Four days in Vermont allowed us to pack for a different type of trip with temperatures ranging from the mid 80s F in southern Sweden to the low 30s F in the Arctic. We were heading to Sweden for a week to visit with three au pairs who lived with us over two decades ago. … Continue reading →
Well the best plans can go wrong and such was the case with our freighter experience. Our early to mid May departure from Port Everglades turned into a June 20th departure. The load on process took a couple of days. While we were not the last boat loaded on the Chipolbrok Moon we were the … Continue reading →
On April 3rd we pushed away from the Atlantic Yacht Basin dock and started our trip to Fort Lauderdale. We have done this run before but it’s always a thrill. Our goal was to do as much offshore cruising as possible. We have found that Morehead City, NC, has a perfect inlet to access the … Continue reading →
What a winter it has been. When we hopped off Big Smile in October we knew that snow was in our future at least for the next few months. What we did not know was that we were in for the wildest winter we have experienced since owning in VT. Temps varied incredibly. Snow came … Continue reading →
On the last day in July we left Nantucket and the Vineyard behind and headed back to this year’s home base in Greenport. With the weather being perfect, we opted to stop for two nights back on Block Island. The Block is a low key and unpretentious place compared to the two islands we just … Continue reading →
It’s early August. Summer always goes too fast, especially when you are having fun. No exception this year. We acclimated to our new surroundings in Greenport, NY. That was easy to do as there is much to like about the town and the north fork of Long Island. When I was in business and needed … Continue reading →
A couple of months have slipped by and Big Smile has made it to Greenport, NY, on the north fork of Long Island. Brewer Stirling Harbor Marina will be our home base for the summer. We haven’t had a dedicated home summer slip in two years. We stopped here for two nights last fall while … Continue reading →
The overnite trip from Venice to the Dry Tortugas was bumpy but uneventful. With the wind and seas on our nose we hobby horsed for 24 hours but towards sunset it subsided a bit. We actually made better progress than expected so at around 4AM I backtracked for an hour allowing us to arrive at … Continue reading →
It’s been quite awhile since the last post. It is April 1st, and we have one more full day at Longboat Key Marina. From here we head to Venice for two nights then on to the Tortugas for several days followed by Key West. While Big Smile did not move since our arrival in December, … Continue reading →
We returned to Vermont having left Big Smile at Atlantic Yacht Basin for a major topsides paint job. AYB estimated 6-8 weeks of work and it was almost exactly two months before we were reunited with Big Smile. In the interim we had a wonderful time back home in Vermont. It is hard not to … Continue reading →
