Blog - 5KNOTS

What’s The Reason for Hurricane Season?

Did you know there is actually five seasons? Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall and Hurricane Season! We are officially in our 2nd Hurricane Season since purchasing 5KNOTS last September and thus far managed to survive without any issues. In fact we managed to dodge two Hurricane Bullets! After purchasing 5KNOTS in Ft. Lauderdale last September, we found ourselves in Marathon, Fla with 5KNOTS on the hard for six weeks having repairs done. During this time Hurricane Matthew was predicted to make landfall in Marathon. Luck had it for us and Matthew [...]

By Chewy| September 23rd, 2017|Uncategorized|0 Comments

As Marvin Gay would say, “What’s Going On”

Since our last post we had another addition to the family, Knox Everett Williamson. Here is Knox with his proud dad Jesse. All are doing well and we are excited about our new grandson. Can't wait to get Knox aboard for a little sailing. This makes two new grandsons in twelve weeks! We are staying busy doing the Great Loop to visit both of our new Grandsons who live in Maryland and Tennessee. We sure do enjoy our time together and want to get to see [...]

By Chewy| July 10th, 2017|General|0 Comments

Life At The Dock

Well, we have been at Brunswick Landing Marina (BLM) for over a month and unfortunately we have not been out sailing since we got here. Instead we began preparing for our next big adventure which will be sailing to the Bahamas. Our current projection is to wait out hurricane season at BLM and start heading south around December 1st. Our son Anthony and his family (Amel, Lalia and Maelie) will be coming from France to join us in the Bahamas for New Years. We are all very excited and [...]

By Chewy| May 24th, 2017|General|2 Comments

Brunswick Landing Marina

We were greeted by a cheerful staff when we arrived at Brunswick Landing Marina (BLM) where we will stay through December. Our newest grand baby Wesley is already a month old and we can't wait to see him. Jesse and Danielle are also expecting another boy in June, so we are also excited about this. BLM is a fairly easy drive to both Tennessee and Maryland so we anticipate having visitors while we are here. Saint Simons Island, Jekyll Island and Cumberland Island State Park are just around the [...]

By Chewy| April 23rd, 2017|General|2 Comments

Who Is On Watch?

After a week in Miami we finally got the weather window we were looking for. With 384 miles to cover on this leg, we figured it would take 2.5 - 3 days of nonstop sailing. Since this is a rather long trip, we had a friend join us to help out. Here was the predicted winds for our 3 day trip; Day 1 - 20 knots from the South East, then dropping to around 15, Day 2 - 10 knots from the East, Day 3 - 5 knots [...]

By Chewy| April 22nd, 2017|Travel|1 Comment

Three Famous Jewish Wines

Have you heard the joke, "Can you name three famous Jewish Wines"? Answer: Mogen David, Manischewitz and When are you going to take me to Miami? Well, we are in Miami. After spending a few days in Key West we had to start making our way North in order to eventually get to Brunswick , Georgia where we will stay for around six months in order to wait out hurricane season. Our daughter Melissa and her husband Charles welcomed a new baby boy into the family, [...]

By Chewy| April 12th, 2017|Travel|2 Comments

Go West Young Man and Lady

We left Marco Island at sunup and had a nice sail down to Shark River Inlet. Winds and seas cooperated this time providing 10-12 knots from the NW with 1-2 foot seas (perfect sailing weather). Rather than wind our way up into Shark River, we decided to sail a little further south which will shorten tomorrows sail to Marathon. We anchored just within 3 NM of Cape Sable and the Everglades National Park. Here 3 miles off shore and you are still in only about 12 feet ow [...]

By Chewy| April 2nd, 2017|Travel|4 Comments

Having A Large Hose Is Not Always A Good Thing

Since we were going to be in Marco Island Marina for a few days, we thought we would try and get to the bottom of the wet bilge once-in-for-all (we hope). I called Beneteau and give them the skinny of the ways we knew water had gotten into the bilge. The bilge pump float valve was not working, so consequently back in September while running the air conditioner, the condensate just filed the bilge rather than being pumped overboard. Back in October while attempting to leave Marathon, we noticed [...]

By Chewy| March 26th, 2017|General|2 Comments

And Their Off

As much as were excited about finally getting on our way, whoops, Mother Nature had a different set of plans for us. It didn't take us long to realize that the difference between a nice sail and a rough one is all about timing. Weather rules all! As we left St. Pete North Basin we were pleased to have a 10 knot wind from the North West. This means a nice easy downwind sail, Right? Not so, the gentle 10 knot wind turned into 20-24 with gusts over 26 [...]

By Chewy| March 24th, 2017|Travel|0 Comments

St. Petersburg

After several days of 15 MPH winds with gusts of 20-26 MPH hanging on a hook, we decided that a few days in a more protected anchorage would be a welcomed change. We managed to get a mooring ball in St. Pete's North Basin for a few days. Turns out that this is the weekend for the St. Petersburg Grand Prix Race. As you can imagine, there is all kinds of things going on here in the city. Yesterday we did laundry, took care of a few boat [...]

By Chewy| March 10th, 2017|Travel|4 Comments