Colorful Costa Rica: April/May 2019

April 17th - April 25, 2019: We spent the next few days after the transit exploring a little of the Pacific side of Panama. We explored the anchorage right off the canal and found it was ok. The marina there charges if you want to tie up your dinghy for a while. Going around the point to the other side, the swell and chop weren't as bad, due to the lack of canal traffic. Here, there were many more boats anchored. There is a small floating dock to tie up to at no charge. Garbage cans are nearby for disposing of trash and there are many shops nearby at a walkable distance. 

We decided we'd like to get out of the city for a bit and so treated our guests/crew to the neighboring islands called The Pearl Islands and they were indeed the Pearls of the Eastern Pacific. These islands boast lovely soft white sand and coconut tree-lined beaches, absolutely beautiful to visit. If you are a Survivor fan, then you are familiar with the location. We sailed right by those camps. 

We stopped at Isla Pedro Gonzalez and San Jose Island. There was lots of birdlife to watch, dolphins, and beautiful, quiet anchorage spots to enjoy. We waved to a small fishing village as we sailed by. The people were super friendly and I wished we had more time so we could get to immerse ourselves in this culture a bit longer. 

There is one spot to be careful of on Isla Pedro Gonzales, as old shipping containers are underwater when the tide is high but reveal themselves as the tide drops. Granted, they are very close to shore, but just be wary if you decide to stop there. Beautiful backdrop surrounding the spot though! We encountered several large logs in the water, which Jared and Mike drug away with the help of Hermes (our faithful dingy).

We treated ourselves to a stay at Flamenco marina for a couple of nights. Stef celebrated her 40th birthday and we all went ashore to a local restaurant to celebrate. After saying "see you later" to our crew (except for Mike, who was going to extend his stay to tour Costa Rica for a bit), Jared and Mike went back to Shelter Bay marina via taxi to help out as line handlers for our friends on Zephyrus. Stef and the kids caught up on boat schooling lessons and made friends with Ata Marie, who was heading on the same northward path. They had a daughter close to Cadence's age, so it was a great buddy boat to have.

A couple of days later, with all crew back on board, we pointed Roundabout north and sailed towards Costa Rica. We passed by a few more islands,  but having already cleared out of Panama, we didn't want to get in trouble for stopping (they give you 48 hours to clear out). As we were making way, there was a coast guard boat just behind one of the smaller islands, checking out the traffic. They did not hail us, but drifted along for a while.

April 24, 2019: We rounded Punta Mala at night and after hearing all the bad stories for this area, were very happy to experience smooth and fast sailing. We picked up a following current and hit over 10 knots SOG! Two days later found us anchored off of Banana Bay Marina in the Bay of Golfito, Costa Rica. The entrance to this bay is a stretch of water surrounded completely by an overgrown jungle. Howler monkeys sounded their greeting off in the distance. Colorful birds flit amongst the branches. We dropped anchor right in front of the marina, with the manager's approval, and it was time to head to shore to check-in.

We lowered Hermes into the water, grabbed our boat bag with our documents, and Mike with all his gear, and headed towards the marina for check-in and a celebratory meal. Michael, the marina manager, was very friendly and helpful. He gave us a map and told us about the places to check into the country ourselves. He will do this for you for a small fee, but we actually like the experience of completing this ourselves. We get to see a bit more of the country that way. 

We walked down to immigration to get stamped in and then to the Coast Guard office and finally to Customs. Mike was removed from our crew list and arranged for his travels on land. After walking back to the marina, we grabbed a tasty dinner and ice cold drinks. Later that evening, we said our goodbyes to Mike and just like that, it was our own family on Roundabout once again. After having several guests on board, it was strangely quiet. 

The next day we decided to go exploring a bit. We loaded up snacks and cold drinks into Hermes and with cameras fully charged, sunhats and sunscreen applied, we set off into the nooks and crannies of Golfito Bay. We saw so much wildlife! One of my favorites was a bright pink bird called a Roseat Spoonbill. The flash of pink against the deep green really stood out! 

