Boating Blogs and the adventure of Boating Journey

June 20, 2020June 20, 2020

Time for a Change – Big Announcement

For those of you who have followed our journey since 2013, you know our goal has always been to find a liveaboard boat. We sold our business, our home and our first boat in order to downsize and prepare ourselves.

In the Fall of 2018, we began searching marinas for liveaboard space, only to find out the wait lists are long and a few years down the road. As much as we love Elliott Bay Marina, they don’t allow liveaboards. So we put our names on the lists and now we just wait. We hadn’t planned on buying another boat anytime soon – in fact, we were waiting until we found the liveaboard. But Scott and I had never spent much time on a larger boat and wondered if we would like it?

Along came “Our Happy Day” – Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin Motoryacht

In December 2018, Scott found a listing for a 2002 Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin MY and asked the broker to give us a tour one Saturday. We look at boats all time and we didn’t expect to like it, but we were curious what it looked like. Low and behold, we actually thought it was great! Uh ho. Yep, you know what that means? Next thing I know Scott transferred money and put a deposit on it.

Seattle was in the middle of snow storm and we scheduled the sea trial in the middle of February! What were we thinking? By mid March, we were the proud owners of Our Happy Day. (I know, you’re wondering where am I going with this, right?)

Time to Learn & Explore

Scott and I wanted to spend as much of our free time on the boat, as possible. This included blustery, rainy & windy nights, to get a feeling of what it’s like to live on a boat. We visited new and familiar ports, we anchored for the first time and we worked on a lot of boat projects.

Looking back at everything we did last year, I’m amazed! In the last three years, we’ve learned more about boating than we ever expected. Who knew we would haul out two boats within two years? While it’s an expensive project, you certainly learn a lot in the process.

Now We Need a Plan

The past three months have certainly brought us focus. Back in March we had no idea what would happen in the world and still today in June, things are uncertain. All of us want things to be back the way they used to be – socializing, traveling with groups and visiting new places. But how long until that happens? No one knows.

With the shelter order in place until May 4, 2020, Scott and I did a lot of soul searching. Here we own a boat that we won’t live on and now we can’t venture out anywhere. After a few months of discussion, we made a bitter sweet decision to sell the boat.

Sell the Boat?!

Why would we sell the boat? At the first of the year, we set boating resolutions, that included visiting new ports and going up to Canada. Plus we were going to do some remodeling in the galley. Then came COVID-19. Who invited IT to the party?

Our decision to sell is based on many factors. One, we are bummed that there are still restrictions on where we can go and visit. Yes, things are finally opening up, but back in May when we made our decision, we didn’t know for sure when the restrictions would be lifted. Once you get to your destination, things are still limited. Of course we can anchor, but we like to visit new towns and stay at a dock. Our generator is not hard wired and we’re more comfortable in a marina.

Secondly, why are we spending money on a large boat and a 48′ slip, that we don’t plan to live on? The reality is, Scott and I should be saving our money for the 50’+ boat we’re looking for. Our quarantine was a wake up call. We certainly love the boating life and we miss it already (even though we haven’t closed yet).

Thirdly, we wanted to sell the boat at the beginning of the season, so someone else can enjoy her during the summer.

Now What?

Well, as you know this blog is called Boating Journey, as is our YouTube channel. It will always be about our love for boating. So as we look for our liveaboard boat, we’ll continue to bring you boating stories. We have lots of content coming up including the cost of ownership, buying & selling process, liveaboard boat tours, interviews with other liveaboards and boating adventures.

Knowing us, we’ll find another boat right away and we could be on it before this blog publishes. Who knows? Be sure to continue to follow us here and on our YouTube channel. We promise to try and not disappoint you. If there’s anything you would like us to share, please comment below.

As we say every week, thank you so much for following our journey. There’s just a few of us, who have sold everything to live on a boat, and this has certainly been a journey. No matter what happens, Scott and I will be sure to have fun and share with you our adventures.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney, so you can see our stories and get current updates on our progress. Also, check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes.

Cheers, Scott & Ally

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020

Boating these days

These are certainly different times right now and boating these days, isn’t quite the same as it used to be. It was a year ago this week, that we took our first big trip to Dock Street Marina in Tacoma. The weather was horrible and we had three foot seas. At 9 knots, it took us just over three hours. Definitely not my favorite in the books.

Once we got there, we had a blast and that’s what boating is all about. Spending time with fellow boaters on the water and docks. Even though things are starting to open up, we still aren’t there yet and we miss those times.

Adjusting to the new norm

When boating opened up in Washington State on May 4, 2020, many of the marinas were still closed as were the towns they are in. Some boaters chose to head out and anchor, but we like the amenities of a marina (especially since our generator is only a portable one). As a result, we’ve been hanging out at home working on boat projects.

