Catching Up

By now you’re probably thinking, wait I thought this was a sailing blog! Where’s all the sailing? Well, you’re in luck because we’re back on the water and have lots of sailing content on the way. But first, we’d like to backtrack a little and let you know what we’ve been up to since August when we got back from Ireland.

Samba hauled out to adjust the prop for maximum rpms on the new Beta Marine engine

When we left, we were under the impression that the boat would be done when we arrived back in the states. Inevitably, as with all boat projects, the engine install took longer than expected. A combination of unexpected conditions and vacations meant that we would not be able to pick up the boat for another six weeks. We took that time to spend time with family and travel.

While in the Outer Banks, we witnessed a sea turtle nest hatching! Shout out to Brian’s Aunt Trish for her awesome work as a Volunteer with N.E.S.T.

We spent a couple of weeks in the Outer Banks, Kirsten stopped by Minnesota to check in, and we were able to swing by Michigan to see Kirsten’s brother Corey and his girlfriend while they were in town.

Spending time with Kirsten’s Michigan family

We also went to two weddings (congratulations Brady and Megan and Dan and Ali!)

Some of the Flood cousins the day after Brady and Megan’s wedding

After picking up the boat on Friday September 24th, we took the boat back to Chalk Point Marine on the West River for a few weeks. This allowed us to tweak a few last-minute items and finalize the engine stuff before we finally “left” on October 11th. We took a last minute shake-down cruise with Brian’s parents to celebrate his Dad’s birthday.

Shake-Down Cruise with Brian’s parents

Spending quality time with friends and family was one of the priorities we had when we decided to embark on this journey. Originally, we were disappointed in the delay of our trip, but looking back we are so thankful we were able to travel and connect with family.

As of this posting, we are in Key Biscayne, FL awaiting a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas. We’ve traveled over 1200 miles on the Intracoastal Waterway and we’ve learned so much during our time cruising. New experiences, new friends, and learning opportunities have greeted us at every turn, but we are thankful to be able to look back at our first few months of our sabbatical with fondness and love