The sounds that surrounded us reminded us of Shelter Bay, Panama. Monkeys, birds, and insects are constantly in the background, along with the sound of other cruisers having happy hour at the bar drifted out to us. 

The only thing we did not enjoy was the heat and humidity. While usually wanting to shower first to get the hottest water, we all wanted to go last to get the coldest. I remember telling Jared that the water just wasn't cold enough! Thankfully, a breeze would filter through the bay and frequent rain showers would cool things off just a bit. It was tolerable. We could not go swimming due to the crocs in the area. Michael told the story of how he was cleaning boats and looked over once to find a croc swimming in the current next to him! He slowly backed away, keeping close to the boat until he quickly climbed aboard. He has not cleaned boats in awhile, but as the money is too good to pass up, he is considering it once again. 

We had access to wifi for the cost of a drink or meal at the restaurant. They had great food and a lovely blended "lemonada con herba buena" drink that I still make to this day. It is ice, lime juice with a bit of sugar, and mint leaves. That drink was the treat I looked forward to each day we were there. It was cool and refreshing and helped to beat the heat. 

We met two California families in the bay, as well! Secret Waters came over to say hello one morning and we hit it off right away! They later introduced us to the Talisen Rose crew. We spent the next week hanging out and I even taught a STEM class with robotics and a science lab. It's always more fun with other kid boats around. The kids sailed in one of their sailing dingies and spent many fun hours playing with their newfound buddies.

May 1, 2019: The clock was ticking and its a resounding reminder that we had to get back to California before August pushed us to haul anchor, wave goodbye and set our course for Mexico. We celebrated Matthew's 13th  birthday while at sea. After 7 days and a little bit of a rough passage, we diverted to Huatulco, Mexico to check into the country instead of Acapulco. We sort of wish we had continued on as we had the worst check-in experience and the scare of our life in Huatulco. More of that crazy story in the next post! 

Coming Full Circle: Return to the BVIs and USVIs

This was a bit of an emotional time for us. As we lost our first boat to #irmaria in Nanny Cay back in 2017, seeing the BVI and USVI post hurricanes was an experience to say the least.

Sunny loves her beach time!

Approaching Virgin Gorda, BVI

A flock of flamingos fly over Virgin Gorda. 

After checking in at Spanish town, we headed straight for The Baths, one of our top favorite spots. The kids wasted no time jumping off the boat and swimming ashore to play among the passageways in and out of the gigantic boulders.

Huge tarpon visited each night. 

Captured this remora with the GoPro. It hung around our boat for most of the day!

We stopped by all of our favorite spots, explored new places, and reunited with old friends. We spent a few days in Nanny Cay, just for memories and to sort of close out that chapter. We also checked some boat jobs off the list.

Installing a brand new cone clutch.

Exploring old hangouts.

The well-loved playground

It was so great to see all of the progress since the storms. The islanders are resilient people with strong hearts. Stef took an opportunity to teach a robotics class to a group of local children.

Teaching a class on robotics and coding, using Ozobots.

A few of the places we stopped as we sailed around the islands:

Stern-tied ashore at Benure's Bay.

Cow Wreck Beach, Anegada

Anchored off a sand spit off Jost Van Dyke Island, BVI

A racing pigeon visited us off Anegada. We looked up his tags online and sure enough, he was involved in a race. We learned they won't leave until they get fed and watered. After a little refreshment, he coo-cooed at us and flew on his way!

It followed us everywhere and peered into the hatches at night, as if asking to come inside! Sure did leave a mess behind though...

Us as we sail away from Tortola.

After checking out the BVI, we hung out in St. Thomas for a few days to stock up on provisions and wait for a good weather window for passage to the Bahamas. Check in was simple using the ROAM app. No need to visit customs or immigration until time to clear out and get a zarpe for the next country.

We toured the local marine science institute, which was right near our anchorage.

Marine research institute

Mural on the institute campus

Sundowners and lots of great fun with friends every day!

