Deck Hands

We have 2 other members of the crew, namely Scamper and  BJ.  That's Scamper on the left.  She loves to hang out in the cockpit at night and catch bugs.  BJ is a lover, but is also a fearless protector of the family when it comes to invaders like mice. They are both good travelers and are much fun to have along.

The Boat

Here is a photo of CrossRoads, our 1985 Irwin 38.  She draws 4.5 feet and has a bridge clearance of 54.5.  She is a comfy boat for coastal cruising and a veteran of the ICW. Her home base is New Bern,NC.

The Admiral

Here is a photo of Joanna, my mate, and the most important member of our crew.  She is a great sailor and can handle our boat in the tight spots.  Also a great cook, computer expert, highly organized, and I might mention, my wife of 44 years! (We got married very young! :-). 

10/21/12  Food
     Part of cruising is provisioning and we have been working hard to cover this base.  One thing we have been doing is canning.  On our last ICW trip we spent a lot of time and effort re-provisioning as we traveled.  This can be inconvenient at times as we like to anchor out for days at a time.  This and the fact that the cruising refrigerator only holds so much means that we often run short.  This trip will be different. 
     My talented wife has gotten good at canning a variety of products.  Today I helped her do a number of jars of applesauce, which I really love.  But more importantly she has been canning meat as well.  She has done chicken, hamburger, and stew beef and we plan to take along a supply of each.  I must admit I was leery at first to eating meat from a jar, but I have quickly come to love the convenience of having a ready made supply at our fingertips.  and it is TASTY! Plus, we can buy a quantity of meat on sale and save really big.  What's not to like about that?
     So while we wait and prepare here at home we provision for our upcoming journey.  Pretty cool!

If you meet us out there this winter in some secluded anchorage, we'll have you over for dinner.  Chicken or beef? 

Waiting...

06 October 2012 Countdown is on... Sort of in a waiting mode right now. We run a B&B from May to November so it will be early December before I can get to the boat, unwrap her from hurricane season mode, and begin final preps. In the meantime I do what i can, like work on varnishing the washboards. They are coming along although I must admit I am not the greatest at brightwork!