Boating Over Memorial Day Weekend 2018

Memorial Day Weekend 2018

Scott and I went boating with our friend Randy this past Memorial Day Weekend in Seattle. Hard to believe that an entire year has gone by! It was just a year ago that we spent our first big weekend with friends. But let’s back up to what we did on Saturday morning before leaving for the boat.

We have been toying with the idea of upgrading our boat to a 38′-42′ boat to get accustomed to a larger boat. Scott found a few he liked on-line and called our broker Eddie. Saturday morning he met us at the marina and we toured a 2001 38′ SeaRay with an aft cabin. This boat was in perfect condition and had plenty of comfortable living spaces.

After thinking about it over the weekend, we ultimately decided it was not the best decision. Our neighbor Jules, who lives on her 70′ yacht told us we don’t need a transition boat and that we will be able to move from a 32′ to a 55′ with no problem at all. She said that the larger boat will be easier for us to handle than our current boat. Since Scott and I have put so much money into Kokomo this year getting it ready for boating season, it only makes sense to enjoy it for another year.

Let the Weekend Begin!

Unlike last year, the weather was cool and partly sunny on Saturday. That certainly made unpacking and making the bed more comfortable! Our friend Randy came down mid-afternoon and we headed out to Port Madison. I was bummed that it started to get cloudy on our way there, but the sound was as calm as can be.

The last time Randy was on our boat was when we were struggling to get the boat going (we later learned we had a broken prop). This time, the boat took off and planed instantly!

Porpoises were everywhere!

When we were about two-thirds of the way there, I thought I saw a bunch of logs. Instead of logs, there were over a hundred porpoises! It was really a cool thing to watch. I only wish they had been closer.

Since the wind was expected to pick up significantly, we didn’t stay long at Port Madison. Our original plan was to practice anchoring, but decided there was too much traffic and the weather was getting colder. So we hung out for a bit and headed back to Seattle. As we came back into port, we passed one of the huge cruise ships on our way and this wasn’t the largest one in the sound.

We grilled up some steaks and I made one of my favorite potato recipes (Roasted Mediterranean Potatoes Recipe) along with a salad. Even with the cooler weather, it was still awesome to be on the boat again! Of course the sunset didn’t disappoint either.

Boat Chores & “Dinghying” Around

We woke up Sunday to a gorgeous warm day! Scott wanted to replace the stereo on the boat, so we headed out shopping. First stop was Car Toys, but the systems sounded terrible and the service wasn’t great. We then headed to West Marine and as usual, they were extremely helpful. Plus we found a system that sounded great! This system has blue tooth – keep in mind, our current system didn’t have that, so we were running a long cable from the stereo to Scott’s I-Phone. Not safe. LOL

We spent the afternoon cleaning the boat and then we decided to take a dinghy ride through the marina. Believe it or not, this was only the second time I have been in the dinghy. Scott was struggling to start it, when he decided to lift off the cap only to find the spark plug wasn’t connected. That will make a difference!

Be sure to watch our our full YouTube episode for the footage of our tour, including some of the mega yachts! After touring the marina, we decided to grab some appetizers and a cocktail at Maggie Bluffs. I was hoping for their famous shrimp cocktail, but apparently they aren’t in season yet?

We finished the day, sitting on the bow enjoying cocktails and soaking up the sun. It was such a relaxing day!

Earlier in the day, we stopped by our favorite fish market, Wild Salmon Fish Market and picked up some fresh salmon. Honestly, unless you catch it yourself, you won’t find salmon this fresh! I used to drive from Renton once a month to get our fish!

memorial day boating — Yes, that’s wayyyyy too much pasta for that plate! LOL

A beautiful sunset for a great weekend!

After dinner, we walked over to “N” Dock to check out our new yacht neighbor
M/Y Calypso. This 200′ beauty is stunning! Be sure to check out her photos in the link. She comes with an outdoor theatre and disco! The moon was rising over Seattle and it was the perfect ending to a great evening. Just another reason why we love Elliott Bay Marina! It’s so beautiful! Not to mention the facilities are top notch and the staff is awesome!

