Boat projects

Back on the Loop!!!

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Just over six months ago we put Escapade in a boat shed at Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake Virginia, packed up a U-Haul trailer and moved back on Road House. We had a great 4 week, 2,800 mile road trip back across country to Palm Springs California, stopping to see friends and to check out some new places. We loved Tennessee – visiting friends in Dandridge, touring Knoxville, The Great Smokey Mountains and Nashville. From there we went on to see more friends in Festus Missouri, Oklahoma City OK, Ruidoso NM and Mesa AZ.

Who would have thought we’d be moving our stuff with a grocery cart???

Rolling back into the Outdoor Resort Palm Springs was just like going home and it was so fun to see all our friends there, catch up and reconnect.

After settling in, we flew to Portland Oregon in November and spent ten days catching up with friends. One of the highlights was fresh Dungeness crab for Thanksgiving dinner. Our long time boating friends Leslie and Jeff hosted us at their beach house in Rockaway. We have had some stellar adventures with these two over the years. It was as great to spend quality time with them and their dog Rocky. The crabbing in Tillamook Bay on Thanksgiving morning was cold but very productive. The ramp to the boat was icy so us girls just sat down and slid right on down. What an awesome day!!!

We also house hopped around Portland for a few days and despite it being cold and rainy, we loved being back and spending time with friends.

Pickleball, walking, hiking, numerous happy hours and dinners with friends filled our days in Palms Springs. We also had loads of visitors coming through town so our 5 months in the sun went really fast. It was a great reset for our spirits… we fell really defeated after our difficult summer… losing our boy Bentley was so hard on all of us including kitty Sucia.

I know she mourned him too. She slept on the floor in the spot his bed was on the boat, she looked for him and cried when she smelled his places on the coach. Honestly, she looked for him when we got on the boat again too.

Sucia had a bit of a rough winter. We found out in December that she was hyper-thyroid and long story short she was received I-131 Radioactive Iodine Treatment in February and so far, fingers crossed her thyroid levels are normal again. Hyper-thyroidism is not uncommon in older cats and at 13 years old, Sucia fell into the exact age group of kitties who have this issue. Poor girl, all the weight loss combined with trying oral medication left her literally, a bag of bones. She is slowly putting on weight again and seems to have some spunk again. The little brat hissed at me when I was brushing her yesterday – the nerve!!! She has been loving sitting in the sun on the cockpit of the boat.

Our trip back to Chesapeake Virginia was a bit less leisurely and a bit more stressful. Windy weather plagued us on a lot of the trip east and a mechanical issue on Road House delayed us in Tucumcari NM. Tucumcari is not exactly a place I’d normally want to spend five nights but in this case it was a blessing. Good karma perhaps but when the “stop engine now” warning light and alarm when off, we were not on remote Hwy 54 which we took across from Las Cruces to Santa Rosa NM. Instead we, were about 120 miles from Albuquerque Nm and 175 from Amarillo Texas on Interstate 40. Even at that, I was sure there was not going to be help so close.

Ironically, we were originally going to spend one night in Tucumcari but when the wind looked gale force for days, we rerouted to cut some miles off and get to Oklahoma City. Well, all good plans aside… Tucumcari was where we ended up. John’s Truck Service to be exact. This 40 year old family owned repair facility off I40 was not only certified to work on our Cummins engine but more than that, they seemed to take so much pride it getting us back on the road as quickly as possible. The owner Steve even took us to dinner with his wife Kim and brother Stanley one night. There are good people in Tucumcari!

The wind howled, but luckily we were tucked in on the east side of the shop, which blocked a lot of the wind. We had enough power to keep the refrigerator running and we used our generator for heat and hot water. Its wasn’t luxurious for sure, but we were glad to be able to stay in our home on wheels while we waited for the new turbo to be shipped.

Needless to say, we were so happy to be rolling again and so very thankful for Johns Truck Service. We left there smiling and with hugs all around to this wonderful family and their staff.

The biggest PIA was rescheduling all of our planned stops but we did make it to Guthrie Oklahoma and Festus Missouri to see friends.

I was doing a serious Happy Dance when we rolled the heck outta New Mexico!

So, it is a bit like groundhogs day and here we are back in Chesapeake Virginia, getting the boat ready to cruise. A few months ago, I was really not even sure I wanted to come back. Wally and I both felt a bit depressed still about Bentley, but also agreed that this was not the time to get another dog. We have never NOT had a dog since we’ve been married. WHAT?? … almost 32 years of always having a dog!!! Some times two dogs but always one over lapping the other. I know, I know, everyone says just get another dog already…

Our sweet boys, Bentley and Gus. Both came to us from the Oregon Humane Society.

Well, everyone except Sucia – LOL. She has let it be know though my friend and animal communicator, Lauren that she has parameters. No high energy puppies!! Aw, come on Sucia!!! While I know she misses Bentie, she seems perfectly happy to have us all to herself. So, for now it’s just us three musketeers doing the Loop!!!

The boat wintered well but as always there seems to be a long list of projects, cleaning, moving aboard and provisioning to do before we leave the dock here in Chesapeake. Our first cruise will be a short one as we are going to Norfolk on May 5 to attend the America’s Great Loop Cruiser Association Spring Rendezvous.

