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January 4, 2020January 4, 2020

Happy New Year!

Good Morning!

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year! Besides talking about our boat, I wanted to add some adventures that we go on. We have been in Mobile, Alabama for a few days visiting the family but Mobile is a great place to visit. Of course, we love this place because it has both the city and the ocean right there together. Our goal is to have ATB shipped down and have her placed at Dog River Marina. But by chance a miracle happens, we could sail her down! But for now, more about Mobile.

Mobile was discovered by the French in 1702 and is the birthplace of Mardi Gras. The city is now getting ready for Mardi Gras which is in February. Fat Tuesday is the Tuesday before Lent and it kicks off the Mardi Gras season. Mobile is a great town and offers both sand and sea. It has a much slower pace than Atlanta. I am looking forward to being closer to the ocean since we plan on moving here when I finish school. Since I am very artistic, I love that Mobile has plenty of art in all forms to enjoy. Besides having the beautiful scenery with the old trees, and Spanish moss with flowers everywhere there is the ocean! The Mobile area has other areas that make this such a great place. Spanish Fort, Orange Beach, Bayou la Batre and more.

One activity we make a point of doing is to go fishing. We have a few spots we like to go to, especially Cedar Point Pier but they are closed during the winter months for repairs. Also, you do not need to buy an Alabama fishing license because you are covered by the pier. It costs $6 a person to fish, and you can stay just about 24 hours if you wanted to. There are clean bathrooms and the store sells a variety of snacks, drinks and fishing equipment. This time we went to Meaher State Park. It has the bay, a RV park, bike and hiking trails and it is not too far from Mobile. Though it was raining off and on, we still had fun.

The bridge is the causeway to Spanish Fort, Alabama

Clouds rolling in with the wind and rain

You guys can also follow me on Trip Advisor! I have many reviews about Mobile, Alabama there as well!

Have a great start to the New Year!

Sara & Wes

December 21, 2019

Happy Holidays!

Hello everyone!

Wow this is year is almost over! We have been very busy with ATB. She now has some lights in the cabin and in the front bedroom, but it is a step forward. I placed a small glass Christmas tree on the boat just to try to get her in the Christmas spirit. We have also been trying to get the bedroom up front together so we can spend a weekend out there on the lake. She has come so far! The diesel smell is just about completely gone. When we got her there was diesel in the bottom of boat and t took a while to get the diesel out of the boat. Wes also received 8 new bumpers for the boat. Now maybe we can keep her from getting beat up by the dock. It was cold out on the lake and windy, but she keeps the cold out well. We have a heater, but we did not need it inside the boat. I love how even though the water is really moving she does not rock too badly.

I must admit I have been watching more boating videos of Sailing Uma with Dan and Kiki. They are a great couple and they have been where we are with putting their boat together when it was a mess. I can’t wait to start our own you tube channel to share our adventures! I will keep you posted when that happens. You should check them out. Love them.

Stay warm!

Wes and Sara

November 18, 2019

Happy Monday!

Good Morning,

Wow! It has a been a minute and please forgive me for that. We have made great strides on ATB! We have been reading many stories of people giving up their lives on land and sailing off into the sunset. I am looking forward to that myself. We can come on land from time to time- I still want to work at all the many careers that I have. But until that time, we will keep working on her. We are still on Lake Lanier and are trying to come up with a time to take her out of the water so we can do some exterior work.

So, our short-term goals are to get her ready so we can at least spend the night on the boat. We have been looking at bedding and again compost toilets which have been getting great reviews. There are numerous videos on You Tube that explain how they work and gets rid of the need of having a waste holding tank on board.

We have been talking about where we want to sail to as well. I think at first, we will stay in the Gulf of Mexico, but I am looking forward to sailing the Atlantic to Baiona, Spain. My little brother lives in northern Spain and I love it in Baiona. Very beautiful.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season! We will be at the boat for Thanksgiving so I will post some pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Door to one of the bedrooms that Wes made from old cabinet doors

Bench that has extra storage under the seats

October 15, 2019

It has been awhile…

The Ocean

I do not know if you have been on the ocean, but it is wonderful! On my way to school this morning, I just kept thinking about being out on the ocean and waking up to “Big Blue”. I can’t quit put my finger on it but there is something about being out there knowing that there are millions of life forms just beneath you.

Kenny Chesney wrote a song called Ends of the Earth. In it he says:

…” What good is living a life

You’ve been given if all you do

Is stand one place?”

This is so true. It is a great song and it reminds me of being out on the ocean.

Update on ATB!

She is coming along nicely! Wes is doing such a great job and really enjoys spending time with her and getting to know her inside and out. I will learn more but at this time he needs time and space to make sure is put together correctly. We have been discussing, sails, doors, and of course the mast for the sail. Wes wants to build his own. So, it must be at least 45 feet high to accommodate sails large enough for ATB which she is 43 feet long.

