Blog On The Move

Hello Everyone....

Sorry to have to do this to you, but we are moving our blog to a new web address.... With wanting to add more photos, and the ease of doing so, this is where you will find "THE ADVENTURES OF MY SHARONA"

http://web.mac.com/sharonabaja

I've updated it on July 1st, 2008. Please bookmark the address above and we will see you there!

Our New (Temporary) Home !

(Click on photos for a larger view)

We have made it back to Marblehead. Cali and I flew in on Friday, and Wayne came in from his adventure bringing Geoffrey's boat back from Key Largo Saturday afternoon.
"My Sharona" is back on the hard at the boat yard, having some work done to it before we head off into the "wild blue yonder". Of course it is like anywhere else, the work was supposed to be done when we got here, but that didn't happen so now we can be the squeaky wheel. We are having a required ice maker installed so we can keep up with our margarita habit. Adding satellite TV and internet, and also a satellite phone for emergencies. The boat yard has "promised" us it will be ready for us to move aboard by July 1st so we can enjoy the 4th of July fireworks from our deck.


We had planned on it not being ready, so we rented a cute little apartment right above the town dock. It is a great spot, within walking distance to everywhere.. This is the view out of the living room window.

Since I was here a few days before Wayne, I had the time to explore a little. It is such a beautiful place. I think my eyes have been so used to seeing sand and brown that the green here is breathtaking.




























The buildings are decorated for the 4th of July, and everyone has their flower gardens in fullbloom.




Marblehead is the birthplace of the American Navy, and there is so much history here. Everywhere you look, buildings are marked with name plaques that name the people who built them and what they did for a living.





























Cali & I visited Abbot Hall, which is one of the first stops that most people make when they come to Marblehead. It was built in 1876 for the centennial, and was used for town hall meetings.









It has a clock tower that has been a landmark for navigation both sea and land. The clocks timepiece was installed in 1877 and is governed by a 10 foot pendulum , driven by an 86lb weight. The clock is wound weekly at 8:18am on Thursdays and it takes 125 turns to raise the timepiece-weight and 262 to raise the chime-weight. The clock is set to the international standard but accuracy varies due to changes in humidity, temperature and pigeon poop.














Also inside Abbot Hall is the original of one of the best known American paintings, “The Spirit of 76” is on display. The canvas is a huge 8’ x 10’ not including the frame. It was painted in 1876 in memory of the men and women who died in battle on the sea and land for their country.
It was sold for $3500 to a man who was raised in Marblehead, and he donated it to the town in 1880, and it has been here ever since.
















This is the oldest antique store in the New England area. This fellow is the 3rd generation to run the shop.











Meanwhile back at the apartment - Cali was making sure I wasn't going anywhere without her.

















On Saturday afternoon Wayne, Geoffrey & Phil arrived back to Marblehead after a week on the water bringing Geoff's 50' Express Cruiser (which he designed and built in Poland) from Florida. They pulled into the harbor (the red boat in the background) just in time for the annual boat parade. Everyone had their boats decorated and all 3 of the yacht clubs were shooting off their cannons.









Wayne dinghy'ed over to pick us up and take us across the bay to Mr. Noyes house where they moored the boat. We all had celebratory cocktails, and we heard the stories of the trip.










They had a good trip overall. It took them 6 days of running day and night to get here. Wayne and Geoffrey took the boat from Key Largo to Palm Beach, where they picked up a friend of Geoff's, Phil, to make the trip with them.

They had a good weather report so they headed off shore to make the best time. They did hit a thunderstorm one night that was exciting, but the rest of the trip was good with them doing some of it on the Intercoastal Waterway and some out in the Atlantic Ocean. At one point they were 125 miles offshore.

Wayne was very happy to have made the trip so he now has a feel for what we will be doing when we make the trip south in September.










Their only stops were for fuel, and then off again. Geoffrey was the designated chef and kept them all full with gourmet meals.











Passing freighters in the day is better than hitting them at night.





















Roughing it on the long haul...























Last sunset of the trip, and a view from Buzzards Bay with Boston in the background.



















Tied up at the dock.













Geoffrey, Bradley, Cali & Wayne celebrating a safe voyage.









Beautiful view from Mr. Noyes back yard.















So now we start the process of bugging everyone to get our boat completed by July 1st. Hopefully that will happen. Our plans are to spend the 4th of July in Marblehead Harbor, and then maybe a shakedown overnight trip to Salem. After that - Maine beckons us . Where ever we end up, I will keep you informed. Thanks for keeping track of us, we miss you all.

Leaving "Home"

We have spent the past couple of weeks in Baja, packing, fishing, packing, saying goodbye to old friends. We are now down to our last week, and while we are very excited to start our new adventure, we are also sad to be leaving the place we have called "Home" for almost 20 years. I hope all of our friends here know that we will miss you all. We look forward to seeing you all when we RETURN!!!




EARLY BIRD CATCHES FISH
































KATHY WITH HER FIRST ROOSTER FISH


BARBARA (SHARON'S MOM) ENJOYING THE CALM OF THE SEA OF CORTEZ







SHARONA ON A MARLIN





EAST CAPE ANGLERS
JUNE 2008 TOURNEY






2 MARLIN
3 DORADO






"THE BLACK PEARL" TAKES 2ND PLACE















So, here we go.... Wayne leaves next Wednesday - heading to Key Largo for a trip with Geoffrey Noyes up to Marblehead MA. Great experience for our trip down in the fall.