Last weekend, we finally gave in and invited our good friends Ben & Maria down for the night for cocktails and a dinghy ride. We hadn’t seen them since we took off to Port Orchard and we needed to talk about rescheduling our trip to the BVIs.

They have been following our struggles with getting the dinghy started, so it was a celebration of its’ own. Ironically, I have never taken the dinghy out by myself. After Ben and Scott got back from their tour, Maria and I climbed in for the big adventure. We had a ball cruising the marina, saying hi to fellow boaters and enjoying the sunshine.

What’s next on YouTube?

Before they arrived, we filmed a YouTube episode about our electronics on board (see video below). A few followers asked us how our boat was outfitted and we decided to share in a tour. We have the basic necessities for cruising around Puget Sound and they work great for us. Be sure to watch the video at the end for the full episode.

Our weekend was short with Ben and Maria, but fun. It doesn’t matter if you are at a marina, at anchor or out cruising – if you are on the water with friends, life is more fun. Summer is just two weeks away and normally we’d have big plans for cruising. This pandemic has changed that for all of us, as we are living day to day. Instead of making huge cruising plans in two months (we did that back when….remember how that turned out?), we’re looking short-term at what we can do as the weekends arrive. We love the summer evenings at the marina and we can’t wait for more warm weather.

In the meantime, we’re enjoying being on the boat with friends and family. As I said in our “whale on our stern” video; if you open yourself up to the world, you never know what might be waiting for you. Stay tuned and see what happens for us this summer.

As always, thank you for following us! Be sure to follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney, so you can see our stories and get current updates on our progress. Also, check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes. Cheers, Scott & Ally

May 17, 2020June 3, 2020

Boating is finally open!

Scott and I have been spending our weekends cooped up on the boat at the marina during this quarantine. Due to the shelter order, we were not allowed to venture out and go boating. Some boaters did choose to go out and anchor, but some of the them got flack for leaving.

On May 5, 2020 the governor finally opened up recreational boating and allowed fishing to resume! Plus the weather forecast for the following weekend was hot and sunny – we’re talking mid 80’s! Scott and I both took Friday off and planned to get away for the weekend on the boat.

Where do we go?

The photo above was taken up north by Whidbey Island years ago on our old boat. We have been itching to go anchor somewhere and learn the ropes. But we’ve always wanted to have Ben and Maria on board, so we can practice for the BVI’s. By Thursday, I noticed most of the boating channels we follow on Instagram were heading out early Friday.

The more we thought about it, we decided it was not in the best interest for us to leave the first weekend that boating was open. Too much traffic and we would be better off working on the boat (sad face). But wait! It gets better and in fact, everyone who left for the weekend ended up being jealous of us. More on that later.

Weekend of boat projects

When you own a boat, you never run out of projects. Since the weather was warm and sunny, we tackled some serious cleaning projects on the boat. Another item on our to do list, was to replace the spot light that got ripped off last year. How did that happen? Well, our slip neighbor’s boat stuck out into the fairway too far (almost 5′) and their dinghy was hanging up by the davit about 6′. When we pulled out, the spotlight on the bowsprit got caught on their dinghy line and the force pulled it off, leaving the base on. We ended up using white flexi-tape to reattach it until we could get it fixed.

Looking at the photo above, you would assume, that to remove the spotlight, you would simply undo the screws. Nope, of course not. Turns out that when Bayliner produced this boat, they mounted the spot light on the top portion of the bowsprit, THEN connected the bottom portion, so there was no way to access the spot light.

We finally gave up trying to figure it out and called Emerald Harbor Marine to fix it. They ended up having to destroy the old one and mount a new one. Looks great, don’t you think?! A good tip, if you don’t already know this, is be sure to turn your spot light around (if you don’t have a cover) so that debris doesn’t break the glass while underway.

Friday evening happy hour

We invited my brother-in-law, Kurt and his girlfriend, Stacey down on Friday evening for happy hour. Kurt wanted to take another look at the dinghy engine to try and troubleshoot it. He was the chief engineer on the ferries, so he knows his stuff. We’ve all been quarantined for 60+ days, so we felt comfortable having them down. We still kept our distance and “air hugged” each other. That’s probably the hardest part of this social distancing.

If you recall from our last blog, we have had troubles getting the outboard on the dinghy to start. We replaced the fuel, fuel filters, spark plugs and cleaned out the carburetor. At first, the engine would start, but not stay on without the choke. We assumed it was the carburetor, so that’s why Scott took it apart to clean. But after all that, we couldn’t even the get engine to start.