The AGLCA is an amazing organization who sole mission is to help dreamers become loopers. We have attended one of the events in Florida before we bought Escapade and really enjoyed all the educational seminars, the opportunity to get onboard other looper boats and the camaraderie of other dreamers. This year, I am really focused on attending all the route planning sessions. There is so much information on the AGLCA website but it nice to be at the seminars, be able to ask questions and talk with other people who have competed the loop… and lived to tell about it.

So until then, we are doing projects, checking tasks off our lists and double checking all of our calendar reminders. We won’t have a car once we start the loop so I have been getting stocked up on some of the heavy items that aren’t easy to carry around on our e-bikes. Sucia has plenty of food on board and we have enough wine to host a lot of happy hours! Priorities seem right, don’t ya think??

Great Loop Adventure – Day 161 – Hampton VA

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Well, we are still in Hampton in the boat yard but the good news is that the transmission repair is finished, the transmission is back at the Blue Water repair yard was painted yesterday. It is being installed today(Tuesday 9/19) – YAY!!! Then the boat will get launched and we will do a sea trail, hopefully on Wednesday, to make sure everything is running well and the shaft and engine alignment is correct.

Basically the transmission has been rebuilt inside. Who said diamonds are a girls best friend??  This is even better than diamonds but probably more expensive!!! It feels great to have an end in sight, even if it’s just taking the boat to Chesapeake where she will go into a boat house for the winter. Our plan is to still be rolling west in the coach on Oct 1 – YAY!!!

The hot temperatures here have finally abated and we have had several nights that we could turn off the AC’s and open up the boat to get nice breezes. It’s been great walking weather so we have been hitting our favorite places like The Nolan Trail. On our last walk, we did the entire 4.5 mile loop and we saw loads of turtles in the lake, a huge herd of white tailed deer, herons and loads of ducks and geese. Such a beautiful hike.

We also visited the Mariners Museum … of course we did, despite been grounded we still qualify as mariners!!! The museum is amazing… more than 90,000 square feet of galleries filled with maritime art, culture, science, and history. We totally reconnected with our inner maritime selves.

One of the more fascinating exhibits was the Ironclad Revolution. I had never heard of these ships but of course, Wally had and was super excited about seeing a replica of the Monitor. An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells.

The Battle of Hampton Roads was a two-day naval engagement of the American Civil War, which took place on March 8–9, 1862 in the waters off Hampton, Virginia. This battle is remarkable for the first fight between two ironclad warships: USS Monitor, and CSS Virginia. After the battle ended naval warfare had been changed forever.

Walking through the exhibits you experience the story of USS Monitor, CSS Virginia, and the historic 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads through a melding of artifacts, original documents, paintings, personal accounts, and interactives that will pique all five senses. You are immersed in the tales of the individuals who lived through and lost their lives in this pivotal period of American history.

The Mariners’ is the proud caretaker of more than 200 tons of artifacts recovered from the wreck of USS Monitor, including its revolving gun turret, Dahlgren guns, steam engine, and more.

This museum has way more to see and experience that just this small part I am writing about. History buffs, civil war aficionados, boaters, it has something to offer everyone.

If you are looping, there are many marina choices in this area on the James River. We are at Blue Water in Hampton which is a very nice Safe Harbor Marina. You would definitely want to rent a car if you wanted to see more but I suspect Uber could easily get you to this Museum in Newport News.

Another fun town to explore was Smithfield… they have a nice Farmers Market on Saturday’s and the nearby Windsor Castle Park has miles of beautiful shady walking trail which we really enjoyed. The park features a woodland trail system, picnic and open area space, dog park, kayak/canoe launch, fishing pier, mountain bike path, scenic overlooks and the historic manor house — Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle Farm was originally part of a 1450 acre parcel patented in 1637 by Arthur Smith, an ancestor of the town’s founder, Arthur Smith IV.

FYI… There is no castle and no one seems to have any clue as to why its named Windsor Castle – Oh well!!!

HAHA…. Not Windsor Castle but the Smithfield historical area is filled with beautiful old Victorian homes.


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If you like ham, you are in the right place… Smithfield is known worldwide for its famous ham curing process. Nope, we did not tour any of those facilities but instead wandered around the quaint downtown area. There is a ham shop that you can taste at and have lunch too. Bacon, BBQ, Breakfast Sausage, Deli Meat, Fresh Pork, Ham, Lunchmeat, Marinated Pork, Ribs, Smoked Sausage, Snacking – they got ya covered.

Okay, that made me laugh out loud!!!

Loopers or boaters could easily take a side trip to Smithfield. The James River is beautiful cruising and will take you to the Pagan River which will take you to Smithfield. There is a small marina in Smithfield that is about a half mile from historical area and 3/4 miles from Windsor Park.

Several weeks ago we took a drive to Cape Charles to check out this quaint fishing town and its beaches. For much of its history, Cape Charles has been a center for the fishing and seafood industry. The area is particularly known for its clams, oysters, and crabs.

The beautiful sandy beaches are within walking distance of the historic district and the marina. Because the beach is on the Bay side it is very safe and no real surf to speak of. There is also a nice fishing pier and it was fun chatting with some local folks who were fishing for spotted trout or flounder, but would have been happy to hook anything! If you are doing the Great Loop it’s definitely worth considering a stop there. There is a really nice marina and it’s a very short walk right down to the main street or beaches. The Shanty, where we had lunch is also located at the marina.

We enjoyed a stroll on the beach, lunch at The Shanty and a cider tasting at Buskey Cider. I had a delicious bacon and soft shell crab sandwich at the Shanty and the water view wasn’t bad either. Do you think I really liked that sammie??!!

