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...
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Jimmy Lee
Apr 30, 20236 min read
23-17 The Power Trifecta
Now it comes to one of the main reasons we moved Utopia to St. Petersburg…Lithium Batteries. As we speak, Utopia is sitting over at...
sondrawinter
Apr 23, 20232 min read
23-16 Dreaming of Land Adventures
Jimmy and I have always loved hiking. Once we slip the lines we look forward to finding some cool places to explore and hike along the...
sondrawinter
Apr 16, 20234 min read
23-15 Impromptu Women’s Sail in Apalachee Bay
Last October I got brave and attended a women’s sailing meet up during the Sailboat Show in Annapolis, and attending that event led to a...
Jimmy Lee
Apr 9, 20232 min read
23-14 Spring Project Update-Happy Easter
Now that we have been in St. Pete for three months, I though I would give an update on our boat projects. As in all things boat, the...
sondrawinter
Apr 2, 20233 min read
23-13 Sailing!
Okay, I debated whether or not to make this into a post, but thought it might be nice to share a story about sailing for a change of...
sondrawinter
Mar 26, 20233 min read
23-12 A Haul Out and New Shaft Seal
Success! It took some work, but our boat's shaft seal leaks at a normal leakless rate. Jimmy found an authorized installer for our...
sondrawinter
Mar 19, 20233 min read
23-11 No sailing, but a weekend of small chores
It was quite chilly this past weekend so we filled our time on the boat taking care of miscellaneous tasks. A sneak peak into a day of...
Jimmy Lee
Mar 12, 20232 min read
23-10 Lessons Learned: Dealing with Fog
Part 5 of 5! (finally the last Lessons Learned post of this series) So when I installed a new Raymarine chartplotter last year it...
sondrawinter
Mar 5, 20235 min read
23-9 Lessons Learned: Watches that Work
Part 4 Today's lesson learned is really about the need to properly keep time; clue: it might not be wise to use that fancy GPS watch... ...
sondrawinter
Feb 26, 20232 min read
23-8 Where there is smoke...
There better be smoke alarms. And great neighbors. We are grateful to have both. This is the short story. For those who want more...
Jimmy Lee
Feb 19, 20232 min read
23-7 Lessons Learned: Food on Passage
Part 3- Jimmy's tips on eating well underway Since I am the cook of the family unit it's probably best I take this one. Preparing meals...
sondrawinter
Feb 12, 20235 min read
23-6 Lessons Learned: Managing Seasickness
Lessons Learned Part 2 - Sondra's tips on minimizing sea sickness When seasoned sailor and co-founder of 59 North Sailing Mia Karlsson...
Jimmy Lee
Feb 5, 20232 min read
23-5 Keeping the Sea out of the Boat
If you are reading this then the boat is still floating. Whew. One of the most important rules of boating is "keep the ocean on the...
sondrawinter
Jan 29, 20232 min read
23-4 Lessons Learned on Overnight Passages
Part 1 - Background Jimmy and I have had the opportunity to complete four Gulf Crossings so far, and still learn a lot with each one. I...
sondrawinter
Jan 22, 20233 min read
23-3 Boat Show Fun
This weekend Jimmy and I attended the St. Pete Boat Show, which was the 45th annual show, and is the largest boat show on the Gulf Coast....
sondrawinter
Jan 8, 20234 min read
23-1 Our First Short Handed Crossing Completed!
Friday 12/30 - Three of us drove down to ABYC after work and unloaded our gear before Susie and Bill stopped by to say hello. A simple...
sondrawinter
Dec 29, 20221 min read
22-5 Watching the New Year's Weekend Weather
There may be a possibility to move Utopia to St. Petersburg New Year's Weekend. Jimmy has been checking weather and wave forecasts to...
sondrawinter
Dec 25, 20221 min read
22-4 One Week Out?
Jimmy and I are now in the mode of frequently watching the weather forecasts. The plan is to leave our slip of the past year one day...
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