Boating lessons for new and upcoming boat owners

February 4, 2024February 4, 2024

Pompano Beach Nautical Flea Market

Last week Scott and I attended the Pompano Beach Nautical Flea Market, a captivating event that promises to be a haven for nautical enthusiasts and landlubbers alike. Nestled against the breathtaking backdrop of Pompano Beach, this vibrant market invites you to navigate through a sea of stalls teeming with maritime treasures and unique finds. Whether you’re an avid boater in search of essential accessories or a coastal aficionado seeking distinctive home decor, the Pompano Beach Nautical Flea Market guarantees an unforgettable experience for all. Join us in this maritime extravaganza where the scent of saltwater mingles with the thrill of exploration, promising a day filled with excitement, discovery, and the allure of the open sea.

If you want it, they have it

There were so many tables, vendors and booths that it was almost overwhelming. As you walk in, you will find fishing gear and boats on trailers.

The Pompano Beach nautical flea market is a great place to find spare parts, unique gifts and unusual finds. We found a vendor selling really old outboard cowlings for $40!

Cool New Finds

Scott and I also found some new inventions and met a new author along the way. The first invention was this drink caddy for the sand bar. Hmmm, not sure what to make of this? The guy tried to give us one for free- LOL.

The next invention was the Can-n-Rod caddy and this was another interesting and confusing product. Apparently it holds your fishing rod and it floats.

This new product is called the Body Glove and it is a paddle board that holds up to four people. Pretty cool!

If you are looking for spare parts, look no further! You can find port holes, handles, covers, you name it – they had it.

Great venue to buy your holiday gifts

The flea market offers more than just marine parts, but you can find clothing, gifts, books and other great finds for the landlubber.

There was certainly no shortage of pink flamingo or beach sign gifts!

This vendor creates coffee tables with wood from ancient sunken ships. How cool is that!?

Another Great Sailing Book!

I was so excited to come upon author, Rebecca Berger who just published her first book “Sailing Ohana”. She and her family sailed New Zealand for over five years after quitting the rat race. I haven’t started the book yet, but I’m sure it’s fantastic!

Food, Booze and Other Fun Stuff

The nautical flea market had no shortages of food vendors or bar vendors. You can grab lunch and a beer and continue shopping.

Scott and I will definitely attend the Pompano Beach Nautical Flea Market again. There was so much stuff and we were on sensory overload this trip. If you own a boat and you are looking for spare parts, this is the market to attend (next to the Florida Keys flea market which is even bigger!)

Pompano Beach Pier

Scott and I headed to the Pompano Beach Pier for lunch and to visit for the first time. We’ve lived in Fort Lauderdale for two years and had yet to visit Pompano Beach which is only 20 minutes north of us.

The pelicans were taking advantage of the sun and getting warm. Believe it or not, the winds were kicking up and it was down right chilly on the pier.

As always, thank you for following our blog! Please be sure to watch our YouTube episode of the flea market (link below) and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. We’ll be heading to the Miami Boat Show in two weeks, so we’ll see you there!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

August 28, 2022August 28, 2022

Gulf Stream Crossing to Bimini Bahamas

Earlier this month, I made my first gulf stream crossing from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini in the Bahamas. I am the event planner for my new company, OneWater Yacht Group and we took eleven yachts to the Bahamas. The trip took eight days, visiting five islands and traveling almost 500 nautical miles.

We left Roscioli Yachting Center (where I work) around 5:30am on a Sunseeker 74 Sport Yacht. This will be our mode of transportation for the rest of the journey. The trip down the New River took us about an hour and it was a very cool experience. I didn’t realize how long this portion of the trip actually was.

By the time we arrive at the inlet, dawn was starting to break. Our captain hit the throttle and we were now headed due east for Bimini, about 45 nm.

Watching the sunrise while you are at sea, is such an incredible experience. I’ve been told that the gulf stream can be flat as glass. It’s not unusual for small runabouts to make the trek. On this day, we had winds around 10knots and the seas were 1-2′ high. It was a very pleasant trip.

Arriving to Fisherman’s Village on Bimini

It’s a little eerie losing sight of land in all directions. Fortunately. for this crossing you are only out of sight for less an an hour. I think I was more excited to be in the Bahamas than I was seeing land. The color of the water was so incredible and this was no match to what I would encounter in the Exumas.

The water is also very shallow and you cruise in about 10′ to 18′ of water most of the time. As you arrive into Bimini, you will follow a channel to Resort World. They actually dug a channel out of the coral to allow boats to pass thru here.

We stayed just one night at Fisherman’s Village in Resort World Bimini. The marina was nice and offered the usual facilities ranging from wi-fi, laundry, showers and a few small shops. Our captain checked us all in at Customs and Immigration and the entire process took us about 15 minutes. Only the captain actually slept on the yacht. The rest of us checked into accommodations on each island, which did make the trip a bit more difficult as the week wore on. I stayed in VRBO as the Hilton was sold out. I didn’t bother to do a video or photo shoot of it as it wasn’t that great.

OneWater Yacht Group was hosting a cocktail party for our guests at a private estate on Rockwell Island on the beach. It was a beautiful setting and a great ending for the day.

Off to Chub Cay

The following morning our crew headed to Chub Cay, 84nm from Bimini. The Sunseeker 74 Sport Yacht was very comfortable. Sometimes it got a bit warm, so I would have to go into the salon to cool off. Oh the luxuries of traveling by yacht!

The trip to Chub Cay took us just under three hours. We hailed the dockmaster on the VHF radio and he instructed us where to go.

