Beginning Again!

Harbortown Marina – Merritt Island, FL (Sunday, 4/7)

For the last few months we have been preparing Island Office for our next adventure. Finally, today the preparation has ended and tomorrow we will once again leave Harbortown Marina to discover new and wonderful waterways not yet encountered.

First about the preparation:  We hauled the boat in February for some preventative maintenance, a few minor touch ups, and lots of wax all over.  We were pleased to see that there was little barnacle growth, proving that the best thing to keep a boat in working order is to use it.

Haul Out Day

The woman who runs Mermaid Marine Services is Camilla and she does a great job. She tells us all the time that she loves to work on our boat because we keep it in order, and she thinks it is so beautiful. We think so too.

Camilla

In March we put the boat back in the water (aka “splashed” it), and began putting things back on it that we removed when we came home from Maine in 2017.  We also had a long list of preventative maintenance items to do in the interior such as disinfecting the ice maker, cleaning the freezer and refrigerator, polishing the wood, and adding a coat of wax on the fiberglass. There was also the unplanned expenses of rebuilding the carburetor on the dinghy engine, and replacing the alternator (better now than when on the journey).  Finally we had the small mundane tasks like putting water in the tanks, updating the navigation software, changing water filters, getting gas for the dinghy engine and washing the boat.

Filling gas for the dinghy

Putting water in the tanks

Over the last two weeks we made numerous trips to the marina to bring aboard two inflatable SUPs, non-perishable & perishable food items, clothes and personal items. Then today, we made our last trip with our computers, more clothes, books, and the last bit of food. How we found storage for it all is a mystery, but we did.  We are especially grateful to our neighbor friend Terry who provided our transportation.  To say his SUV was packed to the max was an understatement.

SUV packed with stuff

Neighbor Terry

Now about the adventure:  Our trip this time will be the Down East Loop.  This will have us travel up the east coast ICW, through the Chesapeake Bay, along the New Jersey coast and into New York Harbor (now a familiar route).  From there we will head north up the Hudson River as we did in our Great Loop adventure in 2015, but this time continuing all the way to Lake Champlain.  At the north end of the lake we will pick up the Richelieu Canal and take it to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Here we will cruise through Quebec and eventually the Canadian maritime areas of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island, and Nova Scotia before returning to the US in Maine.  While this trip will take about 7 months, we will be in constant communication with friends and family, and of course we will be working along the way, on our Island Office.

Routes on the Down East Loop

So, stay tuned for more about the adventures of Island Office on the Down East Loop!