Scott and I have a bit of a busy travel schedule this summer, but plan on visiting some local ports around Puget Sound this summer. We probably won’t have along trip like the San Juan Islands from last year, but you never know!

Watch Episode #12 on our YouTube Channel for full coverage of our weekend below (subscribe to get notifications when it’s live).

Be sure to subscribe to stay updated and check out our Patreon Site too! Thank you for following us and for sharing too!

Cheers,

Scott and Ally on Kokomo

#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

May 10, 2018August 15, 2018

Getting Ready for Boating Season

Time to get Kokomo ready for boating season

Scott and I spent four days unpacking and we also needed to get our boat Kokomo, ready for boating season. While we have done all of the exterior and mechanical work on our boat, it still wasn’t ready because nothing was on it. In preparation for winter, we removed things like bedding, carpet, coolers, cushions, etc and moved them into our storage unit.

On Sunday, we headed down to Public Storage on the waterfront and loaded up all of the boat supplies.

It took us three carts and two trips to bring everything back to the boat. Remember, we’re located at the end of the dock, which is about 1/4 mile walk. What’s really cool this year, is we have new neighbors and they are all really friendly and outgoing.

Quick run on Elliott Bay

It was so beautiful on Sunday, that we decided to take the boat out for a quick run on Elliott Bay. Our gas gauge doesn’t work great and we haven’t filled up the tank yet, so we didn’t go too far. But being out on the water and enjoying the Seattle skyline, just brought back all of the reasons we want to be on the water.

spring boating — This tanker has been anchored outside the marina for weeks.

Check out Episode #10 on our YouTube Channel

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Our Patreon Page

Thanks for all of your support & for following us! Be sure to also check out our new Patreon site, which allows our followers to join us & support us too.

Stay tuned for our next blog as we visit the Anacortes Boat Show. Thank you for following us. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook & Twitter!

Cheers, Scott & Ally

#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

April 26, 2018

Clipper Round the World Visits Seattle

Spending the day touring the Clipper Round the World Sail Boats

Last Sunday, Scott and I took a break from packing up the house and went down to Bell Harbor Marina to view the Clipper Round the World sail boats. I’ve been following this race for months and was so excited they were stopping in Seattle!

The race is the brain child of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who was the first person to sail non-stop around the world and this is their 11th race. To learn more about the legs of the journey and their stops, read here. What’s even more impressive is that 40% of the sailors do not have sailing experience! If you click on the link above, you’ll see the conditions they sail in. That is courageous if you ask me!

Touring the boats

What was really cool, is the tour was free! You simply had to wait in line for a guest pass. They had limited guest passes, so once folks were done with their tour, then it was your turn. We toured Sanya Serenity Coast sailing yacht. Each boat has a major sponsor and then multiple smaller ones. This boat is sponsored by the city of Sanya which located in the South of China on Hainan Island. It is making its debut as a Host Port and Team Partner for the 2017-18 and 2019-20 editions of the Clipper Race. They will use this sponsorship to promote tourism and sports.

We were also able to tour the cabin of the boat and it was tight in there. Each boat has twenty crew, with ten on watch at a time. That means the other ten are sleeping in their hot bunks (which are hammocks) or trying to find a place to sit. Also keep in mind that while racing, the boat is usually at a 40 degree angle!

They have two heads on the boat and no shower. They are typically at sea for 3-4 weeks before arriving to a port. How do they shower? They use handi-wipes.

Honestly, as cool as this would be, I just don’t see myself ever doing something like this under these conditions. What was also interesting, is once they get into port they still stay on the boat. If they want to rent a hotel room, they are on their own. If it were me, I would find a cheap room to share with other people. That way we could shower and do laundry for a couple of days.

A great way to break away from the chores of moving

Spending a sunny day at Bell Harbor Marina, touring these awesome boats was a great distraction from our chores of moving! Everyone was in such a great mood and having a great time.

Seattle also has a boat in the race, promoting tourism for our city.

