Kids4Sail - Where Cruising Kids Come First!

Site is actually now, Kids4Sail.ning.com

Raising kids on a boat is something I had absolutely no idea about until I had to do it! Even now, that I have done it, I consider myself no expert!
Plenty of people email and ask me questions like:

How did I plan?
What was it like homeschooling?
How did the kids respond to cruising?

My answer is this; with all the rum punches in between the whirlwind of cruising over 13 different countries, 3 different boats, 2 adopted cats and 4 school grades I don't know how it went but she turned out awesome so... I'd say it went pretty dang well!! My blogging has morphed quite a bit since we began this journey and unfortunately I have no old blogs to refer to our child rearing experiences aboard; only my memory holds the little tricks I learned along the way.

BUT if you are planning to raise your kids aboard someday have I got the website for YOU!! Kids4Sail is an incredible way to meet other cruising families. The website is a host for blogs, read their blog, photos, videos and even has a forum for kid related topics such as homeschooling and activities aboard! I "met" Erika Lelievre, the administrator/organizer of this site online through a mutual friend, a cruising mom, and joined the site as a way to keep in touch with the many children we've met while cruising. The best tool we've found is the "Member Map", it's been great for planning to arrive in an anchorage with some kids and scheduling play dates or home school dates! For you, it can be a veritable gold mine of information to help push you into (or out of) a pending decision.

Our little site has grown in leaps and bounds and we are hoping to gain at least 100 MORE cruising kids to our list so please, please, PLEASE JOIN or PASS the website onto a cruising family you know! Be sure to check out their Facebook page too!

**Seriously, though if you have specific questions about raising kids aboard or any topics for that matter, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to dust off the cobwebs from my memory!;)

Keep Your Cord Clean

Photo: 86' Burger (not our boat).

What is that muck that builds up on our shore power cord? Who knows, but it sure is nasty! It's sticky and can leave black streaks on the deck. Want to keep your cord clean? Here's how:

Marine Strip: As bad as this stuff smells it turns out it's not that bad after all. Their website claims it's environmentally safe, biodegradable, non toxic and won't stain or bleach fabrics. However, use it sparingly because it's NOT cheap!!

Mop & Glo: Mop & Glo®  is a multi-surface floor cleaner that is safe for use on tile, vinyl, hardwood, marble, linoleum, ceramic, and no-wax floors but it works great on sealing up the porous surface of your shore cord keeping the black scum from building up again once you've cleaned it with the Marine Strip.

**You might want to wear gloves if you a) enjoy your smooth, moisturized, clean hands or b) don't want to have oddly, super, shiny hands!

Okay, now that you have the two main ingredients for a clean power cord, grab those rags and let's get started. Again, sparingly wet a clean rag with the Marine Strip and rub a test section to see the amazing results. With very little effort the black, sticky scum will transfer from the cord to your rag. You will need to continually change the spot of the rag that you are rubbing with because it gets gummed up and won't actually remove anything it just smears along the cord. It might be a good idea to work in 3 foot sections. Look at that! I bet that cord hasn't been yellow in years!! Now, take another clean rag and saturate with Mop & Glo, apply liberally. Now your cord will not only be clean and smooth but shiny to boot!

After the whole cord is clean, you may want to do this again in a month. After that upkeep is very minimal, depending upon your location. Let me know how it goes! Happy Cleaning!

Plumbing; Hose Expansion

Have you checked your hoses lately? It might be a good idea to give your plumbing a once over because of things like this. Many boats sit at the dock for the greater part of their lives patiently waiting to be taken out for a spin or that long awaited sabbatical! Our boat was no exception. Having spent most of her life at the dock she also spent that time with a hose connected to the deck streaming in water from the cities municipality at a very high psi (pound-force per square inch). Pictured above is the "high pressure" water hose, it just couldn't handle it! Over time the pressure made the hose expand like a balloon and we all know what happens to a balloon when you overfill it?! IT EXPLODES!

Boats have been known to sink right at the dock because of things like this. Prior to us replacing this and other hoses we were religious about shutting the water off when it wasn't being used. A good habit to get into if your going to stay at the dock with a hose attached. Sure would hate for a hose clamp to rust or the hose to explode while someone was at work and come home to floating floorboards!

By the way, is your water on?

The " Working Man's Price"!

Just because you have a boat doesn't mean you're not on a budget!