As we arrived to our slip, the staff was waiting to assist us. Chub Cay Resort and Marina is very new and beautiful. A few words of caution would be, that the marina office is part of the hotel and it’s a very long walk. Had I known, I would have taken my bags with me so I didn’t have to make two trips.

The marina does have a fuel dock, but customers were saying it was very very slow. One yacht only took on 300 gallons and it took almost 2 hours!

Chub Cay Resort

This was one of the most beautiful resorts I have stayed at. My room was nicely appointed and overlooked the pool and the ocean. The staff was fantastic and I wish I would have had more time to spend here. At this point, the Bahamas did not disappoint.

That evening some of the crew had dinner at the bar. I had the mushroom ravioli and it was amazing!

Time to head to Staniel Cay

Our trip on Chub Cay in the Bahamas was far too short. This is a place I would love to come back for a long weekend with Scott and just unwind. The following morning our crew headed to Staniel Cay, which was about 121nm journey. Unfortunately, I also threw my back out that evening, so trying to get back to the boat was a major chore. Along the way, I couldn’t help but add our sticker to the “sticker board”.

Be sure to tune in next week, as I take you to Staniel Cay. The Exumas were stunning and I don’t know how I can possibly describe them. As always, thank you for following our journey. Subscribe to our boating blog at YouTube Channel (link below) for future updates and trips. You can also follow us on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

April 7, 2022April 9, 2022

Heading to Saba Rock BVI

Finally it was departure day! Our crew enjoyed hot showers at the Moorings marina and grabbed some breakfast early on Sunday before heading to Saba Rock for our first night at anchor. Ben got up each day at 7am and reserved our mooring ball with the BoatyBall app and for this visit, he got the very last ball available. This will not the be first time this happens.

While moored in the marina, the Moorings keep the dinghies tied off to the front of the boats. When you leave the port, the dinghy floats underneath the catamaran towards the stern so you can put it on the davit. That seemed like a pain, so Scott and Ben managed to bring it around while we were in the slip and get it up on the davit.

The trek to Saba Rock was easy and pleasant the entire way. We had 20 knot winds from the south east and the Moorings 433 Powercat did great. Our journey took us just about an hour and a half going 14 knots at 2800 RPM (which seemed high to me). Having never grabbed a mooring ball before, the four of us were a little nervous.

Ben had hook duty and then Maria & I were on line duty for each side. Before we left the port, we got our mooring lines ready on the boat. While there are cleats on the bow of the boat, you never use those for a mooring ball; instead use your cleats at the forward position on the port and starboard side of the boat. We caught the hook right away, but lost it quickly as the wind moved us forward. Scott threw it in reverse and we tried again, this time nailing it. We were officially moored at Saba Rock.

Exploring The Baths

The four of us hopped in dinghy leaving Saba Rock and headed to Leverick Bay just a short dinghy ride away. From there we parked the dinghy at what appeared to be the dinghy dock, walked a few steps and found Cyril who owns Cyril’s Taxi Service.

He gave us a quick tour of eastside of the island which included a stop at the very top.

Once we arrived at The Baths, we decided to grab a quick bite at the Mad Dog sandwich shop. The BLTs were fantastic! Also at the top, you will find shops and a restaurant that offers a pool. We had drinks after exploring The Baths and they were much needed.

When molten volcanic rock cooled just off the coast, it formed the gigantic granite boulders now known as The Baths. It is easy to buy your ticket when you arrive. We didn’t know that our National Parks Permit would get us in, so we didn’t bring it. But at $3.50 per person, we were happy to contribute. Our crew followed the main trail down to the beach, where we came upon more shopping. There are signs directing you where to go and folks were tell us to go right and start the trail clock-wise. Instead our crew went left, thru the Caves first and then onto Devil’s Bay.

There’s an infamous shot of The Baths and somehow, Scott and I failed to capture it. It was pretty crowded when we were there, so it was probably because of the people. These photos don’t do The Baths justice. They were so big and impressive. Be sure to watch our YouTube video below for the full tour.

We found the trail back up the hill to be much easier from this direction, than if we would have taken the stairs we used when we arrived. The entire exploration took us about an hour and a half.

Saba Rock & Bitter End Yacht Club

Ben made us dinner reservations at the Bitter End Yacht Club the day before (highly recommend you plan ahead). We tried getting into Saba Rock for dinner, but they were full. Instead, we took the dinghy over for drinks to explore this famous rock, before heading to the Bitter End. Be aware, that the dinghy dock is jam packed! It may look like there’s no room, but they will squeeze you in!

Saba Rock was packed with people and it was difficult to get service. We were lucky to get a round of drinks. They do have a very nice gift shop and all four of us bought a shirt.

After exploring all day in the hot sun, our crew was hungry and ready for dinner. The Bitter End Yacht Club is a 5 minute dinghy ride across the channel from Saba Rock. They just reopened after Hurricane Irma destroyed it years ago. The food and service was amazing and we’re so glad we swapped Saba Rock for the Bitter End Yacht Club for our first evening.

We can’t wait to come back and spend more time here. Just being at anchor in this paradise was heaven!

We were almost killed on our first night

As I mentioned above, the BEYC is about a 5 minute dinghy ride across the channel. Here’s what it looks like:

During the day you will find all kinds of traffic, including ferries.

Our crew learned a brutal lesson on our first night of the charter. We left BEYC around 9:30pm and hopped in the dinghy with our goodies. Because we never travel at night at home, it didn’t occur to us to grab a flashlight or turn on our phone lights so others could see us. As we were traveling across the channel in the pitch dark, we suddenly saw a 30′ yacht tender coming straight at us! He was going about 15 mph from Saba Rock (too fast!) and we started screaming “Hey! Hey!”, but they couldn’t hear us. At the very last second, we diverted and they saw us, coming within 3 inches of slicing our boat in half. The wake their boat created when that happened completed soaked us and we were all very shaken up. Thank God, no one was hurt – it was truly a miracle!

