October 31 – December 29, 2018. Stop! Stop! Greg was down below winching me up the mast. I was about halfway to the top when I looked up and saw them. Hornets swarmed around the spreaders a few feet away from my head. Bring me down now! We were just starting our project to replace …read more
February 8. I paused (again) to catch my breath, and looked around. I was past the spreaders, almost to the top of the mast. The view up here is nice. On a calm day like this you can see the fort at Key West, the cruise ships docked near Mallory Square, the Frankfort Bank, and …read more
What’s the scariest aspect of cruising? Is it piracy, deep water, close land, or foul weather? For me, none of these are as terrifying as midnight encounters with big boats. These tankers, cargo ships, and cruise liners are huge, fast moving, and often piloted by guys whose first language ain’t English. We haven’t seen many …read more
“Good Morning”. Step out of the forward V-Berth on Blue Wing to greet the day. Careful, if you happen to look down, this is the first thing you will see. Quick, pull a floor mat over it and resolve to address it next year! Well, it’s been four years now. Time to fix the cabin …read more
There she stands, tall and still, the hot Indiantown sun beating down on her ash covered decks, a lonely breeze quietly whistling through her naked rigging. Spring, summer and now fall, she has stood side by side with her sisters and brothers, hibernating in an open field, waiting for the threat of hurricanes to pass …read more
March 30 – April 5. Duwan has this odd idea that all water should stay on the outside of our boat. I agree, in principle. But when we’re sailing along in high winds with the rails under water some of it’s going to sneak in. Or, like when it rains really really hard. Anyway, however …read more
March 13 – March 22. Greg is on deck hammering, scraping, drilling, and filling the holes the stanchions are screwed down into to with something called Butyl Tape. He is fixing leaks, continuing to strike off items on our endless chore list. I am down below making vegan sausages and trying to catch up on …read more
November 2014 – March 2015. While we stayed in Stuart at my folks’ house, our boat lived ten miles up US-1 at the Sunset Bay Marina. Blue Wing was hanging from a mooring ball. Most days I would row out to Blue Wing, who was hanging on her mooring ball, to work on projects. I …read more
On Monday we “splashed” – put the boat back into the water. This was very exciting. Although we have owned the boat for months and spent 4 days motoring her up the ICW, this time she really felt like she was ours. As she was carried across the boat yard in a giant sling I …read more
It is pretty bad when things fall off your boat, but even worse when they fall from above. While on the hard our radar reflector came crashing to the deck. Someone had to put it back. Of course it makes sense for the lightest person to go up and the strongest to winch them up …read more