Our lunch at The Shanty was delicious and without a doubt very unhealthy but a girl has gotta splurge occasionally.

The Main Street area has loads of restaurant choices and cute shops to browse in. Like a Sailor was my favorite shop…. So many funny items and its expected that you will laugh out loud while shopping!

No way you can’t laugh out loud in this store!

Just one of many awesome dish towels in Like A Sailor.

The drive to Cape Charles is interesting as you have to cross the Chesapeake Bay where it opens to the Atlantic Ocean to get to the eastern side of Virginia. To do this you will drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Between the toll plazas on the north and south ends, the bridge-tunnel is 20 miles long. Counting the approach roads, the facility is 23 miles long. Each of the underwater tunnels is over one mile long, and the entire project is a major engineering achievement.

The drive is really beautiful and the idea that you are under the bay for over a mile is kind of creepy cool. As you drive along on the bridge, at a distance it appears that it just ends and you will drive off into the water. It’s quite an optical illusion and for this cool adventure, the price of admission is only $14 each way!!

That’s the update for this week… hopefully the next update will be filmed on the water!!!

Great Loop Adventure Day 152 – Hampton Virginia Life in the Boat Yard…

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My last update wasn’t the most uplifting … sometimes life is messy and hard. That said, we are healing emotionally and physically we are well again.

We sure are missing our sweet Bentie Boy.

The good news is that we finally have a target date to get Escapade back in the water. WOO-HOO, hoping its next Friday… fingers crossed!! Once the transmission was pulled apart at Great Lakes Power in Chesapeake, they found out that the pinion gear was damaged (that’s where all the metal pieces Wally found in the oil came from) and that the clutch plates needed replacing. Fortunately, they were able to source a good used pinion gear so the repair work is in process.

Living on a boat, out of water, in a working boat yard isn’t exactly dreamy. It’s a side trip on the Great Loop that I don’t recommend. Plus it’s been hot as hot as h-e-double-toothpicks this last week. Why didn’t we just move off the boat … into the coach or into a hotel? Good question.

She looks a bit sad out of the water…

With Bentley being sick, that just wasn’t an option. Then we got sick, then the boat got hauled out and we thought it would go back into the after after the transmission was pulled. Then there were high wind possibilities because of a hurricane Idalia. Then we thought the repair work would be done in a week or 10 days so it didn’t make sense to put it back in the water and then pull it out again to reinstall the transmission. Then we needed more parts for the transmission. The “thens’” just kept changing and about the time we made a plan, it would changed again. SOOOO, long story short we have been living on our boat, out of the water in a working boat year for the last 12 days with two portable AC units running 24/7 to keep the boat almost habitable. We can use all of the boats systems EXCEPT the reverse cycle heating/cooling system as it draws raw water from ocean, lake or river to cool it. UGH…

Of course, it had to go and get all hot here in Virginia again, so there have been a few days that it has been exceptionally hot … inside the boat… with both portable AC units running. UGH… even poor Sucia the cat was too hot! The good news is that with the second portable AC unit, the lower part of the boat where the staterooms are is the coolest and we have been able to sleep comfortably. We’ve even brought in our folding chairs one hot night and had happy hour with Sucia in the Master Stateroom – creative right!!

Escapade is normally bright and light inside. She has windows and a floor to ceiling glass sliding door in the salon. Natural light is usually wonderful… except when is 95 degrees outside and you are sitting on land in a boat yard with zero shade and no breeze. So, we put reflective insulation in all the windows which has definitely helped reduce the solar load and temps inside. It’s not a look that I want to embrace long term, for sure but sweltering inside isn’t great either.

Come on, we all know reflective foil is all the rage in the latest kitchen trends!

Our biggest strategy has been to just get the heck off the boat during the heat of the day and go do something. At a cool 77 degrees, Sucia has figured out that the master stateroom is the coolest place to sleep the day away. And just in case she forgets, we have been blocking her down there when we leave.

Of course she has her own mini fan!

Since we were past the virus shedding period, last weekend we met some new friends, Stacy and Eric at our favorite Cider place in Hampton – Sly Clyde Cidery. We also took a walk around Fort Macon and went to the local Farmers Market. Part of the fun of traveling is meeting new people and since we have been in Norfolk/Hampton over two months now, we feel like locals.

Sly Clyde Cidery House doesn’t have a kitchen so there are often foods trucks out back on a Friday night. The pizzas were really good too!

We also discovered the Nolan Walking Trail at the Mariners Museum and Park. Miles of shady walking trails around beautiful Mariner Lake… bonus points for all the great doggie fixes we have been getting there.

Friday we took a drive to charming little Gloucester VA and explored a bit despite the 90 degree heat. There are so many small charming towns on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay.

Gloucester is also home to Walter Reeds Birth Place. Please leave me a comment if you really knew who Walter Reed was. Of course, my Walter knew who this Walter was so we had to go have a look. He said he was an important Doctor … hadn’t I heard of the Walter Reed Hospital?? Of course, I had to tease him just a little about who the heck was Walter Reed??? I think you just made that up, Mr Makie Uppie. I was promptly told that of course he learned about him in some history class, but of course. Turns out Doctor Walter Reed helped cured the world of the “scrourge” known as the Yellow Fever. Impressive for sure, we both agreed that this was one of the highlights of our time in Virginia so far!!!