Here’s the yacht tender the next day.

Needless to say, we always had a light if we traveled at night. Our first night saved and we were anxious to start our next leg of the journey. Tune into our next blog, as we head to Cane Bay and explore Monkey Point.

As always, thank you for following our journey. As I type this, I (Ally) am actually living in Florida full-time, so subscribe to the blog and vlog (link below) for an update on that journey. You can follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott and Ally

March 27, 2022May 30, 2022

Arriving into the British Virgin Islands

On February 25, 2022, Scott and I finally arrived in the British Virgin Islands after a week of testing and waiting. We took a red eye flight from Seattle to St. Thomas, via Miami. The total travel time was about 12 hours. Our flight had been changed a few times, arriving into St. Thomas later than we had expected. As a result, we chose not to take the last ferry to Tortola as we might miss customs. Instead, we booked a hotel at the Windward Passage hotel, which The Moorings recommended. It’s located directly across the street from the Charlotte Amalie Ferry Terminal.

I will say the location was great, but the rooms were not very clean. Good enough for one night though. After checking in, we were hot and hungry, so we headed down the main boulevard to find dinner. Lucky for us, we stumbled upon the Green House. We grabbed a view table and made ourselves right at home. The food and service was fantastic and a restaurant we would recommend in the Virgin Islands.

Heading to the British Virgin Islands

The following morning, we had a reservation at 9am to head to Tortola. We checked our bags and then grabbed breakfast next door to the ferry terminal at the Petite Pump Room. Just like last year, the service is a bit slow, so plan accordingly. There are three ferries that work out of this terminal and we had reservations on the Road Town Fast Ferry.

Just like last year, this ferry had an upper deck. The weather was great, so we were happy to grab a seat up above and enjoy the view.

The ride takes just under an hour. When you to the Tortola Ferry Terminal, you can either scan their QRcode to get tested for covid at the terminal, or show your negative test results at the check-in desk before customs. Scott and I got thru customs and immigration within 20 minutes. Maria and Ben had arranged for a taxi to pick us up and they were waiting for us when we arrived.

The Moorings British Virgin Islands Base

The base is about 10 minutes from the ferry terminal, so it’s a quick trip.

The front desk is located in an open air lobby and they have a few shops around the base.

Check-in for the boat was not until 4pm at the earliest, so we stowed our luggage in the large room next to the lobby.

From there, we went to the bar on the base and grabbed a drink and a quick bite to eat.

Provisioning in the Virgin Islands

When our crew put our provisioning list together, there were a few items we knew we had to get locally. Luckily the Rite Way grocery store was a short walk away.

As we mentioned in our video, we chose to have The Moorings deliver the heavy stuff like bottled water, wine, beer, vodka (mostly our beverages).

I had noticed that many provisions had been sitting in the sun while we were walking around the base waiting, so I was anxious to see how ours would be. We ended up “hanging out” at the base all day and in hindsight, I wish we would have explored Tortola during the day.

We checked with the desk right at 4pm asking if our boat was ready and she said “no, in fact, you may not get your captain’s review tonight”. That made me raise my eyebrows, as we were paying almost $1100 for a sleep over so we could take off first thing in the am. Instead of being nasty, I pleaded with them and finally at 5:30pm our boat and captain were ready! Yea.

As soon as we got on board, I started to put the food away. Sure enough some of the lunch meat was warm and not edible. Bummer.

On Board “Cool Change”

Our Leopard 433 PC was named “Cool Change” and was a 2020, so we were surprised we got a newer boat when we were scheduled to get a 3-5 year old boat. I will say the boat was in fantastic shape, but the heads did stink. We’re thinking the heads must have used salt water and that’s why they stunk. During the review, we found a few things, so a technician came down to fix them right away. Just like last year, I recorded his review, so we could easily go back and see what he said. We highly recommend this, especially when it comes to the generator and how to empty the holding tanks.

Quick Tour of the Leopard 433 PC

This Leopard 433 PC from Moorings is what they call an “owner’s version”. There are two types of catamaran builds: charter or owner. In a charter version, you have four staterooms, two on each side with a shared head. On an owner’s version, the starboard side is all for the owner, so it has much more space. We gave Ben and Maria the owner’s version and then used the extra stateroom for our luggage. It was tight, no doubt still.

The salon / galley offered lots of space for everyone!

We picked the aft stateroom on the port side, which was actually slightly bigger than the forward one.

The forward cabin also has another “berth” in the far forward V (see the pillow?). No thanks! I think most sailors use that for storage.

After putting everything away and unpacking, we were ready for dinner. The Moorings base has two restaurants, including one wood fired pizza restaurant. So the four of us grabbed a quick bite and came home with left overs for the next few days!

Needless to say, we were anxious to wake up and leave the next morning. However, we were still missing our inverter and we needed to go back to Rite Way and grab a few provisions, that they missed.

Stay tuned and see how our first day of cruising went in the BVI!

As always, thank you for following our journey! Please subscribe to our blog and our channel (link below) and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Lots of exciting things are happening right now, so stay tuned!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020

Sailing Lessons on Lake Union

Scott and I have wanted to take sailing lessons for years and last month, we finally took a lesson from the Center for Wooden Boats (CWB) on Lake Union. The Center for Wooden Boats offers a variety of sailing packages or single lessons. We decided to take a lesson and schedule a “sailing checkout” so we could rent one of their small sailboats boats at any time.

