Happy One Year of Felicity!

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." 

Lewis Carroll

This morning as we threw a few slices of egg soaked  potato bread onto our seasoned cast-iron skillet we realized that this time last year we had sold San San (along with almost all of our tools, charts, guidebooks, & crockery)  and were making plans for another boat! (or RV, or a piece of land out West) Truth be told, at that time, we weren't really sure what was going to happen next but, we knew "next" was coming regardless. We knew everything we owned was able to fit into a couple of plastic tubs and together we could go anywhere. (quite happily as well.) Owning less material possessions can be sooooooo liberating! (Third time's really easy!) I encourage all of you to someday just downsize, give yourself a healthy purge and let go of all that baggage!;)

This past year with Felicity has flown by. I never thought when this journey began (2006) that someday I'd sit on a big, ol' beast of a power boat like this, reminiscing about the 2 sailboats we owned previously. Each one unique and serving purpose for our lives at that specific time. Remembering all those cool islands and folks along that way that made it incredible! What's in store for us, we don't quite know. We have now to be grateful and keeping tinkering on our projects. Happy 1 year, Felicity! Your a great girl! We look forward to many more years with you!

Mornings like the one today happen once in a while. The best part about today is we didn't plan around this benchmark date, it just kind of crept up on us, knocked on the door of our conscious and said, "Today is special." We had a sleepover last night and the boat was full of children, blankets, pillows, and canteens. Several times in the span of the day, I took a step back, inhaled and thanked the universe for all our blessings. We have a beautiful, happy family, a beautiful home, an awesome view, more work than we can handle and others to share it all with.



Namaste.

Recycled Blog Posts! 10 Things You Can't Have Too Many Of...

In no real orderly fashion I have come up with 10 things I know I am happy I have plenty of!

 1. Chapstick with SPF - Don't let your lips get fried! I still have at least 10 of these on board since we left 6 months ago. It's a good idea to have them stowed in different drawers or compartments so that you are reminded to wear it. Protect your kisser!

2. Sunblock, spray and lotion - There are times when I want to just dig a tunnel to hide from the sun. We wear long sleeve white t's and stay protected best we can but we always slather on plenty of sun screen. The spray works best for kids that run away or don't want the white lotion to show. Also good for on the go re-application! Again stowing in many area of the boat including the head and cockpit help to keep you reminded!

3. Bug Spray with Deet - Lord knows they love me! I have 100% on board that I hope I never have to use, and mostly 40%. Here in Guatemala they are big, they are mostly on shore, once you get to your boat you are usually bug free. But nothing worse than a calm night anchored out and no sleep because of the little bzzz in your ear.

4. Hair Ties - Clips, pins, headbands. - I have got some serious hair, and it needs to be contained. The salt water environment is hard on those elastic things! After a recent trip to the States I bought a whole slew of new bands. I still have plenty of headbands, scarfs, hats and pins in the drawers, much to the Cap.'s dismay.

5. Bathing Suits - Ladies and Gentlemen, you will live in your swim suit, or in the nude! (and hey, that's your deal) Part of what I hate about being back in the "real" world is all the damn clothes you have to wear. When it's Florida hot I just wanna wear my bikini! Once again the environment is hard on suits, buy extras at the thrift store, and who cares if they don't match, that's the style anyhow!

6. Peanut Butter - Peanut Butter is the all purpose life sustaining spread. You can smear it on anything and use it make cookies, or spicy peanut sauce! I still have 3 jars from a recent provision in Roatan. Prices in the States are far better for Peanut Butter that here in countries where they haven't discovered it's greatness.

7. Animal Supplies - Food, litter, catnip, toys. - If you have pets on board you have got to know that food in the islands is iffy at best. You've seen those poor little starving dogs and cats lurking at the back of Tiendas and Shops along the way. An easy way to provision is to measure your pet's portions for a month or so before you set out. 1 cup per day etc then do the math to figure in how much you'll need for your cruise. I am still working off a Sam's Club bag of Cat food. We ran out of Litter once we got here to the Rio. Litter is about $15 per container, the same ones that were only $7 in the US. Makes me want to potty train 'em!

8. Incense - I like incense for two reasons. Sandalwood and Lemongrass act as a natural bug repellent. They make the boat smell great and they also come in handy before a yoga practice in or off the boat. :) Just remember to keep them in a zip-loc baggy so they stay dry.

9. Liquor - Need I say more. Rum is cheap in Bahamas so stock up there. But if you are more into Sour Mash like we are, Burboun Whiskey is expensive in other coutries. Unless you can find a Duty-Free shop like the one in St. Kitts. We once bought a case of Jim Beam there at the tune of $7 a bottle!