So this time Kurt and Scott took off the outboard cover and sprayed CRC Jump Start into the carburetor as they were starting it. It finally started and Kurt realized that the idle was set too low. Once he adjusted it, it stayed running! Woot!!

This calls for a celebration. Time for happy hour and some food! We use the propane tank housing as a counter all the time. Works great!

You’ll never believe what happened next!!

The four of us were relaxing in the cockpit when we started hearing screaming. We didn’t pay much attention to it, until our neighbor Miguel, shouted over to us that there was a gray whale off our stern in the fairway! Yep, you heard that right. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get this week’s notification, of when we upload the video. It was crazy!

All of our boat neighbors who left for the weekend, were so bummed they missed out! It was about 30′ long and he just casually swam away. That was definitely a first for us and I think Elliott Bay Marina too.

Next day – time to test out the dinghy!

Keep in mind, that we’ve only used the dinghy twice since we bought the boat. We took one trip around the marina last summer and then we tried to go for a ride last Fall and it died on us just feet away from the boat. Since the weather was hot and we were home bound, might as well get some kind of boat ride in.

We grabbed the oars and pushed off, as our neighbor Miguel wished us luck.

Time for Ally to learn to fly the drone

Since it was a beautiful sunny day on Sunday, we decided to have me learn how to fly the drone. I get a bit freaked out when the drone heads out over the water, but that’s why we bought a drone. Scott did a great job explaining how things work. Now I just need practice. We’ll have the footage on our YouTube channel in upcoming episodes – so be sure subscribe!

Now was the extent of our first hot and sunny weekend. Let us know what you think? Should we be out boating now? Is it too soon? We’d love to hear from you. If you thought the whale sighting was awesome, be sure to check out our next blog and episode for more awesome encounters! Next Blog

April 21, 2020May 2, 2020

Boat life during self quarantine

April has been one of the driest Springs in many years and unfortunately, due to the self quarantine orders we haven’t been able to enjoy the weather. Scott and I have a list of projects we need to tackle on the boat, but with me being unemployed right now, we’re not spending any money.

Last week, we decided to stay on the boat for a few days to regain our sanity. We have no neighbors right now at the marina, so it was not only safe but actually a bit lonely. That’s been one of the hardest things about the quarantine, is the lack of socializing. Boaters are pretty social people and we love to mingle on the docks and share cocktails. Not these days.

But first, check the water pressure pump

Once we started staying on the boat a few months ago, we would be awaken in the night by the sound of the water pressure pump. Scott and I didn’t think anything about it, until a couple of other boaters we follow @MVWhyKnot and @Seabits_Steve both mentioned that they found leaks from this sound. UH OH.

So, we tore apart our bed to check and see if everything was dry. Sure enough it was.

Next, we checked the water heater – all was dry there too. After talking to a few people, the culprit is most likely the check valve on the actual water pressure pump and so we’ll probably need to replace that soon.

Day trip to Des Moines for diesel!

We found out earlier in the week, that Des Moines M arina was selling diesel for $1.74/gallon! That was worth the trip and so we headed out Thursday late afternoon. At 10 knots, it took us about 1.5 hours and it was a very comfortable and gorgeous trip.

By the time we arrived, the winds had kicked up a bit and there was a slight wait for the fuel dock. On top of that, it’s was not easy to navigate around the marina as we had to turn around at the end of the fairway. Luckily, we got in right after that.

This photo doesn’t do it justice, as there are no boats around. Imagine, a boat on all three docks plus more waiting near the breakwater and lots of wind.

As we headed back home, I texted one of our friends who lives in Burien and told her to look out for us. She then texted us a couple photos back! That’s one way to practice social distancing.

By the time we got back, it was time to relax and watch the sunset. It was a gorgeous night to be on the boat.

Scavenger hunt on your boat

I suppose you could arrange a scavenger hunt during the quarantine on your boat, but that’s not really what we did. Instead, I decided to go through all of the storage spaces and see what the previous owner left us. Wait until the video comes out and you’ll see everything we found!

I was amazed by everything we found including a macerator, impeller, anodes, filters, etc. It pays to go through the storage areas when you first buy a boat or even a year later.

While I worked on the inside, Scott gave the boat a much needed bath. Soon it was time to relax and enjoy our cocktails during high tide. With pollution being down, we were able to see the topography of Bainbridge Island.

Saturday evening on the boat

Scott and I hosted happy hour on the boat Saturday night, in true self quarantine fashion with three friends who you probably recognize from some of our trips (Randy, Matt and AJ).

Trying to support our local restaurants at the marina, we ordered dinner from Palisade Restaurant Saturday evening. Known as the place to go for special events, it’s surreal that they are now only serving curbside during the quarantine.