Gloucester has a old historical village right at the end of Main Street at the round about… its a bit weird how you can drive around this two block area and never get out of the car to see the tiny village. Obviously, we did get out and walk around but it’s just odd. LOL, had we gotten there earlier in the day when it was hot as hell, we might not have gotten out of the car so maybe it is actually a brilliant design!

Main Street in Gloucester was all but rolled when we got there around 5 pm on Friday. About the only thing open were the restaurants and for such a small town there were some good choices. I had done some online research and made a dinner reservation at LuLu Birds Kitchen. Best meal we have had since we arrived in Virginia – very much farm to table, great cocktails and wine pairings. Wally had Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops and Risotto and I had a Shrimp Étouffée. The Chef did a spin on the Étouffée and served it over fresh Papadelle Pasta. Both entrees were excellent and paired really well with the White Bordeaux that our waitress Jenny suggested.

Check out my new friend… This was another weird thing in Gloucester. No idea what this was all about but the dude was actually kinda creepy. I was almost, kinda sure that he was NOT a real dude but I still said “Hi” before I sat down. When he didn’t reply, which I really expected him to, I thought I’d get a look at what he was reading. Turns out the article was about a Peeping Tom in a plaid shirt that the local Police were looking for… – HAHA not really. But he was super creepy!

Despite the heat, Wally has been checking off some smaller boat projects as well. The boat yard is going to touch up our bottom paint and running gear – can you say Cha-Ching. So, fingers crossed all the repairs are completed next week, Escapade gets back in the water and that our credit card doesn’t explode when the final bill comes in.

Great Loop Adventure – Hampton Virginia

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It’s not usually good news when the captain is doing routine maintenance on the boat and greets you with the following words “I think we have a problem”. Well, it’s a boat so yeah what’s new I thought. Then he showed me this…

Nope, those are not gemstones or black diamonds, those are metal pieces that he found in the oil of our port (left) transmission. First he found 3-4 pieces in the oil, then put a magnetic wand in the oil drain and found a lot more… NOT GOOD!!! After some discussion with a ZF/Hurth Transmission expert, the consensus is those little metal bits are likely from our transmission clutch gears. Nope, not good at all.

The irony (pun intended), is that we have traveled almost a thousand miles with ZERO issues. No tale tail clunking, grinding or rough shifting. So our first though is can we keep cruising, take it easy on the engines and transmissions and have it fixed this winter while the boat is in storage.

Nope, not a good idea at all and the worst case scenario is that something could happen at the worst possible time and do even more damage to the transmission. UGH, we are not gamblers so continuing on our merry way didn’t seem like a good option. Our transmission experts were a bit puzzled about these bits of gear in just one of our two transmissions. They said this isn’t due to lack of maintenance – this usually happens because of an incident. Did we have an incident??? Nope, but there was one when the boat was being pulled out for the pre-purchase survey. Thats another long story, which I won’t bore you with. But honestly none of us including the engine and hull surveyor even thought about transmission damage. After describing that incident to the transmission expert, he agreed that it was indeed possible that this damage had happened then.

So now what??? We decided to bring the boat over to Bluewater Yacht Center in Hampton to have the transmission pulled and sent to Great Lakes Power to be repaired. Unfortunately , this type of repair can’t be done any other way. 

The good news is we can stay on the boat while the repairs are being made but the bad news is our 1998 ZF Hurth Transmission isn’t easy to find OEM parts for. The Great Lakes Power folks found everything except the gasket and seal kit. It might be available by late September. UGH… after some looking we found an aftermarket kit made by a reliable company so we are going to go that route.

Yes, we are both a bit bummed as an extended layover in Hampton was not on the agenda for sure. So … no cruising for us until the repair is done but at least we have our trusty SUV Ernie to go exploring in. The marina is nice, we have a pool and laundry facilities and a really great cider place nearby!!

Plus it really pretty here and Mother Nature put on a show last night just to cheer us up!

Taking a Break Great Loop Adventure Day 79-92

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Sometimes the joy of traveling is not traveling – LOL!! Seriously, it’s exhausting to be on the move everyday so taking a break for a few days or a few weeks is great. Technically we are in Portsmouth VA but are just across the river from Norfolk and I couldn’t be happier with the location. It’s easy to get to Norfolk proper and also explore the area with our trusty SUV Ernie.

We really wanted to be in Norfolk for the 4th of July… it just seemed so fitting to celebrate our independence surround by navy ships and personnel. Our slip at the Tidewater Marina gave us a birds eye view of the firework show and it was quite spectacular.

I use an app called Bands in Town… it helps you find musical events in your area. You can set your location and choose your favorite band or musician. Based on your preference it will alert you when a musician you like is in the area and also give you alert for similar musicians. I just happened to go on the app to update our new location and up popped The Doobie Brothers 50th Anniversary Concert tour at the nearby Atlantic Bank Pavilion. Wally loves the Doobies so of course we had to buy tickets for July 3rd. Concert day rolled around and by late afternoon a massive electrical storm was brewing. Thunder, lightening and torrential rain started around 5:00 pm. I was sure the concert was a no go and poor Bentie was shaking. We had good communication from the venue via social media so after the first big storm stopped we walked 10 minutes to the pavilion. Right as we got there. – KAPOW – another storm starts rolling thru. Geez, I was sure again it was doomed but long story short after two delays we got into our seats and the concert started at 9:00 pm.

It was poring buckets … You couldn’t even see Downtown Norfolk a cross the river.

