Our next trip is coming up quick. We plan to sail Blue Moon, a 48′ Leopard out of Key Largo. The dates of the trip are scheduled to be March 28-April 7, 2024. There is lots of interest in the trip, so be sure to sign up early!
This will be our 16th trip down to the Keys and the Bahamas. Each trip has been different. Each trip has been wonderful and fantastic. Each trip has led to the immediate planning of a subsequent trip. Each trip has pushed us into new territory with new friendships. We typically take 2 adults and up to 10 young people on our voyages.
Our first organized trip occurred during the summer of 2009 aboard the Halie and Matthew, a 118-foot schooner. We sailed from Key West to the Dry Tortugas and back. In 2010 and 2011, we sailed the upper and middle Keys aboard Pirate’s Choice, a 53′ gaff-rigged ketch. In 2012 and 2013, we sailed the entire Florida Keys on No Expectations, a 47′ Leopard catamaran. We really liked No Expectations and took her to the Bahamas in the spring of 2014, spring and summer in 2015, and spring in 2016. We sailed Big Easy II, a 44′ Leopard, to the Bahamas during the summer of 2016 and again to the Bahamas the spring of 2017. Spring and summer of 2018 we sailed a new boat, Adagio, a 45 Leopard catamaran. In 2019 we sailed two boats, Sundance and Mintaka out of Ft. Lauderdale. In 2020 we sailed Free Bird from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West and back. In 2022 we sailed Aurora to the Bahamas.
On some of our trips we include some element of service. We have several times done book drives to bring childrens’ books to Bimini and reorganized and stocked their library. During the summers of 2015 and 2016, we ran a band camp for the Bahamian children in Bimini. Each summer, we taught about 60 Bahamian kids how to play all kinds of musical instruments for a week. The band camp culminated in a Mardi Gras style parade through the streets of Bimini, a mini-concert afterwards, and Cajun jambalaya for everyone. Now that’s how to rock the streets of Bimini!
We have met some wonderful people on our voyages including Captain Lance and Suzanne Holmquist, Jerry Chapman, Hugh Rolle, and Bonefish Ebbie to name a few. Check out our Friends page to learn more about some of these and more. Truly, it is the people we meet and the bonds of friendship that make doing this so special.