The center takes reservations online and when I booked our lessons in August, they were full until the end of September. Luckily, it was a gorgeous sunny day and perfect for being on the water.

Normally the center is open to the public, but with the pandemic only those with reservations were allowed in. The boats are moored at their livery. At the turn of the 20th century, liveries were boathouses where the working class could rent a boat for leisure. The CWB Livery continues that tradition.

What type of sailboat did we learn on?

Scott and I have only sailed on a party catamaran and a small Hobie Cat in the Caribbean. We understand some basic terms, but sailing is much different than power boating. Everything has a name and a purpose. Our instructor Christian was very knowledgeable and shared a ton of information on the different terms.

Our sailboat was about 20′ long and known as a Blanchard Junior Knockout (a fractional sail boat). According to the CWB, the Blanchard boat company was formed by experienced boatwright Norman J. Blanchard Sr. in 1923 on the northeast side of Lake Union. It went on to become one of the most well-known and respected boat shops in the northwest. In 1932, N.J. Blanchard and Ben Seaborn designed the Blanchard Senior Knockabout, a small cabin sloop, in response to comments made by local boaters about how the International Star design had no cabin. The Senior was a cabin daysailer with the rig of a Star. (credit CWB)

The Blanchard Junior Knockabout was a new design which came shortly after. A 20’ open sloop, the hull was scaled down from the 26’ boat. The 20’ boat had only a short fore deck and aft deck and the long cockpit would easily seat 3 adults on each side bench. The 26’ cabin cruiser was called the Blanchard Senior Knockabout (BJK) and the 20’ version was the Blanchard Junior Knockabout (BJK). (credit CWB)

Time to take sailing lessons!

Christian got in the boat first and raised the main sail. Then I climbed in and sat in the front, so Scott could steer from the stern. Remember, there’s no motor on this boat, so Scott gave us a big push off and we headed north. Our instructor was so calm explaining everything to us. I immediately got nervous that we were heading towards a very large yacht and Scott was completely in charge of our forward direction.

Christian dove right in and showed us how to catch wind for moving forward. Our issue was we really didn’t have any winds. They were coming from the north at 1-2 knots, and predicted to kick up to 3-4 knots a couple of hours later. So Scott did his best moving us up the lake. At one point, the boat keeled over about 15 degrees and it freaked me out, as I was on the downside of the boat, near the water line. Watch the YouTube video and see how I reacted.

During our sailing lesson, we learned about wind indicators on the sails, different types of knots and how to hold the lines properly. Let’s just say, there is a completely different language in sailing, compared to power boating.

Christian also did a man overboard exercise by throwing a floating cushion into the water. Our job was to tack back and work our way to the cushion to rescue it. When you are a power boater, whether it’s a motor yacht or a dinghy, you rely solely on your engines to move you. By only having a sail and wind, it’s a lot of work!

Docking the boat

After an hour and a half, it was time for Scott to dock the boat and let me take the helm. We’re used to not only docking with engines, but with thrusters. This should be fun! With the winds coming from the north, we headed south. You sail the boat parallel with the dock and then turn perpendicular towards the dock. When the bow is about 3′ or so from the dock, you use your tiller to turn parallel to the dock. Also, keep in mind, the tiller works in the opposite direction you want to go (similar to a hand-controlled outboard engine). Scott did a great job!

Once we touched the dock, we switched seats and I was at the helm.

We only spent about 30 minutes with me, as it was 2:30p and we had reserved our lessons from 1 – 3p. Our plan was first the lesson, followed by a scheduled “check-out.” Before using the sailboats, you must pass a short checkout sail to make sure that you are comfortable handling traditional small boats. Checkouts cost $25, take approximately 30 minutes, and require demonstrating single-handed sailing and docking skills, and understanding right-of-way rules.

By 3pm, the winds picked up to about 5 knots and Christian asked Scott if he still wanted to do his checkout. With the winds and our limited time on the water, we all agreed we need more practice before attempting our sailing checkout. Figures, the winds picked up after our lesson.

Are we going to become sailors now?

Scott and I both agreed, sailing is hard work! It’s bad enough trying to steer a power boat through tight, shallow channels and watch for debris. But then to be on a vessel that has a lot of moving parts (sails, lines, halyards, winches), no thanks! However, in the future, we might still complete the checkout, so we can rent a boat on nice days. The CWB has more than just the Lake Union location. They also have a livery on Camano Island at Cama Beach! Who knew?

Overall, it’s a great program and very affordable for those who want to learn to sail. We’re fortunate to live so close to and have so many options to be on the water.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and YouTube channel (link at the end of this blog). You can follow us on social media @BoatingJourney.

Next week, we’ll take you on a tour of a 1995 Sea Ray 55 Motor Yacht. Stay tuned!

September 27, 2020September 27, 2020

Our Anacortes Yacht Charter to Roche Harbor

It has been three long months since Scott and I have been boating so we finally decided to charter a yacht from Anacortes Yacht Charters and visit the San Juan Islands. We have talked to AYC many times at the Seattle Boat Show and they have a great selection of yachts from which to choose. We chose to depart from Anacortes to save time and get over to the San Juan Islands quickly.

You might ask, did we look at other charter companies? Great question – yes we did. However, this was a very last minute decision that also involved another party. We had invited my brother-in-law Kurt and his brother Cal (and girl friend Tracey) to come along. Long story short, only Cal and Tracey decided to go and our choices were pretty limited in regards to available boats around 40-45′. There is some irony to this story so keep reading!

