Clearwater Harbor Marina is very nice with a great location. You can just walk up the street and find plenty of restaurants, grocery store and West Marine (which is becoming one of our favorite places to shop) is just a short drive. Renee decided to stop working as a Pediatric Nurse at the end of November 2016 in order to tie up all the loose ends we had at home and get 5KNOTS ready so we could call it our home. Renee spent 10 days at the boat
As soon as the repairs were completed, myself and three acquaintances sailed from Marathon Key to Clearwater Beach by way of the Dry Tortugas where we spent two nights. Unfortunately Renee could not come on this trip because she was still working. The wind cooperated for our run to to Dry Tortugas. The weatherman predicted an easterly wind of 8 to 15 knots, moderate seas of 3 to 4 feet and no rain. The evening skies were clear and the stars were beautiful. Around 22:00 we decided to drop
Under any other circumstance, having your boat located in the Florida Keys would be awesome. However, we were back in Tennessee and our boat was on the hard (out of the water on stands) waiting to be repaired. As it turns out, if you are to break down in the Keys, doing it at the Marathon Marina & Boatyard is not a bad thing. The marina is well equipped and the staff there are amazing (thanks again Jules & Drew). They went beyond our expectations in making sure
After we finally closed and the boat was ours, we made plans to move it to Clearwater Beach, Florida where it will stay until we make our permanent move to the boat. Clearwater is a one day drive from Knoxville and an easy flight if we do not need our vehicle while at the boat. We left Ft. Lauderdale a few days later than we had planned due to a hold up in the boats paperwork with the wind off our nose. Since time was short, we decided
There are literally hundreds (more like thousands) of boats for sale on the market and deciding which one is right for us is like maneuvering through a giant maze. You have to decide on features, layout, sail configuration, year, condition and of course price. We came up with two lists, the Must Haves and the Would be Nice list. Here is how we not only maneuvered through the ins and outs of the maze but how we conquered it! Having spent 12 days sailing the British Virgin Islands