Haul out time is busy and very much a process! As soon as she gets hauled out of the water, first thing that happens is her hulls get a pressure wash to get as much of the growth off as possible. (And we stand by waiting 😳 and watching 👀 her just hanging 🤯 in the air by these tiny little straps while we try to catch our breath from the approach to do something so completely counterintuitive!) If y’all can believe it, the growth 🌱 you see here is just over a month and we ran her more than 200 miles in that time, too, which would normally keep the growth down! It’s definitely time for her to get some brand spanking new anti-fouling! 🎨. It’s definitely not just about making her pretty again, this ablative paint helps her to fend off this kind of growth that’ll slow her down and make her work harder to push through the seas. Next up, we’ll show you what it looked like getting her in the stands … yet another part of it that we don’t much care for! 😂
#strayshowercharters #strayshower #boatlife⚓️ #boatwork #nervewracking #doingtheworkmatters #herewego #livingthedream 😂 #fingerscrossed #tryingtostaypositive
We went to the states for my daughter’s wedding last weekend to be a part of their blessed event! These are a few of the highlights from the dance I got to share with my girl.
Being in the states is a tough sell for us, but this one was so worth it! Almost 29 years she (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!) is or 10,590 days or so of so many memories, wins, losses, joy and tears, all part of raising a human to be HUMAN. My daughter married Owen, a man that loves her and a man that she loves without a doubt and a man I have so much respect for. I am blessed like so many of you to have a son-in-law that loves and cherishes your daughter. Thank you, Owen, for being you.
The wedding itself was exactly what they planned, an outdoor event in north Georgia (yep, checked the weather every day seeing as it is mid October and we’re not made for that). It was a beautiful 80* day, clear sky, just fantastic! My daughter and I managed to walk down the aisle for the ceremony and do the father/daughter dance with nominal tears, can’t tell y’all how many people came up to me prior to the ceremony with snot rags, seriously, they were sent by my daughter, but Tamii had me prepped already! Our song was ‘Little Miss Magic’ by Jimmy Buffett, a song I ‘gave’ to her shortly after she was born as it fit her way back then and she lived out in her growing years. She even has the song title tatted on her foot, something I got to be present for a decade or so ago. Great ceremony with a wide range of blended families and the newlyweds’ friends (earplugs would have been nice though as the ‘music’ wasn’t anything we knew).
Blessed to have had the honor and for us to celebrate with all of them. Made the trip up north so worth it!
#clarktakesashower #ClarkTakesAShower
Get outta my house!!!
Friday the 13th vibes …. This is how we started our morning…. Good news, the bird, the boat & Bill were all unharmed in the making of this video! No birdsh!t in the galley, either! And the Pirate Pup was still in bed so was completely unbothered by the event! 🤣😎🐶
#strayshower #strayshowercharters #unwelcomeguest #stowawayattemot #birdvisit #birdrescue #getouttamyhouse #relocatingwildlife #liveaboardlife #critterremoval
We may still be tied to a dock getting work done, but we are being treated to a sunset that made us pause and appreciate! Thought we’d share a little of it! Hope all of our friends out there get a chance to stop for a breath and see something that brings you a few moments of peace! 🥰
#sunset #specialmoments #appreciatethenowmoment🌸💫 #backporchview #pausebreathereflect #grateful #itsthelittlethings #strayshower #strayshowercharters #happynow #savethismoment💙 #holdingontothis
We’re happy to report that we’ve successfully ridden out another of life’s storms. T.S. Ernesto paid us a visit the past 48+ hours but we had prepared for it. Double lines (lengthened to lessen shock/pull) with chafe gear, all with shackles/clips so they wouldn’t get sawn through by the metal loop on the balls here in Marigot Bay (our weather sources showed this to be the best protected anchorage). We tied the main sail down, jib was triple wrapped, removed anything that might get blown away by the 40-50 kt winds accompanying the storm (strongest gust we captured was just over 47 kts and highest sustained we clocked was 35-38) and a quick grocery run to make sure we had all the staples we needed to ride out a few days. Can’t say it was a good time as howling winds and driving rain isn’t our idea of how to spend a couple of days, BUT we met the goal and even learned a thing or two. One thing we most appreciated was having the port authority folks at @portdesaintmartin check on us before AND after the storm, very cool of them. Really appreciated having local knowledge shared for how best to ride out this storm in a place we are less familiar with. Once again, the boating community proved to be the kind of people we love to be around and strive to be! Thanks to all of our friends that checked in on us and were thinking of us and sending their good vibes! They worked again! Much appreciated! We are also happy to have heard from many of our friends back home in the USVI and to hear that folks are safe and overall well back home where they got a much heavier ‘drive-by’ from Ernesto. For us, today is an R&R day with a little bit of housework .. maybe. Y’all stay well!
Oh … there was one hairy bit with another boat rolling in during the storm, but that’ll be a story for another day! All’s well that ends well!
#stormernesto2024 #stormpreparation #marigotbaystmartin #ridingstormstogether #liveaboardsailboat #shelterfromthestorm #stray
Happy anniversary to us!!
Today marks the 4th year of us living on our home AND four years of boat doggin’ for Pirate Pup! Seems like yesterday until we start thinking of all the mis/adventures and experiences since that Monday afternoon at 1:30PM! So we ‘loaded up the truck and moved to…Vessup’, trading our apartment and all the ‘stuff’ for life aboard. To date we have 7827 nautical miles of travel, 2602 hours of helm time. USVI, SVI, BVI, St Martin/Maarten, Anguilla, Dominica, Cariacou, Martinique, Grenada, some of the islands we have visited in these 4 short years. (And just a start of all the places we will go!) In all that, there are friends we’ve made both on the islands and in the cruising community (which is an amazing and caring community) stuff that’s broken, lessons learned, helping strangers (some stranger than others), rescues of people, boats, dinghy’s and other property, some pretty amazing sunrises & sunsets along with all the critters of the sea, marriage proposals, lives renewed and one end, lives changed, TWO families that went on and bought their own boats, a blow-up doll, our own learning curve, all of it worth every second. Living this way is what we love, so a special THANK YOU to all that have and continue to support us in our choice of lifestyle!
