Welp, it’s about time we get moving south, eh? With all the boat dramas from the last few episodes now behind us, we’re finally making miles south down the Illinois River. And good thing, too, ‘cause winter is hot on our keel.
This is the first full month on the river, and our first full month away from our home port. After putting last month's craziness behind us, we were delighted to see that we were much much closer to our long-term monthly cruising budget goal of $3,000 a month.
Oh dear…This one’s for you dreamers out there who will one day become newbie boat owners, just like us. Take notes! Hopefully you won’t have to make these same mistakes. Last episode, we had issues with our centerboard, which were — surprise! — caused by yours truly.
At the end of our last episode, we left you thinking we ran aground. Yeah, we did. Though in all fairness, it was more of a “nudge the bottom” situation. The question was, how did we manage to run aground in 8 feet of water, when we only draft 4?
What lies between us and saltwater sailing? 1300 miles of rivers! Before we can get underway, we need to unstep our mast. For this leg of our journey south, we turning our sailboat into a motorboat.
This was a bit of a crazy month. We completed the last of our must-have upgrades before heading for the river, we left our homeport, we had a big going away party/celebrated Lauren's birthday, and we had some big boat expenses - some of them unexpected.
Do you dream of sailing over the horizon in your own sailboat? If so, one of the biggest questions you probably have is, How much is the boat?
This is it! After years of preparation, we’re finally untying the dock lines, leaving our homeport, and pointing our bow south.
This is it! After years of preparation, we’re finally untying the dock lines, leaving our homeport, and pointing our bow south.
Just one week is left before we depart our home port of Racine, Wisconsin — for good!?! — and take off south down the river.