10. Fishing Lures - These little numbers can cost you a small fortune. So stock up buy online or from a local place and get the ones with shiny parts and flashy colors they work best for the Mahi's. Trust me!

What are some of the things you carry plenty of? Now, I'm back to my shopping list!

Living Aboard a "Project Boat"

Many of our new readers might need a little clarification as to who we are and where we came from. I hope a little background helps get people up to speed. I wanted to give you all a chance to see where our heads are at, at least at this point in our lives. So below I give a quick synopsis of our cruising experience and the choices we have made that have led up to now and our happiness at finding Felicity.

Okay so our first boat was a 424 Pearson S/V San San and what a great 1st boat for me. It was one that needed very little in the way of mechanics or upgrades. Essentially, ready to go, GR packed us up and took us on the shakedown trip of a life time from Peanut Island, Lake Worth Area straight to The Abacos, Bahamas. I was so nervous I was seasick the whole way. Nothing cures the ails and exhaustion of the sea like waking up to the crystal clear aquamarine waters that are the Bahamas. When I say the boat had everything I mean it had a reefer (boater terms for refrigeration), generator, hot water heater, vaccu-flush toilet, the list goes on. It definatley made life easier to adjust from land to sea. However, after a year of glorious salling through the Eastern Caribbean and some minimal teak restorations we had obligations to "take care of" back home. Property. Not to mention that cultural calling to be a part of society and give Gia an education with other children.

Well during our 2 year stint on land we worked our butts off, dreamed of sailing away, and got rid of the property. We never wanted those chains on us again. We were resolved to be seafarers for life!

Our 2nd boat, the one we just couldn't wait to get into was a "REAL" project boat. The boat was an 1977 Ericson 36C, red soon to be renamed S/V San San. We carried the name over because to us, it meant home. We tried to make acronyms out of it; Sail All Night, etc but to no avail. San San was recently sunk, briefly for a few hours while tied to the dock in brackish water. When we got a showing the bulkheads were covered with mold. There was no head, the oven was rusted to bits and generally speaking it looked like trash. Yet, GR and I were smitten, we could see through all the crap down to the bones of this good, old boat and envisioned the beauty we could create in her. We got right to work, made the offer and purchased her officially the end of February 2009. We had plans to whip her into shape and move aboard by October that same year. After a bottom job, completely re-plumbing and re-wiring the boat we splashed (put back into the water). The yard was 2 hours from home and some nights were spent curled up among the dust, mold, paint & epoxy fumes. Yet, looking back I would do it all over again.

Fast forward to the point when we decided to put San San up for sale in Guatemala; she sold and we were faced with the decision to buy another boat. There are so many options out there. One boat in particular caught our eye, a 50' Ted Hood, classic designed yawl with a flush deck and 2 completely separate double cabins, so 4 in all. Located in Guatemala, so the move would have been pretty smooth. It was a major project boat. I was okay with that, although I was a little afraid of how much we would be able to do in a third world country. We loved it, but again this was not meant to be. The boat was struck by lightening, it was hit so hard that the hull got so hot that the paint bubbled off the hull, and some of the front deck opened up, it was covered in black soot. We began to look further away then our "backyard". Our search led us to Felicity, in North Carolina.

Felicity, a 50' Hatteras, I was kind of shocked when GR was pointing her out to me. I mean, we have talked about houseboats to do the Great Loop, and catamarans and RV's we really ARE up for anything but I was surprised. Felicity was a "project" but it sure didn't appear that way, I mean not like the project we had with San San. After living aboard Felicity for 5 months I can count the amount of projects we have HAD to do on one hand. Everything was in general working order, nothing imperative to our living standards or health or government regulations was imperative. My favorite thing is that while we are living and working our butts off saving money to complete the major projects we need to do, I am able to live aboard with no real inconvenience.

Frankly, the start up of a new boat is definitely something to take into consideration. I often think about how great San San was, we had touched every single part and knew her inside and out. We were at a great part in our time together because there was very little work to be done. Yet, we were a little bored. We longed for a project. We work very, very well together and we get antsy if we aren't collaborating on an assignment. So Project Motor Boat was born. We got the crazy idea to test the waters with a power boat. I mean why not? GR and I have worked on Mega-Yachts and know several companies and manufacturers of products that we'd love to play around with on Felicity. Hopefully, our Project Boat will not dissappoint and as you follow along you too, will get a feel for what life aboard a "project boat" is really like. Who knows you may even long for a project of your own.

Wishing you your own felicity,
Jessica, GR & Gia

Thankfulness brings Happiness

This is my first post in about a week and I feel terrible for leaving you all by the wayside. I really had NO IDEA that I would find myself completely wrapped up in the "real" world again. Today, I am writing this post from work at The Bookstore in The Grove. Things just sort of fell into place and it looks like we will be staying here in Coconut Grove for a little while to do some repairs to the boat. We are still happy with Felicity and with this situation.