Celebrating my 50th birthday a few years ago 😉

While we continue to support both Maggie Bluffs and Palisade, we are disappointed that the last three times our orders have been wrong, missing or not very good. We understand it’s difficult to work under these conditions, but this is also a great time to wow people who have never patronized their establishments before.

Both restaurants are offering a limited menu and last weekend we ordered the Crab Louie and Stuffed Prawns, which would be fairly easy to carry back and eat on the boat.

This is a tough week for us, as we were supposed to be flying out for our bareboat charter trip to the BVI’s. Hopefully, we can reschedule that trip, sooner than later.

Cheers, Ally & Scott

April 14, 2020April 23, 2020

Dinghy issues & learning to dock a yacht

The weather was great last week, so why not check out our dinghy issues and learn how to dock a yacht? Like everyone, we’re going stir crazy during this COVID-19 quarantine. It doesn’t help that the weather turned nice and this is when we should be out boating. On top of that, I (Ally) was temporarily laid off at the end of March and I’m not one to sit around the house.

After a week and half in the condo, we needed a change of scenery. So many of our fellow boaters are venturing out to secluded anchorages and we want to head out too. But first, we have a few projects to tackle, including getting the dinghy engine working.

Engine troubles

The last time we used the dinghy was last Fall, when we went out for a marina cruise and the engine died just five feet from the boat. You can see the footage of that scene in our Bloopers Video that we just posted. We assumed that the issue was our battery, as it hadn’t been charged.

After charging the battery for a few days, Scott climbed in to start the dinghy. Unfortunately, the engine wouldn’t turn over. After sharing our story on Instagram, a number of people recommended we check our fuel.

The following weekend, we drained all of the fuel and filled the tank with brand new fuel. It was great that you can drop off your hazardous materials at the marina office for disposal.

Unfortunately, swapping out the fuel didn’t work. Scott then changed the in-line fuel filter – turns out we do have another fuel filter attached to the engine. We didn’t change that one, because Scott doesn’t think it has anything to do with the issue. Still wouldn’t start.

Could it be spark plugs?

The next option was to change the spark plugs. While we were able to buy the spark plugs at West Marine, we couldn’t swap them out until we bought a special wrench for these specific spark plugs (18mm thin wall). Scott eventually found one on Ebay, so we had to wait for that to arrive.

The following weekend, he replaced all of the spark plugs AND sprayed Sea Foam (fuel cleaner) into the fuel tank. Once again, we waited with anticipation to see if it would start.

The good news is, it finally starts. The bad news is, it won’t stay running without the choke being engaged. We did talk to Monkey Fist Marine and a few other people, who all believe it’s the carburetor. This could be a very expensive job (at $150/hour to rebuild one) or to just buy one and have it installed. The catch? We have three carburetors on this dinghy engine. Ouch!

Our next plan of attack is to move the dinghy over to the dock and remove the manifold. From there, Scott can try cleaning out the jets, replace the gaskets and add a carburetor and choke cleaner. Fingers crossed.

Next project…..cleaning the lazarette

Ever since we bought the boat a year ago, I have been wanting to clean the lazarette. While it is used to store stuff, who wants to see a grimy storage unit every time it’s opened up? I figured this would be a fairly easy job and allow me to spend some time enjoying the sun. Boy was I wrong! This thing was filthy and had years of grime and green algae gunked on.

First, I attempted to sweep the gunk out. That didn’t work well, as I really needed a hand broom for the nooks and crannies.

Instead, I filled up a tub with Dawn liquid soap, grab a sponge and went to town. This was a back breaking project – I don’t know how boat mechanics do it. The spaces are tight and I was careful not to step on anything important (our water maker and diesel heater are down there). Eventually, the lazarette was spotless!

After finishing up our projects, we got ready for a cruise on the bay for the evening. While it was a short cruise, it was nice to be out on the water and enjoy the scenery.

Time to practice docking

The weather was nice and calm Saturday morning, so we decided to head over to N Dock so that I could practice docking the boat. I only docked our previous boat once and that was a twin screw stern drive engines.

They (whoever “they” are) say, never have your spouse try to teach you how to dock a boat. We don’t speak the same language when it comes to stressful tasks. In this case, Scott likes to use “no no no” or “eh eh!” which tends to stress me out. Finally, I told him the best way to communicate with me is to simply say what I should be doing (i.e. port side reverse, starboard forward, neutral). That seemed to do the trick. Still, trying to dock a 24,000 pound yacht for the first time is not a task I take lightly.

How did I do? Well, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for notifications for our next video. We’ll have the entire drone footage included.

