NOTE TO READERS: Be sure to read the article "Happy Two Year Anniversary" published earlier today in conjunction with "Diana's View."
While Les told you about all the physical details, I will attempt to describe the life style.
First I should explain that after years and thousands of miles of boating, I desired a more stable, less nomadic situation. So we compromised on north-south locations -- Sarasota, FL and Hingham, MA which works out fine. As Les described, both are great areas. While they are both great, the culture is very different.
In Sarasota life on the dock is very lively. Although our permanent boat neighbors only visit every 6 weeks or so, they are wonderful and very friendly. The rest of the time there is a constant stream of transient boaters. They come from all over -- Canada, the Midwest, east coast, west coast, even Europe. Often cruisers come as part of a yacht club rendezvous. Many are Loopers. It is like a boat show with the variety of marine vessels. Everything from a 130' West Port, sailboats to small runabouts.
Then there is Kodi who says hello to everyone. Surprisingly many boaters have dogs aboard. We stop and talk and soon we are exchanging cards and having a drink. Life on board is not lonely. If anything, we meet so many people it is hard to keep up.
In Hingham we are now be on the T at the end of a very long dock. There are no transients. People commit for the season and come back year after year. There are few large boats -- nothing like Sarasota. For the most part it's families or couples who live in the area and come to spend the weekend. Boaters tend to always be friendly and inclusive. So we've met neighbors, but with the exception of one or two couples we don't spend time together like we do in Sarasota.
One common denominator is the Marina staffs - we chat with them every day both in Sarasota and Hingham. They become the constants.
Space is a noticeable difference from a house. Turnaround space is tight -- the boat is only 17 feet wide. We have all the same rooms you would in a house, but each is small. Add visitors and it gets cozy quickly.
Maintenance: Les loves it, but it is time consuming. It takes 5 hours to wash the boat and Les rinses the boat and dries it several times a week. (Meanwhile being inside while he is washing is like being in a thunderstorm.) Interior maintenance: Remember everything that comes on needs to go off .. Water, pump out, etc. you don't have those concerns in a house.
Fortunately there is no movement at the dock in Sarasota and rarely of the T-dock in Hingham.
Upsides-Downsides:
Saw a greeting card yesterday that read "life at dock is safe and sound .. but boats were built for boating". And therein lies the difference. Les loves the adventure. I like the familiar. (Which reversed itself -- when we were young, I wanted to travel and Les liked the familiar, i.e. the same vacation year after year). So now Les gets two big boating adventures a year (plus his everyday dinghy) and I get 5 months of continuity in two places.
- waking up on the water everyday
- the sunsets
- Sarasota has Bayfront park
- Hingham has 2 parks within walking distance
- 365 days of sun and warm weather (constant heat)
- Art fairs every weekend in Sarasota; beautiful state parks in MA; the Ferry to Boston;
How do we spend our days? Just like anyone else: we shop, we go out to eat, we visit with friends and family, we cook, we watch TV, we read the paper, read books, go for walks, bike, go to the movies, go to the theater, take a drive, etc. What we don't do is have a job where most people spend a lot of their week. We aren't on any Boards. We participate somewhat in a charity (Southeastern Guide Dogs). When we worked we had a cleaning lady; now we do all our own maintenance. We sleep later.
Now twice a year there is a big transition (like other Snowbirds) except Les moves the boat and I move the car. Vacation? It is like being on vacation 24/7!
Written by Diana
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Happy Two Year Anniversary
We took possession of our Outer Reef 63 on February 10, 2014. Therefore, today marks the second anniversary of our ownership of the boat and of living aboard.
Thinking back two years to those commissioning days brings back memories which, while mostly pleasant, are best characterized as both exciting and chaotic.
What brought about the chaos was the calendar. The 63 arrived in Fort Lauderdale on February 2 after a 13,000 mile journey that involved crossing the Pacific Ocean, transiting the Panama Canal, crossing the Gulf of Mexico and, finally, arriving in Port Everglades.
The clock started the next day as Outer Reef made a full court press to get the 63 ready for the February 14th Miami Boat Show. To complicate matters, we wanted to take possession and move aboard prior to departing for the show on February 11. Given that Outer Reef usually takes a month or more to commission a new boat, the accelerated schedule put us all under stress (except, of course for Kodi who handled the whole process with her usual grace).
Outer Reef got the boat ready "enough" and we moved aboard on February 10. The next day, with Captain Randy Ives in command, we headed off to the Miami Boat Show.
