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