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!

Spring Cleaning

For the past few weeks the crew of the Zephyr has been in super-duper Spring Cleaning mode. Unlike a house, where Spring Cleaning means shaking out the rugs and washing the curtains, Spring Cleaning on a boat means lots of bleach, bilge cleaner and engine maintenance. 

I know we've written about the lovely world of mold, mildew and condensation before and though we've learned A LOT about the intricacies of it and read a lot of ways to control it the bottom line is, it's a constant and continuous battle, especially aboard in the winter. It's life. So part of our spring cleaning has been scrubbing and cleaning every single hatch, locker and dark, dingy corner of the boat including the deep, dark world of the bilge. Wiping out the mildew and moisture that has accumulated over the winter before the warmer temps can cause it to fester and grow - I know, gross, this is life aboard. I even remarked to Tim, "I think this is the 'reality' of boat life that everyone talks about, it's not all rum drinks and Buffett songs." But, it also feels REALLY good to get elbow deep in the muck and grime, bleach it and know you're helping eradicate the "boat smell" that we've been living with for the past 6 months. 

"Jesus Juice" as it's referred to by Peggy -
the magical Boat & Bilge Cleaner. 

I call this 'boat yoga' - contorting myself so my arm can reach way under
the sink to scrub the inside of the hull

And we're learning a ton about what's where in the belly of the boat. Tracing wires and hoses and connections so we know which locker holds access to what and when it, be it the water system, the electric system or the waste system inevitably breaks, we know exactly where to go to fix it, this is priceless. We're even going to create a map of our lockers and systems for our "boat binder" documenting the entire running of the boat. I tell you this boat ownership is a constant lesson for us, we are ALWAYS learning something. 

Spring Cleaning doesn't have to be all work & no fun! 

Tim has been practicing in the art of diesel engine mechanics and impressing the heck out of the rest of the crew! He's methodically learned and executed how to change the oil, change both the primary and secondary fuel filters, bleed the fuel lines and change the transmission fluid. Mr. Perkins, our engine, started right up after a long winter's nap and is now purring like a kitten! Our 4 legged crew member doesn't exactly 'love' when the engine is grumbling but the human crew LOVES the sound of a well maintained and running engine. Our main sail is at the sail loft being patched from our harrowing maiden voyage when she sustained some damage. Next weekend we'll finally hatch from the bubble and start rigging our sails back on! We're moving back to the Wentworth Marina on April 20th for the summer so we're planning our first sail of the season now!  We both can't believe we actually made it through our first winter, it feels surreal that spring is actually here and we're prepping Zephyr for her first sailing season with us!

We've also made some nice additions with some great new throw pillows for our cockpit and main salon. THANKS MOM! We're envisioning some nice late afternoon naps up in the cockpit on these beauties  

Last month's awesome spring improvement project was the installation of a fantastic new stereo. We got a Fusion Marine Stereo MS-RA 200 with cockpit and main salon speakers. 

Life aboard with constant music surrounding us is AWESOME! We wake up & make coffee to the sweet sounds of Willie Nelson, we cook dinner to slick sounds of Old Crow Medicine Show, we hang out to the groovy sounds of the Lumineers and yes, we drink boat drinks to the island tunes of Jimmy Buffett. The cockpit speakers were a GREAT idea now that it's nicer weather we're definitely spending a lot more time out there - there's not a lot better than laying out in the cockpit in the warm weather sipping on a rum and coke listening to Jimmy Buffett's "Son of a Son of a Sailor". 

"Haul the sheet in as we ride on the wind

That our forefathers harnessed before us

Hear the bells ring as the tight rigging sings

Its a son of a gun of a chorus

Where it all ends I can't fathom my friends

If I knew I might toss out my anchor

So I cruise along always searchin for songs

Not a lawyer a thief or a banker"

We are feeling quite excited and very grateful that we followed our guts last September when we bought Zephyr and persevered through the challenge of purging all our worldly goods, rallied through Nor'Easters and blizzards, overcame sub-zero walks to the showers because now we are the ones who we were envious of our whole lives - we're the ones down on the docks in the springtime, we're the ones sitting on our deck for happy hour, we're boat owners and we can only imagine it's only going to get better from here! HELLO SUMMER! 

Something about Happy Hour after a hard day's work - it's just sweeter, Toby can concur. :)

So Spring is here and the crew of the Zephyr is feeling pretty darn great...this about sums it up for us these days.