Fun times with friends! Brewer's Bay, St. Thomas USVI

Boat kids playing in Brewer's Bay, St. Thomas

Early on the morning of our departure, we heard someone shout to call 911. We saw a dinghy heading towards shore. I pulled out our medical kit, called 911 and Jared headed to shore in our dinghy. A nearby cruiser, who happened to be a local nurse was en route, as well as our friends on Dragonfly.
Jared took the CPR kit ashore with him and assisted with efforts to revive the man.
A lot took place that frustrated the entire anchorage of cruisers, but basically, the man died as a result of poor emergency responders. The ambulance was about a mile away and took 45 minutes to arrive. The responder would not assist, so it was the cruisers who pulled the victim up out of the dinghy and placed him on to the stretcher.

The cruising nurse mentioned to us that she was teaching a CPR course later on that afternoon and offered to include our family at no charge. We took her up on that opportunity, especially as Matthew had gone ashore with Jared. Matt pulled the dinghy ashore all on his own, as Jared had leapt out to assist with the situation. We felt it was worth delaying our passage for a few hours to take advantage of this opportunity.

After spending a couple of weeks here, it was time to move up to the Bahamas, where family and friends were flying in. Bahamas, here we come!

Hermit crab peeking out to say hello. Brewer's Bay, St. Thomas USVI

Newly Salted: An Interview with the RoundAbout Crew at 6 months

Newly Salted: Interview with the crew of Roundabout at 6 months

Roundabout Crew!

Meet the RoundAbout Crew: Hello! We are Jared, Stefanie, Matthew, Zachary, Cadence, and Sunshine (Sunny). We are a family of 5 who ditched suburbia for a sailboat to explore the world. Along with our salty sailing pup, we are adventuring while living life afloat. We have been cruising for 6 months now in the Mediterranean and are working our way west towards crossing the Atlantic. You can follow the adventure on our blog and facebook page.

RoundAbout is a 2012 Leopard 46 catamaran. She is the 4 cabin version, so there is plenty of room for our family. We made quite a few modifications, such as adding new tech equipment, water maker, washing machine, and the kids’ favorite, a swing. 

Roundabout at anchor off Hydra Island, Greece.

How did you get started with sailing and why did you decide to untie the dock lines?

Jared and I had a little hobie cat 16 before we were married and you’d often find us out on a lake somewhere sailing that boat! We both love the outdoors and brought up our kids this way. They were sailing babies from the start and grew up accompanying us on races or just out day sailing in the Monterey Bay for fun. We would travel a little throughout the year, with maybe one big trip here and there. With work and school schedules, it just didn’t allow for much in the way of traveling. This is one of the reasons why we decided to make a change in our lives.

Our motivation: This trip was 10 years in the making. It started out as a dream and over the years we slowly worked towards making it a reality. Then, the summer of 2016, Jared was hospitalized. For a few days, doctors didn’t know what was wrong. That was one of the scariest moments of our lives and we decided right then, we would make this sailing adventure happen no matter what. That was what really got the ball rolling. We immediately began to sell off things we didn’t need and finished remodeling the house. About a year later, we had sold the house, most of our possessions, and were on our way.

We road-tripped across the US before moving onto our boat in the BVI. We had lived aboard for only 5 days before two category 5 hurricanes destroyed it. Fortunately, we were insured and were able to start over, despite being in a totally different ocean! 

Roundabout Crew!

What are your plans?

The plan? Sailors have a saying: plans are written in the sand at low tide. We had planned on starting from the Caribbean and look where that got us. So for now, we are sailing around the Greek islands until June and will then head up to Croatia for awhile (we need to check out of the Schengen Zone for a bit). From there, we will work our way west to cross the Atlantic Ocean back to the Caribbean for the winter and transit the Panama Canal in the spring. From there, it is on to the South Pacific.

Sailing between islands

What do you like the most about living on a sailboat and the cruising lifestyle?