Enjoying the weekend at the marina

Though we can’t socialize and mingle on the dock like normal, it was still nice to enjoy the beauty and calmness of the marina. There was a super low tide (-1.66) on Saturday and it was crazy to see how far it was out. The rock formation you see, is normally under water.

Normally on a warm sunny day folks are enjoying outdoor dining outside of Maggie Bluffs, but due to the shelter order they can only offer curbside service. So we ordered lunch and a bottle of wine in support of our local marina restaurant. They also have a limited Palisade menu, which we’ll order from next weekend.

That evening, we made a nice dinner on the boat (Asian marinated pork chops with stir fried veggies) and watched the sunset fade over the Olympic Mountains. There’s truly no better place to be than on your boat, especially during these stressful times.

We all still have three more weeks of isolation. We’re heading back to the marina this weekend to keep working on the dinghy. Scott and I might even take the boat out to anchor one night – we’ll see. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon and we can begin enjoying life on the water again. Until then, stay safe and healthy.

Cheers, Ally & Scott

March 27, 2020March 29, 2020

Our Catamaran Charter to the BVIs is Cancelled

In our last blog, we were somewhat confident that our bareboat charter trip to the BVIs next month would still happen. Who knew then, how drastically things would change over the next seven days as we dealt with the COVID-19 virus. While it has been the topic of the world, Seattle was not shut down yet. In fact, my office was still open and working as normal.

Then we got the notice from The Moorings, that the trip was officially cancelled. The four of us were definitely sad and disappointed, but it is the only solution to keep the islands safe. Being down and out about the cancelled trip, Scott and I decided to spend it on the boat and enjoy the sunny weekend.

Once again the sunset was amazing. Watching it and enjoying our cocktails, our worries seem to disappear, if only for a moment. We called Ben and Maria to talk about the cancelled trip and figure out what’s next. That’s when we decided that the four of us should head out of town on the boat for Saturday night to get away from it all.

Scott and I made a nice dinner on the boat and relaxed the rest of the evening (again, who knew then that there will be plenty of relaxing coming up?!)

Off to Port Orchard

I called Port Orchard and they had plenty of space. We left Seattle about 11am and I navigated us the entire way (until it came time to make the narrow entrance into the marina).

When we approached the narrow opening, another boat was leaving!

It was a perfect trip through Rich Passage and as we arrived, the fog lifted, blue skies appeared and sun came out to greet us! The marina wasn’t kidding about dock space – it was just us and two other boats.

We’re here, now what do we do?

The four of us headed into town and decided to get some take out at The Brickhouse to support them. This is normally a bustling restaurant and bar with live music. It was a bit surreal to have no one in there. I love this sign that hangs outside the bathroom door – it’s perfect for what’s going on right now.

We headed to the north end of town and walked along the shoreline. There we discovered a memorial dedicated to the US Navy and an actual torpedo!

The walking pathway runs along the main shoreline of Port Orchard, offering plenty to see along the way. We lucked out enjoying warm sunny weather.

All alone in Port Orchard

We pretty much had the marina all to ourselves.

The boat in front of us, appeared to be vacant and had an eviction notice on it. We weren’t sure what it was? Half sail, half power. Part metal, part wood. Strange.

The tall ship was beautiful and the crew were all busy working on the mast. Be sure to watch our upcoming video for the up close drone footage.

While it was only a short getaway, it was nice to be away from it all. Just a week later, the state issued a 14 day shelter order. Here in Washington, many of our boating friends and followers, actually headed out of town during the order. The question now remains, is that considered a quarantine? Can they go to the marinas? Cruisers around the world are also in limbo or stuck and can’t get into countries they’ve traveled to. No one knows the answer or what the future holds; all we can do is take this day by day.

I am now temporarily laid off and working on projects around the house, while Scott is working from home. Let’s just pray that this will end soon and life can go back to normal. The four of us hope to reschedule our cancelled trip before the end of this year. We have a lot of things going on with us, but with the current pandemic nothing is happening yet. Until then, stay tuned.

As always, thank you for following us! Be sure to follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney, so you can see our stories and get current updates on our progress. Also, check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes. Cheers, Ally & Scott

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020

Why we only vacation in the Caribbean every year

Here on the West Coast, most people travel to Mexico or Hawaii for their tropical vacations, but Scott and I only vacation in the Caribbean each year (except for one time we went to Mexico). It does take us a full day to get to our destination, but it’s worth it in the end.

Caribbean cruise — Jackie O’s love beach in Antigua

It all began when we honeymooned in Antigua in 2003. The tropical warm breezes mixed with the smell of rum, sounds of steel drum bands and the mesmerizing turquoise waters got us hooked. On top of all of that, it was also the people from the islands that drew us in. There are definitely parts of the islands that are poverty stricken and many of the workers you encounter at your hotel, restaurant or taxi come from these neighborhoods. Yet, they are eternally happy around everyone and that’s what makes visiting the islands so memorable.

