Well folks my dream of a lifetime is over. From my very first CPS course back in Moncton NB, 30+ years ago I have dreamt of having a sailboat capable of sailing the seven seas and sailing off into the wild blue yonder. The Dismal Swamp and the Bahamas were always at the top of my list. Being able to share my dream with my best friend, my children and grand children was just the icing on the cake.
Some of you have asked about our blog and some have had the misfortune of witnessing us blogging first hand. Blogging is a chore. If you think you want to blog I suggest you sit down and think again. Yes you can keep it to a minimum. However I believe ours kept growing and growing. I just looked at a couple of our first blogs and what a mess. Time wise I would say each post takes more than eight hours. The Admiral takes the pictures, writes the blog and select the pictures for the blog. I proof read the blog, size the pictures to be uploaded, upload the word document and pictures and then re-size the pictures again to fit our format and place them in the appropriate position. I have the easy job.
Fun facts about our blog
Number of posts 232
Number of pictures taken 21,727 (filed on the hard drive, many more have been deleted)
Number of pictures posted 10,416 (wordpress gives each picture a unique number)
Number of comments 488 thank you that is why we kept blogging
We have been asked what are our most memorable moments? That is tough to answer. We enjoyed every day. One of my most memorable moments was when Amber first arrived with the grand-kids and we were anchored off Rose Island. There were a few other boats anchored with us, the kids were playing on the beach and I looked around at the other boats and islands and a tear came to my eyes and I said to MaryEllen that this was paradise and what we had been waiting for. We considered ourselves to be very blessed to have been able to start and complete this adventure.
Here are a few more interesting facts.
| No. Days | ||||
| Phase 1 | 186 | home to Vero Beach | ||
| Days at home | 31 | home for Christmas | ||
| Phase II | 90 | Vero Beach to Bahamas | ||
| Phase III | 48 | Bahamas to Home | ||
| Total Number of days | 355 | |||
| Distance | Hours | Days | ||
| Leg 1 | 818.40 | 153.60 | 35 | Long Sault to Shediac |
| Leg 2 | 576.50 | 106.40 | 37 | Shediac to Halifax |
| Leg 3 | 357.50 | 79.25 | 29 | Halifax to Eastport |
| Leg 4 | 818.20 | 161.40 | 43 | Eastport to Annapolis |
| Leg 5 | 1010.40 | 187.90 | 42 | Annapolis to Vero Beach |
| 31 | Vero Beach to home | |||
| Leg 6 | 246.60 | 45.60 | 9 | Vero Beach to Bahamas |
| Leg 7 | 760.30 | 145.40 | 81 | Bahamas |
| Leg 8 | 1988.60 | 344.00 | 48 | Homeward Bound |
| Nautical Miles | 6576.50 | |||
| Engine Hours | 1221.60 | |||
| Diesel Litres | 3347.96 | |||
| Imp. Gallons | 736.46 | |||
| US Gallons | 885.70 | |||
| Liters/NM | 0.51 | |||
| ImpGal/NM | 0.13 | |||
| Liters/hour | 2.74 | |||
| ImpGal/hour | 0.60 | |||
| US Gal/hour | 0.73 | |||
| Maintenance | ||||
| Racor fuel filter changes | 5 | |||
| Primary fuel filter changes | 4 | |||
| Oil changes | 11 | |||
| Transmission fluid changes | 5 | due now | ||
| Air filter changes | 4 | (have 2 filters change/wash/dry) | ||
Fair Winds
Mike and MaryEllen
I am very happy for you for living your dream. And proud of you, Michael. oxox
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Thank you Crystal. Glad to hear you enjoyed following us on our trip. 🙂
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This makes me smile (and brings a tear to my eye) love you guys xxx
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Thanks Perky Bird. It was such a pleasure to have you visit in the Nova Scotia for part of our adventure. xo
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Thank you folks so much for all the blogs. We realize it was a lot of work and it sure helped our miserable winter to pass . It was wonderful to have you back as neighbors again .
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Yes very often we thought of you and the cold winter in South Mountain. We are fortunate to have such great neighbours.
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What a wonderful adventure! I’m sure we all enjoyed it almost as much as you and your family. I totally understand the amount of work you put into this blogging this adventure – the hours of writing, selecting, sizing, uploading photos and also the many hours you will enjoy as you surf back and forth through your postings time and time again as you recall your wonderful voyage.
Thank you for taking us with you. Full Sail 🙂
Nelson and Monica
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Yes, for sure you understand all the work involved Nelse but so worth it. Because, as you say, we can look back and relive all the memories. Just like you two on your trips. I will be catching up on your updates shortly. We are glad you enjoyed it.
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I feel so blessed to have been able to visit you on your big adventure two times; Maryland and the Bahamas. It really has been a dream come true for you two….or at least for you daddy 😉 One of my favourite things was sitting on the bow of the boat with Tayton and thinking of how much I loved doing that with my siblings every summer. I am excited to see what the next adventure is for you guys. Even though I will hate not having you down the road, I am not sure the kiddies will let you out of their sight!!
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And we surely enjoyed having you, Jason and the kids. I remembered thinking the same thing of you and Tayton on the bow of the boat and how it reminded me of you and the rest of our kids loving Grand Lake and the Saint John river on our little boat. The Bahamas We adventure was wonderful, wasn’t it? We won’t mention another adventure to them for awhile. to them for awhile. xo
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As a nonfamily member, I would like to thank you for sharing your dream trip with all of us; it has been exciting to read every blog and to keep up with your progress; waiting to see where you docked, anchored or what happened on each leg; some of the places you visited were familiar, most were not, all of the photos were just what you wanted; a snapshot of what you saw and experienced on a daily basis….thank you again!
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You are welcome Richard. Happy to have you following along. Be sure to let us know when you take off on your trip so we can follow you. 🙂
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Very happy for you guys. Thanks for sharing and must say enjoyed the blog.
Have a gret summer, hope to meet again some day
PS – Diane says the same about her blog, think she even gave up on it
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It was great meeting you guys in Shediac and then again in Cape Breton and yet again when you visited us in Vero Beach from your winter home in Stuart. Hope you have a wonderful summer on your trip. I will keep checking your blog Diane. I’m sure you won’t give up on it. You do such a great job and it will be great to relive the memories. 🙂
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Very happy for you guys. Thanks for sharing and must say enjoyed the blog.
Have a great summer, hope to meet again some day
PS – Diane says the same about her blog, think she even gave up on it
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Thanks for the nice blog. I read basically the whole thing. I hope to someday sail from the Great Lakes, to the St Lawrence, down the ICW, and to the blue water. It was a lot of fun reading your adventures.
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Thanks Jason.
It is always nice to hear someone has enjoyed our blog.
M&M
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