March 19, 2012: Now to put everything about the boat in order to start our journey! Today, we left the Bristol Marina at dawn to take Sequel over to Ross Marine on Johns Island. Everything started out well, gorgeous sunrise, a light mist on the harbor, that is until we left Elliott’s Cut and entered the Stono River. This is what the morning looked like before we disappeared into the fog bank: The ceiling came down to zero. It was as if we had entered a white light bulb. Knowing the local waters we were able to get where we were going by GPS and radar.
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The boat came out without event though a little scary watching 20 tons swaying back and forth in the travel-lift. The boat’s normal dry weight is about 5 tons less but we loaded her to the gills to determine if the handling characteristics would change any. They didn’t so we are quite happy about that.
February 7, 2012
: The idea of traveling the America's Great Loop grew on us over the past two years. Call it a bucket list item, an adventure we couldn’t resist—whatever! We took it as an opportunity to punch the reset button, wipe the slate, and not be pressured with making room to read, write, photograph people and our environment, or even to make a particular performance on the calendar.
Joe started looking around for a suitable boat. We had one and it was okay but not ideal. We wanted two closed staterooms, each with a head (that’s boatspeak for shower/bathroom facility), full galley (kitchen), enough refrigerator/freezer space and pantry, washer/dryer, heat and air-conditioning, and above all a comfortable helm deck.
I looked at an Eastbay 49, several Sabres and Mainships in the 40 to 50 foot range, and a couple of Tiaras. All were suitable for our purpose. They had space for the children if they wanted to join us and friends, too, if they got the urge. All had twin diesel power, which was my one absolute requirement. All had to have enough get up and go, if needed
Our days are occupied now with getting the boat provisioned and serviced for the journey. It is no small task. We don’t have walk-in closets for varieties of outfits to wear. We have just enough locker space for clothes that can be folded and unmentionables. The hanging locker has a little elbow room. The master stateroom is comfortable and has its own media station—a DVD player and, horrors, connection to other world television. The sound system features satellite radio and is superb. Go to The Boatfor more details. If you wish to make a comment or leave us a message go to Visitor Log. Remember, though, this site is public. Following us on Google Maps is a feature of our satellite tracking device.