What Caribbean Islands have we visited?

Scott and I have been to Antigua four times, always staying at Sandals Resorts. Sandals is an all-inclusive resort chain with great resorts to vacation at in the Caribbean. Antigua’s capital, Saint John’s is a great city for shopping – be sure to check out their huge Farmer’s Market!

When we owned The Wine Alley, we always closed the first week of January to take our vacation. One word of caution – if you visit The Bahamas in the winter, remember that Nassau is pretty far north and it can be chilly in January! The islands are beautiful and visiting the pigs in the Exumas is on my bucket list.

Jamaica has been another favorite island for us and we’ve stayed all over the island. I think we have been there five times with White House being our favorite.

White House is on the west side, near a 500 acre wildlife refuge park (watch out for bugs on the uninhabited beach), Negril is great for beach activities and food, Ocho Rios is famous for Dunns River Falls and Sandals at Montego Bay is literally across the street from the airport!

Keep in mind when visiting anywhere in Jamaica (except Montego Bay), that it can take a couple of hours to get to the hotel. But in true Jamaican fashion, the drivers always take care of their passengers along the way.

Our most unique island visits

A few years ago, we decided to pick a brand new island to visit and we selected the Dominican Republic (not to be confused with Dominica). The Dominican Republic shares the island with Haiti. We stayed at a five star all-inclusive resort, which was beautiful. The waters of Dominican Republic are so insanely blue, they are blinding. There’s great history on the island, starting with Christopher Columbus. However, their sanitation system (lack of) and the tip expectations from everyone we encountered were a big bummer for us. I’m sure it has changed since then.

Then last year, we took an epic sailing cruise aboard the Star Flyer, which is part of the Star Clipper fleet. This journey started in Sint Maarten and headed south to Nevis/St. Kitts, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Isles des Saintes, Antigua, St. Barths and back to Sint Maarten. Be sure to watch our three part series on YouTube for the full footage!

Caribbean sailing ship — On board Star Flyer, outside of Nevis

US Virgin & British Virgin Islands

With all of our Caribbean vacations, it’s hard to believe that Scott and I have never traveled to the Virgin Islands. To say we’re excited about our upcoming bareboat charter with The Moorings in the BVI’s is an understatement. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been researching where to anchor, where to visit and eat. The charter is only for six days and then we will spend two nights on St. Thomas. This will give us a chance to explore the island over a day and a half. Both islands are still recovering from Hurricane Irma and after seeing what Sint Maarten looked like, we’re prepared.

We’ve mentioned in a few blog posts and YouTube episodes, that if you have chartered in the BVIs before, please share with us any advise you have. This includes provisioning, places to visit, what to wear, etc. We know we have to have a flexible schedule & itinerary based on the weather forecast, so we want to have our options lined up.

Time to practice anchoring

This weekend the forecast is decent and the four of us (Scott, Maria, Ben and I) are planning on heading out to practice anchoring. We had hoped to stay over night on anchor, but since we’ve only anchored once, it’s best we do a day anchor for lunch first. The weather can turn ugly in the PNW and the last thing we need to do is drag anchor and run around.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney, so you can see our stories and get current updates on our progress. Also, check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes.

As always, thank you for following us! We have some exciting things planned for this summer, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott and Ally

#BoatingJourney #BoatingLife

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020

Seattle Boat Show 2020

Scott and I have attended the Seattle Boat Show for the past fifteen years. Originally we attended just to have something fun to do. Eventually, we caught the bug and we started boat shopping and we bought our first boat in 2017. Yep, it took us twelve years to finally make the decision.

Now that I’m in the boat business, I wonder if that falls true for other people? What are their reasons for attending? Then you have to ask, “well, if you already own a boat, why go to the boat show?” One of the main reasons, is there is so much more than just new boats at the show. Every year, the Seattle Boat Show has two floors (and a tunnel) of marine industry vendors ranging from Canadian marinas and electronics to accessories and supplies.

Touring the boat show with a plan

I will admit, since this was my second year working the Seattle Boat Show (nine long days in a row), I wasn’t in the mindset of touring new boats in the show. Instead, we were focused on what we need for the boat. As we talked about in our New Year’s Resolutions blog, we plan on doing some remodeling and also visit some new marinas around Puget Sound. So our plan for the show was to look for a sink, faucet, new canvas and talk to new marinas.

Surprisingly, we didn’t accomplish any of the remodeling task – there were no vendors at the show that supplied those items. As we walked the show, we did get a chance to say “hi” to some of the vendors we have used, including Color Glo, Elliott Bay Marina, Pacific Fiberglass and Global Marine Insurance.

