Frequently Asked Questions:

1)  How do you afford living your dream?

We spent 10 years getting ourselves and the boat ready in order to fulfill our dream.  Paying off the boat was a must for us, as well as, credit card and any other debt.  Being debt free affords you to do alot more, giving you the freedom to call the shots.  We saved as much as we could and have invested the money wisely, but we have to return to work every 2 years in order to replenish our cruising kitty, touch base with family/friends and take care of those important matters.

If you have a question that you would like us to answer, please go to the contact Us page and fill out the form.  We will be happy to answer your question. Send us an email!

In a word, YES.  Aaron has been sailing for over 30 years, and together we have been sailing since 1988 beginning on the lakes of Kansas and Missouri.  After our dream took hold of our lives, we moved to Florida where we purchased our boat and began learning how to sail offshore, navigate with GPS and by dead reckoning, learning weather patterns, and learning about serious boat ownership.  We believe that sailing experience is a must, if you are going offshore.  To take your lives on a boat and head offshore, is a heavy responsibility and one that must be respected and  taken seriously.  We spent seven winters (3-5 months) sailing in the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, and Cuba to earn our experience and know our boat.  We have learned many lessons along the way, and those lessons just keep coming! Which is a good thing!  We both earned our Captains license before we left, figuring that it is an asset to have just in case plus acquiring the knowledge of seamanship and safety we felt was advantageous.

3) How do you know about weather?

A sailor wears many hats, and a being a meteorologist, is one of them, well, to the best of your ability. 

We have a software program called Winlink (must be a HAM radio operator to subscribe, otherwise there is Sailmail) that provides us with many different options to weather info, such as weather faxes, (surface analysis, wave and sea state) and offshore text from NOAA and buoys reports that give wind direction and wind speed at a specific geographical location.

From all this data, you can conclude that you have a 50/50 chance of predicting the weather. 

There are also cruising nets on the SSB that give weather reports, given by volunteers who are cruising, such as the Northwest Caribbean Net and the Panama Connection net.

Although we do not subscribe to Chris Parker, or Herb Hilgenburg or Buoyweather, these individuals and company, do a great job of pinpointing the weather in your area and in giving you personal weather info.

4) How did you choose your boat?  Your requirements and safety equipment?

 We walked on and off alot of boats, read many magazines and books, talked to fellow cruisers and reduced our field of prospective boats.  We had looked at a Gulfstar 50 in San Francisco and liked it enough to seriously consider it.  When we arrived then in Ft. Lauderdale, we knew what we were looking for, so that narrowed our possibilities down.  Our prerequisites were a ketch rig, (affords many sailing possibilities), medium displacement, center cockpit, a solid hull made to be offshore,  comfortable quarters down below, and a boat within our price range.  We are happy with our choice and have made upgrades on her, so that we feel safe and secure in offshore waters. See Our Boat for more details especially the safety equipment.

5) Have you experienced any bad situations?

We have had our share of bad weather experiences, enough to learn that you don't go out there if there is a chance of a storm.  Our lessons on weather came hard,  1) experiencing a 65knot wind for 2 days on our way to Key West, and losing our bowsprit and anchor because of it, 2)a rogue wave slammed into us off of Egmont Cay, FL causing a total knockdown, sails in the water and thankfully our boat righted itself and all persons onboard okay but a bit shook up. 3) Bad decisions come in the way when exhausted, such as crossing the gulf stream and trying to motor into Bimini channel at night, not a good idea.  We ran aground on a leeshore and had to be towed to safety.  Since we left Florida in April 2006, we have not had any bad situations, weather or otherwise. No piracy either. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and lock up your dinghy when leaving it in town or by the boat.

6) How do you get along with your spouse 24/7?

It's amazing that we have found in each other the special bond of friendship, partners, lovers, and soulmates to make our unique relationship work.  Working as over the road truckdrivers for 17 years, where we had to drive as a team, 5 hrs on, 5 hrs. off, 24/7, prepared us for our sailing adventure of a lifetime. Don't think for a minute that it is all rosy, we both have our moments, and we each deal with them with patience and understanding,  but at the end of the day, we always kiss each other goodnight and say I love you.

 7) What do we eat?

Aaron is quite the hunter/gatherer, so we have alot of seafood, lobster, crab, conch and there's nothing better than fresh fish right from the sea.  We eat mostly all of our meals onboard, seldom going out to eat. Usually, there is a grocery store in every little town, so supplies are readily available, it just might not be what you are used to and limited in supply.  But you learn to just make do.  We do eat alot of chicken, and usually before a passage we will buy a whole one and get three meals out of it.  Beginning with a soup, (tortilla or ole fashioned chicken noodle), and either a curry dish or mexican enchiladas, and chicken salad.

But being from Kansas, major beef country, we miss good ole steaks.

8) What is your typical day like out cruising?

Awaking whenever we want, for their is no alarm set, it is usually around 6 or 7 am.  The generator is started and coffee and breakfast made while the refrigeration and batteries are charged.  After 1 1/2 hrs, the generator is turned off, the SSB radio is tuned in to the Panama Connection net on 8107 at 830am, and as we listen in to news about cruisers, we check ourselves in as to our location, so that friends listening in will know where we are and vice versa.  At 9am, we tune into the NW Caribbean net on channel 6209, and do the same thing.  Then, I sit down in front of the computer and compose any messages to friends/family/cruisers via winlink, and then send those emails along with any requests for weather.  If I have sent for weather info, I reconnect again after waiting 20 minutes or so, and receive the faxes and weather info.  All this can take up to an hour or so depending on availability of an unused frequency and propagation.

Boat chores are done in the morning, cleaning mostly as there is always something that needs to be cleaned. Updating the website, a half hour of exercises and stretches, and any baking that needs to be done.   Boat projects are taken on, boat maintenance, boat upkeep, boat duties.  Then after work is done, lunch served up nice and light, it is time for having some fun.  Whether that be a trip into town, snorkeling, taking walk, or any activity with other cruisers.  At sunset, we always watch with a sundowner in hand either by ourselves or with other cruisers, ending of another day in paradise.

We also have to run the generator again for 1 1/2 hour in the evening to recharge the refrigeration and batteries. And, we read alot of books.

Of course, all of this is subject to change on a moment's notice if any emergency situations  arise.  No two days are alike that's for sure.