It is definitely a much slower paced lifestyle and involves less stress. The freedom to spend our time as we choose, without being tied to a schedule is amazing. We look forward to exploring each new place and immersing ourselves in new cultures. It’s the magic of this lifestyle. Living on a sailboat means we take our home with us wherever we go. No packing or worrying about what to bring; we just haul anchor or untie the lines and we’re off! While sailing, we can walk around, make food, exercise...it’s a much less restrictive method of traveling.

Sunsets and sunrises never get old!

What do you find most challenging about living on a sailboat and the cruising lifestyle?

Living on a boat means there are limits to everything; hot water, storage, power...we have definitely learned a lot about conservation, much more so than living on land (and we really were conscious about our global footprint then). 

Another challenge is the weather. Sailing means you can’t always just pick up and go when you want. We are constantly checking the weather to ensure we are safe and in a good spot. If the winds change, we may need to change our location. Sometimes, we can go a week without having to worry about hauling anchor, but usually we are moving every few days. In extreme weather, we go tie up in a port until it blows over.

Finally, missing our family and friends back in California. We stay connected digitally and with occasional phone calls or emails. Sometimes, we have some visit us, and we absolutely treasure those moments.

Relaxing during a down-wind sail.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn’t fear?

Of all the fears out there, I think dragging anchor and damaging the boat is at the top. This was one of my (Stef’s) fears, and it took me until about now to finally sleep through the night while at anchor. We swapped out our old Delta 55 for an 85lb Mantus which made a huge difference. It is important to invest in good ground tackle. It makes it easier to trust it. A good anchor alarm program also helps (we use the one that came with our chart plotter software). 

Apollo's Temple. Aegina, Greece.

Is there something you wish you would have brought with you that got left behind?

Our SUP boards! We left ours in storage because we had so much stuff packed already. We figured we would just buy new ones when we got to the boat. So far, we have not had any luck (things are super expensive over in the Med), but with summer approaching, we are hopeful to score some used ones. We really love SUP boarding and windsurfing, so we are on the hunt!

Even Sunny loves paddleboarding!

How have you been able to finance this cruising lifestyle?

We sold our house and most everything we owned to finance this adventure. Jared is a civil engineer and can work from anywhere (he is self-employed). I am on sabbatical from my school district, but I provide STEM education classes for kids and  work as an educational consultant occasionally, for schools, teachers, and parents. 

Sketching and taking notes in a museum. Worldschooling!

How do you handle the education and socialization of your children?  

We are worldschooling our kids with some of the traditional curriculum thrown in. I am a teacher, so I use what I normally would in my classroom. The benefit of travel, is we really get to learn about the culture and history—this really brings learning to life! Living afloat also provides many hands-on learning opportunities, such as navigation, geography, mechanics, and many other important life skills. I share some of these resources on our education page. 

As far as socialization goes, we try to meet up with other traveling families as often as we can. There are a few sailing family groups that we belong to and it is easy to meet up with someone from there, as long as the timing works out.

Their favorite place to hang out.

How do the kids feel about their life aboard?  

They love this life! The freedom and fun in exploring new places is one of their favorite aspects of traveling. They are involved with our planning and enjoy choosing places to visit. You will often find them fishing or swimming around the boat. On the flip side, they do miss their friends and family. 

Lots of fun when we find other kids! Delos, Greece

What have been some of the highlights so far?  

There have already been so many! We love experiencing new things, especially food. The anticipation of arriving to a new place is a great feeling. Exploring and just getting lost wandering the streets, leads to so many new discoveries. Also, meeting new people and making new friends around the world. 

Fiskardo bay, Kefalonia Greece

A Tribute to RoundAbout

As any boat owner will tell you, it is more than just a boat. It is part of you, a member of your family, and for those of us who live aboard, your home. It still hurts to think of the state she is in. Sad, broken, and in need of great repair. There is hope though, so read on for an update on our home and what is in store for the crew of RoundAbout.