Here’s the video footage we took:

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Thank you for subscribing to our Boating Journey blog! Stay tuned for our move update in our next blog, which will be written from our new apartment in Downtown Seattle! Cheers, Scott and Ally

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#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

April 16, 2018April 24, 2018

Leaving the Boat Yard

Finally Leaving the Boat Yard

It’s been six weeks and Kokomo is finally leaving Seaview Boat Yard. As a new boater, we have gotten lots of advice and tips from fellow boaters. Hopefully this story will help others too.

Before we selected Seaview, we asked for recommendations in the Seattle area and there were just a few that would work for us. With our broken prop, we had no choice but to go to Seaview, as they were the closest to our marina. As you might remember, we met them at the Seattle Boat Show and they had a great haul out deal of 50% off the haul out and 20% off labor with any bottom paint package. The staff at the boat yard was very friendly, but they don’t move too fast. Luckily for us, the weather was horrible for the past month, so it didn’t impact us too much.

As I mentioned in our last blog, the boat yard had finished painting the bottom and the engines two weeks ago and my nephew and his dad waxed it for us last week. This saved us significant money. We paid Spencer $800 and the boat yard wanted $1700! He and his dad, did a fantastic job!

Sterndrives look new!

Our sterndrives were painted too and they look amazing compared to before. They installed our new Bravo II props last week and compared to the props they pulled off, wow!

There was a boat next to us in the yard and check out the mussels growing on his engine and trim tabs!

So what does all this cost in the end?

What’s funny about boat maintenance is everyone loves to say that BOAT stands for “bring on another thousand”. But if you are a boater, you know that and expect it. So did we have any surprises this time? A few. Here’s the final breakdown of all of the work. I will say that the boat yard, originally charged us for 24 hours to paint the stern drives and we questioned it. They adjusted the bill to 18 hours.

Bottom Paint Package, including parts & labor $806
Bottom Paint Seahawk Sharkskin Black 1.25 gallons $235
Replace Anodes incl labor $336
Prep & Paint Sterndrives $1805
10 point inspection (see below for what that incl) $121
Pull & install new props $1315
Boat Show Discount <$605>
Misc fees & taxes $594

Seaview Boat Yard Total $4608

We also hired a Mercruiser mechanic to inspect the engines and also tune them up. His cost was about $800.

So overall, the entire haul out cost us $6200 and we had estimated about $5000. Not ever having done this before, our estimate wasn’t that far off.

Communicating with the boat yard

Our biggest issue with Seaview was their lack of communication. We had to call almost every day to find out what the status was. Then finally last Thursday, they called to say the props were on and they were scheduling the haul out for 1pm the next day. I was shocked, because we were still waiting on the 10 pt inspection and the trim tab work. On top of that, there was a small craft advisory for Friday afternoon and neither of us were able to move it on short notice anyways.

Then they called back an hour later saying the inspection was done and that they would put it in a slip for us to pick up over the weekend. Scott and I went down to the boat yard on Friday evening to pay our final bill and confirm everything. The weather was horrible and now we just prayed it would be nice over the weekend.

What does the 10 pt inspection include?

Since we have never had one done, we only know what Seaview includes. It was a quick checklist that they gave back to us.

Check Bottom Paint, zincs, shaft, thru hulls, knot meter/depth sounder condition, grounding damage, thruster/trim tabs
Paint/Scratches, gel coat punctures, boot stripe condition
Interior thru hulls/valve condition, galley, head, electronics, hose clamps, linkage/cable condition, bilge area

What were their findings?

Stiff steering
Head pick up valve is stiff
Port trim tab in operable – possible relay

So nothing too major to worry about this time.

Finally leaving the boat yard

Scott and I looked at the forecast and we had a small weather window on Sunday, April 15th. While many of you might be thinking, “what’s the big deal? It’s Springtime in the PNW and the weather is fine”. Not so much!

According to the NW Weather Service, with the first two weeks of April, this month is now the fourth wettest April in 120 years! Read more here.

