Wow! I started writing this post when we were sitting inside the cabin of our sailboat in some driving rain, while at anchor, on April 3rd - 19 days ago! Apparently the rain didn’t last long enough for me to actually get through the post because here I am taking another shot at it! We are driving north on hwy 95 in Florida, and we’re on our way to Savannah on the first part of our journey back to Canada. We are towing our sailboat, Baysong, behind our 2005 Dodge RAM 2500 and hoping it will be an uneventful drive back. Our family (Papa, Nandi and Super Steve) are travelling along with us convoy style.
You may be wondering about the name of this post. It was a tough call as to what we’d choose as a name. It was a toss up between the chosen “5 knots” and “Don’t spill Dads coffee!”. “5 knots” - is because for most of the last two months, we’ve been travelling on the water in our sailboat, Baysong, at a blistering speed of 5 knots (nautical miles/hr) most of the time, which can sometimes seem quite reasonable, and sometimes quite hillarious.
The “don’t spill Dad’s coffee!” name is pretty self explanatory. Despite the regularity of the second title being spoken aloud, and the regularity of said coffee being spilt, I stuck with the “5 knots” title.
I feel a bit overwhelmed thinking about what exactly to start writing in here to cover off since the end of February. But - once I get into it, it is always really fun to look back through pictures and recap all that has happened. So here we go!
Pre-Sailing Trip - let’s finish up with winter…
Before heading out on our sailing adventure, we had some activities to finish up and some prep to do. Every winter since they were 4, our kids have taken part in the cross country ski programs on weekends at Arrowhead Provincial Park. We all enjoy it so much (since Jeremy and I ski while they are in programs), that we knew we had to be back to enjoy this part of the winter this year. Every year, we try to see how many kms we can ski separate from the kms that are skied during the lessons. This year, Robin hit 200km (200.49) and Gavin crushed 100km (116.73). It came down to the last 9km that Robin needed to complete and there was no snow anywhere except Arrowhead trails, which were incredibly barely hanging on. It was pretty fun to go to Arrowhead and feel like we were “closing the place down” - getting in a last ski and Robin hitting the 200km mark. Below you see a picture of Anne Lindsay, one of our kids coaches, with our two kids, and a picture of Robin having just broken the 200km mark.
Next we had to take apart the skating rink at Hanna Park. Though the weather hadn’t been the best for ice grooming, we were lucky that it was the right weather to take it apart! It’s all packed away and ready for next winter season!
We dropped off our van with my parents in Peterborough before heading out sailing. My father VERY generously offered to take on the task of cleaning up the van while we were away so that it was ready for when we got back. Incredible right!! All I can hope to do is pay it forward one day for our kids. In the pictures below, you’ll see two pictures of the night we dropped it off - we worked with him to replace the canvas tent top, since it was in rough shape, and this job was definitely a 2 (or 3) person job. Then we cleaned and prepped the sailboat (you’ll see Robin through one of the bow berth windows cleaning the outside of the boat) and finally, below a pic of us pulling out of the driveway to head south!
Sailing!
We had originally planned to try to sail across to the Bahamas with our boat and spend a month or so over there. Over a few discussions in January and February we switched plans and decided to explore more of the gulf coasts of Florida instead, for a more relaxed and familiar trip. Coincidentally, we have friends (Kelly and Kevin) who are currently in the Bahamas for about 4.5 months, and we would have loved to try to see them there, but we’ll save that trip for another time.
Because we knew we would be close to land for about 6 weeks on the water, we were able to arrange to visit with family and friends throughout the trip - which was amazing and were highlights of the trip.
Here are some highlights!
Tarpon Springs and Indian Rocks Beach with Gramma and Grampa
To start our trip off, we were lucky enough to get to visit with my parents and their friends Bob and Annette, in Tarpon Springs. Then - we sailed to Indian Rocks beach, where my parents stayed in a hotel, and we stayed on the dock with our boat. We hung out at the beach, on the dock, in the pool and hot tub and even a water park. We are so lucky - 3 generations hanging out in the sun:) Thanks Mom and Dad!!!