While we did lose our home and most everything on board, we were safe and sound when the storms hit. The positive besides safety, is that we were fully insured. Due to friends finding our vessel the day after Irma hit, the photos they sent allowed us to submit our claim rather quickly. In fact, we were the first claim our insurance received!

Once we learned Irma was heading our way, we prepped as best we could. We could not have run from the storm, as we had just purchased her, and moved aboard. We did not have the proper "out at sea" equipment, we didn't even have a dingy! As an ex-charter boat, she was equipped for cruising around the islands, not the open blue. We had to do what was best to keep our family safe, and so we tied RoundAbout in a spiderweb of thick dock-lines, took down all sails to reduce windage, surrounded her with fenders, hired our friend Travis to manage her, and hoped for the best.

We evacuated out the day before Irma hit and despite our best efforts, we could only sit by and wait to hear of RoundAbout's fate after Maria came barreling through a week later. Jared made it as far as Puerto Rico, but could not secure transport to Tortola and so returned stateside just before the storm. We did make contact with a crane company the day before Maria, but they only said they "would do their best to secure her". It never happened.

She was mostly in the same spot on the sea wall, resting on her rudders. A floating dock scraped the starboard hull, creating about a 12" crack. This allowed water to enter the starboard cabins. We received reports of water activating the bilge pumps. The pumps were successfully keeping the water at bay. However, after a week, the batteries ran dead and the pumps stopped working. I couldn't help imagining what it must have looked like, as the water crept into our home. Our sons' cabins were on this side and all of their belongings. Their clothing, toys, books, and little mementos from friends were now becoming submerged. As the water level rose, RoundAbout's starboard side began to slowly sink under the weight of it all. The water came up to the steps leading down from the saloon. You can imagine the state of this water, not being clear, but murky instead, filled with diesel, debris, and all sorts of things leaking from submerged vessels; not what you'd want inside your home.

To add salt to our wounds, someone stole ALL of our fenders, new dock-lines, and broke into our boat. Our go-pro and all related equipment (which was my birthday gift from Jared and had hundreds of family photos) was taken, along with our VHF handhelds, the kids' walkie-talkies, and other items.

For additional photos and drone footage, you can check them out on our blog's facebook page.

We then received news that our insurance did NOT want the vessel, so it would be our responsibility to handle the salvage and disposal. On October 6th, we received a frantic call from Clive stating that there was only ONE spot on the barge and if we wanted our boat on it, it had to be NOW. What choice did we have? We had to take that spot, or risk causing further damage. After speaking with the salvage company, we learned it was going to be $8k to lift RoundAbout from where she rested and placed onto land in the boat graveyard. We just received an invoice for $12k. What?! We know of others that were only charged $8k, and some of those were completely sunk and had to be brought up from the bottom of the marina. For those of you waiting to have your boat lifted, check around to see what others are being charged, before you agree with the salvage company.

On top of this cost, we would also face storage fees from the marina. We had to figure out something or this was going to add up quick. As if in answer to our prayers, we began receiving emails from blog followers asking us if we would consider selling RoundAbout, despite her damaged state. Apparently, there are a lot of people out there who buy damaged boats at a great discount and then restore them to either sell or keep for themselves. All were very respectful in asking and we appreciate it. Thank you.

Jared flew back to the island to sort this all out. The port side was completely dry, as was the majority of the saloon! Our starboard cabins and engine room was submerged, and so work began to "pickle" the engine to prevent damage. The engine can remain this way for months and still be good to go! Jared also had the task of removing our belongings off the boat. There was a lot that just went into the trash due to the condition. However, he did manage to save a few things. For example, Zach's stuffed fox was up on the top shelf and was perfectly fine! He ran into a dock neighbor and they helped each other rescue things off each other's boats and tossed it all into a barrel of disinfectant. After soaking in this, they ran them through the wash. He said a final farewell to RoundAbout and left the island.