The Doobie Brothers band was really tight and the concert was a blast. Michael McDonald was on keyboard with his still great voice and the saxophone player was incredible. They even had a guest artist join them for the last few songs – Bruce Hornsby – who I LOVE!!! I also really liked the multimedia show that was playing behind the band. Seeing the old film clips of the much younger Doobies were really fun.

It’s been quite warm here so we have been doing our walks and exploring in the mornings. Or, we are finding indoor places to explore like the Chrysler Museum of Art and Glass Studio. This museum is really well done and I love that they have made art available to everyone by not charging admission. We also had a nice lunch at the museum cafe .. the food was really good and its a nice way to support the museum.

Of course, we have found all the necessities like grocery stores, West Marine, Lowe’s and Home Depot!!! There is even a Farmers Market every Saturday in Portsmouth and it’s a nice walk to get there. I’ve gone twice and done a side trip through the old town area to look at all the beautiful, historical homes.

My yummy lunch with spoils found at the local farmers market. Basil and heirloom tomatoes with a goat cheese and chive quiche.

There is an adorable family of ducks who have come visiting frequently. They seem to know when I will be sitting outside in the early evening and Mama duck quacks really loud to announce their arrival. Of course I scramble to find something to feed them … I am a sucker!!! They have been the happy recipients of stale bread, tortillas, corn and oats. Wonder if I can find some Purina duck chow somewhere??

Mama was trying to get the full attention of the brood… she seemed to be giving them a lecture on being grateful for unexpected gifts.

We have had some repairs and maintenance to get done on Escapade, so that is another great reason to tie up here for a few weeks. Our gal needs engine and generator oil/filter changes and we are replacing the house batteries as they are getting long in the tooth. Captain Handy aka Wally will be doing that as well as replacing the AC main water pump. He got the AC pump done earlier this week and after a couple of failed starts, he got the system working – YAY. All the AC’s are working again, they are much quieter, producing cooler air and not cycling on and off. YAY and more YAY – everyone is happier on board too. The portable monster unit we bought at Walmart in Elizabeth City saved our bacon and I was sure glad to have it.

It wa a little janky but it did the job. I put the vent tube out the porthole window and stuffed a towel around it to keep the warm air out.

The furbags are happy to have all the AC units working again too.

We have found plenty to keep us busy and entertained since we got here PLUS Wally drove to Florida in Ernie to bring Road House, our Entegra Coach here to Virginia. We really wanted it out of Florida during hurricane season. It was a whirlwind 5 day road trip for Wally but I stayed on the boat to look after the furbags. I found a great indoor storage facility about 50 miles from Norfolk. It’s a massive cinderblock building in the middle of nowhere. Definitely not worried about the weather with her inside that building.

Road House is all tucked away inside for the summer.

There is so much to see and do in this area so we will take advantage of having wheels. Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Cape Charles and Hampton are a few of the places we want to check out so stay tuned for more land based adventures.

Escapade

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es·ca·pade

/ˈeskəˌpād/

noun

  1. an act or incident involving excitement, daring, or adventure.

We think it’s the perfect name for the boat as it really sums up our big adventure that we will be doing on the great loop.

Escapade on the dock in Hobe Sound. It’s been a great place to spend the winter and we are uber grateful to our friend Barb who offered us this space on the canal behind her house.

So what is the great loop??? The Great Loop is a 6,000 nautical mile circumnavigation of the eastern U.S., and part of Canada.  The route includes the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the New York State Canals, the Canadian Canals, the Great Lakes, the inland rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. “Loopers” take on this adventure of a lifetime aboard their own boat, no cruise ships do this as it takes at least a year to complete. We are “slow” looping, breaking the loop up in segments based on the weather and best seasons to explore that area. We think we will be looping for 2-3 years. This year we will leave Florida in April and cruise as far as Chesapeake Bay. Ultimately, we will put Escapade away for the winter, under covered storage in Chesapeake VA.

So why not just do the loop in one year you may be wondering. We certainly could but want to have more time to really explore. If one does the loop in one year, you have to cruise thru certain areas with the season and you do this over the course of a year to stay ahead of the seasons, so you are constantly on the move. As an example, unless you want to be the Edmond Fitzgerald, you need to be off the Great Lakes by late fall. Cold, wet and windy with potentially life threatening storms make Lake Superior nowhere to be past fall.

This will be our cruise route for 2023.

SOOO, about Escapade… she is a 1998 Carver Voyager 530. Measuring 53 feet long, 16 feet wide and just over 19 ft tall, she’s a big girl. Our biggest boat and quite possibility our last boat. She has three staterooms, two full bathrooms and a spacious salon and galley, she is a pilothouse/flybridge model, meaning there is a fully equipped driving area inside the boat which also has a big semi-circular dining table. There is also an enclosed flybridge with a huge lounging/dining area and another driving station. I love the views from the flybridge and we spend a lot of time up there. It is the place of choice for happy hour.

I will post a video walk thru when we are done tearing things apart (and putting them back together!).

The other cool thing about Escapade is that she has a crane to lift our 11 ft Boston Whaler up and onto the stern flybridge of the boat. The whaler gives us the option of exploring nooks and cranny’s on the water where Escapade can’t go. It is also a way for us to get Bentley to shore if we are anchored out somewhere. We bought the whaler sight unseen from a couple in Sarasota Florida last summer. This size, year and model of whaler is the perfect fit weight wise for Escapade. When I found it online, we jumped on it. Basically, we did a video chat and inspection with the owners, who were great. They even towed it to their storage facility for us, where it sat thru Hurricane IAN – GULP!!! It all worked out and when we got back to Florida in October, we drove over to Sarasota and picked it up. Other than two flat tires on the trailer and the boat being dirty, it was in great shape. Thankfully Hurricane Ian dodged both boats which were on land in differnt parts of Florida. It’s a bit nerve wracking the first few times, lifting the whaler up and on to the boat but hopefully it will get more routine as we get used to doing it. Wally did maintenance the lift, replace the steel lift cable with synthetic and purchase all new rigging before our first attempt.

