You know how some cultures will name a year after a dog or monkey? I'm naming this year the year of sailboat maintenance. I have several nagging maintenance issues to deal with. My fresh water pump for one. It had decided to stop running a couple of weeks ago and it is close to the top of the list for repairs. Trying to go off for any length of time with the kids would quickly turn into a nightmare without water to wash things. I suppose we could resort to a bucket over the side though.

The good thing about the pump not working is now my galley faucet does not leak. I spent 30 minutes one afternoon trying to figure out how to get to the washer and from the schematics available it should have been rather easy. I guess I gave up too quickly but after putting kids' Christmas presents together over the holidays my patience had run out.

I am also adding to the maintenance list fixing a very slight leak in one of the hatches. I don't anticipate this to be too difficult but often a 1 hour repair turns into a 4 hour one. I would also like to add a second bilge pump. Redundancy is good when it comes to bilge pumps. Of course there is always working on the teak, and cleaning the bilge, and maintaining the stainless deck hardware. Should I go on? You get the idea. It should turn into a year of scraped knuckles, reading and rereading Don Casey's Sailboat Maintenance Manual, buying multiple sailboat parts and hardware, and enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done.

Happy New Year my sailing friends. Have a prosperous, healthy, and productive 2008!

We're hoping for a quick sail this afternoon. Although there are times I miss the change of seasons it's great to have 70 degree weather in December, Merry Christmas!

My top ten list for reasons to sail - as if I needed it!

1. Peace and quiet.
2. Harnessing natural energy. Using the wind to get from one place to another. It's cool!
3. Great camaraderie. You just can't beat hanging around with fellow sailors.
4. Being close to the water.
5. The solitude. It may be fleeting, but none the less, it is enjoyable when you find it.
6. Sharing something that's meaningful to me with my family and friends.
7. To lose myself. This is time I can take for myself and family and get out of the daily rat race.
8. A recreational pursuit that has low environmental impact.
9. Teach my children (and sometimes myself) that it truly is the journey that matters not just the destination.
10. To realize my dream of someday sailing to far off lands.

As we continued to head North, one thunderstorm came through and we were caught in the tail-end of the storm. It wasn't too bad, a little bit of rain and a lot of wind. We reefed the mainsail and took in part of the jib to reduce our sail area. My wife and kids went below in the cabin and I was left to steer and manage things on deck. It was actually quite enjoyable. The bimini protected me somewhat from the rain and it was in the high 80's so it wasn't too uncomfortable.

I was coming to the realization that we were not going to make our destination during the daylight hours. Our options were to continue on or to find an anchorage and resume in the morning. We chose to continue, although I was a little apprehensive trying to navigate in the dark not having traveled these waters before. We had also been told it can be challenging coming into the St. Augustine Municipal Marina if the tides were not slack. We realized that before our next excursion we would purchase a spotlight to help us identify markers that were not lit. This was probably the biggest challenge to completing our journey that evening.

We arrived around 8:00 pm. The marina allowed us to tie-up at the end of the docks until morning. It turned out to be fairly easy to pull into our slip in the morning but I was glad to be maneuvering in the light. The marina staff were great and very helpful.

As mentioned before we left two hours later than intended. We had a south west wind which would mean we would be sailing on a broad reach. Not perfect but much better than trying to sail directly into the wind. For those not familiar with the Intracoastal Waterway(ICW), it is an inland waterway that parallels the Eastern and Gulf coastline of the United States consisting of natural inlets, bays, and man-made canals. Most of the ICW that we traveled that is navigatable by sailboat is a channel that varied in depth from 7-15 feet and widths of 50-300 feet wide. Traveling outside of this channel is an invitation for running aground quickly. Tacking on the ICW in this area would be a tedious task at best.

One of the interesting aspects about traveling on the intracoastal is that you will meet different kinds of boat traffic. Both pleasure and commercial share the waterway. I use the word "share" loosely! We had little room to get by when we encountered this barge. Don't sailboats have the right of way?!

Along this route we encountered two draw bridges and several other bridges that we were able to pass under with no problem. There were houses on either side of the waterway for much of the day. Once we were North of Palm Coast, Florida the channel deepened and widened and there were fewer buildings. This part of the ICW was more enjoyable for me because I enjoyed the more natural views of this area and less boat traffic.

The yacht club we belong to planned a cruise to St Augustine, Florida in October for a Halloween weekend. The plan was to cruise up on Friday and socialize Friday evening. Saturday was for exploring the city and Saturday evening was for the kids to dress up for Halloween and go trick or treating on the dock.

We were excited about the prospect because we had never sailed any distance, usually we did day sailing in the immediate area. This would be the first time we had a planned destination to sail to. It was our first test to see how we would do. It is about 41 miles to the St. Augustine Municipal Marina so I was estimating around 10 hours for the trip. Most of the folks traveling there would do it in 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours with their power boats.

We did not spend much time and effort worrying about provisioning being that we would be sailing on the Florida Intracoastal Waterway. I had recently done an oil change and the boat was in good shape for an excursion. I brought enough food for a couple of days, although as it turns out it is much better for my wife to take care of this part of the planning. I never bring enough or what everyone would like to eat.
The plan was to leave by 8:00 am to give us an early start. We ended up leaving at 10:00 and the trip began.