Fast forward to today.
The 63 has proven to be a comfortable home and a magnificent cruiser that has proved to be perfect for our snowbird lifestyle.
Her capabilities as a long range cruiser with the ability to handle rough seas are summed up by an advertisement featuring Guided Discovery that Outer Reef will be running across all of the major boating magazines.
The quote above, which is slightly hard to read, deals with our November 3, 2014 transition of Cape Hatteras as we headed south to Sarasota. "We transited during a strong cold frontal passage with wind gusts as high as 49 knots, Seas built very quickly to 7 to 9 feet with sustained winds of 30 to 35 knots. The 630 showed no flaws in her sea keeping regardless of the point of sail. The experience was almost surreal. The boat moved through the turbulence with sure footed stability. Now I know from experience how stable she is and should the unexpected happen, the boat can handle it."
As readers know, I subsequently had the opportunity last May to validate the above conclusion when we rounded Hatteras' Diamond Shoal in 10 to 12 footers stirred up by Tropical Storm Anna several hundred miles to the south. Oh, did I mention the 10 foot head sea encountered last November between the Hamptons and Atlantic City? The 63's sea keeping has exceeded my expectations.
Even when it's not exciting, which I greatly prefer, the 63 glides through the water at 8.4 knots burning an economical 9.1 gallons per hour. To date, the 63 has cruised 6,613 NM with two round trips along the Atlantic coast.
The 63 is a comfortable 850 square foot 3 bedroom home with 2 baths and a full kitchen. Notice the absence of nautical language. This really is a home in every possible way except that we have to take-on 300 gallons water and pump out weekly. Best of all, it's a home on the water with excellent views in both our Sarasota and Hingham marinas. Diana's viewpoint of life aboard is published in conjunction with this article.
For readers who are interested in more thorough description of living aboard, see my April 22, 2015 article "Living on an Outer Reef 63." For those who want to relive the excitement of commissioning and the Miami Boat Show, go back to the February 2014 archives. I think I'll take a pass. Just reading it is stressful.
Since taking delivery we have made very few improvements to the boat, which is a credit to Mike Schlichtig and his team at Outer Reef. They helped us spec out the perfect boat for our needs.
That said, we have made two significant improvements to the pilothouse electronics. These include a Raymarine T353 infrared night vision camera added last November and a third Garmin 7215 multi-function screen added just this month. Both improvements were necessitated by my desire to run 24 hours a day along the Atlantic coast. The addition of the third 7215 screen on the right side of the panel required that we move the starboard Garmin GMI 10 to a new location next to the other one. Beyond improving operational efficiency, the result proved to be aesthetically pleasing.
Written by Les.
Thinking back two years to those commissioning days brings back memories which, while mostly pleasant, are best characterized as both exciting and chaotic.
 |
| February 3, 2014 - Chaos - Salon looking forward |
 |
| More chaos - galley looking aft Notice the cardboard covering the floor |
The clock started the next day as Outer Reef made a full court press to get the 63 ready for the February 14th Miami Boat Show. To complicate matters, we wanted to take possession and move aboard prior to departing for the show on February 11. Given that Outer Reef usually takes a month or more to commission a new boat, the accelerated schedule put us all under stress (except, of course for Kodi who handled the whole process with her usual grace).
Outer Reef got the boat ready "enough" and we moved aboard on February 10. The next day, with Captain Randy Ives in command, we headed off to the Miami Boat Show.
 |
| Will miracles never cease? |
The 63 has proven to be a comfortable home and a magnificent cruiser that has proved to be perfect for our snowbird lifestyle.
Her capabilities as a long range cruiser with the ability to handle rough seas are summed up by an advertisement featuring Guided Discovery that Outer Reef will be running across all of the major boating magazines.
As readers know, I subsequently had the opportunity last May to validate the above conclusion when we rounded Hatteras' Diamond Shoal in 10 to 12 footers stirred up by Tropical Storm Anna several hundred miles to the south. Oh, did I mention the 10 foot head sea encountered last November between the Hamptons and Atlantic City? The 63's sea keeping has exceeded my expectations.
Even when it's not exciting, which I greatly prefer, the 63 glides through the water at 8.4 knots burning an economical 9.1 gallons per hour. To date, the 63 has cruised 6,613 NM with two round trips along the Atlantic coast.
The 63 is a comfortable 850 square foot 3 bedroom home with 2 baths and a full kitchen. Notice the absence of nautical language. This really is a home in every possible way except that we have to take-on 300 gallons water and pump out weekly. Best of all, it's a home on the water with excellent views in both our Sarasota and Hingham marinas. Diana's viewpoint of life aboard is published in conjunction with this article.