The whaler’s name is Hijinx and we are looking forward to some fun in it! Hijinx also got a through cleaning, new electronics and a bilge pump. Wally serviced the 25 hp motor and it runs like a top.

Okay, maybe she’s bigger than we needed but we plan to be living on this boat at least 6 months out of the year and will have friends and family join us as we cruise the great loop. She was also a bit older than we originally wanted but the trade off financially for new/smaller vs older/bigger will hopefully be worth it. I say hopefully, because she has needed a lot of upgrades. I mean thousands of dollars in upgrades…credit card limit increasing upgrades! We did have full marine hull and engine surveys (basically like a pre-purchase house inspection) so we did know what we were getting into. That said, boats are mysterious machines with complicated systems and it never fails that you start by fixing or upgrading one thing and BAM… you are into now elbow deep in two or three other fixes or upgrades that you didn’t budget for or even think needed to be done. BOAT = Break Our Another Thousand!!!

Manuals… lots of manuals! Luckily, the boat came with loads of manuals and documentation, which I sorted, updated and reorganized.

So bam it has been.. it was all the upgrades we wanted to do that have been keeping us busy since November. We have mostly done all this ourselves (well, mostly Captain Handy who I am fortunate to be married to). The galley “needed” all new appliances.. come on now, the old Sub Zero refrigerator was non-operational! The new smart oven replaced the old funky but functioning microwave, the induction cook top replaced the crappy but functioning electric cooktop and the GROSS and non-functioning trash compactor had to go. In its place went a pull out storage area. Woo-hoo, more storage is always appreciated on a boat! We also yarded out all of the stone age TV’s ..three of them, a VCR and a disk music player. The salon (living room in non-boater speak), is getting a new solid maple cabinet that will house the 43 inch smart TV on a remote lift and have more storage. We also replaced the mattresses in the master and guest staterooms (bedrooms) and converted the bunk bed stateroom to storage. The list goes on and on and these upgrades are creature comforts that will make life aboard Escapade even better.

Another huge upgrade was the new flybridge enclosure… the existing one was put on just before we bought the boat by the prior owner. It turned out to be the worst quality material and was the most janky looking piece of garbage. It was conveniently installed just days before we took ownership so there was no negotiating on any of that. The goal of a flybridge enclosure is to provide shade… it did that. It should also make it more comfortable to drive from the flybridge and it should keep the elements out. Big fail on that part, the first time it rained despite having a canvas top that technically did provide shade, it leaked like a sieve and we had to put on rain coats. Did I also mentioning its was a janky piece of junk that started falling apart after 6 month in the sun. UGH, so we had to get a new enclosure and despite the budget shattering price, we love the new enclosure and it doesn’t fail on any of the criteria now. We opted to go with white vinyl “staminode for the top and sides, which is more heat reflective than the black canvas top that was on it.

Happy Hour on the flybridge is a very happy time now!

Janky, Janky, Janky …so damn janky! I was not exaggerating how bad the enclosure was. The rain is supposed to be on the outside …arrgh!
Now that’s what a flybridge enclosure should look like… bye bye janky, hello happiness!!

Notice the rain is on the outside… novel idea huh!!!

Creature comforts are one thing but making sure all the systems are in good shape and operating properly is not only essential to using the boat but are also huge safety factors. With two 450 hp diesel engines, a 13 KW generator, a bow thruster, nine batteries with 3 separate chargers, a windlass system for anchoring and 4 air conditioners there have been plenty of things to maintenance and repair. A boat this size has miles of hoses that get old, brittle and and crack or break. Dozens of hose clamps that can rust out or break – it’s amazing how something as simple as a hose or hose clamp could potentially cause catastrophic damage on a boat. Shortly after we bought the boat we had a certified Cummins Engine Mechanic go through both engines and the generator. There are some thing’s that require writing a check and this one was worth every penny we paid. The four AC units also had a check up and got a clean bill of health from the AC Technician (that was a huge sigh of relief).

We’ve also been replacing old sink faucets, shower heads and checking all the places where water can and SHOULD drain out of the boat. There have been some interesting discoveries of places where water was COMING into the boat – OOPS. Plastic fittings get old and brittle, drains gets plugged – basically shit happens as a boat ages, hmm, kinda like me!

This is a grille on the exterior of the boat where rain water should have been draining out instead it was blocked with gross green plant debris and was backing up into the exterior pilothouse door well. So, we cleaned out all three drains and replace the old cracked grill. Great!!! Until the first time it rained hard… now the water from one of those drains was coming into the boat behind the electrical panel and onto the floor in the salon like a river – not good on so many levels. Turned out a fitting in the wall had broken and when we unplugged the drain it now had a place to go! ARRGH!!!

People always ask me how the pets like the boat… so far they have adjusted quite well to life on Escapade. There are lots of places for Sucia and Bentley to stretch out and nap or watch the world go by outside. The both also love the cockpit and having some sun time out there. Bentley’s other favorite place is the flybridge. There are interior steps from the pilot house to the flybridge so he can easily join us up there. Another great feature that sold us on this boat.

