TwentyEightFeet
News/Blog
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Sorca at Crown Bay Marina on our first day!
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Sorca at Crown Bay Marina on our first day!
Beautiful rainbows off of Charolotte Amalie, USVI
The adventure continues.... it seems like it has been a while since we did a blog update yet we have been on the move and have put some miles underneath Sorcas hull. So short and sweet: My good friend and new crew member Melanie Sutherland joined Sorca in the USVI's with the full intention to help deliver her to Antigua and fly out two weeks later. We crusied out of North Sound, BVI around 3pm and motorsailed overnight checking into St Martin the following morning. This leg of the journey is usually quite rough with swells from the north and conflicting trade winds from the east.... and it was exactly that! I'm not going to lie... Melanie took the dog watch from 1 am til the sun rose as I curled up in the companionway and slept sitting upright. Good on ya Melanie. Once we got to St Martin the sail become little easier we spent an expensive yet quite fun evening on anchore in St Barts. We set sail early the next morning for St Kitts and Nevis. From there we provisioned up and had another overnight pasage to Anitgua. Luckily we had North winds the entire time and averaging 8 knots the entire way. The moon was out and we had all sails up!
It is easy to fall in love with Falmouth Harbour... there is plenty to do and a lot of action. Being a hub for mega yachts means there is plenty of young folks kicking around looking for an adventure and work. Melanie took off back to Nova Scotia ( and the cold ) and Lowna and I were set free to roam goat paths, hang out in local bars and run the beaches.... and that is exactly what we have been doing.
I will say this we had a wonderful day on the water with some new Sorca friends Denis and Allie. We were lucky to have Michele and Al Mosher join us for the day as well. We set sail for Guadeloupe, chucked out a fishing line, had a few drinks and enjoyed the swift breeze from the east.
Thanks Melanie for hanging out and making good things happen... thanks Michele and Al for always being there for me and good on ya Denis and Allie... we will meet again I am sure!
Talk soon,
Dave
Welcome aboard Melanie!
Lowna spent hours polishing off this peanut butter jar!
Our friend Greg!
Lowna couldnt really figure Greg out!
All sails up! Looking good!
Any bar that brings a dog bowl for your puppy is alright with me!
Drawbridge boat parade!
Lownie is getting bigger! She is a good girl!
East Coast Lifestyle for sure!
Figuring out where we are heading!
Averaging 9 knots this day!
Sponsorship?
Beautiful Volcanic Nevis!
We can't keep her out of the water!
Gotta figure out a better system...she is heavy!
What a sweet heart!
A real captain... a Mount Gay Captain!
Good friends! Happy poeple!
On Tour: Off to the Leeward Islands!
Enjoy the photographs!
Happy Holidays and Much Love from Sorca and her Crew!
Cruising through the Virgin Islands with friends and family.. Happy New Year
These two....cruising around Culebra in the dinghy!
This must be our fifth holiday celebration in the Caribbean either on Lizzy Belle and most recently this season on Sorca! What an adventure… so many good times, smiles and laughter that left us in stitches. This year we cruised all over the Virgin Islands including the Spanish Virgin Island ( Culebra ), St. Thomas and St. John on the U.S. side and of course all over the beautiful British Virgin Islands! We also had extra company cause we can accommodate more people on Sorca as she is gigantic. As always…. the more the merrier!
Where to begin… My folks flew into the U.S Virgin Islands and met us at Crown Bay Marina where we watered up, shopped for food and set our itinerary. We were off the next day heading downwind 15 miles to a wonderful little Caribbean Island named Culebra which is actually part of Puerto Rico. The winds were high and the swells were quite large yet that didn’t stop the old man from throwing a hook off the stern and reeling in a good sized Mahi Mahi, in anticipation of an excellent breakfast!
A few years earlier on Lizzy Belle Evan, Dascia and I spent some time hanging out in Culebra. There is a beautiful beach on the North side which must be a few miles wide. There is also only one way to get there…golf cart! Naturally we decided to rent a golf cart…grab a couple mojito slushies and let Lowna run free on the beach for the afternoon. As always in the sand Lowna went wild and we all laughed ( with her ) as she dug holes, interrupted beach soccer games, got tossed around by large waves and her most recent activity… digging gigantic holes. By the end of the day we were all exhausted and I am sure we were all in bed before 7pm! Ha…life on a large wooden boat!!!
