Author Archives: Mark
Stuck in Fernandina Beach
I can’t help but think we are stuck here because we said out loud, “Hey, we made it to a port and nothing broke along the way”. Yep. Probably shouldn’t have done that. I made a rookie mistake in Fernandina Beach when I ran the shore power cable. When at dock, we plug Cream Puff […]
Fernandina Beach
Meet the third member of the Cream Puff crew. Mona is our land contact and knows the whereabouts of Cream Puff at all times. During ocean passages, we check in at predetermined times. If we don’t check in, Mona has a protocol to alert authorities. She is also the primary contact in case an EPIRB […]
Saint Augustine – Part 4
Our fenders are disgusting. Fenders are the plastic bumpers you see hanging on the side of boats to protect the boat from scratches and scraps. Ours are filthy and leave horrible black smudge marks on the boat. What? Clean them, you say? Ha! A task that has proven to be easier said than done. […]
Saint Augustine – Part 3
I love tall ships. I have ever since I was a kid. I find it awe inspiring these massive wooden creatures sailed the world with very little in the way of charts, navigation and weather forecasting. If they hit rocks, they drowned or were forced to a life on the land they struck. There they […]
Saint Augustine – Part Two
In St. Augustine, we learned all about coquina. Coquina is a porous limestone available in North Florida. It was used by the Spanish as a building material during their control of Florida. The original homes in the area are built with coquina blocks and are covered with concrete or stucco or their era. The outer […]
Saint Augustine – Part One
My mood has past and the sun is shining in our world once again. We love St. Augustine. St Augustine Florida claim to fame is they are the oldest city in the USA. This year, St. Augustine celebrates 450 years as a city. If you are here for any length of time, more than 30 minutes, […]
“If I had a Shotgun…”
“If I had a shotgun, I’d shot a hole in the bottom of this boat”, Cindy, said upon our arrival in St. Augustine FL. As we continue our trudge up the east coast, we have been plagued with problems. We sort of expected some issues as Cream Puff has not been sailed hard in quite […]
Dream Big
One of the best deals in Ft. Lauderdale is the water taxi. The fare is $26 per person for an all day ticket. For us, this was less than renting a car, no worries about parking, no worries about traffic and okay to have a couple of glasses of wine with the evening meal. In […]
This Stinks!
“This stinks!” was the common phrase uttered after leaving Key West. While sailing motoring from Tampa Bay to the Dry Tortugas, the winds were too light to sail and we were forced to listen to the diesel engine for 32 of the 36 hour trip. When leaving the Dry Tortugas for Key West, we had […]
Key West – Again
Have you ever sat in a bar or restaurant while a band set up? Our initial thought was, oh rats, it’s going to get loud. We were drinking our adult beverages waiting for our food to arrive watching the set up and listening to the standard “check one two three” over and over. Then, they […]
H2-O-M-G
This is the most expensive glass of water ever. Here’s why. Prior to leaving St. Petersburg, I changed all the filters and membranes in our water maker (French). We have two water makers. One is original and installed at the Amel factory and runs off the house batteries. The second was added by the previous […]
Ft. Jefferson – The Dry Tortugas National Park
If you look at a map, about 70 miles west of Key West Florida, in the middle of nowhere, you will find The Dry Tortugas National Park. The park consists of 7 small islands and is the southernmost tip of South Florida’s coral reef tract. This represents the third-largest barrier reef system in the world […]
The Dry Tortugas
About 10 years ago, Cindy and I came to the Dry Tortugas during a long weekend in Key West. A friend suggested we take the high speed ferry from Key West to Garden Key which is the location of Ft Jefferson. During the tour of the fort, I remember looking out one of the windows […]
Sailing South
Our first stop after leaving the marina was top off the fuel tanks. Cream Puff holds 158 gallons (US) of diesel fuel. This is used to power the engine and generator. The engine is used in cases where wind is nowhere to be found or for tight controlled maneuvering. The generator gives us all the […]
Gone Sailin’
Early this morning, Cream Puff slipped her mooring lines as we embarked upon our new life as full time cruisers. What is a cruiser? There are many definitions of a cruiser; see Cindy’s post for her explanation about the different ways people can travel by boat. For me, a cruiser has always been a sailor […]
