SeaDream

SeaDream
Sea Dream - Mirage Great Harbour N47

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Chat & Fold

The best place to meet people is at the marina laundry where you're stuck washing, folding and chatting. Everyone does laundry sooner or later so there's a good boater mix. Many boats have laundry facilities but the washers and dryers on shore are larger and you can use several at a time.
Laundry's always done after a long cruise so new sea adventures are fresh. I've heard some of the best stories at the marina laundry. A few days ago we had a couple of fellow boaters I'd met at the laundry over for dinner. They're headed for Alaska!

Dryer on Sea Dream. Washer on other side.

Refrigerator packed to max.

Matt & Molly's Savannah cottage livingroom.

Matt & Molly

We are still in Brunswick. Drove the car to Savannah to visit Mollyt and Matt (Mike’s daughter and husband) yesterday.
Bought the cold and fresh groceries today and packed the refrigerator to the max.
Looks like rain on Monday so Tuesday is the day we will leave Brunswick.


Thursday, July 28, 2011

What’s cooking?

While Sea Dream has the dream galley, sometimes not cooking is best. A simple and fast, non-cooked meal is ideal for rough seas or crowded seaways when we both need to navigate. Sandwiches are the fastest for these times and eaten off a paper napkin. When cooking is desirable, one-pan meals with minimal clean up are best. Shrimp boils are great one-pan meals. Add a few sliced tomatoes and voila, you're done!
But, the very best non-cooking meals are when we dine out like we did tonight!

Galley on starboard side.

Galley table on port side.

Palm with new growth at marina.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A Rainy Boat Day

Glad the rain finally came and cooled things off. I hear the pitter patter of rain on the deck. Sure will make good sleeping tonight!
We both busied ourselves with rainy day chores. I did laundry and stocked more groceries while Mike worked on his many boat projects. The galley table makes a well lit space for those smaller projects.
Think it will be a good night for popcorn and a movie.

Rain on porthole.

Galley table work bench.

Monday, July 25, 2011

How many jars of peanut butter will we need?

Do we need to stock up on chocolate? Wine??
Provisioning takes on new urgency knowing we'll be without a car while cruising. No more quick trips to the grocery store.
All supplies will be bought within walking distance of where we anchor and then transferred by dinghy to the boat. Cold supplies have an extra challenge of getting back before they melt or go bad.
Mike stocks up on oil filters and other spare parts. Don’t want to be stuck on the water in a boat that isn’t working.
Louis checks out his treat stores, too.
Meanwhile, we check all systems on the boat and get in “ship shape". We're leaving in five days or so, weather permitting.

Will all this ever fit in here?

The new Louis net

Stern to, at Brunswick Lsnding Marina.


Sunday, July 24, 2011

There Is Never Enough Storage on a Boat

Finding more space for storage on the boat is a challenge. There is storage under the floor where we have rolling baskets for easy access to supplies & vacuum cleaner. Lesser used linens are shrunk in vacuum bags to reduce volume. Other items are stacked, nested and stored in containers in any available space. Storage is under seating and lots of cabinets and drawers. Even though a boat is small, things are easily lost if not kept in some order. Yesterday we came upon a stash of toothpaste we forgot about and now there is enough for a year or more.
Mike installed a small drawer on his work desk in our (bedroom) cabin yesterday. Louis supervised. All projects seem to spread out over the room while in progress.


Louis supervising

Notice head lamp a much used handyman apparatus.

Afternoon shower headed our way.

It is still very hot here in Brunswick but the shower did cool things down some. Mosquitoes are out!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Nothings Better Than Fresh Southern Fried Shrimp & Hush Puppies

Sometimes things that are bad for you are soooo good!
It looks good, it tastes good and it’s just down right good. Tennessee has great catfish but the best shrimp is right here on the coast of Georgia. A treat for us is a trip to B & J’s in Darien about 15 miles north of Brunswick. No sense in worrying or stressing over the calories or the fat, just enjoy and savor the wonderful taste. Isn’t it the worrying and stress that causes the heart to have problems? Happiness promotes good health. Eat up.

MMMM sure was tasty!
Eat up I did and forgot to take a picture of the meal when served in all its glory. Maybe you can imagine how tasty it was by the plate full of shrimp tails.

No nonsense sign. Great food!

Excitement on the way home, we were stopped by one of the many Darien patrol cars out last night on Hwy 17. Mike was issued a warning ticket for a burned out headlight. Guess it was the bumpy ride in the North Georgia Mountains on Tuesday that did it in?

Probably another five days until we cruise.
92 degrees and a short shower at 300P.M. to steam things up.

Friday, July 22, 2011

From Land Locked to Sea Change

Living off the grid and away from it all. . . Ah the boat life!

Sea Dream is equipped with all the comforts of home and is totally self-contained.
The flip side is if anything goes wrong, we have to fix it.

Boat facts and systems:
  • Two 75 HP diesels
  • 13,000 watt diesel generator
  • 53 feet long
  • weighs 65,000 pounds
  • 37 gallons per hour watermaker
  • 180 gallon poop tank
  • 300 gallon water tank
  • 1300 gallons fuel
  • The helm has GPS tracking and navigation, radar, auto pilot and state of the art NEMA 2000 network
  • 2 Vacuflush toilets, full showers
  • The galley is equipped with a full size side by side refrigerator, dishwasher, flat top stove, convection oven and microwave, trash compactor and washer & dryer.

Today’s pictures are the back yard or aft deck and the front yard or bow.

Back yard: Herb garden and astro turf grass. Turf is Louis’s potty & is easily hosed off to clean.

Front yard: Notice the beginnings of netting installation on port side lower section of the railing.
Louis requested a fenced yard.
Brunswick Marina, Georgia. 95 plus degrees and slight breeze SSW. HOT!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Start of our Great Adventure!

Posted here are daily life samplings of our adventures on board Sea Dream. 

Our journey begins in the humid summer heat of July in Nashville, Tennessee with a drive to Sea Dream in Brunswick, Georgia. Where will our journey end, perhaps somewhere in Florida in the relative cold of January?


Linda's bags.

Mike's bag.

Louis and his bag.

What makes something necessary to one but not another?
There is an art to packing light but light is all in the mind of the packer.
Consider the black shorts conundrum. How many types of black shorts are there? Some need their short black shorts, long black shorts, skinny black shorts, fat black shorts and the old and new ones. Others just need the clean and the dirty and maybe not even the clean. So as you can see, our necessary clothes are very different.

Then there are those who need no clothes at all but still a bag.
Louis is just hoping there will be room in the car for him.

Pretty picture of Goldie and Moby in our pond before we left.

Mike unloading car and loading boat (5 trips total). Car is in far left up ramp.
 
Arrived: 4:30 P.M. July 20 in Brunswick, Georgia, 100 degrees and no breeze.