You're my boy Blue!

I love this boat.  Amber, the kids, and myself still go out on it quite often.  Sure we have the Hunter 26 but that is kept on the gulf about an hour and a half away.  This, which you have seen in many posts before but I never did and actual 'about' post, is our 60's - 70's O'day Daysailor 17.  It is so easy and quick to hook it to the back of the truck, toss in a cooler, and put in at any of the MANY lakes around us.  And we live near Lake County so this is not a understatement. 

The Buck Board from my grandpa was my first introduction to sailing but the O'day (named "Blue" from the Will Ferrell Movie 'Old School' where he says "You're my boy Blue!" in classic Will Ferrell fashion) introduced me to the greater possibilities of sailing.  We could stay out all day, bring food, anchor and swim.  It was a new world coming from the previous background of fishing boats which you don't clamor in and out of jon and bass boats very much.

We were very lucky to have gotten the boat in perfect working order with basically new sails.  The only change I made was to swap the trailer the boat came on with a bigger one that I put all fresh bunks, bunk hardware, carpeting, rollers, winch, and electrical. In the future we will split the hull and redo the fiberglass that is getting weak where you stand and redo the rub rail all the way around.

Every time we take out Blue we say how much we love the boat and we've decided that regardless of what other boats we have we can never get rid of Blue because "You're my boy Blue!"

Docked at Eaton's Beach on Lake Weir

This picture is from years ago. Notice the port side line (red) is pulled too tight.  This is a mistake I made when I first started sailing "Blue."  The Port line should be loose and the starboard line tight to create optimal sail shape.  I can admit when I'm wrong!

She lost a tooth!

Sprint car racing in Ocala, FL

Took the kids to Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, FL to watch some sprint car and late model dirt oval action!  It was pretty sweet and is now on the list of motorsports I have to try.

Rebecca Paugh #23 let Aaliah sit in the driver seat of her race car!  Too Cool!

Gulf Sailing for the adventurous and unprepared

It was pretty cold when we went out sailing one leisurely morning in mid January 2015.  We didn't really care about the cold because we had only intended to go out for the day and then return to dock.  Of course once we were out we decided we could stay the night anchored out and then return to dock in the morning and still make it to work.

As the afternoon progressed the temperature and weather got worse and worse.  We had to pull in at New Port Richey and buy warm clothes and a blanket for the night.  By the time we headed back out to the gulf we didn't have long before dark.  We attempted to get as far north in a storm that moved in on us so we would be as close as possible to the marina in the morning.  

We struggled and fought against the storm while trying to cook dinner, trying to anchor, trying to stay dry, trying to stay warm, and trying to sleep with the boat banging up and down in the waves.  Ultimately we survived the night and woke up to a foggy morning that soon dissipated and revealed an absolutely gorgeous day of the perfect temperature.  

While trying to pull up the anchor line I noticed the line getting heavier and heavier as I pulled in.  Soon I was to the point of near exhaustion as I pulled up our anchor that was heavily wrapped in an abandoned crab pot line.  I pulled out my Benchmade and almost cut the line free before second guessing myself and unwrapping the line from the anchor tines.  The large bones inside, build up on the pot, and lack of buoys were a pretty good indication that the line was abandoned,

After crawling back into the boat and recovering we motored back to the marina and (gasp) went to work.  I would totally rather be out braving the elements than grinding away at work.  As Amber and I tell each other "any day on the water is a good day."     :)

We're going the the Bahamas...we just don't know where!

There is nothing like the statement, "you should probably give yourself off next weekend so we can go to the Bahamas." The only response to such a statement is "yes sir!"

So a week later we are standing in the airport, bags in hand, getting ready to board the plane.  We had joked when we were first asked the question that we had no idea where we were going and that was still true on this very early morning a few days before the new year.

45 minutes later we were in sunny Marsh Harbour headed towards sailing, swimming, and libations!  We had plenty of all of those that we captured with our new GoPro Hero 3+ silver Camera. Not a bad way to spend a few days of winter. Cheers!