Our next stop was to cruise back upwind and meet Rachel Whynot who was flying in from Panama City Florida! Rachel has been working on the Tallship Columbia and took a few days off over the holidays to cruise around the Islands. After a full and rather rough day of motor sailing we dropped anchor back at Lindbergh Bay around 6:30 pm as the sun went down. Rachel had been chilling at the Beachcomber and joined us for a few evening beers on Sorca before we headed below decks for a well deserved good night's sleep.
Bright and early we were off, cruised up to the BVI’s and spent Christmas Day in the sun sailing, snorkeling and swimming with Lowna and the island turtles! We couldn’t have asked for more as the crew dynamic was just right… Happy Holidays everyone!
It seemed as soon as Rachel got there…she was gone again! It was a good couple days though and as Rachel jumped on a ferry ride back to the airport we headed up to Norman Island and then the next day up to Coopers Island…which is now my new favourite place in the BVI’s…. probably because Lowna could run free!!!! This is where she learned how to jump off the end of the main wharf and retrieve her toys. She also ran the beaches, swam everywhere and even went turtle hunting with me ( hunting means taking pictures ).
Hahahaha so much has happened… Next we cruised to the Bitter End Yacht Club and spent New Years dancing to live music and enjoying a few cocktails….maybe one to many for this guy!
And… once again as soon as it all began..it was over. We found ourselves sailing back down wind 25 miles to Soper's Hole…checked out of customs…. booted it over to Cruz Bay…checked into customs… practically threw the old man and my mum onto the ferry and to catch their flight home to Nova Scotia ( where they were met by a few feet of snow I must add ). And as for us…
Dayna has a couple more days before we have a crew change so we decided it was time to get Lowna spayed… poor girl is now walking around Sorca bumping into everything with her giant plastic cone and giving me dirty looks as she does it. Despite the surgery she is in good spirits yet slept directly on top of me all night last night ( along with her giant cone ) … it seems like she can’t get close enough! hahahaha gotta love that little puppy.
Alright friends, enjoy the pictures and everyone on Sorca wishes everyone a happy, safe New Year!
Much love and talk to you soon…
Dave
Sorca at Crown Bay Marina on our first day!
A true fisherman!
It looks worse than it is! I love eating these fish!
This one...always smiling! Especially when there is Coors Light!
The Old Man brought us a cup holder for the cockpit...desperately needed.
Downwind to Culebra!
This fan made my life that much better! Thanks guys for the perfect gift!
Lowna taking care of the mail! Thanks buddy!
Mahi Mahi...thank you fish for your precious fillets! They taste good!
Huge breakfast made by Dayna and Rick! Thanks guys!
Every crew member eats when we catch a fish!
We had quite the celebration the day after we caught our fish.
All smiles from Barbie!
The golf cart crew...heading to North Beach!
Golf cart rentals..and mojitos.
Lowna is a Therapy Dog in training! Dogs with Jobs!
What a monster...ha
She is upside down and all over when it comes to the beach.
Not sure if this is a smile or not...hahahaha
Welcome Rachel!
Lowna upset she didn't get a Caeser Christmas morning.
I found this mask on the beach in Lindberg Bay...good deal.
The old man working on replacing the zincs.
Could be a piece of art...
The ultimate selfie!
Lowna loves, loves and loves to swim!
Cruising up to Norman Island!
Danya is a hardworking valued crew member!
Happy Old man and Momsie!
What a beautiful looking piece of art!
Poor Lownie... Good girl... you will feel better soon!
Sunshine, heavy showers and rainbows... One doesn't exist without the other!
Fixing Steering Problems... and good times in St Croix!
Out with the old.. and in with the new! Bronze base vs... whatever that rotten mess was.. ha!
Hey guys... all good on Sorca these days... The old man flew back to Nova Scotia to help take care of the family and prepare for their return on the 21st of December for the Holidays. Mevie peaced out and took a journey to Central America to meet up with some old friends and Dayna and I took on the challenge of preparing the steering...introducing... the "Idler".
Gotta love boat life because it truly proves that.. " You don't know... until you know"! I would have never have guessed that a piece of metal below the steering wheel with two aluminum wheels on it would be called an idler... Until... 400 miles North of the BVI's it simply fell apart. And now we know...along with the help of EDSON MARINE and some wicked customer service on thier part... we replaced the part...re-ran the cable steering system, installed the pedestal and we were on our way again.
After less than a week of organizing parts with Edson Marine, getting deep into it and anchoring off one of my favourite places in the entire world... The Beachcomber Hotel, Lindberg Bay, USVI Dayna and I were up and running on Sorca again. We went hard no doubt..upsidedown with mini grinders, wrench, screw drivers and covered in grease. It took some creative thinking and many bruises to pull it off... and I am happy to say... it is done!!!!