Granted we’ve only left the dock here in Hobe Sound once, LOL. It will be different for them when we start cruising again but it’s not their first rodeo on a boat. I guess I should tell them that we will be on the move again soon.

It’s hasn’t been all work and no play for the crew. We did take a one week trip around Christmas to see my cousins June and Matt in Kentucky. A couple of short trips to the west side of Florida to see friends and a fun weekend on a friends yacht in West Palm Beach. We also had our first guests onboard …yay for girlfriends!!! Locally there is so much to do in this area, farmers markets, art festivals, great water front restaurants, polo and beaches to walk on!

4 months have flown by as we’ve tackled all of these projects and we now have one month until we cast off the lines and cruise off into the sunset! We have a loose schedule and a long list of places we want to see and explore between Florida and the Chesapeake Bay.

Our Social Distancing Summer

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Who would have thunk that there would be a pandemic when we planned for our nomadic lifestyle. The buzz words “social distancing” had never been uttered, the concept of staying 6 feet away from other people and wearing a mask – utterly silly. Fast forward to the hell year known as 2020…never imagined our nomadic lifestyle would actually become the envy of people who found themselves locked in there homes, afraid to travel or venture out of their safe bubble. Ironically, RV’s and boats have sold at record pace this year as many people sought a way to stay safe while getting out and seeing the US. It’s not like the rest of the world is welcoming US travelers …okay, and with good reason. But I won’t digress into a political rant at this point!!!

We easily transition onto the boat from the coach, continuing our newly learned social distancing skills and honestly had a great summer in the San Juan Islands. This year we used our marina in Anacortes as base camp so no big provisioning like prior years. Anacortes felt super safe…all summer events (no stupid Sturgis like events were allowed to happen) were cancelled so tourism was much lower than normal. People in Anacortes were diligent about wearing masks and we frequented several restaurants that had outdoor dining. 

Our first outing of the season was buddy boating with our friends Kristen and John. We had great weather and had fun showing them some of our favorite anchorages and marinas in the San Juans.

Our big boat project this year was the flybridge remodel, which I must say turned out great. All new seating, a second helm chair, new carpet and vinyl covers for all the storage areas. The biggest chore was getting the old, heavy wood based furniture off the flybridge. This was made way easier by hiring two young, energetic dudes to assist Wally who mainly just had to oversee them. Anymore, we write checks for anything that will require us to go to the chiropractor more than once!

Of course there were the unexpected repairs …it’s a boat! Luckily, none of them cost a boat unit this time, just a bit of frustration and sweat equity. Yep, that is one of our macerator toilets in the picture below …on the dock … getting a huge clog removed. This may be way too much information but never flush a macerator toilet when your water pump is turned off – oops poops!!! We also had a window break mysteriously in the galley but luckily we were not underway.

Staying in the San Juans (not by choice) meant we could host more guests and spend more time with local boating friends. Not sure if it is our age or ??? but our friends have been uber careful as well and we all felt comfortable spending time together.  

Oysters and clams at the Wescott Bay Shell Fish Farm.
Big crab feed with friends Darryl and Randy from Manzanita Oregon.

Out on the water we had several floating happy hours with friends. Sometimes rafted to the back of our boat and some days rafted to other friends boats – how’s that for proper distancing! The San Juans are full of great places to hike and with the kayaks we could get plenty of exercise. Despite the exercise,  I am pretty sure I still may have consumed more calories at happy hour than I expended on shore. 

Wally tried paddle boarding for the first time…we may need to add a new toy to the
Beach House!

June was a bit gloomy but in July the weather turned 100% San Juan Summer. We had a great time boating with a group of friends from Anacortes and crabbing with long-time boating friends from Portland. I added some serious amounts of sea glass to my collection from Sucia and Patos Islands. I also added a new favorite cocktail to the rotation – (thanks Ted and Marsha).

Kraken rum and ginger beer… ridiculously delicious.

We had a staycation with our friends Steve and Donna who came up from Portland in August. The gale force winds kept us in port for most of their stay but we had a great time anyway. Before the windstorm descended, we got in a day cruise around Lummi Island and lunched on the hook at Eagle Harbor. A big drama unfolded as we all took a walk, in the wind, from our marina over to the point by the port marina, Cap Sante. What we saw, were huge waves tossing boats like corks in Fildalgo Bay and two boats washed up on the breakwater rocks.

That windstorm was particularly brutal, catching many boaters that were anchored in Fildalgo Bay by surprise. Several boats drug anchor and two that were unattended went on the rocks. As boaters, this was just heartbreaking to see.

We were all mesmerized so we stopped back later in the day to see how the rescues were going. That was when we met the owner of the partially submerged powerboat…His boat was a total loss and was signed over to a salvage company who eventually got it off the rocks outside the break water entrance of Cap Sante Marina. He was devastated as he loved that boat and had worked so hard to buy it. Luckily, the sailboat (which ironically, was his father-in-laws boat) was rescued. I think the keel saved it from sinking as it got lodged into the breakwater rock wall, keeping it mostly upright.

