4 Things I HATE About Living on a Boat

There are a lot of reasons I love living on a boat, and I often focus on the pros of the lifestyle. But like everything in life, there are pros and cons. Here are the ones that irk me the most:

Clearwater to Marco Island - 150 miles

It was weird leaving Clearwater. We never felt super at home there, but it had become familiar all the same.

We made friends, most notably with "Greenheart" who Hobie calls "Greenheart Dragon Slayer". We watched movies in the park, saw street performers, and I'll always remember when my dad flew in to visit us.

Sailing to the Florida Keys

Tomorrow is our last day in Clearwater Beach.

The weather over the last 48 hours has been cold and wet, and yet we've managed to make it to the playground both days.

For the most part, the boat is ready to go and I've been super laid back about the upcoming passage. We have a GREAT looking weather window,  No thunderstorms forecast with 10-15 knots of wind out of the North East, waves 2-3. This is our forecast every day next week.

I need to look over the engines tomorrow. I probably should have already done this, but the weather has been crappy. If there is anything wrong, I'll have to get it fixed tomorrow or delay departure.

We've pretty well provisioned up, but we'll make a run to the grocery store tomorrow to top up. We also need to fill up water and fuel and empty our holding tanks.

Our route from Clearwater to Key West is about 215 miles and should take us around 41 hours to complete.

If we get tired or the weather turns we have several options for stopping along the way.

I have high hopes for a nice relaxing passage with my family. And fingers crossed for seeing dolphins!

Cruising With Kids: Not Having A Yard

We were fortunate to live in the Midwest where space is plentiful, and most anyone who wants to live in a house with a yard can do so. 

It came in handy to be able to send our kids out the back door to play in the yard while we cooked dinner or cleaned the house.

Cruising With Kids: Dealing With Limited Space

We hear it all the time: "It must be hard living in such a small space with kids! How can you do it?"

I'm not sure about anyone else's kids, but when it comes to mine, whether we are in a 2,000SF house or an 800SF boat, our kids are where we are.

350 Miles from Mobile to Clearwater

After motoring 1,300 miles of rivers and canals we arrived in Mobile, Alabama where we put up our mast. After all that motoring, the LAST thing I wanted to do was motor a few hundred miles more on the Gulf Coast Intercostal Waterway (GICW).

Day Date in Alton, Il

Going on a "day date" in Alton Il, thanks to our French Canadian cruising friends who offered to watch our kids for the afternoon!

Chicago to Mobile, WE DID IT!

Before arriving in Demopolis, we had the depressing realization that we would not make it to Mobile, AL in time for Halloween. A bummer not only because we wouldn't have a neighborhood to trick-or-treat in, but also because Hobie's NinjaGo costume was shipped to Mobile.

Demopolis "loop" Think

We traveled a short distance to Demopolis, I was in full on "travel" mode and didn't really feel like stopping. I was kinda hoping to fuel up, pump out, fill water and head back out... but we have friends here and LeeAnn wanted to hang out for a night. 

4 Reasons NOT to do The Great Loop

The Great Loop has become hugely popular among boaters in recent years. When we first traveled down the US East Coast in 2007 we didn't hear the terms "Great Loop", "Looping", or "Loopers" a single time. These days it seems every boater we meet is flying the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruising Association) flag.