Luckily, Sunday morning arrived with sunny, blue skies and calm waters. I dropped Scott and Kurt off at Seaview and then drove back to Elliott Bay Marina to meet them. I guess the boat was hauling, as they beat me back to the marina!

We docked stern first, so we can clean the dinghy and also the top of the starboard side of the boat. Next Sunday is supposed to be sunny, so Scott and I will head down to clean the boats, inside and out.

We still have no update on our house or our move, so stay tuned for that. Until then, thank you for following us! Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Cheers! Scott & Ally

#KokomoSeattle #BoatingJourney

April 12, 2018August 15, 2018

Looking Forward to Boating Season!

We’re ready for boating season – are you?

I don’t know about you, but after weeks of cold, rainy weather we’re ready for boating season and some sunshine! Of course, with our boat still in dry dock after six weeks, we’re not missing much.

Next month, will be a full year that we have been boat owners and we certainly traveled a lot of places for first time boaters. That’s the great thing about mooring at Elliott Bay Marina, we’re close to so many great ports that are a day trip away.

Some of our favorite spots

In celebration of #ThrowbackThursday, I thought I would share some of our favorite destinations. These include Kingston, Gig Harbor & the San Juan Islands.

salmon bake indian reservation — Blake Island

luxury charter yacht pnw locks — Going thru the Ballard Locks

The best view is still at home

Even if Scott and I don’t take the boat out, we love to spend the night at the marina. We are very lucky to have such a beautiful place to relax and entertain friends and family. This year, we plan on exploring more of Seattle on foot from the marina.

holiday party marina — Olympic Mountains

Here’s to another great boating season! We look forward to sharing our journey with you this summer! We should be bringing Kokomo home in the next week or so, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott and Ally

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#BoatingJourney #KokomoSeattle

March 8, 2018

Hauling Out Our Boat

Hauling Out Your Boat for the First Time

For any new boater, hauling out your boat for the first time is nerve racking to say the least. Scott and I had met with Seaview Boatyard at the Seattle Boat Show in January and took advantage of their “boat show special”, which was 1/2 off the haul out and 20% off labor. When you are talking $110/hour for labor, 20% is a big savings.

We scheduled our haul out a month ago, not knowing what the weather window would give us. Thank God is was dry and sunny. We did have northerly winds at 10mph, which made the journey from Elliott Bay to Shilshole Marina a bit wet and choppy.

Our brother-in-law, Kurt joined us on the trip, as he is familiar with hauling out and the boatyard.

Prepping for the trip

Since we couldn’t take the dinghy, we had to remove it and secure it to the dock. Then I drove to Shilshole, dropped off our truck and Kurt drove us back to Elliott Bay.

The tricky part about this trip, is that we have a broken prop and we didn’t want any vibrations that can ruin our shaft. So we traveled at about 6 knots all the way there.

Arriving at Seaview Boatyard

It took us about 30 minutes to round the point and arrive to Seaview. They had told us to call the office if the sling wasn’t out, so that’s what we did. Soon, we noticed they were putting in another boat, so we waited about 10 minutes in the fairway. There was no traffic, so it was not a big deal.

After they put the sail boat in, they waved us in. We didn’t have any fenders out, since we were heading straight into the slings. But with the northerly winds and a broken prop, it became a bit challenging. As we approached the piling you see on the far right of the photo above, it became apparent to Kurt we might hit it. He was on a bow and quickly attempted to push us off. I was on the stern and didn’t get to the starboard corner in time before we hit it. Thankfully, it struck our toe rail and didn’t do any damage.

When you pull into the slip, they have you shut off your engines and they quickly secure the boat with the slings. Kurt shut off the power and we locked up the cabin. I was waiting for them to tell me to step onto the dock from the Port side, when he told us to get on the bow, climb over our railing and reach for the ladder (that was 10′ above the water) to get on the dock! Remember, I’m short and this was not an easy or non-terrifying feat for me. LOL.

Up and away Kokomo goes

The three of us got on the dock and they quickly brought up our boat and wheeled her to the hard. What a sight that was!

