Missing: The Crew of Zephyr

Well, not really...but in terms of blogging, yes. So...where have we been? Think that Johnny Cash song "I've Been Everywhere" 

"I've been everywhere, man.

I've been everywhere, man.

Crossed the desert's bare, man.

I've breathed the mountain air, man.

Of travel I've had my share, man.

I've been everywhere."

We've been to Boston, Eastie, Harwich, New Orleans, New Castle,Waterbury, Duxbury, Provincetown, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Scituate, Osterville, Katy, Baton Rouge, Bar Harbor DC,Warren, Westport, Woods Hole, Annapolis and...now...good 'ole Kit-ry Maine! Home! 

I'd love to say we'd sailed all those places,it would be quite incredible if we sailed to Katy, TX, but we did sail to a lot of them. This summer was full of change some good and welcome, some not so good. We enjoyed amazing times with family and friends and even had a 4th of July escape in our "Land Yacht" OJ to the Vermont mountains - thanks Hurricane Arthur. 

Our Land Yacht is a great backup plan when a Hurricane ruins 4th of July sailing plans

There is so much to write about like our great weekend sailing trip to Salem...

Or our sweet view of the Boston skyline from our summer slip in East Boston...

Or the many nights spent with a cockpit fulla friends, tunes on the stereo and laughs...

Or our eventful summer cruise to Scituate - Provincetown - Duxbury and beyond where we lost the dinghy in a blow and got towed TWICE! 

A very happy captain sailing his very own boat into Duxbury Bay

A TowBoat US membership is the best thing money can buy! The story of the two folks towing us is for another time.

Or our sail north to Portsmouth when we lost the dinghy - once and for all...

Zephyr's arrival into Little Harbor as seen from Sea-Celia, it's like the heavens were welcoming us back home

And I will write all about these different summer adventures especially since my view out my window right now is of a frozen tundra, complete with ice caking all trees and my cockpit full of an 1" of ice. I like to relive our happy summer times to help me get through the endless Maine winters. 

Basically, the take-away is that in mid-September we sailed back north to Portsmouth/Kittery and we couldn't be happier with our decision. Overall, Boston just was not our cuppa tea. The marina we chose wasn't ideal for living aboard. The constant and vicious wakes from all the boat traffic made for a VERY uncomfortable and constant roll while in our slip. Zephyr would take the waves and wakes on her starboard beam and then would continue to violently roll back and forth for 4-5 minutes The commuter ferry boats start around 5am and from 4-6pm it was also VERY rolly, then on the weekends, it was virtually impossible to be aboard comfortably without getting tossed around the boat getting bruised up. It's probably a great marina for those weekend warriors but for us liveaboards who cook aboard, shower aboard and sleep aboard day in and day out it's just not doable.  

Take a look at our neighbor's boat to get  a good idea of daily life

Add to that, that about 6 weeks into living in Boston, we also started getting very homesick for the lifestyle the Seacoast provides. We missed walking into town for dinner, we missed taking Toby to gorgeous Seapoint Beach on the Maine coast, we missed trees and trails and wild and natural spaces. We missed local foods, local beers, small markets, gastropubs, smoothie stores -- you know the yuppie stuff. Apparently, we're yuppies and we're just fine with that! We missed the simple, quiet, relaxing lifestyle that the Seacoast provides. I mean there's a reason there's a mass exodus from Boston every weekend in the summer to Portsmouth & Kittery- it's vacationland! The Seacoast is where we called home for 8 years and there is something quite wonderful about the people and the life we've built here. 

Once we thought of going into another winter aboard, we couldn't imagine not having the great community of friends (more like family) we made at Badgers Island Marina. That sealed the deal to head north (but really though - who winters in Maine!?) The decision to move home was not a hard one to make, even with the commute Tim now has. It came down to where did we want to be when we weren't working? Where did want to wake up on a Saturday morning? Who'd we want to surround ourselves with to survive another harsh, cold New England winter? 

Living on a boat isn't the easiest lifestyle choice and so it becomes really important that the world outside the boat is comfortable, easy and relaxing. If we'd cast of our lines for points far south and were leaving on our cruising adventure I think it would've been a different tale but because we're still tethered to land for work, family commitments, life, we just simply wanted to be 'home'.  Until we are cruising full-time and have the ability to sail onto a new port whenever we want, it's vital that we like the port we're in. It's no different than picking the neighborhood where you're going to buy a house. 

And really...Let's face it the Farrells are just not city folks! 

