S/V First Step

01/19/2019

05/07/2018

Instructions for getting weather and tsunami information via low bandwidth email

04/19/2017

Getting ready and provisioning for our crossing. It's not big to some, but it's our first. We tried last year, but were stopped by overheating issues. We figured out quickly that you can't set plans in stone as sailors, so we hope to drop anchor somewhere in the circle. We have no definite plans because...The sea wind and boat have plans of their own. Look forward to more posts soon.

03/07/2017

This past weekend, we were planning on going out for a short day cruise...not far...just to get out of the slip.....NOPE!!!! Even at the highest tide of the day, we were stuck in our slip!!! No budging!!! The depth meter was reading 4'-5' and we draugh 6'!!! Resting on her keel, we were forced to just stay put and hang out with frineds insted (OH DARN!!!) Plenty of beverages of choice were enjoyed, but the rum would have been much sweeter anchored in the bay. HOPEFULLY next time!!! I REALLY want to try out my Christmas present (still never used...the water has been too cold). Hoping for the Nautical Gods to smile upon us in a couple of weeks!

02/27/2017

It was a real work weekend. Putting on the new slider blocks and rub rail (gunnel rubber). Lots of hard work but worth it!!!

02/19/2017

10/11/2016

Soooo now that I have the blog up and all of our old Facebook updates put on...I can give an update from this past weekend!!!!  (Continued...)

10/11/2016

 (Continued...)

10/11/2016

I have created a blog for The First Step. Now you can follow our adventures on FB or our blog!!!  (Continued...)

10/04/2016

I can't BEGIN to explain the ultimate sense of joy and relief I felt when I finally saw Our Beloved First Step standind tall and proud. There was no really obvious signs of damage as we walked around below her. We were prepared (or as prepared as you could ever be) to see the rudder, prop or hull cracked, with a hole punctured in it, or worse. THANKFULLY, there was none of this. Our radar pole was tilted, but a screwdriver and 5 seconds fixed that. Then it was time to splash. I am NOT a patient person...especially not when I REALLY want something. I REALLY wanted to see my 11,000 pound baby floating!!!! I never did take pictures once she splashed. Cruisers know that when you first put a boat back in the water after a few months of storage, it's work, work, work, WORK!!!
Putting a boat in storage, you stow everything you can, take sails down and stow them, prep winches, make sure valves are closed, yadda, yadda, yadda. When you splash, you have to do the reverse. It's alot of work!!!
We cheated a little bit this time when we got her into her slip.Before we did any of that, while the deck had NOTHING on it, we paid a local to clean her. This guy always does such a GREAT job getting her pretty and clean. And I have NO CLUE what he uses for the stainless steel parts, but they never shine as bright as when he cleans it!!!! Besides....while he was doing that, we got to sit at one of our favorite spots and have an icy cold cerveza!!! Yup...it was worth it!!!
This past weekend, we didn't get to take her out to play...but we got her in the water where she belongs!!! We got to sit in the cockpit, Jimmy Buffett on the stereo, and the stars shining bright.
This coming weekend, and weekends coming up, we will be OUT. Maybe not very far...but out on the water, where the stars are countless, and so is our happiness.
~~Shells Sink, Dreams Float, Life's good on our boat~~ Jimmy Buffett~