I'll be leaving next Friday. I will be working a few days, (Vegas Baby!), and then will fly to Marblehead where we have rented a small apartment which will serve as our staging area for the provisioning of the new MY SHARONA!

Please keep track of us via this Blog, and let us know how you are doing now and then. We will look forward to your emails and questions of how and what in the world we are doing. Sending best wishes to all! Take care of yourselves!

May 16 - Success!

* CLICK ON PICTURES FOR A LARGER VIEW*

After much discussion the night before, we decided to give it a try early Friday morning. We changed our flight reservations to stay an extra day. It seems like the weather gods were happy and the wind and rain that was in the forecast didn't happen, so we were up early to get the boat launched.

The straps were put on and the the launching was underway. It was very scary to see this 70,000 lb boat being lifted high above the boat yard, and then lowered back down into the water.













We were all holding our breath until it was finally in the water.

After the launch, we powered her over to Mr. Noyes private dock to meet with Captain Norm, the boat Surveyor. Once he was aboard, off we went on the sea trial . The boat performed great, and everything worked, and Capt. Norm gave her the thumbs up! So, it looks like WE HAVE OUR BOAT!!

While Norm was surveying, Mr. Noyes was showing Wayne all the in's and outs of the boat. It's all a bit overwhelming, but very fun and exciting.


Geoffrey Noyes invited Wayne along on a trip next month, to bring his new 50' yacht from Key Largo Florida all the way up to Marblehead next month. Wayne will tag along, and it will be great experience for him because this is the route (reversed) that we will take this Fall.


We are flying home this afternoon. Boo hoo... Wayne to Baja, and me to Seattle for a bit of work. We will be in Baja finishing up all the odds and ends through June, while some electronic goodies are installed on the boat "My Sharona". We are expecting to return to her and start our journey for good around July 1st 2008.

Here she sits, waiting for her new owners to take her on new adventures..

Best Laid Plans.....

Today was to be the day we put the boat in the water. Was is the key word. It looks like we will not be able to get her in the water on this trip at all. Mother Nature is foiling our plans... Although the wind calmed down today, there was still too big of a surge to launch the boat. The boat weighs almost 70,000 lbs, and they will lift her up with a big crane. Like this one launching a sail boat. Anyway... when they lower it into the water, it needs to be calm so that it doesn't strain the crane. So... no launch-ie today.

Tomorrow's forecast looks ok, but they are now calling for another Nor-Easter on Friday. Can you say B.U.M.M.E.R?

The boat was uncovered today, so we got our first look at the hull color and exterior of her. Very exciting...

We did have a good day. Met with the electronics guru. We are adding a weather station, extra GPS for the flybridge, and a few other goodies.

We spent some time on the boat looking everything over and finding out what we will need . Wayne spent hours in the Engine room checking every nook and cranny. I spent my time in the pilot house looking over the charts and cruising books of the area.

Mr. Noyes came by in the afternoon and showed Wayne around the boat a bit. We heard some of his boating stories - he has many - and also talked with him about our plans. We also found out that ~NEWS FLASH~ we will NOT be keeping the name "Tioga Too" for our boat... The Tioga name has been in his family for almost 100 years, and it just isn't possible. Wayne asked if Mr. Noyes would adopt us so we could keep the name, but he wouldn't go for that.

Oh Well... I guess we will just have to make our own history on the "My Sharona".

We ended the day with a stroll around town, and then a excellent dinner at the Yacht Club. There was a sailboat race going on so the club was full. And lots to see.



Tomorrow we will meet with the Surveyor and go over what will happen when the boat is launched and surveyed while we are gone.
(boo hoo) :(

May 13, 2008 - Marblehead, MA

Hello, and greetings from Beautiful Marblehead , MA. Where we will start a new blog to track and share our new Adventure on The Tioga Too... Our beautiful new Trawler that we will live aboard for the next few years.

We are at the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead this week to be on hand for the yachts sea trial and survey. This is where the experts go over everything mechanical on the boat and motors to check if all is in good shape.

We arrived this morning after a "all nighter" flight from Seattle. After a quick nap, we went to visit Tioga Too and met the original owner, Bradley Noyes for the first time. Mr. Noyes is a spry 80ish year old sea dog, with an amazing background in the boating/sailing industry. He and his son Jeffrey were deep in the engine room when we arrived, changing the engine zincs, and doing all the necessary work to launch her (hopefully tomorrow) after the winter season "on the hard". The plan was to launch today, but a good old fashioned Nor-Easter blew in and they put it off until tomorrow. Too bad the water is cold, and we didn't have our kites, but it was blowing . This evening the wind is dying down and we are in for a beautiful sunset.

Here is our new baby, sitting at the boat yard, waiting for the crane to put her back on the water, and a view of the boatyard and crane


So... hopefully tomorrow we will have her uncovered and in the water and I will report back on how the Sea Trial and Survey went.

Please bookmark this Blog (webpage) and check back with us often, and we will try to keep you up to date with our travels.

I will post more photos on our original website: http://web.mac.com/sharonabaja

Thanks for checking in on us.... We will be in touch soon.