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. 
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.
The crew woke up to a great, yet hot, day with nice 12-15 mph winds. Some defining moments from Saturday:
This weekend we hosted our first overnight couple and great friends, Jeph & Amy aboard Kaleo!
A few highlights from Friday:
Our good friend, Maurice, joined us today for a great sail and to help Matt with some boat maintenance. We started the day by hoisting our captain up the mast to diagnose navigation light issues, went out for an afternoon sail (Maurice even took the wheel for the majority the time) and then wrapped up with the 1st oil change and relaxed over dinner and chats. 
We took on a new challenge this weekend and decided to anchor out to watch the fireworks for the Fourth.
We spent Friday testing the windlass, which needs some work, & doing general boat work. Afterward, I modified the Revere copper clad bottom pots we ordered from eBay and as wedding gifts. They have a rivet holding the handle to the pot and by drilling the rivet the handle comes off to nest within each other, taking up a lot less space. (A critical feature on a 34′ boat.) We got this great idea from our cruising mentors, Kirk & Lisa. Thanks guys!
Saturday came & it was hot (about 100). We worked on the boat and I mounted a solar garden light on our piling so I could more easily find our slip after dark.
Our marina neighbor, Kevin, hoisted me to the top of the mast so I could try and figure out why the mast navigation light doesn’t work. I was unsuccessful and ended up cutting my hand open because the bulb shattered as I tried to remove it from the socket. But I did meet our neighbor
and we agreed to trade his winching skills for my mast scaling ability. I plan to help him mount a block for a spinaker halyard next time we’re here.
Th family came about 4:00 and we motored out to the bay. There was more vessel traffic than we’d ever seen. And that was just the beginning. We picked a spot & Christie did a fantastic job of piloting while her brother & I dropped the hook. Her dad BBQed chicken while I worried about other boats anchoring too close. We ate a great meal & then watched the fireworks from the best vantage point we’ve ever experienced! The fireworks were so close & powerful that they shook the boat as they went off.
By the time we pulled the hook after the fireworks, the bay was inundated with boats. We then began the two hour journey back to the slip that typically only takes about 30 mins.
We’re heading back in two weeks and can’t wait!
We jetted down to Houston for Easter weekend with The Family and had a chance to spend Friday night aboard Kaleo. Staying on the boat was exciting but I kept getting up in the night to check our dock lines. Even though they’ve held un-watched for the last month, I was still nervous about them. I also added to the project list as the foot of the v-berth needs to be extended as the top of my head was right on the edge.
If I could choose one word to describe the experience it would be “silent”. The whole evening was so quiet and we were still in the middle of a city. I can’t wait to hear (or not hear anything) when we are on the hook (that means anchored out, surrounded only by water).
Saturday we spent some time messing about and received an excellent house warming/wedding gift of a new Kuuma grill for the aft rail. This was a gracious gift from Craig, Christie’s father. We plan to get it installed next time and give it a try.
We also motored out to the mouth of the Kemah cut then turned around (Christie had to get back for a spa appointment). It was lots of fun, or so I thought until I saw the pictures that Christie’s mom took. I look stressed out! Yet backing out of and pulling into the slip went superbly, I must still have some beginners luck on me. We tied her up and once again were sad to leave.
With all the buzz about buying our little ship and moving her to the new marina, we forgot to mention that we picked a name for her: Kaleo (ka-lay-o) which is a Greek word from the New Testament. It has a few meanings depending on the context of the verse but overall it means there is a sense of privilege that is bestowed on believers who were once far away, who are now given a new status in the Lord. There is also a sense of mission. This isn’t a list; it’s a responsibility of carrying out a life of service that is contrasted to the ways of the world. It is also a sense of permanency. Once a believer is called, there is a sense of completion by the hand of God.
We did it! We bought a boat! She is the one in the picture above, being piloted by the former owner in the Harvest Moon Race.
It was an exciting Saturday: Sea trial, paperwork, pulling the raw water impeller, our first grounding, a near perfect docking by me (beginners luck) and leaving her for a speedy return to Dallas. I will follow up with all the details but until then I have to think about what I just got us into!
An outstanding 1st place finish in the Gold Rush Regatta with our sailing mentors and friends, Tim and Diann, at the Grapevine Sailing Club. We are beyond grateful for them helping us to ‘learn the ropes’ aboard their beautiful Beneteau First 235, “Coquette”.
Thrilling, competitive 1st place finish sail race this evening with Matt, Tim & Diane aboard Coquette on Lk. Grapevine!
Great, but short afternoon on the water! After serving this morning we headed out to Lk Grapevine to meet up with our captain & admiral, Tim & Diann aboard s/v Coquette. It was the kick-off of the summer race series but was called due to thunderstorms as we were tacking up to the start line. Ah, well … another race in a couple weeks :o)
We woke up to our last morning aboard Thalia today and with heavy hearts we dingied ashore to return to land life. What a treat it has been to share this experience and we are so grateful to Lisa & Kirk for their generous hospitality, enlightening conversation & patience with our endless questions about their incredible lifestyle.
Spent the afternoon in D.C. walking the National Mall & Memorial Parks.
Meandered through the Smithsonian & caught a 3-D IMAX show
At just about the farthest walking point from where we parked, we got caught in a pretty rough thunderstorm. With a mix of running, walking to catch our breath, & laughing at the ridiculousness of it all – we returned to the car soaked like wet puppy dogs. Changed clothes, stopped for dinner, headed to the airport & slept like babies the entire flight home.
We spent the day exploring the “sailboat capital of the world”, downtown Annapolis with Kirk and Lisa. We strolled through the local shops, made our way past “Ego Alley” and they treated us to lunch at McGarvey’s along the city dock. We lounged on deck this evening with a stack of “TravelTopics” questions, learned more about each other, enjoyed the conversation and read as the sun set.
Another glorious day of sailing The Chesapeake Bay! We have so much respect and appreciation for Kirk and Lisa “showing us the ropes” (pun intended).
We woke up with daylight, shared morning greetings and breakfast, and even borrowed the dingy to row over to a little island we could see across the way. We spent the rest of the day learning, asking a zillion questions, and listening with intent to our Captain and Admiral :o)
Tonight, we anchored up in the Chester River. We took this pic of the moon looking up through the windows of our state room. A day and eve well spent!
An amazing beginning to our sailing excursion of the Chesapeake Bay! We started the day with a fun breakfast at Chick & Ruth’s Delly in downtown Annapolis before meeting up with Lisa & Kirk at Weems Creek. We dingied out to tour the beautiful “Thalia” and put away our small amount of gear.
We then all dingied back to shore & headed into town for lunch & to Trader Joe’s to stock up on “provisions”. Once we returned to the boat & settled in, we set the sails & headed out past Thomas Point lighthouse toward our first night’s anchoring near near High Island up the Hrode River.
I particularly enjoyed settling into our “state room” aboard “Thalia”, sharing great conversation and a restful dinner in the salon, and lounging in the cockpit and deck taking in two spectacular shooting stars and seeing the orbiting satellites blazing across the clear night’s sky.