09/29/2016

I just realized how long it has been since I posted any updates!!! I'll TRY to keep this short and sweet...as short as possible detailing February to now!
After Cap'n Chad got the lines to the head cleared, we found out that one of the lines had cracked!! Can you say "Peee-eewwww"?!?! We decided it was just better to replace the head entirely. The existing one was older than me (LITERALLY!!). That was a job Cap'n got. It wasn't pleasant...it was a really CRAPPY job, but some sh****ad had to do it!! I didn't give a s**t!! I mean, s**t was gonna hit the fan if it didn't get done! Ok...ok...enough. I just couldn't resist talking s**t!!! ;)
In April, we had planned a trip to La Paz to meet up with a group of gals from an organization that I belong to (Women Who Sail...woot woot!!). Sadly, we were once again experiencing some overheating issues and decided to stay close to home. To make a long story shortER, after quite a few hours of scratching our heads and pulling our hair out...it turned out to be something easy....the intake was clogged with what Cap'n called "a corn cob of seaweed and other crap" in addition to seaweed continually being wrapped around the prop. **Now if we start overheating, we'll know to check that right away! I really wasn't comfortable with the fact that he would hold onto the swim ladder to pull seaweed from the prop when we were bobbling in 4'-5' swells!!!! That's my Cap'n for ya...the daredevil!! This IS the same Cap'n that JUMPED off of the bow, crossed about 4' to land on a dock and pull the boat in...in 25 knot winds when we lost our motor the first time...and the same Cap'n that dove off of the boat and tried to PULL the boat in to attach to the mooring ball when our hook broke in 10-15 knot winds!! Come to think of it...that man is going to give me a heart attack one day!!!!
Cap'n had to go up the mast to check a few things out...like why our mast light isn't working and why it's so damn hard to raise our main. Not a job I'd like, as my fear of heights would have me clinging to the mast for dear life!!! I think he actually LIKED being up there!!!
Between February and June, we did more local cruising than we have ever done. We would go out for day cruises when we were only in Mexico for the weekend (Friday night - Sunday morning), or find coves to anchor at if we had more time. The sea life we saw was AMAZING!!! Sea otters sunning their bellies and waving at us as we cruised by, dolphin coming up to play, "flying" sting ray in numbers like I have never seen, and bioluminaries that lit up the sea. The moon was brighter than ever, and I never realized how many stars were really in the sky! Kayaking in coves where the water is so clear, you can see the lobster crawling 30 feet below!!
We even got our dogs involved this year!!! I have discovered that not ALL labs like water!!! Mine HATES it!!! But they both seemed to enjoy the boat. The only time I was nervous was when Cap'n and I would both be down for a swim and they would look overboard at us. I could see one of them falling or jumping in. How the hell am I supposed to get those heavy dogs back on board?? It's a LONG way up!!! Only thing I could figure was A. Attach a line to their harness and winch them up -or0 B. Put them in the dinghy or on the kayak and tow them back to the dock!!! Luckily...neither one liked the water enough to worry about it!!
I didn't want the cruising season to end. Yet July came around, and so did hurricane season. Two years ago, we thought we had lost First Step to hurricane Odele. We didn't want to deal with that again, so we decided that the weekend of July 4th every year, we will haul her out to be safe in dry dock.
This year, we changed our thoughts about that. Hurricane Newton hit Guaymas/San Carlos. MULTIPLE boats were damaged or destroyed. In Marina Seca (Through Marina San Carlos), many boats went down like dominoes. I was a nervous wreck!! Here we go again!! I finally got in touch with the yard, and asked about our beloved floating baby. I was told that she was in one of the ONLY rows that had NO boats go down, and that she was safe and sound. If you have had any dealings with boat yards in Mexico, you know that this may be true...it may be false. The ONLY way to know for sure is to see for yourself. That's just what we plan to do. We haven't been able to check it out yet...but this weekend, if all goes well...and she's as good as they say she is, we are set to splash!!!
I'll TRY to keep updated more. I may need to be reminded!! Right now, I'm just so happy and excited to know that our girl will be back on the water SOON!!!!!!
~~Twenty years from now, You will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sail. Explore. Dream. DISCOVER. ~Mark Twain ~~

02/23/2016

Just a little update on our adventures. In July, we had our beloved First Step brought into dry storage (in San Carlos, MX) for the hurricane season. In the process, we were having AWFUL issues with the fuel pump. Over New Year's weekend, we had her hauled to the work yard to do a few minor repairs that needed to be done (Cap'n FINALLY got the lines to the head unclogged...and I wish I had taken pics or video of that project...lol). On Feb 10, Captain Chad and I eloped (after 6 years of togetherness...he figured out after almost 2 years of boat ownership that I am a keeper...lol). On Feb 12, we went to the marina in hopes of splashing. MUCH to our dismay, the tides were WAY too low to even try it. This past Saturday, we finally spashed!!! (YIPPIE!!!!!). In one short day and a shorter Sunday morning, we splashed, got her sails back on, sorted, unpacked, un-stowed (is that a term???) and (BEST OF ALL) found out that the fuel pump problem is a VERY easy fix (the pump is fine...it just wasn't getting power!!!!!!). So very thankful to be back to our baby and back on the water. This Saturday, we hope to get the wiring issue fixed and possibly go out for a little day cruise. Wish us luck folks...it's been a helluva ride so far!!!!