#lovinglife❤️ #anniversarycelebrations❤️ #liveaboardlifestyle #catamaranlife #sailingfriendships #livinglifehappy #strayshower #strayshowercharters #caribbeanislands #boatdogslife #sailingwithdogs
One of the best things about being on the boat is how we are able to explore and then come home and relax all in the same day! We started out this week with another trip to the bakery because it was just THAT good we had to go back! 🥐🥖🧁 ☕️Then we worked off a few of those carbs hiking up to Fort Louis where the views are breathtakingly beautiful! After working up a sweat, it was back to the boat and into the Sunchill and a few fresh mango daiquiris! 🍹🧉One more trip to shore for an amazing 🧀charcuterie and specialty 🍕 pizzas! Today was definitely a good day! 😎
#vacationwithfriends #explorenewplaces👣 #goodday👌 #stmartin #sxmfood #strayshower #strayshowercharters #explorewithfriends❤️
As promised, FIREWORKS! We didn’t know we’d be front row for the show but that’s where we found ourselves. All sorts of mouth watering smells and musical sounds wafted our way thru the evening as there was a big celebration onshore just a few hundred yards from the bow and finished with this!
The following morning, we noticed a LOT of ash all over the boat! That’s how close we were to this display! (Okay … maybe we were a ‘lil closer than we should’ve been! 😯. ) It’s a good thing we were able to stay up late enough to watch the show and keep an eye on things! 😂
All in all, a really good day and a bucket list item checked off! ✅
Many thanks to @kteachermom and @eddiebrown895 for making the trip down to make the day even better! 🥰
#bastilleday #birthdayfireworks #sxm2024🇸🇽❤️ #celebratingwithfriends❤️ #boatlife⚓️ #liveaboardlifestyle #lifewiththeoneyoulove💕 #strayshower #strayshowercharters
Father’s Day…. a day to recognize fathers. We’ve had several opportunities to sail with families over the years and always appreciate seeing the bonds they have and how they strengthen on charter. To all the fathers out there and especially the ones we’ve gotten to sail with, we thank you for your work and guiding hands in the lives of your children. Happy Father’s Day!
#fathersday #celebratefathers #dadsday #dadslove❤️ #dadsanddaughters #dadsandsons #familyvacations #strayshowercharters #strayshower
How fun is this?!? Just about a month ago, we got the chance to celebrate a high school graduation for Bryce! Lots of time floating, snorkeling, eating great food, listening to good music, playing games and taking in the beauty of these islands! This kid GOT it! What a great week! Thanks @tommyjones4292 for bringing Ummie, Bryce and Jeff to share this place!
#celebrate #graduation🎓 #graduationtrip🎓 #highschoolgrad #summer #travelboast #sailingusvi #sailingusvirginislands #strayshowercharters #strayshower #celebrateatsea
Dear Kids,
Wow! What a great week! We are so grateful y’all took the leap on our first by/buy the cabin charter. We couldn’t have asked for better folks to try out this new concept with.
All of you approached this with such kindness and being so fully open to the experience and that made it so successful! A week on a 45’ boat with strangers?!? What were y’all thinking?!? lol! But, hearing y’all laughing together, holler at each other to share a sea star or turtle sighting while snorkeling, christen each other (and us 😂) with nicknames, seeing y’all choose to make plans for how to spend your time together (when you didn’t have to) both on board and ashore was amazing for us! Then y’all told us y’all are planning to stay in touch, too! 🥹
One of the things we love the most about what we do is that we often meet new folks that truly become new friends. For us, there’s something so special about being on the water in the boat (being in such a beautiful paradise doesn’t hurt either, 😉) that lends itself to connecting with new people in such an authentic way. Being able to watch y’all experience that this past week absolutely filled our hearts and was the absolute greatest hope we had for this trip!
We can bring the boat and get you to all the prettiest spots, but you brought the magic with your open hearts! Thank y’all so much!
Love,
Mom & Dad (and the Pirate 🏴☠️ Pup 🐶, Buddy)
#makingnewfriends❤️ #bythecabincharter #sailingwithfriends⛵ #embracingnewexperiences💯 #funinthesun😎 #goingforit #tryingnewthings #strayshower #strayshowercharters
We started out day 5 with passion fruit mimosas and a continental spread, some more snorkeling and relaxation! Then we got underway and popped the jib for some downwind sailing in sunny skies! KC took the helm as we cruised west down the coast of St. Thomas towards Water Island which was our overnight stop. Once there a golf cart was rented so they could see the island and the guys explored the remains of the days when this rock was a US Navy base and used for things other than having great times. Beach time, conch fritters, bang bang shrimp, paddlewhackers, snorkeling, hanging out and floating were all part of the day….just like every other day! We wrapped up with a pretty dang good sunset and our Caribbean inspired grill supper and rum tasting. There might also have been another game night with lots more laughing and carrying on, too!
#dinghyswaterisland #sailingadventure #usvirginislands #newbiesailor #bythecabincharters #bythecabincharter #paddlewackers #clearakysandagoodtime #sailingwithfriends❤️ #vacationwithoutkids #strayshowercharters #strayshower #waterislandusvi #waterislandstthomas