So we're the prodigal Seacoasters whom have returned. The summer away gave us great clarity in what it is we want in the next steps of our life and it helped to solidify for us where we're meant to be. It helped to clear our vision so we could reimagine what the next phase might look like and gave us a chance to really take an honest look at our feelings, hold them out in front of ourselves and explore them, own them. It gives us a chance to slow down, take a deep, long breath and realize - we've got it real good. It's time to soak it all in rather than just keep planning and dreaming away today. So that's what we're doing soaking it all in, feeling very grateful we have a lifestyle that allows us to try on new things and return if they don't fit, grateful we have family and friends who support all our choices and grateful we have eachother. 

Stay tuned...until then, if you need us we'll be living inside a bubble in the mighty, freezing waters of the Piscataqua! 

Today 12/8/14 - THE BUBBLE ERECTUS! 

Reliving our Summer Cruise: Part 2

As winter rolls on we did get a small glimpse of spring this past weekend which just whet our appetite for warmer days and sailing! We cranked up Mr. Perkins (our diesel engine) and he started right up! After months of dormancy, he was a total rock star and cranked up and purred like a lion (not as quiet as a kitten, let's be honest, it's an old diesel). Just the smell of the diesel and the grumbling of the engine in our home reminded us that this isn't just a floating apartment, but it's a vehicle to freedom and following our dreams. It feels so good to have had even the littlest promise of warmer weather and open waters. Not going to lie - this winter has been a tough one. 

So, in keeping with our escapism, we thought we'd write the second part of our summer cruise in Casco Bay. Last we wrote, we were moored in Cape Porpoise Harbor and were about to celebrate Tim's 34th birthday. We set off heading north with Chebeague Island as our destination. 

We cast off the mooring, the sun was shining, sky was blue, fog had lifted and it was a perfect breeze to unfurl ALL THREE sails. Though we don't have a lot of experience sailing ketch rigged boats we started very quickly realizing how great it is. There's a lot more options for sail configurations dependent upon the wind direction and strength. The mizzen sail is aft of the cockpit and that allows for a lot more stability on the back side of the sailboat giving the boat a better ability to hold a line. 

A very happy 34 year old skipper -great way to celebrate his birthday! 

 Sailing is very peaceful and there's also A LOT of time to sit and relax, enjoy and talk. 

One fun thing we did to pass the time was to read all about the travels of Captain Cook. This book is a modern day reliving of Cook's voyage with fantastic glimpses into Cook's original logs and travels. Juxtapose to our travels through Casco Bay this was a cool way to have your mind engaged while we sailed. Highly recommend this book! 

Sailing through the rocky coast islands of Casco Bay on our approach to Great Chebeague Island

We reserved a mooring off the Chebeague Island Inn, a classic 1920's hotel with grand porch up on the bluff overlooking Casco Bay. It was perfection AND the mooring was free for Inn dinner guests! 

Before dinner we took a swim, diving off the boat and had some birthday cake that I baked while underway - my first underway baking experience!

It supposed to say "Tim" in strawberries...good try! 

The mooring field and all the islands of Casco Bay off in the distance - absolutely gorgeous. 

The golf course leading up to the Inn, the mooring field basked in the pink sunset

We got all "dolled up" -- as best we can from a boat -- and made our way up to celebrate Tim's birthday dinner. 

A very happy birthday boy & the grand Inn in the background

Classically Maine 1920's lobby with the deck beyond

View from the porch - you can see Zephyr just beyond the house on the right

Dinner of lobsters, mussels, steak and wine finished with some birthday cake in the cockpit! Quite a perfect 34th birthday for Tim, and to think his 33rd birthday was celebrated aboard a training sailboat outside Newport - think we might be on the right track! 

The next day we decided to explore the island a bit on foot, we needed to provision and get some ice so we set off with Toby across the island. What a FANTASTIC island. The roads are narrow, forested and no joke, EVERY SINGLE person in a car waved at us. Apparently that's 'the thing' on Chebeague, the locals wave to everyone. What a fantastic feeling! We passed this funny little roadside bar called the Slow Bell Cafe, and the sign out front said - BAND BEYOND DESCRIPTION, yup, that's right, that night was going to be a Grateful Dead cover band - how perfect. We did consider sticking around on the mooring so we could go to the show but the nature of cruising and sailing is that you get itchy to move onto to the next adventure...Next up...we head further north to Potts Harbor and onto to Sebasco Harbor Resort in Harpswell. 

Stay tuned...

Kicking off Summer Right!