Yachting is Fort Lauderdale's biggest money maker! These mega-yacht owners spare no expense when it comes to their boat. The salaries for a couple full time crew alone can cost up to a million per year, not to mention yacht maintenance and slip fees! Fort Lauderdale is also known as the Venice of Florida because of the hundreds of canals that litter the landscape. One can't go far without seeing boats tied up behind every building and some spectacular million dollar homes. Being here is all part of our "master plan", which is of course, Project Motor Boat. We will be getting Felicity upgraded with some serious cruising equipment like wind generators, solar panels and a generator. Being here gets us much closer to all the connections we have made over the past 4 years with some of the best contractors in the industry!

But today, I bring you a little insider knowledge. Fort Lauderdale is often called the "Yachting Capital of The World" because it is home to thousands of marine businesses that cater to an international community of pleasure craft. What better place to begin to refit your boat, right? If you are a haggler, then yes! Let me let you in on a little insider's secret. These marine vendors are making a killing on the mega yachts! So when you need to rely on a woodworker or canvas shop, remember to ask for the "working man's price"!  Many friends of ours have bad mouthed the area because of high costs and I can relate; sticker shock gets us all. I admit, having a licensed captain and engineer on board sure helps out so we do our own work. BUT Then there are times when we have more money than time or just don't have the professional skill/tools for the job. In that case we still pull the "working man's price" card because everyone has a budget! Most of the businesses we have worked with will negotiate, especially in this economy. Give it a shot, what can it hurt?

Fort Lauderdale seems to go by many names, for us, we are calling her home. Now we can only look ahead to the exciting projects to come.

For now, though, it's back to work!

How cool is it to live on a boat?

Casa Del Sol

Well, we're home and we love it! We are feeling really blessed! So here's the deal, they call the place Casa Del Sol. The building is rental units with a sweet swimming pool and patio with BBQ for the residents.The whole back yard is docks on a canal known as Seminole Lake.  As we backed into our slip we were greeted by a group of super friendly neighbors that also live aboard their boats! I can just imagine the fun we will have chillin' & grillin' with this group!

So after all the lines were adjusted I got to thinking. Man, how cool is it to live on a boat? Everybody should! To be able to just pull up anchor (or untie the dock lines), drive until you feel like stopping, drop anchor (or tie up to the next dock) and call it home is absolute freedom. Like snails we take our home with us wherever we go. There are so many places on our list of places to live aboard and Ft. Lauderdale has always been one of them for many reasons.
So, all in all it was a great trip up and we're happy.

Travel Day

So some friends of ours call up last night and say, "Hey, you want to have a bonfire?" My immediate thought is, "Heck yes!" But then I remember, we are leaving in the morning! There are so many little things we need to do to be prepared and the last thing we want to do is stay up too late, drink too much and forget all those important little things in the mayhem!

The weather is not exactly perfect and we have no other choice but to go today. It wouldn't be the first time we went out without a favorable weather report. Seriously though, it's not a problem. What's a little rain from inside the cushy pilothouse with the windshield wipers going back and forth? What's a little wind when I'm completely closed off and protected in our own little haven? One of my favorite benfits of a day like today and the difference between a sailboat and a powerboat is that we will arrive in less than half the time it would have taken us to go on the inside, even with all the bridges. NOAA calls for 1-2 ft seas building to 5 and winds 10 - 15 gusting to 23mph, so we've decided to go up the ditch (intra-coastal waterway). This means we will have to go slower but it also means no getting tossed around.

As if the weather wasn't enough of an issue we have the Lauderdale Air Show to compete with! I'd like to joke and say I planned it this way so we'd have a grand entrance to our new home, sadly though I did not. The "traffic" on the water should be crazy so our leaving as soon as possible is imperative. Check out the link to the show I imagine it's going to be incredible with Choppers, Blue Angels, and a mix of military and civilian performers we will be entertained! Should make for some great photos!

Thanks for following along, here we go!

Change of Scenery

I'm so happy to release our BIG NEWS!

It's official - we are moving to Ft. Lauderdale! 

After 5 months of living aboard Felicity in Coconut Grove, we are moving to be closer to GR's work. Can you believe he has been commuting by bicycle and public transportation for almost 5 hours just to get to & from work? Me neither! Five months of getting up at 5 am just to get to work at 8 am. Five months of arriving home at 6 pm when his day is finished at 4 pm. Wow, what a guy!

Gia has been studying her butt off at school to pass a state mandated test called the FCAT. This week is her opportunity to show the state exactly how hard she has worked since November when she began her 3rd grade public school experience. Gia is so happy that she got the chance to meet up with her friends from Coconut Grove Elementary again, but she is definitely ready for a change. The rigorous schedule that her class has followed has allowed her to see that Home-School is awesome! Maybe next year we will continue with that plan for 4th grade.

