Sand Key Light Trip

Ever had a moment when you just can’t seem to wipe a smile off your face? You can try to make it leave, but as soon as you try to straighten your lips that dang thing  just creeps back and sure enough, your pearly whites are out again.

Thats how I spent the majority of this weekend. We sailed to Sand Key Light and enjoyed the crystal clear waters that surround the coral reefs around the light.

I grew up, and I think I still am a desert kid, and while I haven’t grown gills yet.(my fingers are still crossed) I’m happy to report I’m slowly adapting to the aquatic side of life. I imagine I spend up to 80% of my day on or in the water, so I had better be…

Sailing just feels natural to me and I’m convinced that our boat has bonded with us in some way that makes her respond to our touch and it feels not just like a beautiful, sailing, mobile, fun, home, but a part of us. I dunno if that makes sence, but I’m getting more stoked and am feeling more at home then I have in a long time.

Getting wet in Paradise

Alright, I know its been entirely to long since I have added a new update to the blog, but I have a good excuse. The last couple of months in the boatyard made me feel like a sprinter running a marathon. It felt like the finish line was just over the next hill, but when I got to the top of the hill I only saw more road that needed to be traveled. Or more boat that needed to be fixed depending on what way you look at it….As many of you already know we did make it. Although we were a bit bedraggled at the end we have been on the water, and loving every second of it, for a couple of weeks now.

Now I know I was the one with the welder in my hands, but Bri is the star of this show she somehow pulled of staying clean enough to keep a job although we lived in a muddy puddle of brine and toxic paint wastes.   to see what two people can   they retain the ability to dream and the courage to say yes, or at least “Lets try it”

We were never alone on this project though. We had help from all around, so I want to say thanks to our family and friends we could have never made it with out you guys.

–Prideful Boasting section–

We’ve had people who sail on million dollar boats come by just to let us know how great our boat looks, and It may just be me, but they all have a ting of jealousy in their eyes. I can honestly say we have the strongest, handsomest, most seaworthy boat in all the keys. And the best part is that we made every inch of it just the way we wanted it.

The oddest thing happened the other week. I got a job. Yeah I know. Kinda crazy….. I’m the engineer and crew for the 118 foot schooner Halie and Matthew. Sailing her is increadable, and it makes me yearn even more for the upcomming date when we lift our anchors for good and sail into the wide, deep, blue horizon.

Fiscally Underdeveloped

Sorry, It’s much easier to be idealistic when you’re as fiscally underdeveloped as Bri and I are. However, she has been raking in the change lately and I’m proud to announce we purchased a new diesel for our sailboat.

To get the engine we had to return to the mainland and brave Miami’s insane downtown. I know we both have a low opinion of Key West, but after the trip back to the shore. Wow, we’re both stoked we’re out here where the wind is free and the air is clear. Seeing how erratic people are when they are plugged into the rat race was a double dose of reassurance that while nothing is ever perfect, we’re happy with our life style.

As a bonus we picked up a new wet suit for Bri and a new spear gun for me on the drive home. It’s been so long since we have bought anything for ourselves that it felt like the Christmas we missed this year.

As a side note I hate the word poor. We’re not poor, We’re just Fiscally Underdeveloped.

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation

A great thinker once said that most men lead lives of quiet desperation. After reading this many years ago, I thought to myself that no matter what I do in life and no matter where I end up I never want to live my life hoping to compare or struggling to achieve a sense of status. For the last few months it seems we have been watching from the sidelines as the greed and ever consuming quest for material items has caught up with this country. It is all too clear to Bri and I that America is now reaping the benefits of its over indulgence.

It’s odd, but because we have lived in a very small sector of the world that is fluid and constantly in flux we have felt separated from society. We replaced the inter workings of the world at large with the more simple intricacies of us and our immediate surroundings and I’m happy to report that its great. Things are slowly progressing and it feels like all the pieces of the larger puzzle are finding their way into position. Life is looking up and we are only desperate to avoid the spring breakers that have invaded out slice of (paved over) paradise.

Thanks Henry,

In the Navy now

Ok, well maybe It’s Bri thats in the Navy, but her gig is going well. She just got upgraded to a full benifit package today and is looking make admiral in the next week or so. I dunno how but it seems she’s on the fast tack.