What do the props & stern drives look like?

A few months ago, someone on Facebook posted the photo below and I was terrified that is what Kokomo would look like!

Luckily, Kokomo looked surprisingly clean! We dock our boat on our Port side and 85% of the winds come from the north. This means that the current, winds & debris are coming at our Port side and simply collecting there. We think this is why our Port side stern drive looks much worse than the Starboard side.

We expected that our anodes would need to be replaced and sure enough, they do! What are we talking about??

From Google: “The way we counteract galvanic corrosion is to add a third metal into the circuit, one that is quicker than the other two to give up its electrons. This piece of metal is called a sacrificial anode, and most often it is zinc. In fact, most boaters refer to sacrificial anodes simply as zincs.”

The three of us then spent some time with Andy, the manager at Seaview to go over what we wanted to have done. This includes:

Pressure washing
New anti-fouling paint
Cleaning and waxing the entire boat
10 Point Inspection including the trim tabs, anodes, seacocks – but no engine
Replace both propellers
Replace the anodes

We are also having a Mercruiser mechanic inspect the stern drives and make sure we are in tip top condition for boating season. This should all take about two weeks or so. What will all this cost? Not sure yet, but we will be sure to let you know!

Yes, this is also the time we should be having our open house and getting ready to move into our new apartment. Crazy lives we are living right now!

Our Bayliner is 32′, but in this photo it looks like a huge yacht next to Scott!

We captured the entire journey on video, so that we could share this with you all too.

Stay tuned for our next update! Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and share with other friends & boaters.

Thank you for following our journey! Cheers, Scott and Ally

March 5, 2018March 13, 2018

Keep up with us!

Keep up with what’s happening this week

The next few weeks are going to be very hectic for Scott and I as we get closer to putting our house on the market. We’ll do our best to keep everyone up on what’s happening here on our blog. As we mentioned last week, our lives are very crazy right now.

We have two big things happening:

Prepping & putting our house on the market
Hauling out the boat for paint & engine work

House Update

Last week we had all brand new carpets put in by Empire Carpets and they were fantastic! The team was efficient, friendly and did a great job. On top of that, the entire project was very affordable. If you are looking for fast and quality service, I highly recommend Empire today!

Later this week, we are having the floors refinished, so stay tuned for those photos and update.

When it comes to prepping our home to put it on the market, I have been really picky about everything. I want it to be pristine and perfect. So over the next week, we’ll refinish the floors, clean up the yard, deep clean the house and make it picture ready! Yesterday, we toured three homes and two of them were between $800k-$950k. I was shocked as to how grungy they were. I would be embarrassed if anyone came into our home with it looking the way these did. So hopefully, I do a good job on my own house.

Moving stuff to our storage unit

Now that we have our storage unit in downtown Seattle, we’ll be making many trips to it. Right now, it’s actually FULL of boat stuff, from carpets, to beds, to bedding, coolers, bbq…..you name it, it’s there! It will be nice when we get the boat in service and we can free up all that space. Check out our fun video from our second load to the unit:

We looked at a couple of apartments yesterday, because we had some spare time. One of them was about 560sq ft (YIKES), right above the viaduct (noisy!), expensive, but the views were amazing. Don’t worry, we’re not moving in there.

Bellevue Staycation

This week, we are celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary AND having our floors refinished. Since we have to move out for three days, we’re staying at the Marriott Courtyard in Bellevue. We plan on touring about ten apartments on Friday and Saturday, as we want to lock in our new apartment in a week or so. Yes, things are happening fast!

Hauling Out

This Wednesday we are hauling out the boat to Seaview Boatyard. Thank God the weather is forecasted to be sunny at 51 degrees. Whew! We don’t have to go far, but we still will be moving with a broken prop. Scott and I will need to unhitch the dinghy and tie it up to the dock. The trip should take about 20 minutes, if all goes well.

Be sure to subscribe to both our blog and YouTube channel to follow the day’s events. We will also share our stories on Instagram and Facebook. So stay tuned and keep up with us! New adventures await.