Well, Summer 2013 certainly has been a BUSY time for the crew of the Zephyr, hence the total lack of blogging! So we figured we'd try and get caught up slowly but surely.We'll start with the highlight to our summer so far, the first day of summer, June 21st, overnight raft up at the Isle of Shoals. I've always loved the solstice, my mom would always remark that it's the longest day of the year and for me being someone who LOVES sunsets and twilight it's just about perfect. The Isle of Shoals is 6 miles off the coast of Portsmouth and it has a long and fascinating history which is definitely worth checking out if you're interested. We made the plan to meet up with our great friends Justin and Kim and raft up on their yacht club's mooring for the night. 

First, we needed to provision...by the way, this is the best beer in the world.

We provisioned, prepared, did our check lists and cast off at about 4pm. Winds were around 5-10 knots and the seas were relatively flat for the Gulf of Maine. We had a fantastic sail and we got to use Autopilot for the first time! What a fantastic little device that is! To be able to leave the helm and go forward or grab a drink or just lay back and enjoy the peace of lapping waves - WOW! We cruised at around 4.5 knots and soaked up the sweetness of our new life - feeling very, very grateful. We had the stereo up and the beers were cold. This was our first overnight trip since we brought the boat south from Portland in September. It was quite awesome not to worry about what to pack or if we had all that we needed - our boat is our house so we had it all! Quite an incredible feeling of freedom to know that all you need in this world - dog, husband, 'stuff' is all aboard and you're setting sail out on the water...the opportunities are endless, that feeling was like a drug for me and I can't wait to feel it again! 

It was such a thrill to finally be approaching the Shoals this clump of land that we see all the time from the marina. There's this fantastic old grand hotel out on Star Island called the Oceanic Hotel, now part of the Star Island Corporation which is owned by the UU church. They host lots of retreats and camps throughout the summer out there and Gosport Harbor where the moorings are located overlooks this grand hotel. 

Approaching White Island lighthouse 

We arrived around 7pm, rafted up alongside LIB and the happiest of hours ensued aboard Zephyr with Kim and Justin. Toby got to have his first dinghy ride to take care of 'business' ashore. Toby was nervous but in the end he really liked taking an adventure with his papa. 

LIB and Zephyr rafted up in the waning light of day

Toby & his Papa dinghying into shore

Gorgeous Kim & her fantastic Bag 'O Wine

A very happy bunch of sailors & Toby ringing in the first day of summer! 

The sunset was nothing short of phenomenal...the stuff of watercolor paintings. There was a gorgeous gaff-rigged, wooden sparred, schooner moored off our starboard side and once the sun began to sink behind her rig I was pinching myself that this was our life getting to witness this kind of beauty. 

As the day turned into night we were 'boarded' by Pelicans. No, not the birds, but rather a few of the staff from the Star Island Hotel. They're called Pelicans because they work out on the island all summer and barely ever visit the mainland for 5-6 months. They are fantastically interesting people who were a pleasure to have aboard. The first Pelican, Keith, came aboard via row boat and came bearing gifts - a pitcher of Raspberry Lime Rickey from the Cafeteria & a bottle of Rum, our kind of boat guest! Then more Pelicans came via a little blue dory sailboat. Still more arrived in another row boat, at the height of the night our little raft up had 5 assorted boats tied to it.

Assorted boats tied off to our little floating party 

Pitcher of Lime Rickey, Rum & Heady Topper - what a great spread!

PELICANS BELOW DECK! 

The stars over the grand hotel, the cool summer breeze, the Super Moon, the sound of the waves crashing over the breakwater...absolutely awesome! To be able to experience all this a mere 3 hours from our slip at the Wentworth, even more incredible, and to to think, this is just the beginning for us and our adventures aboard Zephyr! 

In fact, next weekend we depart for a two-week cruise up to Maine and Casco Bay. We are in the planning, charting, provisioning list making phase but we'll be sure to share our plans as they come together. Our first stop on Sunday, July 28th - The Isle of Shoals! Since sailing is inextricably linked to weather we're keeping our plans loose all we know is that we're going to shove off the dock and not return for two whole weeks! We can't wait! 

Our Summer Vacation exploring the many islands of Casco Bay!

Preparing to Move

So one of the best things about life aboard a boat - moving to new 'neighborhoods' now and again. When we're full time cruising in a few years this will be commonplace but until then we're in a seasonal switcheroo process here. This weekend we'll be moving from our winter marina in Kittery, Maine to our summer 'home', the Wentworth Marina in New Castle, New Hampshire. We spent last September and October at the Wentworth and we're REALLY excited to get back there in full season. Not to mention the tennis courts, pool & tiki bar and dockside restaurant - yea, it's high living! Plus, going sailing is a lot easier because we don't have the mighty Piscataqua with it's crazy current and tides to contend with. 