One fun thing we saw at the Elliott Bay Marina booth, was our boat is in the aerial photo in the booth!

Union Marine – the largest boat display in the show

As the Marketing Manager at Union Marine, part of my job is to ensure that we have a fantastic display. I’ve toured our booth every year and I have to say that we had the best display that I have ever seen. Of course, I’m biased, but it really flowed well and was the center of the show.

Dog Day at the Seattle Boat Show

This year, the show added “Dogs on Deck” and on Thursday folks could bring their dogs to the show. Of course I was in heaven with all of the four legged fur balls running around. Surprisingly, they were all very well behaved and we didn’t experience any doggy accidents.

Fun surprises at the show

Even though we have a great following on our blog and social channels, it still humbles us when people know who we are. We had a few people come up to us while we were touring the show and say “hey, I know you guys. You’re Ally and Scott of Boating Journey – I follow you.” One guy I met, Kyle knew our channel so well, that when he was describing it to his friend, he included our old boat, how we bought this one in a snow storm, that we had holding tank issues and we’re off to the BVIs. It was so awesome and this really is super cool to us.

I had also talked to another fellow boater, Jeff from M/V Why Knot, who we follow on Instagram about the show early in the week. On the last day, he walked right up to me to say hi. We’re hoping to do a meet up with a bunch of us local boaters who follow each other.

Meeting VIP’s

When I’m working the show, I typically work in an office, so many times one of my team members would come and get me to say someone was looking for me. One time, I asked who it was and they replied “they said they were VIP’s”. ?? Who could these people be, I wondered. So I headed up to our Sea Ray ramp, only to find our close friends Nick and Michelle, who now live in Arizona. They came by to surprise me! You might remember, that we used to attend the Anacortes Boat Show with them every year!

The Seattle Boat Show consumes the first four weeks of the year and now that it’s over, Scott and I can start working on all of our boating resolutions. This also includes anchoring and staying on the boat one night before our trip! Of course it’s still winter here in the PNW and we’ll be waiting for warmer weather to do that. Next week, we’re having a planning meeting with Ben and Maria to go over our BVI itinerary and provisioning plan. So stay tuned for our next project!

As always, thank you for following us! Find us on social media on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney. We finally tested out our new drone, so look for our maiden voyage posts. Be sure to also check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney and subscribe for future episodes.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

January 23, 2020January 23, 2020

Cozy winter night during wind storm

Scott and I have been planning to stay on the boat during a wind storm for a while now. The forecast was showing 30-40mph winds for last Friday night, so finally we decided to spend the night during the storm. Why you ask? Well, primarily to see if we could stand it, if we were full-time liveaboards. In addition, it was bitter cold in Seattle at about 38 degrees.

I tried to film walking along the dock, but the rain was going sideways and it was pitch dark. The last thing we needed was to fall into the water during a wind storm – better to watch where we are going, than have footage! (yes, I could have had my GoPro head mount on, but I would have really looked ridiculous!).

We have two Caframo True North heaters on the boat – one in each stateroom. But with it being just above freezing, it was still pretty chilly when we first got on the boat.

boat heater — Sorry for all of the dust! LOL

Time to make dinner

What do you make on a cold winter’s night? Chili and cornbread of course! This time, we made our favorite vegetarian chili. As some of you know, the LPG (liquid propane gas) system freaks me out. Guess that’s why there are three switches plus the knob to turn the gas on!

But first things first! Time to try a new rose’ in a can – we love canned wine, as it’s perfect for the boat. This one is from Outspoken Wine Co in California. The strange thing is, I can’t find anything online about the actual wine co. But it was very tasty!

I got used to lighting the stove top, but it’s the oven that I don’t like! Scott has to light it with a lighter and it was taking forever. Would love to swap out our system with an electric stove and have a microwave / convection oven.

While I worked on the chili, Scott made the cornbread. During this time the boat was rocking a little, but not too bad. The oven worked perfect and the cornbread came out great!

Planning our BVI charter

Scott and I brought all of our documents for our upcoming BVI bareboat charter in April, to discuss and outline our questions. We’re having a charter meeting with our friends Ben and Maria in February and we’ll want to nail down a few things including:

Provisioning
Itineraries (need more than one in case the weather changes)
Charts
Activities

Scott printed out pdf charts from NOAA and the big question for other cruisers is, will this be enough, or do we need to buy full paper charts to take with us? I’ve reached out to The Moorings to see if they provide charts – I have to imagine they do! Again, any advice other cruisers have – please tell us!