We reserved a 40′ Carver and I sent everyone a photo and link to the yacht, which had two large staterooms.

After we reserved it, I started looking for YouTube videos of the Carver and noticed that our model (that I thought I reserved), didn’t have big staterooms. Uh ho! Sure enough, I reserved the wrong Carver! Instead of an aft cabin Carver, we had reserved a Carver 410 Sport Sedan that only had a V-berth and a small cabin for stowaways. Since it was my mistake, we’d take the small cabin.

More surprises ahead!

A week before our departure, Kurt calls and says he would like to join us. Awesome!! (Remember, he not only has years of boating experience, but he is a retired Chief Engineer for the Washington Ferries). So we love having him on board!

One problem though – this boat only has two staterooms and the couch is curved. I tried calling Anacortes Yacht Charters to see if we could upgrade to a larger boat and they said no – we would have to pay a cancellation fee.

The other bit of info I should share, is that we wanted to charter for four (4) nights, but the boat was only available for three. Unfortunately, if you reserve a boat for less than four nights, you pay extra fees as a penalty. Plus, we wanted to do a sleepover on it the night before, so we could get under way first thing in the morning. There was another fee for that! I’ll share our charter costs at the end of this blog series.

Two days before we depart, Scott sends out a group email that simply says “Bad news. The Charter company called and……..” Everyone’s heart stopped at that sentence. Luckily, he finished it by saying “…..the Carver ran aground, so they need to upgrade us to a Meridian 411”. We all sighed in relief and were thrilled! This was a much nicer boat, great layout and the couch wasn’t curved.

Packing the truck

The five us wanted to ride up together and I told everyone to pack lightly. We also wanted to drop a couple of crab pots, so Cal brought along two of his. (We didn’t know until later that the boat comes with two pots). Arriving to Cal’s house, it was obvious we may have to take two cars. But you have to know Scott; he’s the master at tetris and he made it work!

It also helps that we have a Nissan Armada and everyone fit comfortably!

Then on our way up, we asked Kurt where his sleeping bag was? (he’s sleeping on the couch). Ooops, guess who forgot to pack one! Luckily, we were just approaching Cabelas and he stopped and bought one there. Another note – the boat had plenty of spare blankets, so he didn’t need to.

Provisioning & Itinerary

Since this was a short trip, I told everyone to bring their own beverages and favorite snacks. Provisioning was really simple. When we were at a marina, we planned on eating breakfast and dinner at a restaurant to support the locals. This ended up being a good idea, as the fridge was really small compared to the one on our Bayliner 4087.

In addition, many of the cupboards were full of supplies. We ended up putting food in drawers in the master stateroom.

With only three days to explore, we kept the itinerary easy. We planned on leaving Anacortes on Monday morning and head over to Roche Harbor (26 miles) where we would stay at the marina and explore. Tuesday, we would head to Stuart Island (8 miles) and stay the night in Prevost Harbor and then head to Friday Harbor (13 miles) the next day. Had the trip been longer, we would have anchored more and explored a few more islands.

Anacortes Yacht Charter Check-In

This was our first charter (remember our BVI charter was postponed until next February), so we didn’t know what to expect. They are very strict about arrival times, so be sure to adhere to those. We arrived to the office at 4pm on Sunday and they had Scott review the paperwork and then watch a 30 minute safety video. We were all there, so we joined in. They offer free water, coffee and ice cream – so it was worth it!

From there, we met with our check-in captain on the boat at Cap Sante Marina. They were running late from the previous charter that day, so we had to wait about an hour before we could board. Since we couldn’t get a cocktail, we just walked around the marina a bit.

Once on board, she walked us through the interior and exterior of the boat. One tip I have, is be sure to video tape any instructions (i.e. turning on the generator), as they may come in handy later.

The captain also took Scott and Kurt down into the engine room – that ended up being a great idea later. The access is under the flybridge stairs, which was pretty convenient (versus lifting up the floor board in the salon).

Once you have gone through the boat, the captain will then have the crew take the boat down the fairway, turn around and dock it. One thing I was disappointed about is she didn’t ask us about our experience as boaters. We did share with her that we had many years experience, yet she didn’t give us consideration for that. For example, she told Kurt (who has owned three boats over 30 years) how to properly tie off a cleat!

A beautiful night at Cap Sante Marina

Once we unpacked, the five us relaxed and enjoyed the sunset. I had made a cold pasta salad for dinner earlier in the day and that worked out great!

The other irony of the evening, was that Simbault, the 1995 Navigator 53 Sundance yacht that we toured in July was right across from us. So far, this has been our favorite liveaboard option – we just can’t find a home for it. Watch that episode here.

The weather forecast

I have a number of weather apps on my phone and around 7pm, every alert went off. The weather was changing and now we were expecting 22knot winds and 4′ seas as we crossed the Rosario Straits and San Juan Channel. Not what you want to see. I texted our broker (who has sold many Meridians) and he assured me that the yacht could easily handle these seas.

The weather was beautiful in the marina when we woke up. Since we couldn’t check into Roche until about 12pm, we took our time leaving from Anacortes, as the trip would only be about 2 hours (even in bad weather).

As we left Anacortes and entered the Guemes Channel, things were nice and calm. We crossed the Rosario Straits and headed to the north end of Shaw. Another thing to note, is the AYC gave us a map of areas to avoid. If you run aground in any of those areas, you are not covered by insurance. To play it safe, we took no known short cuts. It was such a comfortable trip, that I forgot about the weather forecast.

