We were a little loose on where exactly we would go with the kids this past year. Europe was fairly well-planned, but boat-living was (and HAD to be) organic, flexible. It had to FLOW. It wasn’t until late May, when I sat down with the kids, thinking about our end-of-year projects and we decided to make…
Tag: travel-school
Boats and Birthdays
“The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.” — Madeleine L’Engle Turning 48 this year was mostly peaceful, full of natural beauty and much joy! We left Coconut Grove and anchored off Key Biscayne on birthday eve. Tony and I watched the sunset from the bow…
Key West Race Week
We arrived in Key West in nice weather this time and ready to race! The kids and I immediately set up school, picked up groceries and cleaned up the boat, as we know we will have many visitors this week. We have gotten used to hearing, “all hands on deck!” …which means everyone helps. Key…
Christmas Prep from Miami to Marathon
School work and art time onboard CORTADO. Miami has been full of school, holiday surprises, and meeting new friends. What great fun (and equally, great CHALLENGE) to try to create and replicate our old ways of celebrating the Christmas season without the comforts of our house, decorations, friends and traditions we know and love so…
I (Heart) Coconut Grove
Do you know that Dinner Key Marina in Miami originally served as base of operations for Pan American Airway’s famed flying boats, the Clippers (basically the first-ever Sea Planes)? The original Pan Am terminal building (next door) now serves as Miami’s City Hall. Dinner Key is a short walk to all the cool shops and…
Get Organized and Go Fishing
“PORT out! STARBOARD home! POSH with a capital P.O.S.H.” Remember the grandpa, father of inventor Caractacus Potts (Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang) and his melodious tune? Well this is exactly what I sing to myself sometimes as I try to keep everything straight on board. Never in all my mid-western years did that little ditty ever make a…
More Florida Cruising
This past week has been filled with quiet family time and getting to know the boat. Tony and I are learning how to travel and dock as a team, and we are settling easily into our roles and routines. The boat is lovely. Wandering down the inter-coastal has been a delightful experience. It is so…
We Christen Thee… Cortado
Built in 1973, our boat is a unique wooden-hulled Sportsman 40 HUCKINS. check out Huckins Yachts here — (below is the poem we read at our christening event 5 November, 2014) CORTADO Let this be our quiet place, Our small haven from the noise and bustle of everyday. Let us find within these walls of…
JENNIE MAC + CORTADO
We did it! We managed to pack all our things, fly down to Jacksonville and bought ourselves a beautiful Huckins yacht. As Tony says, “this is a dream we never knew we had…” These photos are of the transom being hand-lettered by Larry Dillon who has supposedly painted most every Huckins transom for the last…
Preparing for Life on the Water
This is a fabulous example (thank you artist Andy Whitlock) of our situation right now. We have lists! So many lists. Ok not exactly. We have one main list that Tony organizes, monitors and soundly revises and then there are the 14,000 lists that are in my head. All scattered, un-alphabetized and jammed with worry…
T I M B A L E R O 