We were intrigued by the shrimp boat & wished they’d share with us. A little afternoon dancing on deck. We tossed aside the dock lines this afternoon & set sail for nowhere in particular … just a relaxing, fun & confidence-boosting adventure.
We fueled up manually over taking Kaleo through the marina station to save some cash in prep for our 1st solo sail around Galveston Bay. To date we’ve had the company (and security) of friends and family aboard so we’re looking forward to our new mini adventure.
No, we’re not smuggling hot captains across Galveston Bay. Today I walked up into the cockpit to find Matt down in the port side lazarette changing the zincs in the engine (prevents the sea water from corroding the cooling system). Just when I’m convinced he’s contorted himself into every nook & cranny of our boat, he always seems to find new places to explore. I love this face!
Our original single-basin sink in the galley.
A little caulking romance.
Casey brought me to meet up with Matt while he was working on the new sink install. Looks like he found Kaleo to be pretty relaxing amidst the minor construction. 
The original single-basin sink in our galley was too shallow & small for any real dishwashing so we went on the search for the right double-basin. After months of research & an exhaustive search for an affordable option, we finally found one on eBay that fit the bill.
After a few weekends more than planned Matt got the old one removed, the counter cut out & the new one in place. In between all that, he managed to add fresh and salt water spigots (for greater water conservation), a new sprayer faucet, and plumbed all the necessary hoses. A now we have a fully functioning sink and an experience Matt hopes to only do once.
Our marina, as with any marina we assume, is filled with curious fellas. We’ve noticed this guy takes his pup for a dingy ride through the neighborhood each morning while enjoying his pipe. There are many more to write about but we’ll introduce them in time.
A little pre-lunch radio control boat race with the fam.
Family aboard Kaleo. I can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday weekend!
Nana, mom and Critter too.
Dad kicked back on the foredeck.
Lunch outside on the patio of Landry’s on the Kemah Boardwalk before our sail.
What a way to celebrate a birthday! Mom, Dad, Casey, Nana and Critter too came to visit us aboard Kaleo. We started with a patio lunch at Landry’s on the Kemah Boardwalk and then took to the Bay for a leisurely sunset sail.
Our friends Tim & Diann aboard their beautiful Catalina 28, Coquette.
Transgrape Race course board. It’s a long one!
Deck hands at the helm.
A day that blessings are made of! We started the day sailing in the annual Transgrape Race on Lake Grapevine with our friends, Tim & Diann, aboard their speedy Coquette. After a great race, Matty took me by Casa Bellamini before ending the evening watching our wedding video that had come in that day and it is uh-mazing! Thank you God for giving me this awesome man.
It’s official. Today marks the LEAST amount of money we’ve spent at West Marine to date. That’s right, the decimal is in the right place … we spend a whopping $0.39 on 4 fasteners for the shower install.
We spent the weekend getting a few new parts installed for liveaboard necessities. For some reason the former owner removed the shower system, but no worries Matt was able to install a more space and water efficient design that works perfectly for us.
This weekend’s refitting included Matt running wire from the breaker panel to the flush pump to power our new electric head.
This weekend we spent time aboard our friends Tim & Diann’s new boat, Coquette. Today marked the 1st race of the Grapevine Sailing Club’s fall series & gave us all a great opportunity to learn to fly the spinnaker. While we didn’t take 1st place, we did have a fun day of catching up and learning. We look forward to having them aboard Kaleo soon to get in some good sailing. 
Deciding where to mount the manual back-up pump.
Installing the waste hose.
Helping our marina neighbor load up his dinghy to be repaired.
Family stopped by for a fun visit and brought BBQ lunch for the crew.
We spent this Labor Day weekend with one of our 1st major refit projects aboard Kaleo. September is dedicated to all things plumbing so we started with upgrading our manual-only toilet to an electric / manual back-up, Lavac. The 1st step was to have the holding tanks pumped out and rinsed followed by removing the old toilet. The greatest challenge was engineering a hose run that involved an electric pump, a manual back-up pump and a downhill run to the tank – all within the confines of the space below the v-berth.
We’re happy to report that with the help of Christie’s dad, Craig, the install was a success within “plan a” and without any sacrifices. We now have the convenience of an electric head with a manual back-up in case of power failure.
Our Seattle weekend continued as we started Saturday with a visit to Pike Place for breakfast at The Crumpet Shop and to pick up some flowers to bring to Matt’s mom.
We then hit the road for a 5-hour road trip to Coeur d’ Alene to visit the family and celebrate Ken’s birthday.
Before heading out for Ken’s birthday dinner, he and Matt reviewed the test companionway doors and talked through their final design. We’ll leave the materials and plans in his good hands to be built. He even offered to build us an overlay for the bathroom countertop from some scrap granite he’s collected. It means a lot to us to have his craftsmanship aboard.
The boys taking a break while dad takes Jeff’s new bike out for a spin.
We took full advantage of a long weekend in Seattle with a date night staying at The Edgewater and seafood dinner at Elliot’s, a refitting gear quest across some premier and cost-effective suppliers, and a visit with the family in Coeur d’ Alene.
We’re standing on a cusp right now, looking forward to the journey of a lifetime.
And we desire to start that life a little different than some. Our dream is to take some time to experience the world, to slow down, reset our expectations of things to come and enjoy the world that God created.
Someday soon our plan is to, at least for a while, cast off the lines in search of adventure and sail about the world. The ultimate goal is to change our perspectives forever. This cruising lifestyle, as it’s called, is not a permanent vacation, nor an escape from our lives, nor running away. Rather, it is running (or sailing) toward the life we want to define for ourselves, creating the environment that will build our bond for a lifetime together.
We have certainly heard plenty of reasons not to but as one fellow cruiser put it: “The best reason ‘not to’ is because you will be forced to face the unknown. You will meet challenges that you may not be able to solve with the skills you have already learned.” You may only overcome some circumstances with ingenuity, perseverance, and the grace of God.
Through the joys and challenges of sailing about the world in our modest little house we will be forced to solve problems in ways that draw us closer together, see people’s lives wholly different than our own, and interact with a world full of people that most never folks never know exist.
Our own desires are not the only driver for this lifestyle, as we would like to help and serve the people we meet and share experiences with along the way. The ultimate calling of this service will be to show and share the life-changing message of Jesus.
Plus lounging on a few pristine white sand beaches will be nice :)
For more details about our plans and follow our progress return here.
“There are two options in a person’s life — reflection and action. One is an opportunity to think about it, the other an opportunity to live it.”
Sailors are a social bunch. More than that, they have a sense of camaraderie and duty to look out for and support one another. People often trade boat cards like these to help keep track of others you meet along your voyages. We ordered these online free, plus about $6 in shipping from Vistaprint.
Another small step taken this week was the purchase and creation of our website, SVKaleo.com. It cost a little less than $10/yr and will house our blog, information about Kaleo, our current location, sailing resources, what to expect when coming aboard, and photo albums. But for now, it just links to our blog as we develop other content.