When the “boat’s a rocking”

Time for wine, candles and a movie! We ended up watching “Late Night” which was pretty funny. As usual, we finished the night watching some of our favorite YouTube channels, including a local Seattle family (Teal, Linh, Emma and Compass) from S/V Basik – “On Board Lifestyle“. Great channel and we have learned so much from them.

How did we sleep?

Actually we slept surprisingly good through out the wind storm! There were just a few times that the boat rocked badly. Compared to our sailing trip on the Star Clipper where our cabin was moving about 10′ up and down, this was nothing.

It got very chilly and flannel pajamas were a must! At the same time, I love how chilly our stateroom is during the summer. Remember, our aft cabin is almost in the water, which is a constant 50 degrees in the Puget Sound.

Next day errands and project

One of our boating resolutions was to do some remodeling and that includes finding a new sink and faucet. Our first stop was to Morgan’s Kitchen and Bath in Ballard. I had bought a tiny sink from them before, so hopefully they could help us. Turns out they would need some time to look through their catalogs and will get back to us. The challenge is our sink is 22″ x 14″ x 6″. Odd size.

We also checked out their faucets, but these were super high end and really for homes (which is what we already have on the boat!). Then we went to Home Depot – that was a huge BUST. Everything was way to big. Both Scott and I have remodeled our own kitchens in the past and who would know this would be this difficult?

I suggested we stop by Fisheries Supply in Seattle – maybe they have faucets? Sure enough, they have one that will work perfect! We want a faucet that is tall enough to get a pan under it, but not so tall it takes over the galley. Hey, maybe they have a sink too? Turns out you have to look online to see their inventory. We haven’t done that yet.

Our plan is to tackle the faucet and hopefully sink over the next few weeks. Since Ally has to work the Seattle Boat Show for the next 10 days, we won’t be doing any kind of major projects on the boat until after the show is over. Stay tuned for our next blog covering the show. This year we plan on meeting with supply vendors that came help us upgrade the boat and also new marinas we can visit this summer!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020

Sticking to our budget of $15 a day!

Scott and I follow a lot of cruisers and many of them have shared their budgets. Some of the conservative cruisers are able to live on $15 a day. One of our New Year’s Resolutions, was to stick to a budget & save money. We wondered if we could live off of $15 day living in DT Seattle?

Now we’re only talking about food provisions, not rent, etc. One thing we have noticed since moving to Seattle, is groceries seem to be more expensive compared to when we lived in the suburbs. We rarely walk out of the store for less than $200 each week and we don’t shop at the fancy grocery stores. So now the challenge was on!

Downtown grocery shopping

One thing I do love about grocery shopping in downtown Seattle, is we get to park in a garage and our groceries never get wet from the rain! Don’t miss that one bit! That’s about the only thing I love about grocery shopping.

Our first stop was the produce department. We can easily spend $60 just on produce. When we owned our home, we had a small garden and I sure miss it. This week, I kept our dinner menu simple and the ingredient list low – especially when it came to produce.

While we’re on the topic of produce, we recently decided to ditch the disposable veggie bags and started using reusable produce bags. They work great and we love them!

Bargain shopping

This week, we were lucky enough to find some bargains, even in the cheese department! Can’t go without cheese. Of course, if we were really trying to live like cruisers, they probably never have cheese – right?

We even managed to find meat on sale with a buy one, get one deal! Woot.

One of our (well mine) biggest challenges, was not to buy any wine. Even after owning a wine shop for eleven years, I still love wine every day. But we need to save on not only money, but calories. So we passed by that section! There’s at least $100 in savings.

As most of you know, I love to cook (check out our recipe page). So it’s hard for me to resist unique foods and ingredients. This week, I just looked and didn’t buy.

How did we do?

Scott and I bought meals for Sunday through Friday (breakfast, lunch and dinner) PLUS since we got free steak and chicken, those are another two meals for the next week. We also had to buy some staples, like cleaning supplies, vitamins, paper towels, etc. All in all, I was very surprised with our outcome!

We spent $150 and saved $51. That is if you include the free meals, that averages out to $18.75 per day. I never thought we could really do it for $15, but considering the $18.75 includes items other than food, I think we did great! The real challenge will be to see if we can continue to do this.

We’ve also opted to not go out to eat as often as we normally do. Living in Queen Anne, we tend to eat out more than we should. Luckily, I do love to cook, so staying in and making dinner is still a great night.

Next boating resolution

There was no particular order in our boating resolutions (save money, anchor overnight, visit three new ports, visit BC and remodel the boat). Next on our list are a few remodeling projects. Be sure to subscribe to our blog for updates on our remodel.

As always, thank you for following us. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel at @BoatingJourney.

You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney.

Happy New Year! Scott and Ally