Time line!

We finally have one.

What a relief to have actual dates (ranges, at least).  Sure, they are just yearly goals, but to have semi-solid estimates/goals for key items is encouraging.
So what are some of our goals?

• Finish my 200 hr yoga certification (checked another training off the list this past weekend!)
• Finish my Culinary degree (that is going to take a bit, as I'm taking a light load - as well as summers off so we can play in the water!)
• He needs to finish his dive master/instructor certifications.  And continue working at his wonderful job (so glad he enjoys it!) so that we can pay for the certifications, the boat and stash as much cash away as possible.
• Buy a boat!  Shooting for this year on that goal.  We're vacillating between monohulls and cats again.  The money we can save by choosing a monohull is astounding.  Regardless of which we choose, having it paid for in full is also on our timeline.
• Once we have the boat, I suppose we'll need to learn to sail it.  We're both pretty proficient at motoring, but the point of the sail boat is to save some gas money.

Needless to say, we'll be hanging out in Savannah for quite a while.  

If one is good, is two really better?

We're off to check out a couple of local monohulls in about an hour.  A Hunter 34' and a Hunter 40'.  We've been looking into monohulls thanks to the incredibly reduced price vs a multihull (1/4 the price in most cases!).  Thoughts are that if we go ahead and buy a boat, then we can learn to sail now.  NOW.  I want to be on the water.  I'm ready.  We'll see how today's viewings go.  We may love them, we may not.  From what I can tell, Hunters are really more for coastal sailing/cruising than for bluewater trips (ocean crossings).  But if the 40' is sound and do-able, I say go for it.  (She's recently been on a trip to the Caribbean and returned her owner to Savannah safe and sound).

Just finished up another semester of Culinary School.  Finally learned to fillet/cook fish!  Just try to convince me that won't be helpful on a boat.  It was a great semester, but now that it's over I'm ready to enjoy my summer.  I also just completed my Water Fitness certification and can't wait to get started teaching.  If I can't be ON the water at least I can be IN it!

Happy (almost) Summer!

Still learning...

It's been ages since we posted, but there's really no news.  We've spent the months researching boats and deciding the best path for us.  Still trying to figure out if we want to buy our own boat right out of the gate (dock?), or perhaps to work on a boat for that hands-on experience that we both crave.  I'm leaning toward working on someone's boat for a while - even if only for a short, temporary time frame.  I'm pretty darn sure the learning curve is going to be steep and priceless.

On the positive side we've been chatting with some locals about sailing lessons.  Neither has a boat, but they've got extensive knowledge in sailing.  We'll figure out those pesky boat details when the time comes.  Just to know we've got convenient/intelligent brains to pick is a relief!

We're also educating ourselves on potential income generators.  Sure would suck to finally get out to sea only to realize we're eating rice and fish for eons.  We don't expect to be as cushy-cozy as we are now, but look forward to the excitement of the changes, regardless.

I'm back to working on my Culinary degree and find myself mentally making modifications to recipes and taking note of cooking techniques that will work well on boats.  It's becoming a constant subconscious exercise in our daily lives to compare everything we do to how we can do it on a boat.  I think that's a good start ;)

Thanks for checking in.  Feel free to ask questions, follow the blog or offer some advice.  We're trying to soak up as much info as we can while we fulfill our land obligations!

We're still here!

Not much going on boat-wise in the past week or so.  We looked at the Lagoon, and loved it.  We're continuing to shop - new boats are being added to Yachtworld every week.  I'm continuing to bombard my broker with random questions (What does Not Available for Sale in the US really mean...?)

So we're still here, alive and kickin' and looking for "our boat".  I'd love to hear from you.  Feel free to follow us via any of the methods posted along the right side of the page.  I'd hate for you to miss an update when something REALLY happens!  ;)

Lagoon 380 = Perfection!

Well, maybe Perfection is a bit strong.  But I have to say, if I happened across a Lagoon 380 that needed a good home, I'd certainly be happy to adopt it!

We were able to board a 2008 (?) Lagoon 380 this past Thursday - here in Savannah, of all places.  She was great!  Lots of room, clean lines, not a lot of clutter - but plenty of amenities, and certainly liveaboardable/charterable (yes, I make up words.  You'll get used to it, even if SpellCheck never does).  We happened to be on the Owner's version (my favorite) but I'm sure the Charter layout would work as well.  If you're unfamiliar with Owner vs Charter - well, we were too until we started all this catamaran shopping.  The Charter version has 4 berths (bedrooms) - one in each end of both hulls.  And a head (bathroom...) between the two berths, to be shared.  So - 4 bedroom, 2 bath in traditional real estate lingo.  The Owner's layout, however, has 3 berths and 2 heads.  One hull has an identical layout to the Charter version, but the other hull has a larger berth on one end and a much larger head at the other - with some sort of desk/dressing table/couch etc in the middle.  I'll post a layout from a Lagoon 380 so you can see what I'm talking about.

So where does this leave us?  To be honest, Lagoon 380's in the Owner's layout are actually fairly hard to find.  And pretty pricey.  Our price range keeps going up and up and up...  Time to figure out how to juggle our real estate in order to land on a solid $$ amount - a realistic $$ amount, so that we can REALLY get in there and start shopping!  All in due time, I'm sure.  But I have to say, being on that Lagoon last week certainly made me itch to get out on the water!