The best spot on the boat!

I'm not sure either... This is a visual representation of what was going on in my head at the time.

Cuban cigars and grabbers punch! A knockout combination!

Yep, still down.

Well the boats already in the water...

This is the second part from the post "running with the big dogs."  We spent an arduous 5 days working and wondering how the boat was doing docked in the St. Pete Marina like a "real boat." We borrowed the Sequoia this time so there would be no trouble pulling the boat out regardless of ramp conditions.  Our plan was to drive down late, sleep on the boat, pull it out in the morning, and take it home to clean it.

We ended up deviating "slightly" from that plan.  In the morning we pulled the mainsail down and brought it to Island Nautical.  They are an official Doyle sail manufacturer and we had them size and replace the 4 battens in our main.  Over lunch (and drinks) we decided that we didn't really need to head back right away. After all the boat was already in the water and we had a newly battened mainsail that needed testing!

We provisioned at a local publix, reattached the main, and cruised out into Tampa bay.  By this point it was in the late afternoon.  We sailed aimlessly south in the beautiful cool evening until the sun set. We then tossed out the anchor and settled in for the night.  

The next morning we cruised back into the marina and pulled the boat out effortlessly albeit unwillingly.  Just like all of our short trips we were not even close to ready to pull out.  Maybe a longer trip would satisfy that feeling.

The trip was fun and unexpected. So much so that we did not even get pictures. (or at least ones worth sharing)  Now that we had the boat home it was time to start contemplating the next step. A wet slip!

Lake Harris night sail

It was the beginning of December and I was itching to go sailing.  I picked up the kids after school and we headed to lake Harris.  Knowing that it got dark at 5:30 and I couldn't pick the kids up until 3:30 I could tell we were going to be sailing in the dark. I actually love sailing in the dark.  It's quiet, peaceful, and beautiful especially under a brilliant canopy of moon and stars.

On the way out of the small bay at Venetian Gardens the kids were checking out a neat little island with a big stone structure, benches, and a covered pick-nick table.  Although they probably weren't expecting me to stop I told them that was one of the great things about sailing; getting to explore.  We climbed, skipped rocks, and explored.

Right at sunset we climbed back in the boat and headed out into the main portion of the lake.  It was beautiful and clear with a decent amount of wind.  Inevitably with the sunset came a chill in the air.  We tacked back and forth a few times before calling it quits.

My hope is these little trips will instill in Austin and Aaliah the sense of freedom, independence, and adventure that sailing has brought to so many people, including myself.

Sleepy panda!

Holidays Suck

I must admit this has been the best holiday season that I can remember.  That being said, I hate the holidays.  They are hectic, expensive, and stressful.  There is so much going on between relatives, family meals, buying presents, the restaurant being crazy with families in town, and the restaurant's catering side cramming 40 parties into 3 weeks.  I'm always so relieved to finally be through the grind of November and December.

This year was no exception. I did not expect to get many updates on the blog posted because that's how it goes for me. Now of course its mid January and life is throwing us another curve ball.  The restaurant has been sold and soon I will be jobless. Yea! Not that I like being jobless but the time to move on to the next stage in life is upon us. There are many good things on the horizon.

2015 promises to bring lots of sailing.  We put the boat in at a marina in Hudson, FL.  Its an hour and a half drive from the house but that is relatively quick and cheap in Amber's fuel efficient car.  We are very excited for it to warm up and spend as much time as possible out on the water.

This year also marks the birth of some kind of new line of work.  There are plans at the compound floating around to turn our "farm" into an actual farm!  We already have cows, chickens, and goats but soon want to ad turkey, ducks, and hogs.  We would be selling natural gmo free meat, eggs, milk and products we make from those.  There is also talks of starting my dream of a craft distillery in conjunction with the farm.  Very exciting stuff!

For now i will try to catch those playing along at home up on what we have been up to the last two months. And it's a lot! Cheers!