Yes, this is pool at the Wentworth - Hello Summer!

We're going to miss Kittery - the great stores and restaurants and the wonderful community we came to love at the Marina. We are NOT going to miss the constant construction noise from the Memorial Bridge project or the boat wakes knocking our home around. Our boat neighbors who do the switcheroo as well say the Wentworth is like the country and Badgers Island is like the city...so, we're excited to get back to the country! 

Of course in preparation to move there's a lot to be done. Sure, it's not like packing up a whole apartment or anything but it'll be the first time the boat's gone out since we moved her in the beginning of November. Though we don't have to 'recommission' the boat like most New England sailors are doing right now we do have a lot of systems that still need checking and double checking. Plus the ridiculous web of dock lines that have been built through the winter winds and storms will FINALLY be untangled and cast off. 

The ever growing check-list

The Windlass that needs fixing

Newly painted anchor chain

And as with everything so far since we bought this boat in September, we're learning so it's taking twice as long. On Wednesday after work we focused on our anchor. If all else fails (i.e. our engine dies, our sails won't go up) we have to have a functional anchor to toss to keep us from drifting away or ashore. Plus we plan on doing some overnights at anchor in the coming weeks. We hadn't yet pulled out all our anchor chain and rode (rope section) to see what we were working with. And we wanted to mark the anchor rode so that when we pay it out we know how much we're letting out. So armed with a tape measure and yellow paint we laid out the entire 300 feet of chain and rope along the docks and marked every 10 feet with bright yellow paint. As with almost all projects so far, we realize we need to buy new chain and rope - the salt corrodes. And our windlass, the mechanism on deck that winds the anchor chain back aboard, needs service and potentially more parts. B.O.A.T. = Break Out Another Thousand. Ah, boat ownership...

New Outhaul Car for our Main Sail

Looks like we'll need some new chain!

On Saturday we'll rig the boat which we're excited to do and to learn since the last time it was rigged it was done by the previous owner. Then on Sunday with our friends from the marina, at slack tide, we'll set off for a sail and end up back at our new summer home. We're marking the beginning of the season - HOORAY! As we get into this, our first season on the boat, we're expecting to learn A LOT more and inevitably have to fix/replace more things -- this will be our 'shakedown season'. The time to figure out what's working, what's needing fixing and what we'd like to upgrade. We'll get to really learn our boat and we couldn't be more excited! 

The Captain/Plumber/Electrician/Woodworker

Though we are spending some (read: a lot) money and lots of manpower hours on fixing, tweeking or replacing things we both LOVE it - it's our boat, our investment, our home. Things that are being replaced are now things we know are new and when it breaks, we know how to fix or replace it. There's not a better feeling than having a problem, assessing the problem and then fixing the problem. Tim is masterful at this - he truly is a man of many, many talents. His ability to take something apart, learn how it works and fix it is remarkable. This dream of living aboard and cruising could never be reality without Tim's skills. Tim's patience while I VERY slowly learn things should also be commended. Unlike Tim, I'm a lot less practical in my skill set so it takes me a lot longer to understand the workings of something -- but my bartending and cooking skills are pretty key at the end of a long day working on the boat!  

One Year Later

Well, we've been on this blogging adventure for exactly one year! Our first post was on April 9, 2012 and about a week later we had our first post about our boat search. BOY have we come a long way in a year! To think about how much we didn't really know when we first looked at 'High Hopes' to what we know now with 'Zephyr'...it's incredible and definitely something to be quite proud of. 

As we mentioned in our first post, this dream of boat living didn't just spring up last year, no, we'd been dreaming about this life long before that. Our first boat we ever even looked at was called 'Abode', a 1980, immaculate, 41' Morgan Out-Island. All of Jill's family, Jill & Tim all trucked up to Cummaquid on Cape Cod on Labor Day weekend 2010, 10 days short of Tim & Jill's wedding, to take a cruise and check out 'Abode'. 

We look like naturals even in 2010! 

The day was truly glorious! Jill's Dad and the owner, Steve, an old Tug Captain and all around pirate-esque type of guy, got along famously, talking boats, teak work & the Navy. Since we were 10 days from getting married our heads were somewhere else, not to mention Jill was still in grad school and our life wasn't at a place to be buying a boat...but as you can see from the five-mile smiles on our faces - we were enamored, the dream was sparked. 

And now, here we are a little more than 2 years later, boat owners, full-time liveaboards, on the cusp of our first New England summer. We've dissected A LOT of our boat, learned so, so much, have so, so much still to learn but we also realize that if we hadn't just made this leap we'd never have known. Sometimes you just have take a leap of faith and trust that though it may at times (like when it's 3 degrees in Maine on a boat) seem like you made a mistake it's all part of the journey. It's all stories you can tell. 