Then we celebrated... had a cold beer and put up the sails.. we set sail for Cruz Bay and after our sea trials, all was well again with the steering we headed duet south for St Croix. The rewards were plentiful...
After a 35 NM sail we cut through the fairly complicated reef system and anchored off of ST Croix Marine. We took Lowna ashore and it seems like she is welcome here with open arms as she ran up and down the boardwalk with greetings from everyone she passed. Looks like dog owners everywhere on this island!
The plan will be to hang for a couple days and sail back to St Thomas on Sunday to prepare for my folks arrival on Monday. Looking forward to another Holiday adventure in the Caribbean guys! Thanks for everything and see you soon!
Last but but least I have to shout out to the Crew on Tillikum sailing straight from NY to the USVI's on what I'm guessing is at least a 12 day journey at this point. You guys are courageous and I personally can say it is hard enough on Sorca's 76 feet...to do it on your 36 feet with a crew of two must be absolutely exhausting. Good on ya... no one can ever argue now... you are genuine offshore sailors! See you sometime in the next 48 hours I am sure! Cold beer waiting for you on Sorca!
Much love to all,
Dave
The Old Man's Sick Pic of Lindburg Bay... Sorca is the large boat anchored in the middle!
Dayna killing it as a crew member on Sorca. Upsidedown and backwards to get things done.
Had to make a few adjustments to the pedestal to put it all backtogether properly. Dayna's idea to cut a small hole here to adjust the cables for the engine.
We did!
Mev on a new journey! I'm sure Mevie is sitting on a beach somewhere in Central America.... stay safe Mev!
Everything runs through the decks and underneath the steering system.
Edson Marine killed it on the customer service end of this job!
Looking at what is called the Quadrant and the cables the pull it back and forth.
Smiling and greasey... good crew no doubt!
That is it... exactly what we needed!
In the mean time we set up a backup system if it ever happens again. Wooden blocks, ropes and winches!
All and all, back together!
Dayna on the helm and happy. Coors light should sponsor her!
She is a beauty with all sails up!
And all sails down... safely in St Croix!
Meet Roseway! A World Ocean School! A dream for Sorca and not far off! https://www.worldoceanschool.org
St Croix seems very pet friendly! Lowna ran up and down the boardwalk and played with other pups along the way! She is such a good dog!
I think they complement each other... :)
Sunshine, heavy showers and rainbows... One does not exist without the other!
To truly appreciate champagne... you must first weather the storm...
Additional crew members and off to warmer waters!
Enjoying Champagne after our 6 day crossing from Bermuda to the British Virgin Islands.... Well Deserved!
Hey guys! All is well on Sorca!
All and all, and although it felt like a long crossing from Bermuda to the BVI's it was a successful 819 nautical mile journey! We had a few bumps in the road including some lightning storms, breaking our steering systems, ripping our Jib sail, a day without any wind whatsoever and much more. I'll start from the beginning...
First off Bermuda was absolutlety awesome and I highly recomend it to anyone who would be interested in visiting a beautiful, cultured southern island. The city of Hamilton is gorgeous, people are friendly and there is plenty to do. We had a few small set backs with weather including Hurricane Kate passing by to the west of the Island yet we were safe on Anchor. Mev and I got most of the maintenance work done and Sorca is in the best shape yet! Also, and I cannot say it enough...Thank you to Mathew Cairney and Nancy for taking us in, letting us use your home and showing us the ins and outs of your beautiful Island! See you guys soon I am sure!
Okay, here we go... On November 25th my old man and our long time friend and new crew member Dayna Nelder joined us in Bermuda. Having Dayna onboard is no doubt nothing but a good thing for everyone as she is skilled in saiing, wooden boat building and all around "on the water" skill sets. We were all pumped to have an extra crew member as well as it made our watches on deck that much easier.
On a rainy Sunday November 29th we were heading off to St Georges to check out of customs and cut through the reef system, put up sails and head due south for the BVI's. All is well on Sorca and we were ready for an adventure!
When looking back I must admit everything became quite blurry as fatigue set in, with hunger, thirst and a messy routine when it comes to sleeping schedules... yet I can clearly share a few highlights: We had an entire day without any wind and I am happy to say our little Perkins 4 cylinder kept us on course while the crew busied themselves with everything from sleeping, varnishing, baking cookies and listening to music. Good times and an easy day.
