With only a few weeks before we begin full time cruising, we have some final business to attend to:
– Kelly wraps up another year of Ballet
– Bikini Boat Wash
– We remove Satori’s Mainsail for some well-needed repairs
– We fly to Minnesota to visit friends and family one last time
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The Full Story
The process of going from house dweller to sailboat livaboard is a huge life change. For menay it involves selling or renting your house, selling or donating your belongings in an effort to “downsize”. And then getting used to living in a much smaller living quarters is a challenge for many. Your basically living in a “Tiny Home” on the water.
The next big step, for many who dream of sailing the islands or evven around the world, is the simple task of cutting ties with land life and casting off for good. Well, at least for a year or two. I think this is a bigger change than the first, and more scary.
As our cast off date approaches, we begin to feel the pressure of all the “thing” we need to do before we leave.
Everything Has an Ending
Kelly has been part of the dance world since she could walk. She had a gift for dance and it showed early on. She began teaching dance at the age of 14 and has not stopped since. Even when she was a professional balerina, she was still teach other to dance, despite her busy schedule and part time job (balerinas dont make a lot of money). She even ran her own dance studio for 8 years along with her sister. Each year, the students would perform in a season ending recitle the showcases what they have been working on all season.
Even though kelly has been taching for another studio for past past few years, this season is a special one for her. This will be her last recitle before she retires her dance teaching shoes as we go cruising. She is hoping to find a some timein the islands to volenteer to teach some local students, but we really dont know what to expect.
Last Minute Repairs
After a well deserved boat wash, or maybe just an excuse to film Kelly in a bikini, we needed to take Satori’s mainsail down for repairs. It seems that the 2nd reefing point on our main tore as we tightened down the reefing line. Satori has a single line reefing system that cinches the main down from the cockpit. The gromet connection point was being pulled down and in, causing the sail to tear.
Fortunatly, my sailmaker in St. Petersburg, Advanced Sails, does great work. He was able to patch the tear and insert a new grommet. He also moved the car connection point closer to the reefing line connection point. And insread of stitching in a piece of webbing, he made a series of wraps using 550 cord. This not only gave the pint a little give if needed, it alows this stress point to be adjusted if needed. Pretty Cleaver.
Drone Practice
On the way to meet some friends, Kelly and I stop at a park in St. Petersburg to get a little drone flying in. This was Kelly’s forst time flying out new drone, the Mavic Pro. This drone os so easy to fly, it took kelly no time to get the hang of things. Even better is the 4K camera on this thing. Silky smooth 4K drone footage, yes please! I can wait to see the kinds of shots we get with this amazong camera.
Family Time
Another must do before we leave is to spend some quiality time with friends and family. Even though Kelly’s mom is prone to seasickness (even ona calm day), we talked her family into driving down from Land O Lakes, FL to spend a day on the boat. Her sister even brought Arthurs brother. They have a love hate relationship.
We didnt have any wind that day, so we motored around tampa bay for a few ours. This worked our well though. For Kelly’s mom, Lili, there was no threat of getting seasick. And for Kelly’s dad Gregg, we were able to troll around the bay and catch some Spanish Mackeral. Yum!
Kelly’s family lives in the Tampa, FL area, but my family is much further north… Minnesota north. Kelly and fly up north for some serious Minnesota summer fun. Make sure to watch the next episode as we exlore some of the best parts of Minnesota.
Related Links
Previous Episode – Ep. 11 – To Pee or Not to Pee! – Boat Training a Dog and Our New Mantus Anchor (Sailing Satori)
Next Episode – Ep. 13 – “Polar Plunge!” For a Florida girl… (Sailing Satori)
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Our first Blue Apron meal! It’s delicious everyone 😋⛵️#blueapron #salmonburgers #sailingsatori
Song Credits
Intro Song – Carribean Cuisine 4 – Magnus Ringblom
King Arthur Intro – 3:55 – Rule Britannia Classic – Traditional
Ending Song – Figure It Out – Daniel Gunnarsson
Download these songs for free at Epidemic Sound
Video Transcription
Here is the full audio transcript of the embedded video.
Intro (Mainsail)
That is the problem we have. (Mainsail)
Dance Recital (Mainsail)
As we wrap up the end of the dance season, I am working hard on choreography for our annual dance recital. One of my pieces was about sailors; it was an inspiration I couldn’t escape. Even though I loved teaching technique and seeing my students grow on a technical level, it is a true joy to create a piece from start to finish and see the story come alive. No idea what you’re talking about. Can I ask your bloggers to follow me on Instagram? Hi, I’m Lauren, follow me at…Nope.