I spoke too soon. As soon as we rounded Shaw Island and entered the San Juan Channel, the white caps appeared and we were in 5′ seas. The photo below doesn’t do it justice, but the footage does – so be sure to watch the video on our YouTube channel. We had the isinglass panel out, so all of us got sprayed the entire trip up the channel.

Then things go terribly wrong!

I was excited to get into Roche Harbor early, so we could all explore the sites. It’s very important that you enter the bay on the west side of Pearl Island, as the eastside is shallow. In fact, the Carver that ran aground went that way.

In the bay, you’ll find lots of boats anchored out, so it’s important to be respectful to them. Go slowly and around them, versus through the anchor field. We heard one boat on the VHF that said “hey, thanks to the idiot and your wake going thru our anchor field” and no, it wasn’t us.

Scott put the boat in neutral while he got ready to radio in for slip assignment and that’s when all hell broke loose. Immediately an alarm went off and he says “It’s our high water alarm! We’re taking on water!” Kurt and I ran down to the cockpit (I grabbed my life jacket) and he went into the engine room. At that point he told me not to panic, but we have over 2′ of water in the engine room! In the middle of the chaos, I didn’t get a chance to get a photo of it. The photo below indicates how high up the water was!

Try not to panic

There are two things that terrify me about boating – sinking and catching fire. After putting on my life jacket, I asked Kurt if I should lower the dinghy?! He calmly said, “No, let’s see if the bilge pumps start pumping the water out”. After about a minute, he said he thought the water was going down slowly. I then called Anacortes Yacht Charters (while the very loud high pitch water alarm is blaring) and tell them we are taking on water. Oddly, she asked me if we were sinking and I said no. I told her we were making our way to the dock and she said she would send out a tech in a few hours. My initial thought? Are you kidding me?!! More on that later.

Unfortunately, the marina office couldn’t hear us hailing them on the vhf due to the alarm. Thank God I’m Facebook friends with the manager and I had been messaging her all morning. I quickly sent her a note, that we needed our slip assignment asap! To make things more stressful, we had never arrived to Roche by boat, so we weren’t too sure where go to. I knew the guest docks were on the far end towards the beach and she assigned us 5A. Luckily, we went straight to it (I wasn’t sure which side of the dock we were on).

The staff at the marina was fantastic and helped us get docked and situated. Once we were secured, we checked the engine room and it was finally dry. We still didn’t know where the leak was coming from, but we did discover that the aft bilge pump did not work at all. That meant the mid and forward pumps were doing all of the work. With over 500 gallons of water pouring in, they could only pump out so fast. Now we had to wait for the technician to show up and figure out what was happening. Spending our first hour in the engine room upon our arrival, was not what we had planned! However, we were so thankful that Kurt was with us (once again – we broke down the last time we went to the San Juan Islands).

Stay tuned for our next blog, as we explore Roche Harbor and try to figure out where the leak is coming from! As always, thank you for following our journey! Please subscribe to our YouTube channel (see episode below) and follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @BoatingJourney.

Cheers, Scott & Ally

July 19, 2020July 19, 2020

The Cost of Owning our 2002 Bayliner 4087

For this blog, we wanted to break down the cost of owning our 2002 Bayliner we recently sold after just fourteen months. Many of you have asked us, why we sold and that’s explained here in our previous blog. The question also has been asked, how much did that cost you and was it worth it?

Scott and I have broken down the costs into several different categories. Keep in mind your costs may be higher or lower depending on many variables. We’ll go through those as we review our costs.

Pre-Purchase Costs

These are any costs you incur prior to purchasing your boat. These include things like surveys and mechanical inspections. Note, that you may incur these costs multiple times depending on how many boats you place an offer on. We spent $1500 on a survey and mechanical inspection including oil samples for our boat.

We went with an individual who was certified to do both inspections. This saved us time and money by not having to schedule multiple inspections. In addition, we saved $600 for a haul-out for the survey because we won a free haul out at the Seattle Boat Show.

Included in this category is also the purchase of the boat. We financed this boat and we put down 15%. This amount will vary on the purchase price, lender and age of the boat. Some lenders require 20%, so better to plan on the high side just in case.

Accessories & Supplies

In this category we have included items to provision the galleys, heads, staterooms and miscellaneous items like fender hooks, cleaning supplies, LED lights, etc. Again, your budget for this expense depends on how you provision your boat. When we bought our Bayliner 4087, it didn’t come with much and the bedding was original from 2002.

We bought everything we needed, including the items above plus a new TV, barbecue, cockpit carpet, salon carpet and bathroom linens. In total, we spent about $2525, of which $900 was for the custom cockpit carpet.

Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance (by our definition) is service & parts that you need regularly throughout the year. This includes items like watermaker service, filters, hull cleaning, replacement zincs (which includes divers), engine zincs, dinghy maintenance and minor repairs .

This is a pretty variable category. The more routine maintenance you can do yourself, the more money you will save. There were things we did ourselves like changing the oil, but we had divers check and clean the hull, intakes and zincs. Before we sold the boat, we replaced our broken spotlight and that cost alone was $850.

In total, we spent $2567 on routine maintenance in fourteen months. The next two categories are the two most expensive. Some of the costs you can control, others are just the cost of ownership.

Major Maintenance

Scott and I want to emphasize these costs are based on our decisions and may not reflect directly on your next boat purchase. We break major maintenance into two categories.