The next event took place after making a tack to change the head sail. With Dayna on the wheel and after taking care of a couple tasks on deck she asked me to hold the steering wheel as it was not responding...before I grabbed it my old man said, "we did hear a snap". After investigation we learned some of the cables below and the system that keeps it all in place had worn and rusted and needed some maintenance. But Hey! As Captain Ron says, " It's gonna happen out there". And it did again...after an hour or so of fidgeting we decided to keep going under auto pilot alone ( which we call Otto Pirate ) and if need be scheme some sort back up system on the way. Fortunately we did not need to do anything and finished half the entire leg using the auto pilot alone... We were lucky!
One night we had some lightning storms which always puts everyone on edge... seeing huge bolts of electricity in the sky and having two gigantic poles standing in the middle of a fairly flat ocean is enough to make the heart beat a ittle faster. After running through a few squalls, all was well and I don't believe we were actually in any danger. Good deal!
The last part that stands out in my mind is passing through the reef system into the flat calm protected bay as we headed for the Bitter End Yacht Club, BVI's. There is a small cut and having the auto pilot alone meant there wouldn't be any quick manouvering. So half a mile out we lined Sorca up with the red and green markers and went for it. Dayna went to the bow with a spot light and searched for the one green marker which was not lit up for some odd reason. We discovered halfway through after almost running directly into the green buoy the light was out as a result of someone else running it over as it was all smashed to pieces. We were lucky enough to get around it after a few screams from the bow from Dayna... "go to Starboard'!
Last but not least I will say, life at sea is tough!!!! and my hat is off to those who take on passages like that all the time! At the very least I can say we were happy to be in safe harbour... we had champagne and swam from Sorca and then headed to land for a huge buffet at the Bitter End Yacht Club. We ate, we drank and we had a well deserved celebration... and dance party, ha! What a journey, what a crew, what an experience that will stay with us for our entire lives! Gotta thank the old man for taking the risks and making this happen... have to thank the crew for pushing through and being confident... gotta thank Lowna - for sittiing in the cockpit of Sorca for six days without being able to run free! And thank you guys for joining in!
Talk soon,
Dave
Tied up at the Bermuda Royal Yacht Club to provision for our journey South.
An introduction... Dayna Nelder - Dayna taught us a lot about sailing!
Dayna went through our standing rigging and tightened everything up properly.
Departing Bermuda Customs... a good looking crew!
Heading out through the barrier reef surrounding Bermuda.
Mev caught and cleaned our first fish!
Most of our trip South was pretty laid back... lots of calm waters and steady winds from the east.
Each evening for the first few days we enjoyed a few cold Coors light as the sun went down... then we ran out. Lesson learned. :) Note to self: Bring more Coors Light!
Our third day out was almost like glass.... very calm waters and no winds... Mevy sleeping on deck!
As Mevy slept... Dayna sanded the toe rails...
Gotta love her! Working hard in the middle of the ocean...she is a Nelder alright!
Lowna helped manage the ropes!
Our cable steering system broke down about half way on our passage... we used our Autopilot (Otto Pirate ) to finish off the last leg
The Old Man and Dayna assessing the damage.
Otto Pirate at work
Below decks at night!
Sorca under sail!
100 naughtical miles off of the British Virgin Islands.... a good 30 knot winds...reefed main sail..fore main and staysail.
3 am...dropped anchor just outside the Bitter End Yacht Club... It was tricky passing through the reef system with only Otto Pirate to steer us.
And in the morning...COLD CHAMPAGNE!
Well deserved...
And a happy Crew!
Cold Champagne and warm Caribbean Waters! Perfect
We even gave Lowna a few licks of Champagne.
Naturally the champagne turned into a dance party below decks...
That is after picking up some cold Coors Light and a hot meal onshore.
Mevy is down with "OPP...you know me"
It got a little messy!
And then we slept!
Well, Captain Ron is certainly right, "If something is going to happen, it is going to happen out there" and it did! I believe it was back in 2011 when we set out for Bermuda on Lizzy Belle and although we turned back then, I am happy we did because it is messy in the North Atlantic...especially in a little wooden boat. Sorca on the other hand performed as if she had done it many times before! Okay, so here is how the story went....