So, I’m on my way to pick up Kelly. Today and tomorrow are her recitals for her dance class that she teaches. This is the last bit of dance she has left before we head off in you know just a few weeks here. Yeah, it’s a big moment for her because she’s been teaching dance for 20 years without ever having a break, so this is interesting for her. I think it won’t be long before she starts itching for it again. Hi. Tell, why don’t you explain what we’re doing. We’re going to Dance Extreme Academy’s dance recital. I teach there. So, your class, your dance class. Yup. Do you want to explain how you talked me into coming? I mean it wasn’t that hard I just said “hey, will you go to the recital with me? and you said yeah.” It’ll only be an hour. Yeah. Lies. Yeah, two days in a row. What we do for our women. Well, stay tuned. (Mainsail)
Satori Bath (Mainsail)
As our cast-off date quickly approaches, we have plans to visit Minnesota to see family and friends before we leave. With only a couple of work days left before our flight, we need to take full advantage of each day we have. Including this pre-storm Satori bath or as some may call it unnecessary click bait. I think we did it. Yeah, I think we did good. We did it. We did it. This is the last bit right here, look at that nasty dirty water coming off there. Like Cinderella. Yes. I think she’s good. (Mainsail)
Mainsail Repair (Mainsail)
Just one of our many last-minute repairs includes a tear in our mainsail. Here we remove the sail so it can be repaired while we are in Minnesota. Okay. Okay. What? You’re cute. Delicate. Which way is the wind going? That way. Okay. I’m gonna take these reefing blocks off. Probably need a pliers. That is the problem we have. This is why we’re taking the sail down. Okay. So, the problem we have with this second reefing line right here in our cheap block which is back I don’t know six, seven inches from the mast it’s really no good place to put it here unless we move it all the way up here which is a possibility.
So, when this thing gets tight, it’s pulling away from that car and this car I think maybe it’s because this is too close. If that car was disconnected or moved up and we might not have this problem. but that’s what we got to talk Keith about because he’ll know the best solution for this. This is what we’re gonna have to do if there’s ever a hurricane coming.
Removing the Sail
Take the sail down? Yep. So, we have a fully battened mainsail. Which means the battens run all the way, back to front. You see there’s one, two, three, four, five of them so we gotta take these out. Arthur, Arthur. So, there’s velcro in here, and this basically peels the velcro off so you can pull it out. Oh, I see. Can you take that? That’s it. Sweet. That’s what it looks like.
Just a long piece of fiberglass. You know not to slide your hands along it right? Oh yeah. It’s like insulation. Yeah. You get all the little pieces. Yeah, I forgot. The first thing you gotta do is get all these slid out so that when we drop it, we can transfer it to the dock and then flake it. Yeah. Oh, look at that. Beautiful sail burrito. That’s awesome. Thanks, Susan. Thanks, Jeff. Sailing SV Ohana right here to the rescue. Okay. (Mainsail)
The Adventures of King Arthur (Mainsail)
The Adventures of King Arthur. Look at Prince Louie as he arrives to visit his brother the King. As expected, King Arthur is filled with joy at his sibling’s presence, but this joy is short-lived. It doesn’t take long for the Prince to begin his ritual of attention-seeking. Even though Arthur was the rightful heir to their father’s throne, Prince Louis consistently stole the spotlight.
After chewing up the Queen’s favorite shoes, Louis placed the blame on his unsuspecting brother. Louie once made a poo in the castle rug with a sign that said Arthur was here. After heroically rescuing a baby bird that fell from its nest Arthur was horrified when he discovered that Louis had taken credit.
But the worst by far was when Louis stole Arthur’s date on the night of their senior prom. An unforgivable act. But the king and the prince are brothers above all else and always makeup in the end. Well, their stepbrothers. Well, this is awkward. Hmm. (Mainsail)
New Drone (Mainsail)
One last thing before we go, teach Kelly how to fly our new drone. The DJI Mavic Pro. This thing is awesome. I go left and right on that same joystick, it spins it. All right, try and land it. Get it on the carpet. Yeah. Yay! Good job. Yeah, you did good. Yay! First flying. That was awesome. That was awesome. Good job. Thanks. Yeah, you look beautiful. There are so many nerds that are going to be in love with this video. (Mainsail)
Meeting Our First Patron (Mainsail)
We’re on our way to Duluth, and we’re gonna go meet our first patron. Russell. We’re gonna go meet Russell, our very first patron. We’re gonna stop by and have a beer with him and just meet him. It’ll be awesome. We’re about an hour away. Russell, Russell the love muscle. (Mainsail)