01/19/2016

I really....TRULY want one of these for the First Step!!!!!!

THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL FLARES Sirius Signal now available in the Schooner Chandlery. The SOS Distress Light is the first and ONLY LED Visual Distress Signal Device that meets … Read More

11/30/2015

08/13/2015

“Unless you really understand the water, and understand the reason for being on it, and understand the love of sailing and the feeling of quietness and solitude, you don’t really belong on a boat anyway. I think Hemingway said one time that the sea is the last free place on earth.” - Humphrey Bogart

08/04/2015

07/23/2015

Check out this month's BoatUS magazine -- some of my favorite products for staying cool . . . and get a BoatUS membership if you don't have one already (I can vouch for their towing service . . .): http://www.boatus.com/magazine/2015/august/staying-cool-aboard.asp

05/29/2015

Good to know. Thanks BoatUS!! and Hands and Rope for this great article!

Modern marine toilets require minimal maintenance, but ignore them completely at your own peril.

05/26/2015

05/26/2015

Wanted to go for a sail with the kids for Memorial Day weekend....but the winds were gusting to over 30 knots. I bet the people in the San Carlos Regatta and the Women's Fishing Tournament that day had fun bouncing around!!!!!

05/20/2015

Thank goodness Cap'n knows a little about wiring things....or this could have been a total disaster!!!! lol

05/20/2015

Thoughts on this anyone???? ((Other than how green under the gills it might make some))

05/20/2015

The countdown has begun!!! In just a couple of short weeks, Cap'n and I will be making our very first crossing!!! We plan to cross the Sea of Cortez over to the Baja. Our first (hopefully) stop will be Santa Rosalea. We plan to spend a day or two there, maybe visiting a church designed by the same person that designed the Eiffel Tower and have a hot dog con todo (never had one before...but I hear they are AMAZING). After that, we will bounce from cove to cove in Conception Bay, then back home to San Carlos. It sounds like an amazingly romantic way to spend my birthday week! I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!!!!!
In preperation for the crossing, we have spent LOTS of time doing LOTS of work. Most recently, Cap'n did MUCH needed re-wiring of panels, controls and nav equipment. Our radar had only turned on once since buying the boat....but he now has it working like brand new! He installed a stern light, and closed off an ancient filter that (when you turned on the left side of the faucet in the galley) made the whole boat smell like rotten eggs! I spent some time scrubbing and "moisturizing" the port seals and giving the whole vessel a good scrub. Our next main project will be to get our propane tank (for the stove) filled. This has proven to be a MUCH more difficult task than I had originally thought it would be. Funny thing about Mexico....you can get beer at all times of the day and night....but GOOD LUCK getting propane to cook with!!!!!
Hopefully, we will be able to take the mini-sailors out for one last cruise before they head to Miami for the summer....in the meantime.....
fair winds and smooth sailing!!!!
First Mate Char

05/19/2015

We need this for lazy days

For everyone asking where you can buy this -
http://www.leisurepro.com/p-spscil/sportsstuff-cabana-islander-with-16-quart-floating-cooler-6-person-water-lounge

05/12/2015

Meanwhile in a parallel universe....

05/12/2015

Ok...I kind of want one...but REALLY not willing to spend over $50 for it!!!!

Weighing less than 5 oz., the Scrubba™ Wash Bag is the lightest and most compact “washing machine” in the world. It’s a packing essential for all travellers and campers who want to: pack lighter and cleaner, wash clothes anywhere, save money, and enjoy travel.

05/10/2015

How awesome would that be

More details about how Amazon's proposed delivery drones will work have been published by the US Patent Office.

05/09/2015

For all the huns out in the sun today!

05/09/2015

Cap'n says he wants to try this....I'll try after he does!!!

Now this is how to take proper footage...

05/07/2015

Have you?