After Jared sent me the videos and photos, I created the advertisement for RoundAbout and posted it online. Our broker could not believe the number of emails he received; so many that the server shut down! We were also overwhelmed with messages on facebook and our email inbox. All this interest made me hopeful that RoundAbout would actually sail again someday! A few days later, she was sold. I know that RoundAbout will be lovingly restored and perhaps we will see her out sailing around the islands in the future. To RoundAbout and her new owner: we truly loved our home, as she was the perfect vessel for us. Wishing all the best with her restoration and we look forward to seeing her out on the water again someday.

So, now what? Well, shortly after the insurance declared CTL (constructive total loss) on our boat, we began our search for another floating home. We knew we wanted another Leopard 46, as after all, ours survived TWO Cat 5 hurricanes (it was the floating dock that did her in)! That is a testament to the build quality, right there. I'll admit we briefly entertained the idea of other boats, but after comparing them to the features of the Leopard, we just knew it wouldn't be a good decision for us.

 After we began our search, we learned the inventory was very, very low. So low, that the only ones available were in the South Pacific or Europe (there were four total). Then, a couple of listings popped up in the US and Caribbean. The prices had been increased dramatically, as if the sellers realized their opportunity at this newly created 'sellers market'. One evening, I was looking over the listings and just felt good about one of them. I kept going back to it for some reason, despite the boat being in Turkey. We then found a listing in Belize, but it had gone under contract the day before we put in our offer. So, perhaps, this one in the Mediterranean was meant to be, after all. We put in our offer and it was accepted less than  hours later! We received the news as we were having lunch with the kids. Jared looked up with tears in his eyes and held up the email on his phone. We were overjoyed! We had a home!

After this sunk in, the reality of figuring out the logistics to get to the boat took over. I immediately began researching flights, hotels, and 'all things Turkey'. We visited the Annapolis boat show and replaced some of our gear. We were making progress towards resuming our life afloat!

I had just purchased our flight and submitted applications for our e-visas, when Jared looked up from his computer and said "We won't be going to Turkey. They have stopped all visas". After a quick Google search, I read the news on the political situation involving the US and Turkey. Back to square one, with the main question being how would we take delivery of a boat when we couldn't get to it?

We posed this question to our broker and the seller (a charter company). After many emails and phone calls, we came to the idea of having the boat delivered to the neighboring country of Greece. We also asked for the seller to deliver it under their insurance (we didn't want to lose out on our investment if something went wrong while underway). This past week, we received news that our request had been granted; as they received special permission to deliver the boat to Athens. We would be able to close escrow and take ownership there. Things are finally falling into place.

Stay tuned for the details on RoundAbout 2.0!

And yes, we are keeping the name RoundAbout. While we submitted paperwork to rename her from Laura Ann to RoundAbout, we didn't have time for the official renaming ceremony. This means, we can still use the it. I don't think there could be a more perfect name, with all that we've been through. We will continue this sailing adventure; just in a round-about way! 

Buying a Boat Overseas Part 1

Hold on! Things are about to get crazy!

photo from 2012

Originally, when we started our boat shopping mission, we figured we would buy in Croatia. There is a rather large charter industry there and lots of boats for sale. The prices were attractive as well. We even went as far as having a friend who happens to live there take a look at boats for us (thank you so much, Jack!).  Lots of boats, good prices, and who wouldn't want to start out in the Med?

As how stories usually go, this was all too good to be true. Yes, the prices are low, but it is because the commission for the broker is not included. When you figure that cost into it, the prices are comparable with everywhere else. On top of that, the seller requires a deposit be sent directly to them, instead of using an escrow account. THEN, they will only release the boat AFTER the charter season, which is usually around November. For us, that would mean sending an unsecured deposit (hoping the seller didn't run off with the money), wait around for November to conduct the sea trial, haul-out, survey, and then finally take ownership. Wintering in the Med, potentially spending more money down the line, and putting our adventure on hold at the same time? No bueno. Thus, our search for the boat shifted down to the Caribbean, where our broker also happens to live. We have to pause for a sec and give props to him, for his patience with us during this process. He was super supportive of our goal to start in the Med, but also cautioned us against the concerns mentioned above (much love to you, Clive, for putting up with us).