Cheers,

Scott and Ally

October 25, 2017

Our Favorite Caribbean Vacations

Favorite Caribbean Vacations

Scott and I have many favorite Caribbean vacations. Though we live on the West Coast of the United States (where most folks go to Hawaii or Mexico), we only go to the Caribbean. There’s something about the smell of the tropical air, the warm breezes and the steel drum music that takes you away instantly. Our love for the Caribbean started on our honeymoon, during our first trip to Antigua. Antigua is located in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea and also the Atlantic Ocean, as you can see in the second image below.

Antigua

For our honeymoon in 2003, we stayed at the Sandals Antigua Resort. We picked Antigua because the resort was unique and looked romantic. Since then, the resort has doubled in size, but kept it’s quaint beach front. Now Antigua is one of our favorite Caribbean Islands.

swimming in the caribbean sea — March 2003

We returned to Sandals Grande Antigua in 2011 after their big remodel. During this trip, we took our first circumnavigation tour of the island on the Wadadli Catamaran. The tour took about seven hours and was so fun!

In 2016, we came back to Antigua which I wrote about in my blog. We spent so much time touring the island, both on land and at sea, that I wrote four blogs about our trip. Click on the titles to links to the blogs.

Antigua – Part I – Xtreme Circumnavigation Tour & Sting Ray City

Antigua – Part 2 – Land Based Tour & Nelson’s Dockyard

Antigua Part 3 – Circumnavigation Tour – Hells Gate Island & Bird Island

tourist spot antigua — This rock island has the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Read our blog for more details.

tourist island excursion antigua — View from the top of Bird Island

Antigua – Part 4 – Fun Beach Days

Bahamas

We have only been to Nassau, which is the capital of the Bahamas. Surprisingly, it is almost parallel with Miami. Be sure to keep that in mind if you visit the Bahamas (or Key West) in January, as it can be cold!

When Scott and I visited Nassau in 2008, Florida had a freeze and we had a few days where it did not get above 60º. However, it is a beautiful place and we hope to return and visit the Exumas and the swimming pigs someday.

Jamaica

Jamaica is located due west of Haiti & Dominican Republic. We have been to Jamaica five times over the past twelve years. The primary reason is that the island folks are extremely friendly and it’s affordable from Seattle. Again, we have always stayed at a Sandals Resort each time. We have been to Montego Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios and White House.

Montego Bay

Our first trip was to Montego Bay and Sandals resort, was located across the street from the main airport’s runway. I’m not joking! It turned out to be a cool thing and we didn’t have to drive for hours to get to our hotel. When the planes fly over, everyone waves!

Unfortunately, a huge tropical storm came through during our trip so we did not do any water excursions.

White House

White House is located on the west side of the island and Sandals Resort is located in a 500 acre wildlife refuge park. There is nothing around it, but it is gorgeous! It has a great bay for Hobie Cat sailing and it is really peaceful. There is a bit of a drive to get there (about 2 hours) but the roads have improved. Scott and I have been to White House three times.

One of our favorite things we have done, is visiting Floyd’s Pelican Bar, which is located on a sand bar. You take a small dinghy from your boat out to the bar. They sell (warm) drinks and cook up some food.

We have also taken a few cocktail cruises during our stay in Whitehouse.

Negril

On one trip to Jamaica, we split up our vacation between Whitehouse and Negril. We drove north for about an hour and it was an easy trip. Negril is very cute and has many famous tourist attractions. We did not do any of them, as we simply relaxed by the pool. The resort offered a free glass boat tour in the bay, which was fun. But beware, because the resort at the end of the beach is nude and they also do boat tours!

Ocho Rios

Ocho Rios is located on the northeast end of Jamaica and about two hours from the airport. Unlike many of the other cities we traveled to, the highway was paved and easy to drive on. However, this was not our favorite place at all. It might have been because we didn’t like the resort at Sandals or because it wasn’t as tropical as on the west side. The water is rougher and not as turquoise and clear. We did take a catamaran cruise to the Dunn River Falls (we didn’t do the chain to the falls). Of course a squall showed up, so it wasn’t a great day on the water.