We casted off the dock at the Mahone Bay Civic Marina ( thanks for hosting us again by the way guys ) around 4pm on Friday, October 30th. The winds were high, gusting to 30 knots yet were from the Northwest which would push us directly towards Bermuda. This was a good head start and although there was alot of wind, Sorca took on the challenge with ease. We raised the staysail and foremain and found ourselfves cruising between 8 and 10.5 knots an hour which is an incredible amount of speed... it wasn't long there after that Mev and I found ourselves wrestling a broken staysail boom to the deck after an unpredicted jibe tore it in half. She split right down the middle. I don't remember much as it all happened pretty quickly except it was dark and we were taking steady whitewater over Sorca's bow. I remember looking down and being waist deep in water as the bow was pushed down into the oncoming swell and thrust at least 15 feet in the air as she was thrown into the next wave. Good thing we were harnessed in! We pushed forward and all was well. It was the only night that was almost unbearably cold and Mev and I found ourselves huddled in the cockpit trying to stay as warm as possible while distracting each other from getting seasick... it was a messy cold night.
We sailed on, had a hot meal the next day ( perfect Chicken Noodle soup made by Rebecca and Mev at the restaurant before we left ) and motorsailed as fast as we could to get away from higher latitudes. Early Sunday morning we found ourselves with unexpected visitors. Onboard Sorca we carry a number of communication and safety devices... little did we know my mom had a phone call from the Coast Guard at 4 am in the morning asking her if she had heard from us and that we had made a distress SOS call on our handheld GPS Spot Finder. I would imagine there was a bit of panic yet I am sure she kept her cool and explained she hadn't heard from us ;) . Turns out during a shift change as I handed the GPS Communication device to my father we must have accidently set off the SOS distress button and raised all kinds of alarms from Texas to Maine and back to Nova Scotia. Sorry guys. On our end I woke up again at 7am to take the helm, looked at the device and there was a giant red screen saying "SOS in progress"! My eyes lit up as I tried to figure out how to turn it off, made the crew aware of the situation and continued to read through the SOS messaging service texts on the screen. Within the next five minutes a text came through explaining a "flat winged aircraft" was on its way. As I read the message to my father he pointed to the sky behind us. SHIT! Once again, sorry guys. The coast guard plane hailed us on the VHF radio, we explained everything was fine, apologized ( profusely)... the plane circled us and headed back to the U.S coast. I believe my mom had a phone call afterwards explaining we were okay and it was all and accident. I'm sure it was the talk of the town back in Mahone Bay for at least a couple days.
Offshore everything seems to blend together as you find yourself adjusting to the constant movement. With lack of regular sleep you have to remind yourself that you need to eat. When the seas are rough i'm never hungry and as soon as it calms down i find myself dreaming of what meal I'm going to have when I am back onshore. Anyway, after 48 hours we noticed that the water temperture had changed from 13 degrees celsius to 24, a clear indication that we were in the Gulf Stream. 24 hours after that our speed picked up by a few knots indicating we had crossed the gulf stream and would be arriving in Bermuda within the next couple days. Those last few days were quite magical ... the swell and wind were at our backs, the water color changed from a dark greenish to a darker blue, we had all sails up and the engine turned off. We were cruising between 6 and 8 knots and the temperatures rose significantly. We found ourselves in T-Shirts and shorts and finally enjoying the upper deck.
750 miles is a long way, the longest crossing we have taken on yet and I must say, it will be one I remember for the rest of my life. I could continue writing about it but will allow the pictures to speak for themselves. I will say it wasn't easy at times, pretty rough actually... I will also say that it was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I have ever had. Everything we did all summer on Sorca and everything Lizzy Belle taught us over the past few years seemed to lead up to this Bermuda crossing...we did it, we loved it and are ready for more! Thanks Lizzy Belle for being such a good parent! You kept us safe, taught us well and now Sorca is on her way to new adventures.
Thank you as well to everyone at home who helped make this happen... it could never have been possible without the many conversations and advice we had from our friends in the sailing community at home. We love you... and my mom too for putting up with false distress calls from the middle of the ocean.. that was not good.
Talk soon,
Dave
Right out of the gate I stabbed myself with my own knife... ha...
First sunset... off of Nova Scotia
The old man cranking the tunes to keep himself awake!
Doing what we could to stay dry...
Mev, what a brave soul... every boat needs a Mev!
I took Lowna for a walk on deck and she quickly found this little flying fish.... I intervened as she tried to scarf it down as fast as possible.
She definitely wants to mow it down! Good catch Lowna!
We had to monitor our own water and food intake as well as Lowna's. We used a syringe to spray water in Lownas mouth to make sure she was drinking enough. She was pretty good about it.
Chillng with Lowna!
Hot meals change everything!
Before the moon came out each night... very dark out there!