So, we diligently searched online for our new home. We bookmarked a few, kept an eye on the prices, and analyzed the data. We picked out our top three and waited. Not that we didn't want to buy right away, but we had to get the house sold first. Let me tell you, that itself was a whole other process...

 Keeping the house spotless with three kids, a dog, and two cats? This girl was going to lose her damn mind. On top of finishing up a school year with a wiley class of 5th graders with summer on their brains, and packing up my classroom, things were just a teeny bit stressful.
**disclaimer: I love my job and my students, but ask any teacher how they are feeling during the final month of school and you will get an eye roll followed by an earful! ;)

Thankfully, we didn't have to deal with it for long, as we went into escrow on the house days before school let out (insert a huge gigantic sigh of relief here) and it meant we could FINALLY make an offer on a boat! Jared and I made a list to compare our top three. We looked at the condition (best we could based on the photos), inventory list, hours on the engines and generator, system upgrades needed, etc. After making our decision, we spoke with Clive and set things in motion. We offered, received a counter, countered-back, and finally arrived at a number all parties were happy with.

So, at the time of this writing, we have sent our deposit, scheduled the survey/haul-out/sea trial date and are researching plane itineraries.  We are hoping to charter a boat for the duration of our stay in the BVI instead of staying at a hotel, so we can take the kids exploring (hopefully on our exact boat, if we can swing it) and provide a little taste of the cruising life for the kids.

After the survey, we will fly home, pack/ship all of our stuff to Tortola (where our boat is located), and then slowly make our way to Florida, where we will then fly out to move aboard. Our stuff will take about a month to arrive anyway, so we are using up that time by driving across the country on an epic road trip! It will be a lot of fun and we will get to see some of our homeland that we haven't before. All in all, a good way to kick off this traveling adventure.

The next post will update on how things went with the survey, introduce you to our new home, and talk about the intricacies of shipping stuff to an international destination.

MUST HAVE Boat Essentials!

Here's my growing list of MUST HAVE sailing gear for living aboard as a family.

1. Turkish Towels are amazing! They are super lightweight, wick moisture away quickly, and dry even faster! They are large enough to wrap around as a light blanket if needed and fold up very small = super storage saver (and on a boat, that means a lot)! The fact that we can use these several times before washing is fantastic and saves this mama loads of laundry in the long run! I even took it a step further and tested these babies on our BVI trip last year. I never needed to use any of the towels the charter company provided. I cant' recommend these towels enough as I just LOVE them! In action in the BVI pic:

2. Biodegradable sunscreen is just a no-brainer. Protect your skin while protecting the environment at the same time. Here is one we used in the BVI:Biodegradable, Reef Safe Sunscreen  

There are quite a few others out there on Amazon.

3. Besides sunscreen, some other items to provide protection from the sun: 

Hats (preferably with a strap incase the wind picks up) These are what the kids have.  

Polarized sunglasses with a floating strap (no more lost sunglasses). I recommend the straps that float. These are the ones we have, but there are lots of other options out there. 

Long-sleeved rash guards are also a good idea. They help keep your skin protected while out in the water, as well as from stings from jellies.

4. Dry bags (waterproof storage): These help keep everything dry whether you are traveling from shore to the boat or just sightseeing in the dingy.

Dry Pack duffle bag

Dry Bag Backpack

Universal Waterproof Case

5. Boat toys:

SUPs: We got three stand-up paddle boards on sale at Costco last year and they are an awesome way to get around! Watch for their end of summer sales. We got ours for about $100 each, marked down from $400! We are bringing these with us, as well as a couple of surf boards (also purchased on sale at Costco).

Swing: We have a swing that can hang from the boom or one of the shrouds. Ours is similar to this one.

Hammock: We like to hang ours from the boom!

Beach Mat: This one is awesome! The sand just falls through to the bottom. We also have the tote that is made from the same material. No more bringing sand back on board!

That is the top of our list for now. We will add more as we go!