As for me, I have given notice to both The Bookstore in The Grove & Sale Rack. I'm sad to leave them but also excited about what lies ahead! Oddly enough the girl who is taking my position at The Bookstore is also taking my position at Sale Rack too! So I think everyone is happy with the seamless transition!

Coconut Grove is one of our favorite places to live but we have never lived in Ft. Lauderdale. Our new dock will include, WiFi, Cable (with 5 HBO channels), a Swimming Pool, and it's only 3 miles from GR's job! We will be spending more quality time working on Felicity, instead of commuting! The grocery store is only 1 mile away and the beach is about 5 blocks down the road! All of the conveniences being close by is helping u avoid purchasing a vehicle, which we are really against. We don't want the expense and we love the exercise we get from biking everywhere!

This weekend was big in getting us ready for our trip up to our new home. Our official moving date will be April 28th.

Wishing you your own felicity,
Jessica, GR and Gia

Catching up with Old Friends!

The past few weeks we have been entertaining guests aboard Felicity. We began with Wilfried, who drove down from Georgia to visit stay the weekend with us. Our friendship with Wilf came about after he bought our first boat, the 424 Pearson. Because we were already having a "manfest", I invited our other great friend Adam over. He rode his motorcycle from Ft. Lauderdale! Adam also joined us in Guatemala last year. He has been working hard on charter yachts in the Caribbean so we were happy see him relaxing!

Gia's friend from school, Sierra, came out with us as well and the girls had a great time playing with our borrowed paddleboard.

Gia on Miami Catamarans Paddleboard Check them out!!

 Wilfried - SV San San, the original

After all these guests and a trip through Stiltsville and The Sandbar I had a ton of laundry to do and other miscellaneous chores. Blogging has been few and far between but I promise to do some more catching up!! Stay tuned for some more tales from the Galley!

Felicity's Five Favorite Marinas

We have never been a fan of docks. They can take a huge bite out of the cruising kitty; but let's face it marinas can be a necessary evil. Choosing a marina to stay in for one or more nights can be a daunting task. Having up to date information and/or good cruising guides can really make the search easier. Sometimes we would just take a stab in the dark by calling random marinas that were close to where we'd be stopping and ask a few key questions. 

No matter the amenities, price is the biggest factor. Many marinas will have some but not all the amenities included in the price of dockage. That is where you compare the amount of time you are staying on the dock to the cost of the slip. Are you getting your money's worth?

In keeping with the theme of "Sailors gone Power" I must say that in the sailboat, dockage was almost never beneficial for us because we were completely electricity free. There was no reason to plug in, no refrigeration, no air condition and any of our power draws were handled by our wind generator. However, on Felicity, we "need" the dock. We have a generator that doesn't run (yet) and an electric stove, fridge, heat and air conditioning AND 32 volt lighting! Needless, to say when we began our cruise down the inter-coastal we stopped (almost) every night at a marina in order to cook and heat the boat. (North Carolina in November, need I say more?)

Since we stayed in so many marinas, I decided to give the ones that were worth our while a little love by recommending them to all of you! If you find yourself in this neck of the woods you won't be disappointed and I'll tell you why not...

Ocean Isle Marina 

North Carolina just 2 miles east of mile mark 335.5

Ocean Isle Marina will always have a special place in our hearts because it was there where first laid eyes on our new girl, Felicity. OCM has all the benefits a traveling cruiser needs, internet, shower and laundry facilities, fuel, and water. There were hardware stores, grocery, eateries as well as thrift stores nearby and car rental was easy! They specialize in winter storage due to their location in North Carolina and their ease of access out the inlet attracts many center consoles and sport fishing vessels. They have dock space for up to 30 vessels but could also accommodate larger vessels as they have a few long spaces. OCM gave a us a very warm welcome into our new venture of power boating. The staff was friendly and helpful in helping us get off the dock and underway. Gia made friends with the resident dog, Toby, a Labra-doodle and even got us a walk on the beach with Toby's pet, Tim.

Osprey Marina

MM373 Myrtle Beach SC

Osprey Marina is by far the least expensive, $1 a foot! Seriously! When we called they weren't sure they had room for us, so we waited for a call back. Sherry, Osprey Marina manager called back to let us know they had "made" room for us. We were a bit curious but found out after we arrived a marina employee who lived aboard moved his boat just so we could have that slip. Talk about accommodation! We were instructed to go to the office and get our "welcome gift". The office shares a space with a well stocked mini market and a cafe/grill. Sherry, the sweetest lady invited us to free crackers with all the jams, jellies and butter we'd like to try! After we settled up she handed us a gift bag filled with goodies! They also offered, free internet that was easy to access from inside the boat.