Post Purchase

The first is post purchase. What maintenance do you have to do to the boat to make it safe and seaworthy per your survey & mechanical inspections? This doesn’t mean you bought a boat with a hole in the hull, but rather what mechanical maintenance and improvements do you need to make? In our case, the previous owners had kept pretty good maintenance records, but our survey showed there were a few items we should take care of. Now, we could have looked past these suggestions, but we like to error on the side of caution. As a result, we had Union Marine do a full engine tune-up, replace all of the original batteries, upgrade the fuel filters and more for a total of $6400. Keep in mind we had dual Cummins 270hp engines, whereas you may only have a single engine.

Haul Outs & Painting

Our second major maintenance item was to haul out for bottom paint. We knew when we bought the boat in March, that it hadn’t been hauled out in years. In our research we found that the best time to haul out and do bottom paint, was after the boating season. So we hauled out in the Fall to complete the following: clean and scrape the hull, bottom paint, clean running gear and inspect sea cocks and rudders. Scott and I had intended on completing a lot of the work ourselves.

We had already purchased all of the bottom paint and accessories, but just before we hauled out, we both got called out of town for business. In addition, we were shocked to see 2″ of barnacles on the prop, shaft and rudders and we knew there was no way we could tackle this project.

As a result, in order to reduce the time on the hard and costs, we decided to have Pacific Fiberglass at the shipyard take care of it. They also introduced us to PropSpeed and showed us some work they were currently doing. This was an application to the props, shaft and rudders to keep growth off them and not something we could have easily done ourselves, given the amount of work to be done and the environmental considerations.

The haul out and work was completed for $6022 (The roundtrip haul-out and yard fee was $2060 and the actual work and parts cost $3962). So if you’re keeping track, the total for major maintenance category costs were $12,422.

Fixed & Variable Costs

The second major category and final category overall is our fixed & variable costs. These costs include moorage, insurance and fuel. Obviously you’ll have a lot of control over these costs. These costs will vary greatly based upon what type of boat you have, where you moor your boat, who you insure it with and the type of propulsion you have.

In regards to moorage fees, our boat was a 2002 Bayliner 4087 Motor Yacht with an LOA (length overall) of 47’. We moored it at Elliott Bay Marina (which is one of the nicest marinas in the Seattle area) because it was only 5 minutes from our home. We could have chosen a less expensive marina, but we didn’t want to spend so much time commuting to the boat. Traffic in the Seattle area is some of the worse in the country. Spending an hour or two on a Friday afternoon to get to the boat is not exciting. Plus we love everything about Elliott Bay Marina.

motor yachts sailing marina seattle — View of DT Seattle

We did save on fuel costs compared to our previous cruiser, as this boat had diesel engines and cruised at 10-12kts rather than the 25kts we cruised in our gas powered cruiser. As a result of the corona virus, we delivered the boat with full fuel tanks since we couldn’t really go out after our last fill-up. Overall, this category cost us $14,310.

Drum Roll Please

Now for those of you keeping up with us, we spent a total of $33,324 or about $2380 per month, plus boat payment for the 14 months we owned the boat.

Things to consider. While this may seem to be a large amount of money (and it is), we’ve also prepped ourselves to be able to afford this. Scott and I sold our business and our home, in order to downsize our living expenses (saving us over $26,000/year. ) Like most families, we would typically take one big vacation a year ($6500/year) and then multiple weekend getaways ($3000/year. ) Our investment in the boat, is part of our lifestyle or hobby, if you will.

Unlike a vacation or getaway, we get to enjoy the boat all year round. Some people invest in collectibles and never use them; other people buy brand new cars every year (ours is 14 years old and paid for). By buying our second boat, it gave us time on the water and experiences that you can’t put a value on. In the end, it’s all relative to what you want in life.

What would we do differently?

What would we do differently next time? Emerald Harbor Marine has some great advice, which perhaps we should have gotten before we invested – who knows? They suggest that before you buy a boat, have a 3^rd party (like them) check the boat out. (Note, they are not a replacement for a survey or mechanical inspection). What they’ll do , is give you an estimate on what the costs will be for replacement parts and yearly maintenance. Keep in mind, some parts might not even be available for older boats. They also suggest to use the boat before investing in (new batteries, filters, etc), because it may not need them. Use the boat first and find out how it feels.

No Regrets

In the end, we are happy with how everything turned out. The experience we gained during these past fourteen months was amazing and not something we could “buy.” This pandemic has made us focus more on what we really want to do in life and we’re excited about our search to find that. Now we’re onto the next big thing – not sure what that is yet, but we know it will be fun and on the water!

As always, a big thank you to everyone who follows 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

Check out our YouTube Episode Below!!

July 3, 2020July 3, 2020

Once again, we’re without a boat

That Was Quick!!

Sadly, we’re once again without a boat. Our 2002 Bayliner 4087 went on the market the first of May and we had a few offers the first week it was listed. Not that we’re biased, but we knew it would be a hot commodity – it’s in fantastic shape, low hours for a diesel and it was the newest Bayliner 4087 out of eleven (11) for sale in the entire US.

We accepted a cash offer from an out of state customer. He lived in Arizona, but arranged for his son to go on the sea trial and do an oil sample. Right off the bat, the customer had a ton of questions about the work we had done on the boat. Being detailed, I gave them the maintenance log and an itemized list of improvements. (In our next blog, we’ll review the costs of ownership for Our Happy Day).

This list was just the maintenance on the boat. It did not include the Snap-In custom carpet, new bbq, new flat screen tv, bed topper, linens and accessories. Keep in mind, that these items should never be considered when you price your boat as they are added on accessory items.

The customer had chosen not to do a survey, as we had just had one done and we were happy to share the report (with a deposit of course). In addition, we just had Double J Diving check out all of the intakes and replace the zincs, so we shared the underwater photos as well.

