Travel

It was all flab from sitting at my desk before we left. I feel great without the pudginess! And I feel a little stronger and little more confident about our abilities.

The RG is correct: You're always doing something on a sailboat. Hoisting and lowering then adjusting the sails, climbing up and down from the cabin, setting or retrieving the anchor (it weighs 20 lbs. and has 30-feet of chain weighing another 20 lbs. then 250-feet of rope weighing about 40-50 lbs.), and more really gave us quite a workout. The First Mate has always been in terrific shape so she didn't have quite the dramatic weight loss I experienced. But even when we were running the engine, we still had to be moving around and taking care of things.

I've been looking at boats for years but this search took about three months. I looked online for the four boat designs that I felt would serve our goals then visited several of each design. I've admired the Dana 24 since it was introduced in the 1980s so it was at the top of my list. We found Pelagic in Salem, MA and made an offer that day. It's been a joy to sail her ever since. It's not really a big boat but it has spacious accommodations for two adults. Since we pay for docking and servicing by the foot, it's good to have a shorter boat!

The refrigerator/freezer is quite brilliant. It's designed with an insert that creates two zones for cooling that have independent temperature controls so one side can be a freezer and the other a refrigerator. After some experimentation, we decided to remove the insert and use it just as a freezer. It draws a modest amount of current so our two 12-volt batteries can keep it running provided that the solar panel and the engine's alternator keep the voltage levels up.

Here's a link to Iceco and the 21-quart unit we bought:

https://icecofreezer.com/products/21qt-go20-dual-zone-fridge-freezer-white

It wasn't great for making ice even though the unit can get down to 15º F. We would buy ice at a marina, put it in Tupperware-type containers then put those in the freezer. The ice would last 4-5 days so we had ice for our drinks. The side benefit was that it helped to keep our food frozen.

I have to give a lot of credit to Courtney for figuring out how to take care of our provisions and ice. She wasn't experienced at boating when we bought Pelagic but she's become a pro in the galley and a fine sailing partner. We ate exceptionally well for the entire journey.

It's unlikely we'll take another trip as long as this but we'll continue to cruise. New England is my old sailing ground and it would be quite a trip to sail to Canada.

Of course, I'd be happy to answer your other questions if I can.