I have been asked to include more pictures and here is one of the doors that is not stained yet but will go on one of the bedroom doors.

Be safe out there and enjoy the day!

September 14, 2019

How all of this got started…

We get this question a lot so I will let you all know how it began. A few years ago, Wes wanted to go to the Florida Keys and go fishing on a boat. So, I looked for something that we would both enjoy and finally found Ron and Paul who own Key West Pro Guides as well as Houseboats of Key West. We rented a houseboat and they took us about 5 miles out and left us on our own. We fell absolutely in love with living on the ocean. I must give them credit for getting my sea legs! We have spent a few weeks over the years on the houseboat where they take us out and drop us somewhere off the coast of Key West on the houseboat and say, “See you in a week!” When we got married one of their fishing guides took us fishing- Anthony was awesome and I caught my very first ocean fish– a yellow jack. Wow…good eating there. Here are their links- https://keywestproguides.com/ and https://houseboatsofkeywest.com/faq.cfm. To check them out. Here are some pictures I took from the houseboat while we were in Key West.

We had so much fun out there and we decided to find a boat and become cruisers. I started looking at others who are full time cruisers and what their life is like on the water. There are entire families who cruise the world full time! We had been looking all over the south east for a boat. There are many out there. Then one day Wes saw who we now call ATB, on Lake Lanier and said he was going to go look at her. He looked at her online every day until he met with the seller. Now I was not to sure about her because she was a mess, but I had faith that Wes could get her up and running with no problem.

So, we could have bought a brand-new boat that would have cost the same as a house or bought a boat that was in somewhat good condition, but he found a diamond in the ruff. We have no plans since the boat is no longer being made but we have had lots of feedback from others who have this type of boat. We look at pictures and I just happen to find some electrical wiring diagrams for a similar boat that will be useful later. By looking at her, I can not believe that she has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen but she does, and it is a bit tight. The houseboat is a lot smaller and we managed well on that. Wes said the other day that at least he will know her inside and out! Which will be good, especially when we are out in open water.

So, that is how we got started with the boat!

September 6, 2019September 6, 2019

Another Day…

Good Morning,

So yesterday, Wes and I went out to the boat just to see what he has done new and how she is coming along. The lake was quiet with just a few people out working on their boats. We are on Lake Lanier now and are looking forward to going to Mobile and being on the ocean. Lake life is nice but we much rather prefer the ocean. So, Wes has removed a rotten wall that is called the bulkhead wall. This wall helps to keep the boat from flexing in on itself. Something like a load bearing wall in a house.

She looks so different then we first obtained her! She is still not a functioning boat yet, but we are making progress. We also put in a kitchen sink which Wes found on Craig’s list. A little here, a little there… We also have one light installed in the main cabin. We have been looking at compost heads (toilets), which will break down the waste into compost with the help of some peat moss. But we shall see how that goes.

We have been following some other sailors on you tube if you want to check them out. Some have big boats some are smaller. There are couples and some are families. We have been watching Project Atticus because they have a lot of boat and sailing knowledge which we have been taking notes from. I also like to read a blog called the Boat Galley. Carolyn and her husband are a retired couple and have gone from a Monohulled boat to a Catamaran. She talks a lot about how to store things on the boat, what equipment is necessary and basically “how to” just do everything on a boat.

Have a great day!

August 21, 2019

Getting Going!!!

Wow! Getting this, Instagram and FB up and running has been a challenge but in a great way!!!

News about ATB- she has all new windows and a new door. No leaks as well, just a bit around the AC unit but we will fix that in due time. She is nice and dry and Wes has fixed the outside wheel as well as build new seats for outside.

May 15, 2019

Hello World!

Since I have started this blog…and it is going slow due to all of my other activities but I will prevail and get this moving along! But since I have started this I basically wanted to use it as a journal for rebuilding our boat, Around The Barn. But since that has just began I wanted to include our travel adventures. Today we are in lovely Marathon Island in the Florida Keys. We absolutely love it here! Wes bought a vintage Shasta camper that he restored and we bought it down to the Jolly Roger RV Resort. This is our first time in a camper! Now there are so many different kinds of campers that I cannot even begin to describe all that I see but you get the point. This place has beautiful flowers and trees with ocean not 10 feet away from my door. You can swim in the ocean as well as snorkel, they also have a pool, very clean showers and bathrooms, a laundry matt as well as all the fishing you can stand. My husband Wes is a huge fisherman and he has gone fishing everyday that we have been here. I think my favorite is the snorkeling and just floating around in the swim/snorkel area. We will definitely have to come back here.