That’s a question Scott and I get all the time on YouTube, “What is your channel about”? For us, it seems pretty simple. It’s about boating, but that’s not how it started really. We started the blog first, so we could document our journey in becoming first time boaters (well, together – I grew up boating). Would we like it and could we actually live on a boat? Well in order to answer all of these questions, we have to go back to the beginning.
The Beginning
Ever since we spent our honeymoon in Antigua 20 years ago and charted both sailing monohull and catamaran boats we’ve been focused on not only someday finding our own dream boat, but to take part in the liveaboard cruising lifestyle. But like for so many, life has thrown us a curveball or two. The important thing is we have not to let them derail us from achieving our goal.
One of those curveballs happened back in 2005 when we lived in Renton, Washington. It was then we decided to convert an old DMV office into a boutique wine and beer shop. Flash forwards a few years to 2010. We attended the Boats Afloat Show and fell in love with sailing catamarans. We actually considered buying one to put into charter in the San Juan Islands, but we were right in the middle of the recession and it was not the right time. Instead, I began reading boating magazines and books about sailing around the world and immersing myself in the dream to escape from it all.
From then on, Scott and I attended as many boat shows as we could traveling coast to coast including the Miami, Annapolis and the various shows throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Owning our business started to take a toll on our personal lives as we were working 6 days a week. We knew we wouldn’t be able to enjoy a boat with our work schedule. We also had the dream of selling our home and buying a liveaboard boat. So in October 2015 we sold the wine shop and started to take our dream more seriously.
Our First Boat
As we started looking for a boat, we had to decide if we wanted a cruiser or a trawler style. We looked at quite a few and weighed our options. Did we want more outdoor space or indoor space? One Saturday, we headed out shopping with our broker and we looked at two totally different boats, both in the same yard. The first boat was much older and needed a lot of work, but it had tons of interior space.
Then our broker suggested we walk across the lot and look at a cruiser.
It was your typical cruiser. My first boat was a Bayliner 2655 and this was very similar. I wasn’t sure that I wanted another cruiser though.
The following weekend, we attended the Anacortes boat show and while we were there, we kept coming back to the cruiser. So we called our broker and made an offer that night. We bought our first boat, a 2001 Bayliner 3055 in April 2017 with the goal of spending as much time on it as possible.
Taking Possession
Our initial experience was wild. We picked up the boat in the Des Moines Marina from our broker on a Friday night. He gave Scott a 15 minute lesson on how to operate it and how to dock it. The following day, we hopped onboard to move the boat from Des Moines, Washington about 20 miles south of Seattle to the Elliott Bay Marina in DT Seattle.
We didn’t even know how to get out of the marina. Both of our hearts were racing as we made the trek north. When we arrived to our marina, we suddenly realized that the dock we selected was only accessible after making an S turn past 3 yachts (versus going straight down the fairway). But Scott did an amazing job docking it considering he had never docked a boat before. That summer we spent every weekend on it and made our first cruise to the San Juan Islands.
After spending every weekend on our Bayliner, we were hooked and we knew we could definitely live on a boat. Our first step was to sell our home and downsize to a small apartment. Then we sold the Bayliner, to save up for our liveaboard boat in the Fall of 2018.
Our Next Boat
After a few months of being “boatless” we really missed spending time on the water and at the marina. That’s when we saw an ad for a 2002 Bayliner 4087 and we decided to check her out. Scott and I were not expecting to like the boat at all, but we instantly loved it and put an offer on it, in the middle of a snow storm. In February, we hauled out for the survey and mechanical. It was a very chilly day!
We took possession of Our Happy Day in March 2019 and spent almost every weekend on her. Only have owned her for 18 months, we traveled throughout Puget Sound from Tacoma to Port Orchard to Bremerton to Port Madison to Kingston, spending almost every weekend on the boat.
Then Covid Hit
And then, as we all know, the world changed in 2020. If you have followed our story, you know that we sold Our Happy Day in July of 2020, because Ally had accepted a job in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. What we didn’t know is that covid would delay our move. In the end, we never moved. So we were boatless and still living in Seattle. But we were not defeated. We were more determined to move to a warmer climate with more boating options.
During the next 18 months we experienced as many boat activities as we could. We traveled to Fort Lauderdale, we bareboat chartered in the BVI’s, we rented a yacht to sleep on, we went whale watching and rented a tiny home with kayaks – just to name a few.
For the next year and a half, I looked for job opportunities in the yachting industry in South Florida. While a few came my way, I eventually selected one that would finally bring us to South Florida. For the past 15 months we have enjoyed becoming Floridians and settling in. I’ve since switched yachting companies and couldn’t be happier.
What Happens Now?
So where does this leave us? What is our channel and blog all about? Well, at this time, it’s all about what can you do to enjoy all things boating when you don’t actually own a boat. Over the past four years, we’ve visited the Caribbean and we have spent as much time on the water as possible.
We’ve taken a sailing cruise through the Lesser Antilles; we have chartered a yacht in the San Juan Islands and we’ve chartered a catamaran in the British Virgin Islands. And here in Florida we have experienced an air boat in the everglades, Ally has cruised to the Bahamas on a 74’ yacht, we’ve kayaked with the manatees, we’ve snorkeled in the Keys and in Fort Lauderdale we spend time on the New River as much as possible.
But now what? When are we buying the next boat? The honest answer is we don’t know. As we mentioned in a previous episode (see link below), slips and insurance are twice as expensive than what we paid in Seattle and overall, the availability of a liveaboard slip is next to none. Our best chance is to find a private dock and that is going to take some time and creativity. In the meantime, we are saving our money and exploring all that South Florida and the Caribbean has to offer.
So we hope that answered many of your questions. Please leave your comments below. We read them all. And if you find yourself in South Florida, let us know. We’d love to meet you. As always, thank you for following our journey. If you haven’t subscribed to our blog and vlog (see video below), please take a moment to do so. You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.
Cheers, Scott and Ally
