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Utopia
New York
Ahoy there! We’re Stephan (the German), Corinne (the French), and our dog Harper (the American) – an international crew with big dreams and a trusty boat named Utopia (a Cabo Rico 45, if you’re into the details). We picked her up in Virginia in 2022 and spent two years refitting her in New York, learning the ropes (and the leaks) while sailing around Long Island Sound and up north. But by the end of 2024, we finally pointed her bow south and headed to the Bahamas for a winter of sunshine, salty breezes, and good times before heading back up North for the summer. We can’t wait to meet a bunch of you along the way for meetups, parties, bonfires, or whatever else floats your boat. Spot us out there? Swing by and say hi—there’s always a cold beer on board with your name on it! Cheers to adventures ahead!
Cape Cod Canal through the bay to Provincetown. Home until Friday. Let the fun begin.
We got a little bit of everything today—downwind runs, a sweet reach, some close-hauling, and a stint of motoring through light winds. All in all, a great day on the water that brought us a step closer to next week’s destination: Provincetown. The crew—especially Harper—was thrilled, since the conditions gave her the perfect excuse to have a full-on bark fest with the waves.
Anchored in Newport for some alternator repair. Wish me luck I can get it done. Update: bush-fix in place and the alternator is working for now🤞🏻
Packed anchorage. We got one of the last spots. Did not expect that.
Never done this before … motor sailing under spinnaker. Well there is a first for everything 😀
We kicked things off motoring through what could generously be called “no wind at all.” About halfway in, the breeze finally remembered it had a job, so up went the spinnaker and we drifted happily along for the rest of the day. A slow, lazy cruise across Long Island Sound
No sailing just a full day of motoring. Nothing to report. Anchored in a nice calm anchorage.
After all the boat work we are finally on the move again. Short shakedown hop to port Washington. Everything seems to check out. Very happy camper
Finally the new bling is on the boat😀
All in a good day’s chaos! The new transmission is finally in, and the world feels right again. Celebrated the victory with a solid glass of whiskey and a toast to Neptune—because why not keep the sea gods happy? Now comes the real challenge: putting the boat back together and scrubbing off the evidence of our mechanical mayhem. Fingers crossed the shakedown cruise doesn’t turn into a breakdown cruise.
