Had a wonderful night sail from Maine over to Nova Scotia.

Left Rockland with Westerly winds which lightened through the night. A small whale breached in front of the boat as the sun was rising. We came across a huge Basking Shark, several pods of dolphins, a Sunfish, and also a floating whale carcass (bleh) Arrive in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, tied to a mooring ball and checked into Canada (Yay!!!). WE MADE IT TO NOVA SCOTIA!!!

Left Salem at sunrise and motored in the fog till the wind filled in from behind. Saw a small whale breaching with visible injuries as it tried to get away from at least one shark which we saw nearby. Anchored at Jewell Island for the night before continuing to Rockland. Lot of lobster pots to dodge the entire way. Saw a small-nose dolphin, several seals, and a sunfish along the way. Anchored in Rockland just outside the mooring field.

Sailed from Plymouth, MA to Salem, MA. Getting into Salam was chaotic there are so many boats in this area! We also hooked up to a mooring ball for the first time ever!

We went from Stonington, CT to Plymouth, MA headed to Salem tomorrow. It was a great day. We even listened to and finished a book during the trip.

After cleaning the bottom of the boat it was time to head to shore to meet up with family for some much needed ice cream!

This was one of the coldest trips we have done so far and it’s probably going to continue being cold as we keep heading up the east coast to Nova Scotia.

This passage was timed with the currents and some shifting wind. Started out a bit rough but the water smoothed out as the sun was setting. We'd seen lots of crab pots and debris which makes for a nervous night watch. Always great to greet the sunrise and we anchored shortly after.

Departed Ellis Island after waiting for a favorable current to sail along East River to Port Washington. Made really good time and fun to see the city from the water.

After a super calm night on anchor near Deleware City, we left early in the morning towards the mouth of the Delaware Bay. Things got really scary when we had a hard grounding in a jetty which was not marked on the charts. Stopped to assess the damage and even jumped in the water to check under the boat. Luckily Nauti Dream is fine. We continued on our path and had really great conditions the entire day and through the night. Encountered a storm about 15 minutes before reaching the anchorage next to the Statue of Liberty which delayed our arrival as we waited in the channels for the storm to clear up.

After anchoring overnight in Chesapeake City, we refueled before continuing through the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. Thankful there was not a lot of shopping traffic and timed it to motor with the current. Anchored outside Deleware City where we picked up crew for the next passage around to NYC.

Left Still Pond with the wind pushing us North. Was overtaken by a strong storm which was intense for about 30 minutes and then just rained the rest of the passage. Had to dodge a lot of logs and debris coming down the channel. Set anchor in Chesapeake City just as the sun was setting.

The rain stopped just as we picked up the anchor to leave Pasadena. Got a view of the collapsed Baltimore Bridge as we headed up the Chesapeake Bay. Had to motor-sail with not much wind and into a strong opposing current. Crab tape everywhere, so had to stay alert. Managed to cook steak and asparagus for dinner in-route. Anchored at Still Pond Anchorage just before the sun set.

Try to get through the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal by the end of the week, we are breaking up the distance into smaller evening sails. Windy conditions for some great Close Haul sailing have us a nice boost. Foggy conditions made visibility reduced to several miles, but nothing too concerning.

We spent an additional week after our Hatteras crossing to recover and wait for boat parts to be delivered. Departed Hampton in the evening with following wind and waves. The waves died down through the night as we sail farther up the Chesapeake Bay. Saw dolphins and Cow-Nosed Rays. Wind shifted several times and ended up motor sailing much of the passage. Annapolis was very chaotic when we arrived, but were able to set anchor and rest.

Our fiberglass deck was joined to the hull with fiberglass on the inside and 5200 on the outside. This joint extended along the transom, below the waterline. We decided to fiberglass the joint on the outside and also add a small step below the swim platform to aid in getting on and off the boat when the platform is raised. We used closed-cell foam to get the overall shape, then fiberglassed between each of the layers to the transom before the outer shell of fiberglass. We used Total Boat Epoxy, Fairing Compound, Gelcoat, and Antifouling Paint to complete this project. We have now been able to sail with this DIY upgrade for about a month now and am really happy to say this has become one of our favorite and useful DIY projects so far.

