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23-37 Four Weeks to Go
There are four weeks left in our apartment lease. The apartment is becoming sparse as today Jimmy has disassembled the television and...
sondrawinter
Sep 17, 20233 min read

23-36 Utopia’s System Series #4: Communication
So, while on the boat we will want to communicate with friends, family and other boats and vessels within the vicinity. This means we...
Jimmy Lee
Sep 10, 20234 min read


23-35 Hurricane Idalia
First let me say, all is well with Utopia and the Tallahassee area. However, we had a few nerve-racking moments throughout the storm....
sondrawinter
Sep 3, 20236 min read


23-34 Selling About Time
The selling of About Time was an interesting process for Jimmy and me. Not only did we figure out the process of selling a boat by...
sondrawinter
Aug 27, 20236 min read


23-33 A Mini Vacation in Atlanta
Jimmy and I just returned from a quick trip to Atlanta, Georgia. The weekend’s focus was to attend a concert, then we filled in the...
sondrawinter
Aug 20, 20234 min read


23-32 Utopia's System Series #3: Internet
Over the past year I have had a few people ask how we get our internet while cruising. It’s definitely an evolving topic with the...
Jimmy Lee
Aug 13, 20235 min read


23-31 Downsizing Round Two -with 10 weeks to go
We are 10 weeks away from the end of our apartment lease and have started to downsize, again. This is where things are getting real; real...
sondrawinter
Aug 6, 20236 min read


23-30 Dinghy Day
I am all for sharing mistakes Jimmy and I make as we venture into the cruising world. Some of these may seem obvious but reflecting on...
sondrawinter
Jul 30, 20235 min read

23-29 Utopia's System Series #2: Black Water
Never knowing what to call it…black water, sewage? I think black water gets the point across. Not as complicated as the water supply...
Jimmy Lee
Jul 23, 20235 min read


23-28 Quarterly Project Update (April - June)
In April we posted a list of projects we had done during our first three months in St. Petersburg and now it is time to capture projects...
sondrawinter
Jul 16, 20234 min read


23-27 Milestones, Decision Points and Fear
Throughout our 5-year plan schedule to transition from full time work to full time cruising we have had many opportunities to “bailout”. ...
sondrawinter
Jul 9, 20238 min read


23-26 Utopia's System Series #1: Fresh Water
To kick this series off I want to go over all the pieces and parts of Utopia's potable water system. From tankage, water procurement,...
Jimmy Lee
Jun 30, 20235 min read


23-25 Drinking Water at Sea
This was an article I wrote for the Florida Water Resources Journal (February 2023) and thought it would be fun to share it here. People...
sondrawinter
Jun 25, 20234 min read

23-24 Boat System Overview
Over the next several weeks I am going to be doing a detailed overview of each of our boat systems. A lot of these systems are something...
Jimmy Lee
Jun 18, 20233 min read


23-23 The "Five"-Year Plan
As mentioned in Small Plans Become Big Plans , it was in 2019 that Jimmy and I had decided we want to move forward with full time...
sondrawinter
Jun 11, 20237 min read


23-22 Another Eventful Docking Without Crashing
Departure The Yacht Rigger had completed the work on Utopia , so she was ready to move back to her slip over at the Harborage. We planned...
sondrawinter
Jun 4, 20236 min read


23-21 A Sailor's Worst Nightmare
When one thinks of the worst thing that could happen on your boat, many would say falling overboard underway, encountering a hurricane or...
Jimmy Lee
May 28, 20235 min read


23-20 Wedding Days, Maine & Sailboat Shopping
Today is the 24th anniversary wedding anniversary of Jimmy and me. So it seems fitting to share how wedding days, Maine and boats seem...
sondrawinter
May 21, 20234 min read


23-19 Small Plans Become Big Plans
One morning in 2019, while waiting for the tide to rise high enough to take our last sailboat About Time out for a day sail, Jimmy and I...
sondrawinter
May 14, 20233 min read


23-18 How Did We Get Into Sailing?
& How did we learn how to sail? Let's back up a bit and talk about our sailing background (and lack thereof), while answering the...
sondrawinter
May 7, 20234 min read
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