NAPLES AND EVERGLADES WITH GARY AND LORI
After sailing from Indian Rocks Beach down to Fort Meyers, which was quite a trek in the time that we had, we stayed with our neighbour’s from Muskoka for a few nights - at their place in Naples! There was some heavy weather that we avoided while we left “Baysong” on a mooring ball in Fort Meyers, and Gary and Lori came to pick us up from the dock in Fort Meyers. We were quite the spectacle getting to the dock with all 4 of us in the dingy, our 4 back packs, 4 sets of rollerblades, a guitar and mandolin. We had many a wave, a laugh and even pictures taken of us on the way by. Gary arranged air boat and swamp buggy tours for us to enjoy with Lori, where we learned so much about an area none of us have ever been to. We explored the naples area, swam, rollerbladed and even joined in on a hot 50/50 draw after Monday morning coffee with Lori. Thank you Gary and Lori for your friendship, hospitality and generosity! Looking forward to seeing you in passing in Oklahoma in May!
FORT DE SOTO
We spent a lovely day with friends Laurie and Tom on the beach in Fort De Soto - this was a visit we only realized would be possible about a week before it happened and the timing and weather worked out just perfectly! No sand dollars and lots of wind, but beautiful water and waves and sunshine. Great to see you both!
Treasure Island with Dave, Dani and Steve
After a slower return back up from Fort Meyers, we were again so lucky to be able to meet more family and friends! Father in law and wife (Dave and Dani) and friend (Steve), had booked a place in Treasure Island with a dock on the intercoastal and we were able to tie to the dock, and spend a number of great days in the sun with them! Minigolf, Clearwater Aquarium, lots of beach time, making a pin hole camera and experiencing the partial eclipse where we were, dock side relaxing, some intercoastal paddling, day-boating to a island beach and a trip with Papa to the candy shop for the kids. Thank you again Papa, Nandi and Steve - we are so lucky!!! As we end this trip, we are spending a couple days with them again, and making the drive back up to Canada.
New ACQUAINTANCES
With Jeremy’s gift for gab as well as the generous and welcoming boating community in general, we have once again met so many great folks during our trip. We hope to cross paths again with many of you! Jim and Donna, Amy, Chelsea and Andy, Larry and Glenda, Peter and Claudia, Rex and Aaron, Stan and Laura, John and Robin, James and friend - it was so lovely to chat with all of you and enjoy our beautiful surroundings for brief moments together. Fair winds to you all! The picture below is of two friends, Rex and Aaron, who were playing disc golf on a course where we had taken our one ultimate frisbee to play. They insisted on giving us 4 discs to use on the course and to keep - to pass long the love of the sport and to pay it forward! Thanks guys - these will be heavily used on our upcoming van trip!!!
sailing - just the four of us
We of course had a good number of weeks spread through the trip with just the 4 of us. We explored beaches, sailed coastlines, caught a couple of fish (yep, a couple), built some epic sand communities surrounded by sea creatures, visited libraries and community pools, did schoolwork in various settings, rollerbladed causeways, rode the trolly, saw so many dolphins swimming/diving/hunting, birds, alligators, fish, visiting sailing squadrons and marinas, staying in empty bays and popular anchorages, collected shells and treasures and have always been learning more more about sailing and anchoring. Mostly, as we have throughout the year, we’ve enjoyed marvelling at the world around us, and noticing the similarities and differences in comparison to other places. It is unbelievable that the sailing portion of our trip has come to an end and we’re starting to prep for the last phase. This year has been such an incredible year of learning and growing together. Although we are sometimes brainstorming about what lies ahead, mostly, the planning and immersion in the day-to-day takes most of our focus.
Now - we head north to Port Carling from April 24-May 1st, then we head off in our Van to explore the western portion of the USA and Canada. Thanks again for tuning in!