And wet...
We ran our Perkins pretty hard the first two days... she did well yet we had to give her lots of attention and check her fluids regularly!
Our handheld device which accidently called the Coast Guard. Sorry
Old Man, not happy about rasing all those alarms!
Cruising!
When I was dousing the Jib one night it got caught in the rigging and ripped completely down the middle. Here we are changing it out for our spare.
The Old Man loves it when I stop everything for a "Photographic Moment" hahahaahaha
The Box!
I was harnessed in and Lowna was either always harnessed to the boat or one of us! She was great the entire time and now has her sea legs.
If you are wondering she does her business on the bow of the boat!
Rice and Lean Beef for Lowna offshore!
200miles North of Bermuda we had a celebratory beer!
Last sunset before we hit Bermuda!
At 4 am we found ourselves at the Customs Dock. They were very helpful and professional
A warm Bermudian Sunrise!
On route to celebrate! A greasy meal and a well earned couple cold beers!!!
From Green to Blue Waters - We Made It!
Torquoise waters and pink sandy beaches. 750 miles in 5.5 days!
Mev explaining our current situation in the North Atlantic!
100 miles north we had a couple celebratory beers!
Neat to be able to talk to Lizzy Belle and Crew in Belize and Sam and Will in the US while all of us are sailing offshore. Very cool technology!
Hitting up Cosco for most of our provisions! Thats right...two carts!
Organizing the Galley
To be sorted, labelled and....eaten!
Rebecca, Rachel and Mev made apple butter!
Beautiful stuff! Nice addition! thanks Mev, Rachel and Rebecca for hooking this up! We appreciate your time!
A good looking Perkins, 4 Cylinder - ready for the open ocean!
Changing oil
Coffee and tea will get us through the cold nights!
Captain Al hooking Will and Sam ( Team Tilikum ) and I with some navigation training! Thanks Al!
Imagine crossing oceans before they had Chartplotters..wow
Lowna is a huge help when it comes to working on Sorca...
Sam and Will spent the day working on Sorca's brightwork...thanks fellas!
Dave showed up too! Thanks man!
Couple beers afterwards of course... and some Fireball!
Even Lowna is ready! Full set of Man overboard strobe lights, Raymarine Life Tags, a Salus Life Jacket and... a first aid kit! Looking good little lady!
She is getting bigger - 35 pounds - Almost four months!
PRedictWind.com has been guiding us... it pretty much tells you everything you can predict wind and weather wise. I'm confident, no doubt!
Peace out Mahone Bay... We will be back and thank you for everything! Wish us luck on the open ocean!
Preparations for Bermuda!
"If something is going to happen... it's going to happen out there" Captain Ron
A breezy Fall day in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
We have been hard at it! Everyone hase been chipping in and lending a hand whether it has been simple advice from the "old timers", a couple fellas lending a hand sanding down the bright work or helping cook a roast lamb... it has all been happening over the past few weeks. And... We are ready!
Alright a quick summary of the past couple days... Rebecca South, Mev and I took the old volvo up to the big city and threw down $1300 on provisions which was partially targeted towards our upcoming crossing to bermuda and partially burying necessities into all the storage spaces below decks. That is everyting from beef jerky, toilet paper, roast beef, chicken noodle soup, chocolate bars...you name it, we have it onboard now. On top of all this the ladies including: Rebecca, Mev and Rachel have spent hours pickeling spagetti sauce, carrots, beets, eggs, etc. If you can pickle it, they labelled it and put it in mason jars! One thing we don't have to worry about is food for the next couple months. Thanks guys for all your efforts!
Maintenance wise.... the list continues and will keep on even in Bermuda and beyond. We have spent time touching up our spreaders, changing fluids and filters in the engine, repairing sails ( well that was all Michelle Stevens Sailloft ), adding additional safety technology onboard and of course replacing the propane box we ripped off the deck at the beginning of the season. Good on ya Rick!
We have all agreed - Mev, Rick ( the old man ), and I - that tomorrow is a good day to head to sea. With a stiff breeze from the West and then Northwest we should have a good run for the first couple days to the Gulf Stream... then it looks like the winds dies down a bit and we may be in a place to fire up the engine and push towards Bermuda arriving early to mid next week. What a challenge, what an adventure, what a crew and what a boat! This will be something that will stick with us for the rest of our lives. It has all been adding up to this....and we are ready!
3 foot shopping list? ha
I think we will even attach a rigging knife on her somewhere!
Continue on our Sorca Blog:
