The Grand (Mini)Tour - Off Leash!

We have continued to live onboard Off Leash for the past 10 days while still docked in Cape Coral. We have been getting used to her systems, organizing and making minor upgrades. We had promised a tour of Off Leash so we finally spent a day sprucing up our 45 foot hole in the water to the point we are not embarrassed to show her off. On the other hand, cleaning up a boat in the Florida heat left me and Karen a little grimy. So, don't expect much of us in our video.  In the hopes of not taxing the upload. system, I have split the tour into 4 short videos. I do not expect any Academy award nominations for my work! 

I must admit, in light of the current events happening in Ukraine it seems a little trivial to be blogging about our new boat and adventure. My family history traces back to Ukraine and, like many of you, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine as we hope for a speedy and less violent resolution to the conflict.

The Adventure Begins!

Hard to believe its been 17 days since our last post! Since then, we moved onto the boat, gave her her name, and were surprisingly able to fit most of what we brought with us into one of the many nooks and crannies in our beautifully designed boat. We spent about a week living aboard in Fort Lauderdale organizing things, and then took off with our training captains, Jerry and Jean Coleman, on Monday afternoon to make our way through the keys and up the west coast of Florida to Cape Coral which would be our final staging area for starting our loop. Our first stop was going to be south of Miami, but as we left Port Everglades and were about to throttle up heading south, we saw a submarine (nuclear?) performing operations and were subsequently stopped by the US Navy and told to go back into the intracoastal waterway in order to head south. What that meant was we had to motor slowly and therefore were only able to make it to Marine Stadium, an anchorage across Biscayne Bay from Miami. By the time we got there, the place was crowded, jet skis were zooming everywhere, and the rap music was blaring. We found a little window of space and were able to set our anchor, turn off the engines, and then relax, make dinner and hit the sack early, after our maiden voyage. That all sounds really good, right? Nope.... about 5:00am we get a knock on our stateroom door, and Jerry, one of our captains, told us that our anchor had slipped and that we needed to get up, start the engines and get the heck out of there. Say what??? Rob moved a lot faster than I did, and eventually everyone managed to get the boat safe and secure and anchored out in Biscayne Bay south of Miami to await the sunrise when we could make tracks to Key Largo.

The rest of our trip took us south to Marathon and then a 110 mile cruise north along the west coast to Marco Island. We had great flat seas and Off Leash performed magnificently, her shiny aluminum diesels purring like kittens. We had to move quickly as there were more significant winds forecast through the week. Along the way we got to experience the crab pots we had heard so much about. If you catch a crab pot in your prop, you are in for a bad day. The pots were everywhere! Most were white, yellow, or red and relatively easy to spot. Some crabbers however think it is a good idea to use marking balls painted the same turquoise as the waters of the keys. Dodging the pots is basically the boating equivalent of a video game! We were also joined along the way by a few hitch hiking dolphins.  You just can't help but smile when Flipper is playing in your wake. The docking in Key Largo and Marathon were very tricky due to the building winds so Rob had to let Jerry handle much of the maneuvering. Marco Island was our first stop where Rob was able to dock the boat on his own. 

Our first trip came to a close on Friday afternoon when we docked Off Leash at the water front home of the salesman, Martin, who sold us our new floating  fiberglass villa. We parted ways with Jean and Jerry and made our way back to Ali's house for a couple of days in a real bed, long showers and a full size washer and dryer. We will load up the rest of our gear and head back to Off Leash tomorrow. 

Next up... once we clean her all up... a tour of Off Leash!

Chicken Coops, Dog Beaches and Miami Boat Show!

It has been over 2 weeks since we laid eyes on Off Leash and 10 days since our last post.  We had hoped we would have been able to move aboard 10 days ago but, unfortunately, there were a few issues that showed up on our survey that needed to be taken care of before she could be “splashed” back into the water for us to take delivery. We are getting a taste of how frustrating it can be to have a boat in the yard. Like everything these days, with supply chain issues and labor shortages, nothing happens quickly. So the motto for the past 2 weeks…. “Hurry-up and wait!”

