is nicer than our condo.

What I love about this yacht, is that Sea Ray put so much thought into the design and texture of the interior. It truly reminds me of a luxury home without being “gawdy”. The master head is beautiful and the shower offers plenty of room for a 6′ person!

There are two other staterooms on this yacht, including a double bunk room. This room has plenty of storage space plus the washer and dryer!

The VIP V Berth

It seems like every v berth we see, the bed is about 4′ high and for me (Ally) who is only 5’3″, it’s a chore to “hop into bed”. What I love about this v berth, is the bed is lower and it has two steps on either side, to easily climb into bed. This stateroom offers tons of storage and another big cedar closet!

The day head has access from the hallway and the v berth. It offers the same space and details as the master head.

The Helm Stations

There are two helm stations on this Sea Ray L590 Fly yacht. The interior helm offers two VERY NICE captain’s chairs with a fantastic navigation center. Sea Ray did not skimp here either, offering leather console and storage compartments in the bridge.

The helm station on the fly bridge has great visibility for easy navigation and docking. The Zeus pod joy stick controls help navigate this yacht through tight fairways and makes docking much easier than you would expect. Two large SmartCraft Vessel View display screens feature provide all the information you need for operating this yacht.

This yacht is equipped with triple Zeus Cummins engines. For info on this propulsion, check out this link: https://www.cummins.com/engines/zeus-and-cummins-inboard-joystick.

Cruising in comfort and luxury

Sea Ray is known for their high quality vessels and attention to detail. This Sea Ray L590 Fly yacht is a great example of that. With less than 60 hours and with a full factory warranty, this yacht is ready to cruise the Pacific Northwest. For more information or a tour, visit Union Marine on Lake Union in Seattle.

As always, thanks for following our blog! For a full tour of this yacht, please watch our YouTube episode below and please subscribe for future episodes. Be sure to follow us on social @BoatingJourney. Stay tuned for next week, as we take you on a tour of a Boston Whaler 325 Conquest Pilothouse. Cheers, Ally & Scott