Category: General Boat Life
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Sailing to Florida’s West Coast
On November 19th, 11 days after arriving in Mobile Bay, we were ready to set out for the west coast of Florida. We were excited to be able to sail after being a power boat for so long on the river system! Despite less than perfect conditions we motor sailed across Mobile Bay the 46…
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The Inland River System Part Three – Kentucky Lake Kentucky to Mobile Alabama
Leaving Pebble Isle marina was a little sketchy. We ran aground, or more accurately just stopped moving as we were creeping forward and we had to back up and search for deeper water. We were very relieved to get out and keep on moving down the river. We found some really beautiful anchorages in this…
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The Inland River System Part Two – Alton Illinois to Kentucky Lake Kentucky
In Alton Illinois, which is across the river from St Louis we took a break for about a week. During that time we rented a car with some new friends and visited St Louis and the Cahokia mounds state park. The mounds were amazing! It is the site of the largest Native American city north…
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The Inland River System Part One – Illinois River to the Mississippi
To begin our 1300 mile trip from Chicago to Mobile Bay in the Gulf of Mexico we had to first get through the Chicago lock and the actual city of Chicago. We left our rolly polly mooring ball in Munroe Harbour at about 7AM, not able to stand the nauseating waves any longer. The lock…
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Ready, Set, Go!
After our summer of sailing around Lake Michigan we had a much better idea about what work needed to be done on the boat. We knew from the beginning that we needed to have the bottom repainted in a paint that was good for saltwater, and that we needed to do some work on the…
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Summer of Sailing Lake Michigan
Once Sail la Vie was behaving like a regular sailboat, we decided to take her on a shakedown cruise of lake Michigan before getting her ready for the 1300 mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico. Our plan was to head north from Racine, Wisconsin to Green Bay, cross the top of the lake, and…
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Turning a Floating Condo Back into a Sailboat: Part 2
When we bought the boat we knew that the exhaust hose needed to be replaced and the UV strips on both sails needed repairs. We also knew that there was a small leak wh it poured rain that needed fixing, and that one of the vacuum heads had a small issue. Otherwise, everything else was…
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Turning a Floating Condo Back into a Sailboat: Part 1
Originally my husband Douglas and I were searching for a boat in a warm location that would allow us to live there for a year while we figured out our long term plans. With the help of our broker, Lee Payne, from McNally Yachts, we looked at boats along the Eastern Seaboard. We became certain…