A day in the life

I had a good day today. Bri left me alone…… Finally, so I got some work done. Just to give you a glimpse into the wonder that is steel boat repair I threw a slide show together that tracked the daily progress. Bri of course was at the Navy base for her new job working FULL time. I’ll post a picture of her MAN-iform. Did I mention FULL time that’s 40 hours a week folks. Coming from a couple that have been Jobless for 9 months, that’s a hell of a change.

This is a shot of the side of our cockpit. As you can see we sail in a foam covered rusted wonder tub.

The outside looks a little better, but it’s rusted through, so needs to be replaced. As a bonus we are added a locker in place of the leaky diesel tank that used to sit in this spot. I started cutting this out at say 8 AM.

Once I had the old thin metal out I welded up a new plate that has some angle to hold the door for the hatch. I finished this around nooner, but keep in mind this included 2 trips to the Home Depot for more welding rod.

Getting the new piece to fit was a fight to say the least, but we made it and the welding began around 2.

The finished product…. Well almost a little grinding and some paint, and we’ll be set to go. By the time all the rough grinding was done it was 5 and time for a nice cold bevy.

Playing diesel mechanic

So, I know the basic layout of a engine right. I’ve fixed things that bolt onto the engine in my van. However, I’ve never actually taken one apart and fixed anything on the inside.

The thing of it is. When you’re poor in Key West and your boat’s diesel is bunk, you have one choice. Go to the library and learn to be a Diesel Mechanic. I’m telling you its not that bad. I figured it would be a lot more intense. It turns out that it’s not that bad. Who’d a thunk it.

We made a valve spring compressor the other day. It’s real sturdy, made of wood. Ha, I think if you saw half of the things we do you’d be amazed at the way you can get by with very little. The bonus is that that same contraption later served as the clamps to glue the new wood on our mast.  Two birds, one piece of wood.

long awaited pics and positive outlook

So, while BRI <– (Notice all CAPS) has been hard at work the last few weeks bringing home the bacon, I’ve made some solid progress on the boat.

The mast is no longer a chalky, white, half-rotten toothpick, and has been transformed to a sleek and classically solid mast.

Oh, yeah. I cut off my mop…. in November. Funny that nobody knew because of my depressing posts and lack of picture taking.

More to come soon. Tomorrow you’ll see the engine and the outside transformation in progress.

Breaking free

I’m not going to lie to you, the last few weeks have been hard on this duo. Looking back I think it was due to a convergence of obstacles that made us seriously reconsider how and why we do and live like we do.

We’ve been waiting for a month to get our boat hauled out. In that time Bri found a job, then was removed from the schedule and we began the search again….

We’d been badgering the boatyard to get a spot, and out of the blue they call  us and say “You ready today?”

Well sure, so we start up the motor and in the process we blew our head gasket. Called a towboat and get towed in. So, we’re on the hard and things should start looking up, eh? Well, we now have a rusty boat with a rotten mast, and a motor that’s very broken. Not a lot seems to be going our way here.

Then, Christmas hits and we’re both feeling, not just a little, but rather a lot of homesickness. I miss the mountains and we both have radical families that we’ve not seen in a long time. Plus, there are little things that both our families have done, just small things mind you, like a box of candy, cards, and a long awaited movie that just make us both miss the people we’re closest to.

We’re both been feeling a little ill, but we talked this morning and if we were to give up now and call it quits we would wonder for the rest of our lives what could have been. What adventures would we miss? Sure we could go back to the comfortable adventures. I’d love to go ski and climb, keeping things comfortably dangerous, but I dunno the more people we meet and places we visit, the more I desire to be out there living on a wild and widely varying course rather then  taking the safe path that goes up and down but doesn’t yield up the entire world of experiences.

Call me crazy (I know I do every day) but I’m hoping its the darkest before dawn and the sun is coming over the horizon. Thanks again for all the support. Have a happy holiday and if nothing else is gained here, the lessons of dealing with and overcoming challenges is worth it.

Endlessly hopeful is the only way to live!!

Winter funk

Growing up in Utah, it seemed I always had a little winter funk right after it got to cold to do much outside, but it always ended right as soon as the skiing got good. The strange thing is that it has struck again. I dunno how, it’s 75 degrees outside right now, but the mysterious funk is still in the air. Without skiing to lift this feeling, I’m a little baffled at what to do. Whats the tropical equivalent to a crisp, deep, 5 AM Dawn Patrol?

Today, I just got a heads up that our old boat Pegasus is up for sale. I hope that it goes to a good person and my best wishes to Adam who bought it from us. They say the best two days a person can have on a boat are day they buy it, and the day they sell it. <–Thanks for the heads up Chris