Author Archives: Mark
Amelia Island
We just got back from Amelia Island. Great restaurants, a historic downtown, fluffy sandy beaches and sunshine make this a fantastic spot. To read about our adventure please click here.
Wow! That’s a Big One
I don’t often stop to think about the forces on the rigging or the sails. But, once in a while something will make me pause in awe of Cream Puff. During our recent jaunt to Key West, we noticed the Sunbrella covering on our genoa was looking a little shabby. The genoa is the front […]
Guy Humor
I think this is hysterical, but then again I’m a guy. This is a toy at one of the stores on Duval Street called KIDs In All Sizes. I wanted to add this on our Key West post but needed to figure out how to edit the video and add sound. I figured it out. […]
A Little Bird
This is really amazing. So here we are about 18-20 miles offshore. We are making our way into Tampa Bay. The winds are easterly, blowing away from the land. It is almost dark. All of a sudden a little bird crashes into our boat. We normally see gulls and the occasional hawk this far our […]
Key West
We recently took a trip to Key West for some key lime pie. To read about our stormy adventure, our dancing with the stars, fine food and to view some brilliant pictures, please click here.
Cream Puff Gets Her Bottom Scraped – Oh My!
After the St Petr Grand Prix race, some serious work was scheduled for Cream Puff. We are overdue for a haul out and bottom maintenance. Every couple of years, paint is applied to the part of the hull that is underwater. This prevents bottom growth such as barnacles, algae, and such. It also protects the […]
St. Pete Grand Prix
I can check one more thing off the bucket list. I went to my first Grand Prix race. For the past 11 years, St. Petersburg has hosted the IZOD Indy Car race. For about a month in downtown streets are slowly shut down and converted into the raceway. The track consists of a combination of […]
We Recently Installed Type B AIS
I am selling a lot of stuff on eBay getting ready for our downsize. Items that we figure we do not want to keep or store. We had a huge construction dumpster at the house a couple of weeks ago and we filled it up in one day. It is truly amazing how much junk […]
Magic Number
How much does it cost to go sailing? This is a question we asked for years and years. We never seemed to get a straight answer. You would think Cruising World or Boater’s World magazines, that I subscribed to for years pre-internet, would shed some light on what is perhaps the single most pondered question […]
Ringing in the New Year
Each year on January 1st for the past 15 years, or so, I have updated a spreadsheet tracking our savings for the little sailing adventure gig we have planned. January 1st is a big day in our house. It begins with a hearty breakfast followed by an annual event that has never been missed in […]
Dog Island – It Wasn’t Meant To Be
At this very point in time our plan was to be at Dog Island for a few days. About a week ago, while on Cream Puff getting things ship shape for the trip, I came down with the crud. And, being the kind sharing person that I am, I passed it to Cindy. Between the […]
Random Acts of Kindness
Sometimes a random act of kindness can really knock your socks off. Ed Stewart, who was previously mentioned on this site as a crew member who helped move Cream Puff from Ft. Lauderdale to St. Petersburg, recently knocked my socks off. Ed called up out of the blue and wanted to know if I was […]
Gettin’ Ready for Dog Island
We are getting ready for a trip to Dog Island. Where the heck is that you might ask. It is a small barrier island on the panhandle of Florida. As mentioned in previous postings, our plan is to get to know our boat and get our “sea legs”. This place is a little off the tourist […]
Fixin’ Stuff
One of the many joys of boat ownership is “fixin’ stuff”. In my opinion there are two types of boaters in this world, those that fix their own boats and those who pay people to fix their boats. Of course, the implied constant here is boats will always need fixing. And, guess what, they do. […]
September 2012 Trip to Oregon
In a non-related boating adventure, Cindy and I just got back from a trip to Oregon. We started in Portland. We found Portland to be a remarkably friendly city that is very walkable and picturesque. From Portland we headed out to the Columbia River gorge and Mount Hood. We took off south to through the […]