So what do you do while waiting? Our daughter, Ali, took us and her three doodles to the most fantastic dog beach I have seen. Located on Bonita Beach, near Naples, this was a long narrow stretch of beach with a very gradual slope into shallow water. There were over 50 dogs happily frolicking in the water, splashing and chasing balls and each other. I know Ali’s dogs were happy and you could not help but have a smile on your face while watching the action. Tuckered out, they slept well on the way home.

Our daughter’s new house is located on 2.5 acres in a rural area just east of Fort Myers. She brought a couple of her chickens from Oregon with her and over the past 3 weeks has hatched 6 more chicks and purchased 2 more.  Ten Chickens!  They obviously need a proper place to live and protection from the raccoons, bobcats and even the occasional panther that lurk in her rural neighborhood.  But, how to design the coop? That became the question. We could start from scratch but, with the cost of plywood these days, we thought we would look at other options. Ali is the queen of selling and shopping on Facebook marketplace. We looked for a used coop but they were either too worn out or too small. Karen came up with the idea to look for a children’s playhouse. We found one, rented a trailer to pick it up, and for the past few days we have been modifying it for chickens! I hope they will be happy (and safe) in it.

We also spent one day at the Miami Boat Show. Wow…. Some magnificent boats and lots of toys. We even got a picture with you tube personalities the Gayle Force Twins!

But, what about the boat? We were told the boat was scheduled to splash this coming Monday and we could move aboard at that time. Then I got a surprise call this afternoon that Off Leash splashed today and was back at the dealer dock waiting for us! There are still a few days’ worth of commissioning work to be done, but we will be able to start moving our gear aboard on Saturday! So, if all goes well, our next post should be from Off Leash. Fingers crossed!

OFF LEASH IS HERE!

 

She’s here! We got our first look and we’ve had her surveyed.  A few minor issues to tweak and we should be ready to move on board next week!  So, as promised in our first blog… the story of "Off Leash."

When Karen and I decided we were going to do the loop we started making up our initial list of features we would like in our boat. We both wanted a 4-8 year old boat, approximately 40’ long with twin diesels and 2 staterooms with a walk around bed so we would not have to climb over each other. We also wanted the galley and salon to be “up” with plenty of windows and an open feel. We both liked aft galleys that opened to the cockpit but they were only found on newer boats which were, most likely, not in our budget. We recognized the inherent comfort in a salon with free-standing furniture but we preferred the more modern style yachts with built in furniture.  I wanted a boat approximately 40’ long with a flybridge and stern cockpit and preferred it to also have an inside helm as well.  Karen wanted 2 heads and stairs to the flybridge rather than a ladder.

We started our search on the west coast but the pickings were slim. One boat we did see was a new Greenline 40. We were very attracted to the hybrid drive train which would allow slow speed operation on electric power without diesel fumes. It also had built in solar panels enabling more time at anchor without running a generator. As much as we loved the boat it was new so a bit above our budget and had only one head (Sorry Karen) and no flybridge (Sorry Rob). We took a brochure and drove home.  On the way home Karen thumbed through the brochure and spotted the Greenline 45 Fly and a love affair was started. That led to her binge watching YouTube reviews and the 45 Fly became her dream boat…… my reply “keep dreaming.”

Last spring we traveled to Florida to do a 4-day “Taste of the Loop” trip with Capable Cruising.  We stayed a few days after that to look at boats. The first boat we looked at – you guessed it – a Greenline 45 Fly.  Beautiful, mid-ship, master stateroom with a king size bed. Aft galley.  Inside pilothouse with a pilot house door, and a flybridge. And, more importantly, wide, flat side decks with tall gunnels and high stanchions that helped Karen feel much safer and more secure when walking to the bow. As much as we both loved the boat, my response was still “keep dreaming.”

Over the next few days we looked at boats more in our budget. Unfortunately, we compared every one of them to the Greenline and they all came up short. Some were dark and dreary. Few had an inside helm and none had pilot house door. There was one newer Carver that had much of the galley replaced by a huge glass liquor cabinet which may be a big selling point to some but did not really fit our lifestyle. And, every one of them had narrow or slanted side decks requiring the balance and skills of a ballerina to scamper from stern to bow…..skills Karen and I have lost long ago.