Happy Family Aboard Our Very Own Boat Zephyr

Life surprises me sometimes at how fast it really does move. I can tend to live in a day-by-day mentality, focusing on the short-term and never realize just how far we've truly come. It's important to reflect back on the accomplishments, screw ups, missteps and successes and celebrate them all because that is the beauty of being alive. As trite as it sounds, life is short, real short, and I think we need to celebrate every second we can and continue to evolve, challenge ourselves and the status quo, soak up what makes us truly happy, revel in simplicity, constantly learn new things and yes, sail uncharted waters (with a chartplotter, of course)! 

"The best way to feel the ocean is dive right into the waves..."
I found this video recently and couldn't think of something more fitting for our life's path...

"I don't want to say, 'I wish, I want to say, DAMN, that was awesome!'"

Spring Fever/Planning

Despite having had the 3rd snowiest winter on record and what feels like the windiest EVER, our heads are drifting off towards spring. Perhaps it's just a form of escapism (delusion?) or perhaps it's because we're on the other side of winter. As Tim says, "it's not like it's November & we're staring down the barrel of a gun with winter approaching." 

This was our neighborhood during "Nemo"

But, what a winter it's been! Having never been a fan of winter since living down south for 5 of them, I'm 'sensitive' (Tim would say I'm miserable). But, I have to say I'm proud of myself for not leaving Tim, packing my things & bailing to a trailer in Miami! It's crossed my mind every now and then, especially when I'm walking up to the showers at the marina club house at 7am in sleety, snowy, awfulness. But it seems I can ALWAYS find something gorgeous about my surroundings, whether it's how the sun is coming up over the Navy Yard or a loon off our stern or a fresh, salty breeze filling my lungs. 

Toby, a native of Maine absolutely LOVE the snow

As we've written about before we live & breathe the elements in our lifestyle and you just have to persevere through them. I recently read that life aboard in New England year-round is like a Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Thing is, we only got a small taste of what it's like in the best of times since we moved aboard in September. So when we're persevering though 30 mph winds and 6" of snow we aren't really able to think, "well, remember July? This is worth it to get to July." So needless to say here we are at the end of February and we're starting to daydream about life outside 'The Bubble'. 

This past weekend we attended the Boston Boat Show. It's perfectly timed for all boaters who are starting to dream about summer, who are sick to sh*t of winter and for us young boaters it also coincides with our tax refunds! Perfect! We wandered around, attended some seminars, chatted with some riggers, sailors and 'boat people'. We scoped out some new toys and tried to avert our eyes to the sleek, new, million + dollar Beneteau sailboats that we can only dream of affording. The booth that caught my eye was the EZ Hang Chair booth - imagine flocks of people lounging in hanging hammock and canvas chairs, complete with leg rests & cup holders. The photos of the chair mounted on the deck of a sailboat was all I needed to sell me. 

The sales guy knew he had a ripe one when I asked - "does the cup holder fit a large sized Tervis cup of Rum & Coke?" Signed, Sealed, Delivered - we left the Show with a new boat hook and a promise of awesome Summer afternoons. 

The other big Spring Fever project currently underway - a new stereo system for the boat. A stereo is something we'd wanted since the day we moved aboard but there were other more important (think: utilitarian)  things we needed to install to make life aboard livable (i.e. water filter for drinking water). But when my brother Pete gave us a very generous gift card to Amazon we thought - let's splurge and get a sick stereo system complete with cockpit and main cabin speakers - I mean who are Jill & Tim without our music??? We got the top of the line in marine stereos a Fusion MS-RA200. This baby can link up to our VHF radio, it connects to NOAA Weather forecasts, it's got dual zones so we can rock out in the cockpit when someone else (Toby?) is sleeping below deck. Tim is like a kid in a candy store with a new electronic gadget to not just play with but also install (i.e. run wires around the boat, tie into electric panel, cut holes in the boat for the speakers, etc.). Tim plans on posting a blog post about how the install goes...good thing I'm away this weekend so it can be man-town electronic install time. 

So though we have A LOT more to do to get ready for sailing season, A LOT more. These couple things are helping us get over this last hump of the doldrums of winter. Thinking about hanging above the foredeck, cocktail in hand, stereo cranked, the sweet sounds of music floating around us might just get us through the inevitable next snowfall and wind storm. 


"One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain 
So hit me with music, hit me with music
Hit me with music, hit me with music now" 
- Bob Marley "Trenchtown Rock"