For readers who are interested in more thorough description of living aboard, see my April 22, 2015 article "Living on an Outer Reef 63." For those who want to relive the excitement of commissioning and the Miami Boat Show, go back to the February 2014 archives. I think I'll take a pass. Just reading it is stressful.
Since taking delivery we have made very few improvements to the boat, which is a credit to Mike Schlichtig and his team at Outer Reef. They helped us spec out the perfect boat for our needs.
That said, we have made two significant improvements to the pilothouse electronics. These include a Raymarine T353 infrared night vision camera added last November and a third Garmin 7215 multi-function screen added just this month. Both improvements were necessitated by my desire to run 24 hours a day along the Atlantic coast. The addition of the third 7215 screen on the right side of the panel required that we move the starboard Garmin GMI 10 to a new location next to the other one. Beyond improving operational efficiency, the result proved to be aesthetically pleasing.
 |
| New Garmin 7215 MFS added to the right side of the panel Note the two GMI 10s immediately to the left of the three 7215s Left of the GMI 10s is the GOST system and controls for the 12 & 16 KW generators |
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Mattison's Forty One Knocks the Cover Off the Ball
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate of Sarasota sponsored a fund raiser billed as a Dinner Paw-ty for Southeastern Guide Dogs at Mattison's Forty One,
My friend Marjorie Singer was representing Southeastern and asked that we attend with Kodi. I looked at the menu and it sounded interesting. A six course gourmet meal with a wine paired for each course. Mattison's calls it a wine-pairing dinner. The charge was $75 plus tax and tip.
Little did I know that I was about to have the a spectacular meal that I would categorize as one of the best ever. This proved to be an even bigger surprise since this was a meal catered for a group of 40 people. Meals served to large groups can be good but are rarely spectacular. This one was off-the-chart. A little background:
What a pleasant evening. The event started at 6:30 PM with wine and a Golden Beet Brushetta hor d'oeuvre paired with 2014 Hahn Pinot Gris. A few very short speeches by each of the participants and we were off to leisurely delicious meal served with perfection. Dinner ended just short of 10 PM with a Chocolate Cherry Bomb served with a 2014 Boneshaker Zinfandel. Wow!
My only regret is that I did not bring my camera. I would have loved to photograph the food..
The four courses in between were each spectacular and very different experiences and, of course, perfectly paired with "perfect" wines. Check out the menu below.
Thanks to Southeastern Guide Dogs, Coldwell Banker, Hahn Familly Winesm Mattison's and especially Paul Mattison for a spectacular evening.
Written by Les
 |
| The Dinner Paw-ty was held here |
Little did I know that I was about to have the a spectacular meal that I would categorize as one of the best ever. This proved to be an even bigger surprise since this was a meal catered for a group of 40 people. Meals served to large groups can be good but are rarely spectacular. This one was off-the-chart. A little background:
- Southeastern Guide Dogs (SEGD) is internationally accredited and one of the most respected guide dog schools in the United States. They provide guide dogs and veteran service dogs to recipients at no cost. They receive no government funding. All funds are raised privately, They are top rated 4 Star guide dog school on Charity Navigator earning 98.83 out of 100 possible points. We have been volunteering for Southeastern since 2012. Kodi is an official SEDG Ambassador Dog.
- Coldwell Banker is a major real estate broker in Sarasota with 70 agents in their Sarasota office.
- Mattison's Forty One is a restaurant and catering company located at 7275 S. Tamiami Trail. I've been to this restaurant several times including once for a cooking class conducted by the the restaurant's owner, Paul Mattison. Mattison's also has a fun casual outdoor restaurant on Main Street with entertainment at night.
What a pleasant evening. The event started at 6:30 PM with wine and a Golden Beet Brushetta hor d'oeuvre paired with 2014 Hahn Pinot Gris. A few very short speeches by each of the participants and we were off to leisurely delicious meal served with perfection. Dinner ended just short of 10 PM with a Chocolate Cherry Bomb served with a 2014 Boneshaker Zinfandel. Wow!
The four courses in between were each spectacular and very different experiences and, of course, perfectly paired with "perfect" wines. Check out the menu below.
Thanks to Southeastern Guide Dogs, Coldwell Banker, Hahn Familly Winesm Mattison's and especially Paul Mattison for a spectacular evening.
Written by Les
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)