Today I am thankful for this job, for all of you, for my family and friends.

This being said, posts may be sporadic, as we are currently living on a mooring ball and I am working 6 days a week with the Holiday Season upon us!

Today, we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Making Mom's Meatballs

Sharing this recipe could get me in BIG trouble!

Cooking on board for me is one of the biggest pleasures of boating. Now, I have a *full fridge* and a freezer. I can prepare meals in advance and freeze them just like I used to at home. I'm pretty happy about that. So when we got to Daytona I was pretty excited to make Mom's Meatballs for everyone so that when they stopped by I could force them to sit eat and enjoy just like Mom used to do!

I'm pretty sure I'm releasing one of the recipes that has been handed down for the longest amount of time in my Italian family but I'm okay with that as long as you promise to keep it between us! HA! Seriously, Mom's meatballs (Mom, being my Great Grandmother's Mom) have been present at every family function including wedding and birthday parties since before my Mom was even a twinkle in Pop-Pop's eye. These meatballs are so good they will put to shame every store bought meatball you every put in your mouth. There is an art to this and I can't give away any big secrets but I can give you the basics! Believe me, you''ll thank me later!

Meatballs (makes 15 meatballs)

1 pkg of Ground Veal, Pork & Beef or just plain ground beef
1 egg
1 cup breadcrumbs or bust up some chunks of day old crusty bread, soak them in a little milk and add your own Italian spices
1/2 onion Parmesan Cheese
Jar of Pasta Sauce *

You can already see my recipes are very lazy, a little of this a little of that, it works. A Chef is an artist, pay attention to your masterpiece and it will turn out fine!

Throw the meat and the egg together and use your hands to mix, mash and squeeze ingredients together. Wash you hands then do the bread or breadcrumbs, I suggest the day old bread method. Rip off some chunks of bread into bite size tidbits and throw in a small bowl with a little milk & spices (garlic powder, pepper, oregano, etc). Put just enough milk to moisten, if you put too much just drain it off later. Mix that with meat and add Parmesan cheese until your meat is not too sticky. I use about half as much cheese as breadcrumbs (or bread).

Now saute up a little onion & garlic and brown each meatball just enough to cook the out side. Place meatballs in the Crock Pot* and keep on Low Heat setting for at least 5 hours. These meatballs will melt in your mouth and your sauce will be the most delicious Italian gravy you have ever had. Trust me!

*If you don't have a Crock Pot you can use the stove with a big pot but you must constantly stir and tend to it. You can also use whatever kind of pasta sauce you want, I use Tuttorusso's Crushed Tomatoes and season myself. :)

Buon Appetito!

Making an Appearance!

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses." 

~Joyce Brothers

We left Ponce Inlet October 2009. We had just bought San San and our plans we endless, we couldn't wait to get "out there" and see what kind of trouble we could get into! We had a killer going away party and all our family and friends showed up to bid us farewell. Well, now it's been two years and we made it back!

On the Bow: Bernie (lil' brother), Jessica, Gia On the Dock: Cynthia (Step Mom), Scott (Step Brother)

As soon as we tied up I made our position known and we had visitors within 20 minutes! My Grama came by for hugs and kisses as well as a quick tour of the boat. She even donated her Crock-Pot, since we can now plug things in and I could make my famous meatballs (recipe to follow). Sunday was full of visitors. They really impressed by all the space we have now. I was able to have the kids running around on deck, the grown-ups down below eating and some of the smokers on the fly bridge! It really was a good test of the party hosting abilities.

Grama was definitely impressed!

Having Grama on board was a big deal. It made me so happy to know that she could not only easily step aboard but that she didn't mind hanging out for a while! My Step Mom and brothers also came by and we enjoyed catching up. The weather was perfect today and I even had to change into a tank top. Man, does it feel good to be back in Florida!

Gia and her friends had a blast rocking out on the massive deck!

Although we are trying to make it down to Miami quickly we knew we had to squeeze in some quality time here and we are so happy we did! This photo alone makes it all worth it!

All Good

We are completely exhausted. We sleep really well at night. We are running 8 hours a day, eating 3 meals, docking, anchoring, preparing to make way, provisioning and doing the general cruising thing only we are doing a whole lot less rose smelling. In 6 days we have gone 400 miles. It's only been 2 weeks since we were last in Guatemala. WOW! Did  I mention we are tired?

We still love this. It's exciting. It's adventure. It's the stuff of story books. Even on a tough day, we'd rather be on a boat than anywhere else. So even though it's tough we are still happy.