Sailing with Bob and Melinda on SV Counting Stars (Day 6)

Wow, very delayed in posting this; got stuck in "Drafts".

End of an amazing trip

We ended up doing some work from the saloon in the morning on our laptops, packed up our belongings and tidied up our cabin and then we all headed to West Marine and Sailorman before being dropped off at the airport. 

The flight back to Raleigh was easy and Chuck and Lucy were happy to see us a day early. 

Reflecting back on this trip, we learned quite a few things, aside from just building our sailing skills. 

First, Sue and I don’t get seasick easily.

Second, we never felt claustrophobic or like we didn’t have enough room. 

Third, the Leopard 45 is a beautiful boat and I could easily call it home. 

Fourth, Bob, Melinda and Andy were super easy to spend a week with on a boat (and we’re looking forward to circumnavigating Vancouver Island next year even more!)

Fifth, and most importantly, this trip didn’t push us off of our retirement plan; if anything it has further convinced us!

Step 3, Day 2 - "Sailing" down to Miami from Ft. Lauderdale

We woke up early, un-tied and cast off with Sue at the Helm, motoring the 30 minutes down the ICW.  We timed our departure so that we could make the timed openings of the two bridge between the boats slip and the cruise ship port of Port Everglades, where we would access the Atlantic.

We entered the Atlantic and turned South to head to Miami.  Unfortunately, the wind was directly on our nose, so it was about 6 hours of motor-sailing along the coast.

Sure, we would have preferred to sail, but it was a really relaxing trip and Sue was driving the boat like a boss!

After motor-sailing, we entered the Miami area, motored past the Miami Boat Show location and then down to No Name Harbour, where we dropped anchor and stayed the night.
FYI, the mosquitos AND the no-see-ums both found me quite delectable.  Grrr.

On the plus side, the first beautiful sunset of the trip!

- Mike

Step 3: BWSS Course C+ Cat: Advanced Catamaran Skipper

Time to Learn to Sail!!

The Boat Show was fun and helpful, but not the main reason for the trip.  What is this sailing thing about anyways?!

We started the day (Saturday) in Miami and took an Uber up to Dania Beach to look at a few boats for sale, just to get an idea of what'd out there and see some Leopard 44's currently on the market.  We're currently thinking that getting a 3 or so year old used boat will get us the best value; that's when the depreciation is worst and when the first owner is usually doing upgrades to the boat, that we would likely want or at least appreciate.

The Leopard 45s are brand new and are selling at a premium.  Again, we love that boat, except for the 4'11" draft (and the brand new price tag).  The Leopard 44 is almost as nice, available on the used market (sometimes) and has a 1 foot smaller draft.  We looked at two 44s and it was obvious that the mainteance done by the previous owners makes a big difference in the look of a used boat.

I digress.

We arrived at BWSS and were pointed to the boat we'd be living on for the next 6 days.  It was a 2001 37' Island Spirit named "About Time".  The boat was nice enough, sailed really well, but showed her age and lacked cabin storage space.  She is a 4 cabin, 2 head boat which looks like Leopards of that vintage and was also made in South Africa.

The Salon (living room, of sorts) was plenty large for the five of us (Sue and I, our Captain and another couple that would be taking the course as well).  They Galley (kitchen) was also fine, maybe a little cramped for five, but it was really the cabins where the size seemed small.  Plenty of room to sleep, but when getting ready for the day or ready for bed, there was really only room for one of us to be in the cabin at a time.  For this class, it was fine, just sayin'.

-Mike