Drone footage from land

The sea trial was set for Saturday, May 23rd. One great thing about having someone else operate your boat, is we got some fun drone footage of them leaving and coming back to the marina. Our broker, Steve Thoreson with Union Marine, was their captain for the sea trial, and they couldn’t have asked for better weather. The winds were dead calm and he moved like a sloth back into the slip.

Scott and I felt a little weird, hanging out by the parking lot filming them as if we were spying on them. In reality, they had no idea who we were! The sea trial was short as was their visit. His son used FaceTime to give his father a tour and send some photos. They got the oil sample, which their broker sent down to NC Machinery in Tukwila.

The following Monday, the buyer came back to us and asked us for a $1,500 concession because he wanted to make some improvements. We said no and that our original sale agreement was the agreed upon price.

Closing date

Our closing date was set for June 1st (approximately) and the oil sample came back fine. Knowing we only had one last weekend left on the boat, we invited our friends Ben and Maria down on Friday night to hang out one last time on Our Happy Day.

The four of us were having a great time, when I got a phone call that the buyer was sending us a revised offer. HUH? What?! We had a signed agreement. Not only was he still asking for the $1,500 concession, but he also wanted to keep the boat in our slip for a month for free. We stayed firm, as we were in no rush to sell the boat. Scott and I love the boat and if it hadn’t sold, we planned on using it this summer. We simply put it on the market at the beginning of the season to see what would happen.

Not surprisingly, the guy bailed. The good news is, there was another party interested and they put an offer in the same day, which we accepted. Our broker Steve, was thrilled as they are a really great family and the boat is a perfect fit for them. They are from Wisconsin and plan on exploring the Northwest with their two daughters this summer.

Saying Goodbye

Scott and I headed down to the boat last weekend to take care of some final tasks, including flushing the water maker, cleaning the toilets and dusting. Those are chores we do every week, whether we use the boat or not. That part, I won’t miss. But it was a somber day as we filmed for the last time on Our Happy Day, knowing we wouldn’t be back. Plus, we do not like being boatless. We love being part of the boating community.

We had so much fun with family and friends during the past year and half. That will be the hardest part of saying goodbye and being without a boat.

What’s Next?

Scott and I are already searching for another boat, but ideally we want to wait a few months. We have a full schedule this summer and we’re excited to share that with you. We’ll be crabbing next weekend on our nephew’s Boston Whaler 170 Montauk and kayaking around Port Susan. Stay tuned for more big plans!

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 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.

June 2, 2020June 3, 2020

Ally learns how to fly our drone

Scott bought me a new drone for Christmas last year and believe it or not, I’ve never flown it. Time to learn! To be honest, I wasn’t nearly as nervous about flying the drone as I was learning to dock our boat.

We picked a small park at our marina to practice the basic maneuvers, then I flew it slightly over the water and marina. Though it can fly out of range a mile, I would never do that. One hundred yards is far enough for me. LOL!

What kind of drone to we have?

This isn’t our first drone, in fact eight years ago I bought Scott a drone which I thought was high quality and expensive at $500! But drones and cameras have come a long ways in the past eight years. Knowing we needed to have better quality videos, Scott decided it was time to invest in a good drone (plus our DJI Action and Pocket cameras). He spent hours researching and talking to other YouTubers and he decided on the DJI Mavic Air Fly More Combo. It came with tons of accessories and I’m still learning what they all are. (This page does include affiliate links).

The hardest part of learning to fly the drone, was that the screen is hard to see in the sunlight. If anyone knows of screen guards, etc that we should be using, please let us know. The controls were pretty easy – forward, backward, side to side, up and down, turn left, turn right. There’s a small dial on the front and that controls the angle of the camera. Our camera has a setting that won’t allow it to crash into anything.

When we took the drone out to film me docking, Scott couldn’t land the drone back into the boat, because we had the wrong setting on and it refused to land on a moving object. As a result, he had to land it on the dock and go fetch it. Over all, I think I did great – be sure to watch our YouTube channel / video (link below) and see how I did.

Family visit on Camano Island & a sad goodbye

The next weekend, we headed up to Camano Island to my family’s place at Tyee Beach since we hadn’t seen them in person since Thanksgiving! We stayed outside on the beach and practiced our 6′ apart distancing.

It was a somber day, as we finally decided to finally spread some of Mac’s ashes in Port Susan, where he loved to swim. Scott could throw the stick for hours and he would be in heaven. The funny thing is, he wasn’t a very good swimmer.

Since my family didn’t have the boat out on the water yet, we decided to spread his ashes at the shore line. It’s been three years since we said goodbye and it was still gut wrenching. Everyone raised their Corona beer (how ironic) as we toasted to our fur baby and shed a few tears.

Birds eye view of the beach – LITERALLY!

They have a family of bald eagles that live up in the trees behind the house. They are always looking for fish or crabs on the beach. Imagine our surprise when we were all hanging out talking about Mac, when an Eagle swooped down and grabbed (something?!). It was pretty cool and for the full footage, be sure to check out our YouTube video at the end.

I then flew the drone over the beach to practice my skills and check things out. It’s really beautiful up at Camano and especially on a calm sunny day! I only took video, so the images below are snippets from the footage. I’m still learning how to go back and forth from photo to video on the camera while flying.

Hoping for good times ahead this summer

These past few months have been so surreal and we’re all still trying to figure things out. We’re in the process of re-booking our bare-boat charter to the BVI’s this week and we’re also looking at other boating adventures. That’s why this blog and channel have always been about. To share our love for being on the water with all of you. As marinas slowly open up, along with popular destinations, we’ll see where the water takes us. 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, Scott & Ally