At this point I have to interject…..  I grew up around boats and have many long passages under my belt. Karen’s boating has been mostly a few bareboat trips in the BVI's, including our honeymoon. I am still somewhat in shock that she has been so enthusiastically behind us doing the loop. I very much want her to feel comfortable moving around her boat. So, despite the fact that we would be blowing up our budget, I agreed to move forward with ordering a 2022 Greenline 45 Fly. We did have to make a few concessions….. our boat is standard diesel drives, not hybrid, we have gel batteries instead of lithium and  a galvanized anchor instead of stainless steel. I may have to go back to work again some day, but hey… “Happy Wife, Happy Life!”

Learning From Loopers

Last week we spent 3 days at a conference called the Winter Rendezvous put on by the American Great Loop Cruisers Association in Ft Myers. We were surrounded by 450 fellow boaters who had either completed the Loop, were already progressing around the Loop, or were in the planning stages like us. We learned about the route from Fort Myers to Norfolk, where the next Rendezvous will take place in May, we attended a seminar on weather, and another on electronics. We were also able to tour 18 Looper boats docked in the local marinas. We learned a lot and met a lot of cool folks who will be in our cruising class of 2022. Here we are in front of the route map. Suffice it to say we are excited and overwhelmed and intimidated, but all in!!

Coast-to-Coast the Adventure Begins!

Most Loopers start their adventures somewhere along the Intracoastal Waterway or great rivers of the US. Ours started last week when we traveled 2667 miles from our home in San Pedro, California to our daughter's home in Ft Myers, Florida. Between furniture for our daughter and enough supplies to, hopefully not, sink our new boat, our SUV and trailer were packed to the point we could barely fit another piece of paper inside.  After a 10-day COVID delay, we pulled out in the wee dark hours of the morning to start our long 4 days of driving. The trip was mostly uneventful, other than the fact that we had a flat tire outside of Phoenix on the first day. We made it off the freeway just in time for the tire to completely deflate. After unloading half the car to access the jack, we discovered that it was absolutely useless. While waiting for AAA with an estimated 2 hour arrival time, Rob called our Sierra Veterinary Medical Association ski buddy, Tom, who we knew lived somewhere in the Phoenix area. With a good stroke of luck, Tom's desert hacienda was less than a  mile away from where we were stuck! Five minutes later he pulled up in his big pick-up with a floor jack in the back. Having no room for a flat tire in the back of our car, Tom threw the deflated useless piece of rubber in the back of his truck and off we went to find a new tire. We were back on the road after a relatively short three hour delay, and a fresh reminder of how great it is to have good friends! With 140,000 miles on the car and a flat-tire induced sense of vulnerability, we carried on with a sense of foreboding waiting for the next calamity to happen. Fortunately, the travel gods were with us and after 40+ hours of driving we pulled safely into our daughter's driveway. Along the way we discovered - The I-10 is pretty flat and gets progressively greener as you head east, the waffle makers in all of the Holiday Inn Expresses are broken, and California seems to be the only state where cars pulling trailers are limited to 55 mph. 

The afternoon before our departure, our best buddies put together a sunset bon-voyage party for us! We are so blessed to have the friends and neighbors that we do. We will miss them all!

Christmas in Florida Canceled Due to COVID!

Rob and I were planning a pre-Loop trip to Florida to visit our daughter and son-in-law at their beautiful new home outside of Ft Myers in mid-December (see photo.) Flights were made, luggage was packed (200 pounds of boat stuff) and we were ready! Those plans came to a screeching halt when the cohort of friends and family that drove with them across the country contracted Covid19. It would be too soon for them to travel before we were to arrive. So, in addition to "No room at the Inn," we didn't want to expose ourselves to the dreaded Covid19 virus...

So, we stayed home and planned to travel to Ft Myers earlier in January to make-up for the missed December Trip.  Of course, now, the 200 pounds of aforementioned "boat stuff," in addition to all of our clothes, and miscellaneous stuff we need to set up a boat to live on for a year, required buying a trailer to haul it all to Florida. Check, got that done... we were all set to lift off on the 7th of January. Then a funny, not so funny, thing happened.... yep, you guessed it, we both got Covid19. Now we are recovering and hoping to leave for Alison and Dylan's Florida oasis sometime mid-January.