The calm after the storm…

Stuart island has been a long time favorite and this year we spent several days with friends Howard and Susan who own a home on the island. The Beach House was tied up to their mooring buoy in the bay which is just below their house. The views are stunning from both their deck and from the water. We enjoyed dinner al fresco on their deck one evening and had a huge crab feed on the boat one night – no surprise right!! But the real treat was the “mule” tour of their end of the island. We piled into the mule – aka an ATV and Howard motored us all around on the rustic roads. Stuart Island is only assessable by private boat or small airplane so it was great fun to actually see the island from land. There are no stores, no electricity (homes have solar and/or generator power) and all water is via a private well.

Our last big hurrah was a week long buddy boat cruise in the smoke/fog/smog with friends Caety and Frank from Wyoming. Our mutual friend Jane was onboard the Beach House and it happened to be her birthday trip – can you say Jell-O shots!!!. Caety and Frank brought loads of food from their ranch and garden so boy, did we eat well. It was a bit of a surreal week as smoke from the Washington and Oregon wildfires blew into the islands. The combination of marine fog and smoke had us running the boats on radar when were were cruising from island to island. It did not stop us from crabbing and the guys dropped some lines for salmon too. The girls did a day trip in our boston whaler to Roche Harbor where we toured the sculpture garden.

The pets had a pretty darn good summer too. Crab is Sucia’s favorite food and she was always the first one at the table for a crab feed. She’s gotten to be such a PIA that we have had to lock her in our stateroom during dinner when we have friends onboard and are serving crab. Bad kitty….

Yep, she’s waiting…

Our 4 months in Anacortes flew by, in late September we had the Beach House hauled out for maintenance and we moved onto the Road House. Our last two weeks in Anacortes were spend closing up the boat for the winter, getting the coach ready to roll, doing routine doctors visits and yes, some happy hours and dinners with friends. We also got in a bit of local crabbing too before we pulled the boston whaler out for the winter. 

Despite COVID, summer 2020 was pretty darn enjoyable!!! Sedona, here we come…

Okay, a few more of my favorite pictures…

Pop Goes the Window…

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On a boat there are always planned projects like our recent flybridge remodel. Unfortunately, there seems to always be some sort of unplanned project too. Sometimes, they are major… like our recent galley window replacement.

The weird thing about this unplanned project was how the window actually broke. I mean all we were doing was drinking wine and playing cards with friends in the salon…its not like it was some wild party with dancing on the counter tops. Yep, that ship has sailed!!!

Then pop…a really loud pop… it sounded a bit like a shot was fired. I got off the counter, oops I mean I got up from the salon table and took a look around. Just in time to see the galley window cracking and see some glass on the countertop. Did a bird hit the window…nope. Well, what the hell???

It was sickly fascinating to watch the glass crack into this mosaic.

Not long before the big pop, I was in the galley prepping salmon for dinner and making a lemon, garlic yogurt sauce. So glad the glass didn’t end up all over my beautiful moroccan spiced salmon fillets.

All we can figure is that holes around the the slider latch got stressed and just gave way. Not wanting to slow down the raging party, Wally knocked all the fractured safety glass out, found some plastic, duct tape and patched the gaping whole that was the window up for the night.

The area where there is no glass is where the slider latch holes used to be.

The good news is that we were at our dock in Anacortes and not out on the water somewhere or underway. The other good news is that we actually had a spare window and frame(s) in our storage unit. I know, who the heck has a spare window and frame for the one window that mysterious blows out??? Well, thanks to the prior owner of the boat, we have all kinds of one off spare for the Beach House.

We had a local glass guy with boat experience come by with hopes it would be a simple glass replacement. Nope, of course not, it’s a boat. After taking look at the project, Mark from Quality Glass counseled Wally to replace the entire window and frame with the spare which was in great shape. He unfortunately couldn’t get to it for over a week so Mr. Handy Pants got out his tools and got to work.

Getting the screws out of the frame and taking the trim pieces off was a snap. But then the frustrating fun began, lots of tapping and pounding with a rubber mallet and putty knife ensued. Seems boat window frames are really well bonded in. The sound of the frame coming out of the fiberglass was a bit terrifying. According to Mr. Handy Pants, he was terrified periodically thru out the whole removal.

No spices were harmed during this unplanned project.

Several trips to the hardware store to get a new tool and then to West Marine to get some anti-bonding spray. Seriously, who know anti-bond spray was actually a thing. Guess Wally did and this miracle spray loosened up all the remaining bond That was left on the fiberglass so he could scrape the area clean.

At this point, I was really glad I married a handy guy and really glad I wasn’t expected to help. I chose to stay out of the way and just chime in occasionally with words of encouragement. I also learned about another magic product called Sikaflex. When Wally told me he need more Sikaflex, I got the giggles thinking maybe it was a wonder drug like the ones you hear about on TV. I had images of a couple sitting in bathtubs, holding hands as the sun goes down.

Turns out, I was way off base…Sikaflex is a fast cure adhesive/sealant – LOL!!!

Open air window …not a great concept for a boat!

Not sure if if would have been a 2 1/2 day project for Mark, but is sure was for Wally. Of course Marks bill would have been at least a boat unit (Boat stands for break out another thousand) and Mr. Handy Pants works for good food and wine, all of which I was happy to supply.

I disappeared for most of the afternoon today and came back to a swanky new window frame complete with glass in both sides. Being the good assistant that I am, wine was poured and the unplanned project completion was celebrated!

YAY… solid glass and a functional latch.

Green Bean, Potato and Egg Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing was served with a huge mound of fresh, Steamed Crab, Garlicky Focaccia Bread and a bottle of 2018 Domaine Gerbeaux Macon Villages Chardonnay.