*Recently, we even received a call from Osprey Marina, to thank us for staying with them.

Port Royal Landing Marina

Beaufort/Port Royal SC MM 539

This marina dazzled us with their excellent customer service. They had internet service, cable, and water. There was a charge for electricity but it was minimal. We called in and were given easy instructions to pull up to the face dock. The same person who spoke to me on the phone tied up our lines and when we were tied off he reached to shake GR's hand and said, "Welcome to Port Royal!" That right there, that small but powerful, southern hospitality struck a chord with us. We have told everyone about the place ever since! It didn't end there. We have always joked about finding a marina with a courtesy car. Well, yup, they had one. Although, we didn't need it, we did giggle knowing we had finally hit one of those marinas!

*Port Royal Landing Marina did not hesitate adding us to their e-mailing list and we even received a post card thanking us for our patronage!

Fernandina Harbor Marina

On the Florida/Georgia Border @ MM716

What a great welcome into Florida. Stopping at Fernandina was a great way for our friends from Georgia to come over and see us! Staying in Fernandina was a fabulous treat! I love the vibe of that old time Florida town. There are many shops nearby house in those old brick buildings that transport you to times gone by. Fernandina Harbor Marina has one of the largest face docks offer 1,000 ft of space and it gets filled pretty quickly. They offer fuel, laundry and internet access as well as cable and water.

Dinner Key Marina

25.43.9 N  80.14.3 W  Mile 1095

We are now able to call Dinner Key our home. Officially, we are tied up to the dock on Pier 7 and we are content. We are so busy with work that we haven't had too much time to dig in to many boat projects but being at the dock allows easy access to shore for work and school. Dinner Key has a friendly staff and water & electricity are included in the dockage. However steep the price, we know that we have it good living on the water. The homes on shore rent for far more than we pay so we feel we are better off since our home can carry us wherever we please in good time! Coconut Grove is an awesome location allowing for us to feel the city vibe of Miami but still be in a small village where everybody knows our name.


Wherever you are, remember that you can always change your attitude even if you can't change your scenery:)

Marina Hopping

Felicity in South Carolina

After the second marina we stopped hat handed us a killer goodie bag we had this conversation;

Daughter: "I love being a power boater, we get all this stuff!"

Mom: "Honey, we would get the same treatment if we were on a sailboat honey, we just never stay in marinas!"

It was not our choice to stay in marinas along the way it just sort of had to happen. Currently, the boat has an electric stove,  an electric refrigerator,  an electric hot water heater, electric heaters and no inverter and the generator is not functioning.  Basically, the boat works real well at a dock and monthly that might not be too shabby but as a transient; dockage is pricey! I'm sure we could have just ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and slept like 3 pigs in a blanket all cuddled up to try to keep warm but that just doesn't sound like much fun. The whole process of buying this boat was about having a little bit more of the comforts! We do not like cold weather and in North & South Carolina, Georgia and even into Florida temperatures were in the 40's a night so we were eager to plug in the heaters. The seller of Felicity has his mechanic coming by to fix the generator.(Fingers crossed) Then we won't have to marina hop anymore!

Our plan is to add in inverter, replace to stove with a propane powered one, as well as replace the water heater for a heat exchanger/120VAC. Then after we've run the engine all day the batteries will be fully charged, the inverter can run the fridge and because the engine ran the water heater is full of hot water and the stove will run on propane. We will be much more self sufficient and can anchor out and not have to spend soo much money on marinas! We can save it for solar panels & diesel fuel!

Not to say we have hated the marina experience, but we are not really into spending $100 a night just plug in. There is no way we can use $100 worth of electricity in one night. Now that we have stayed at a handful of marinas this trip we have experience all types of customer service experiences. Some marinas have a dock hand that will catch the bow line and hook up the electric cord and then shake your hand to say, " Welcome to ..." That feels good! Again we also love the little goodie bags and maps of the area and we have been joking for years that we wanted to find a marina with a courtesy car. Well, we found one, even though we didn't use it, it really felt good to get to the back country communities that trust people enough to let them drive a car!

Boating has it perks but we really gotta get back to making money instead of spending it! That's why they say:
B - Break
O - Out
A - Another
T - Thousand!

Ouch!