Dogs and sailing. Have you ever met a dog on the docks that was unfriendly? I haven't. I've walked many docks in several countries and the dogs have always been friendly. It amazes me how dogs will adapt to the boat and new surroundings so quickly.

One concern you always have is losing a pet, especially while traveling. A company called Top Tag Pet ID, has the first waterproof USB Pet ID tag. It contains 7 major categories and 14 subcategories of pet-specific care information. Information about your pet can be accessed by most any Windows computer with a USB drive. It can be easily customized with contact information for each trip you take. You can find their product here:Top Tag Pet ID. I think this is a great idea and well worth the money if it brings a missing pet home.

It was a great weekend for sailing the Daytona Beach, Florida area. If you were willing to brave the weather you were treated to uncrowded waterways. There were scattered showers Sunday but we were able to dodge most of them. We headed north and caught the tail end of one storm heading east out over the Atlantic and enjoyed the storm generated winds. To the south of us another storm passed by and we could no longer see the bridge due to the squall activity. By the time we turned around to come back this storm had passed. Very little boat traffic on the intracoastal waterway made for an enjoyable outing. With the passing of Labor Day we are looking forward to more days like this!

Like most two year olds mine is rather rambunctious. Several of the past Sunday mornings have been spent on the boat, just father and daughter. My wife and seven year old would go to church while I would watch Gabby. While the community at church is a very accepting and forgiving bunch, two year olds and church can be a test of endurance for all.

It has been amazing to see how well she does on the boat. A couple of the weekends I worked on sanding the brightwork and putting a new coat of finish on. I would hand her a sponge brush and she would work along side of me. At other times she would examine the different parts of the boat. She behaved very well. I enjoyed quality time with her knowing that anytime you can spend one-on-one time with your child it strengthens the bond.

Earlier this week I needed to run to the grocery store. I grabbed Gabby to bring her along for the ride. I strapped her into the car seat and she looked up at me. Boat? Yes, another sailor is born!

Whether you are planning to stay in a chicago hotel or an miami hotel, it is always best to have hotel reservations well before time. This is equally true for las vegas hotels as well.

Last Sunday afternoon we decided to go out for an afternoon sail. Winds were coming out of the east 10 knots perfect for a quick sail up the intracoastal waterway or as some of the locals call it the Halifax River. We headed out with a full crew. Myself, my first mate our two children and friends M--- and L--- and their two kids.

It's interesting to observe people getting onto a boat. Sometimes they can be a little reserved or comment on the boat shifting when they step on it. Others will step aboard never missing a beat. I wasn't sure what to expect because one of the children had mentioned the boat tipping when we moved. I thought about the steady wind blowing across my face and how in 20 minutes we would be heeling over.

It was a great day. We swung out of the marina and headed north cruising between the huge concrete pilings supporting Seabreeze bridge. The kids were getting acquainted and starting to get their sea legs. Quickly we came across a of school of dolphins heading the opposite way. I don't care how many times you see them it is a sight to behold. Everyone oohing, aahing, and pointing as we passed each other.

We pointed up into the wind and set the mainsail followed quickly by the jib. Falling off a bit the wind catches the sails and we are now under sail. We shut the engine off and our guests were able to experience the quiet power of the wind. I love it when someone comes aboard a little fearful but after a few minutes of heeling over they have their feet dangling over the sides catching the spray on their feet!

We kept this course for close to two hours and then tacked and headed back. During the course of the day the kids had been kicking around one of the fenders. We were close to arriving in port when M--- yelled that one of our fenders was drifting behind us with the wind pushing it out of the narrow channel. Now I do have to tell you I’m a bit fond of my maroon Taylor fenders. We quickly went into our now familiar man overboard drill having already gone through the drill for our 2 year old daughter’s baby bottle.

The fender was now 20 yards east of the channel marker and we were slowly making our way towards it. As we passed the channel marker there was that fleeting thought of shallow water ahead. No I’ll have enough water to ease my 3’10” draft over to the fender. The depth gauge went from 6’ to 4’ to 2’. Two feet! That can’t be – the soft but quick stop shook that thought out of my head. The wind continued to push against the sails driving us more securely into the soft muck bottom.

Meanwhile the distance between the fender and boat was quickly increasing. I hopped over the side. Stood up and was in 3 feet of water. I could see the expressions of disbelief of everyone on board. I quickly swam over to the fender and brought it aboard.

I then dropped the sails and jumped over board and proceeded to try and pull the boat out. It was going to take more that me to pull five tons of boat out. M--- jumped in to help but neither of us could get the boat to budge. I was starting to think about calling a boat towing company knowing it would be five to six hundred dollars.

A person on a jet ski came by and offered to help. We attached a line, put the boat in reverse, M--- and I tugged, and the boat started to move. We got the boat out to the edge of the channel and with a little difficulty on the first mate’s part got the boat to shut off (this will be another blog). We thanked the jet skier and we were on our way again.

The remaining quarter mile was uneventful and we made it into the marina satisfied with a good sail and maybe a little wiser.