And so the adventure begins...

We sold our house, our cars and our stuff; We bought a catamaran, packed the truck, loaded up our puppies, said goodbye to our jobs and see you soon to our family and friends as we embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. After a pit stop in Lake Havasu City, Arizona to visit with mom, we were off to Sarasota, Florida to be united with our beautiful new boat home, Carina.

We spent a month in Sarasota doing maintenance and getting familiar with Carina. Doug had done a bit of sailing in the past, but I am a newbie to the sailing world. So, we wanted to have a few practice runs before we relocated to Stuart, Florida. We also learned a lot about the Florida tides. I wouldn't exactly call it running aground, but we did kiss the sand below us a couple of times. Our boat improvement list was substantial, so Doug's project management and engineering skills kicked in to high gear as he put in place a project plan.

Sail track replacement Mast light replacement Windlass maintenance

“I must say, I really like waking up without an alarm clock, having a beer with lunch, afternoon siestas, and watching the sun go down and reflecting on the day.” -Suzy

While Doug has been doing the heavy lifting, my job was nesting and organizing. I exhaustively perused other boater blogs for space saving ideas, made several trips to local retail stores and, boom... our new boat was feeling like home.

IT'S TIME... PROVISION, ICE, STOW AND GO.... The maintenance on the engines and generator were complete, the sail track replaced, and we've had a little sailing practice. It's time to leave and sail down the Gulf of Mexico coast, through the Florida Keys, around Miami and up the east coast to Stuart.