Rounding Cape Hatteras was not on our bucket list of places to sail. Getting around Cape Lookout and then to the point of Cape Hatteras went much as we had anticipated. Very challenging conditions, but we made good time. Then came the hurricane-strength winds as the sun went down. We had just started to point Northward. It was the most terrified we have been and did not know if Nauti Dream would hold up through the storm. At one point the bimini started to come apart and Lynn's inflatable life jacket deployed because we were getting soaked by the pelting rain and waves crashing over the deck. We made it through having hand-steered for 30 hours.

Our canvas dodger with isinglass has already been restitched several times and the isinglass replaced, but continued to fall apart. So we started building out a hard dodger using closed-cell foam and fiberglass. Although it is not quite done, we are looking forward to completing it in the next several weeks. We will use tinted plexiglass and the center pane is designed as a hatch we will be able to allow the air to flow into the cockpit area. Can't wait to get this one finished.

Had to dive on the anchor to free it from being tangled in some wreckage before getting underway. Departed Charleston with winds from the Northeast. Battled the current and winds till the late evening. The sea state calmed during our night sailing and the wind died off completely the next morning. Caught 7 Bonita and 1 Mahi along the way.

This is our shakedown sail after being hauled out for 11 months. Sail started off calm and blissful with dolphins in our wake. A massive storm blew in and we got drenched. It cleared up just in time for us to enter the channel and set the anchor. Overall, a great first passage to our next adventure.

Splash Day! With Nauti Dream back in the water, it's time to start planning our next voyage. We'd like to get to Nova Scotia in July and then the Annapolis Boat Show in October. Hopefully we can do some buddy-boating and maybe even bring some crew with us at various legs of the journey.

It’s the little things that make all the difference. We had a freezer inset into our counter that no longer worked and we decided not to repair it. We already bought another freezer that we store under our salon table. After our three month trip to the Bahamas last summer we decided we really wanted to add a washing machine. So, we bought a very small portable washing machine and made the decision to rip out the broken freezer and replaced it with our new washing machine. It all seemed fairly straightforward. Yet it turned out to be anything but straightforward. Tearing out the old freezer was a battle on its own. After that, we had to modify our little washer to fit in the space. Modifying it included cutting off the base, cutting off most of the side casing, moving the water inlet, rewiring it, reconfiguring the sump pump, and making a mounting base for it out of starboard. After all that extensive prep work, we installed it in its new home by running all the new wiring and plumbing needed. After running all the necessary test to make sure everything was working correctly. We closed up the space. I am happy to report that it has been working great and makes being a live-aboard a little more relaxing.

Boat Upgrade - New Hard Dodger Our canvas dodger tore last year and finally able to build out a new hard dodger. Going to have one hatch in the middle to get a good breeze into the cockpit.

Boat Upgrade - New Washing Machine We replaced the top-loading freezer in the galley with a washing machine. Had to disassemble and rebuild the washer to fit into the space, but really excited to have it all connected and running. We are naming it "R2" cause it looks like an R2 Droid mounted under the counter.

Boat Work - Part 7 - Butt Job Nauti Dream has a plastic bumper on the transom which is mounted with screws going through the hull and below the waterline. Those screws have corroded and were causing leaks. We've removed the bumper, fiberglassed the deck to hull joint and added a small scoop to make getting on and off the boat a bit easier without having to lower the swim platform. Really excited for this upgrade and happy with the results so far.

It's been to long with Nauti Dream out of the water and all the boat work. We really needed to get back on the water. So we met up with Captain Jack and his wife for a beautiful day sail on the St. John's River. No wind to start out, but picked up later in the day.

Boat Work - Part 6 - Resetting the Rudder Bearings We could feel some shaking in the steering as we sailed and able to shake the rudder when we hauled out. So we removed the rudder. The lower bearing fell right out with the rudder and we could see it was not attached. Ended up reinforcing the housing with fiberglass before reinstalling the bearing. Had to reset the upper bearing as well. Had to cut the bolts on the control arm for the autopilot and a torch to remove the bolts before cleaning it all up. Put gelcoat, primer and paint on the rudder post as well since this one is made of fiberglass. The rudder is reinstalled, fits tightly with no play, and turns smoothly. Super happy with it.

Boat Work - Part 1 - Haul Out and Turbo Refurbish With Nauti Dream out of the water, or first task has been to rebuild the turbo for the Yanmar diesel. The turbo has been seized since we left Puerto Rico and we have not been able to run the engine over 2k rpm without thick black exhaust (indicating excessive fuel being burned). Turbo is rebuilt and on to the next task.