Dominican Republic

We visited the Dominican Republic in February 2017. I did write a blog about our trip and voyage. It is a beautiful island and it has cool caves. It just was not our favorite of all of the islands we have been to.

As we visit more places, I will be sure to add them to our list!

September 26, 2017September 26, 2017

Favorite Boating Blogs

Thinking back on how this dream of living on a boat started, it all began when I started following other boating blogs. Business would be slow at our wine shop and the weather was miserable. Why not immerse yourself in someone’s journey? The unfortunate part of following other bloggers is that in some cases their boating journey comes to an end. I remember feeling a bit depressed, know that they had to be sad too.

Some of our favorite old blogs were found on Sail Blogs. Here you can search through the list of active blogs and read where they are in the world and what they are doing.

Our Favorite Boating Blogs Right Now:

Sailing Britican – This is a family of three on board their 56′ sailboat and they have traveled over 18,000 miles over the past three years. They share a lot of tips, lessons and advise on their blog.

Quit Your Job & Live on a Boat – Author Ed Robinson wrote his first book “Leap of Faith – Quit your job and live on a boat” which tells the story of how he and his wife left the rat race and are now living on their trawler in Florida. You can follow him on Facebook too.

Sailing Totem – This is a family of five on their 47′ sail boat, which left the Puget Sound in 2008. They are still cruising and both of them co-author many articles in 48º North and Sail Magazine.

Lahowind – This was one of my favorite blogs to follow. Jereme & Kim from Florida decide to leave the rat race for one year onboard their 37′ sailboat along with their dog Oliver. They traveled all over the Caribbean, got engaged and returned home a year later. They sold their boat, married and had a child. Now she blogs about family and raising their baby. Kim is a professional photographer and her photos & videos of the Caribbean are stunning. Check out her photos & video of the pigs in the Exumas!

Jill and Jake Adventures – This couple started sailing in February 2015 from the East Coast down the ICW onto the Caribbean. Be sure to start reading from the beginning to really feel their adventure.

Sailing La Vagabonde – This is a YouTube blog following an Australian couple as they sail on their new Catamaran across the oceans of the world.

I am always looking for new blogs to follow, so if you have any favorites, please share with us! Cheers! Scott & Ally

September 22, 2017November 7, 2017

A Summer to Remember

Pacific Northwest Summer

Pacific Northwest Summer has come to an end and it surely will be one to remember for a long time. Everyone teases us for all of the rain we get and how dreary Seattle is. So imagine their shock when we say we didn’t have any rain for almost four straight months setting an all time record! Of course, we watered our plants and yard every day, only to get a $1000 water bill this week! Finally, Autumn is here and we are looking forward to it.

The Summer of 2017 will always be the one where our boating journey began. Scott and I really lucked out having a great weather summer. Normally in Seattle our summer starts on July 5th and doesn’t last very long. Thanks to our great summer, we made sure we took advantage of our time on our boat.

Pacific Northwest Cruising Destinations

In the short four months we have been boaters, we covered a lot of water in the Pacific Northwest. When Scott and I first got the boat, we didn’t expect to make that many trips at first, but we got the cruising bug instantly. Where did we visit?

We also went through Deception Pass on our way home from the San Juan Islands. That was on our bucket list!

Labor Day in Seattle

We enjoyed the three day weekend of Labor day turning it into a four day mini vacation. We started in Gig Harbor, then Seattle and then the Ballard Locks!

One of the coolest things we did this summer that I recommend every boater do at least once, is go through the Ballard Locks! We had so much smoke from the fires in Eastern Washington that all of our photos and videos have a “burnt sienna” look to them. Check out our video below:

It was definitely a summer to remember. Seattle usually has a mild Fall season in September and October, so we are looking forward to spending some weekends on the boat coming up. Stay tuned! Cheers, Scott and Ally (and Mac too)