I hadn't thought of this option...

But it's a pretty interesting idea and is a very informative article from one of my favorite websites.

How To Get a Free Yacht

Never start vast projects with half vast ideas.

Maine to Key West Route

Above is a link to the Google Map of my route that will evolve and change as progress is made, but this is generally the goal. Of course, all friends and family are welcome to join me for a visit or an extended cruise if they decide.  I am happy to have guests on a first reservation, first come, first serve basis.

As I research, I find people that have taken this trip and I am learning all I can from their suggestions, mistakes, and experiences. Ultimately I would like to finish in Key West in October for Fantasy Fest. Yes, I am aware of hurricane season as I grew up in South Florida for 28 years and hunkered down in my home as hurricane Andrew blew over.  I will never forget that experience. We were very fortunate to come out of it with limited damage.

This is what I am counting on...

This is an excerpt from Sea-Steading by Jerome FitzGerald, and by clicking on it, you can preview his book on Amazon.com. I would highly recommend reading his "Notes On The Text" and the "Introduction." I'm sure this and many other books will become invaluable to this journey and I intend to compile a list of them as I go. I will also try to post each with their due credit and the location where they can be obtained.

One enticing option, until you do your homework...

45' Howdy Bailey 45' Ocean Sloop

A few things that enticed me about this were the obvious sleek lines, beautiful interior, and the low external teak finish, as well as an obvious sea going tendency. Then I started reading the specs. Displacement: 38,000 lbs. Wait... WHAT??!?! Comparable Catalinas are around 20,000 lbs so I made a call. Apparently the boat designer is famous for his designs (although I had a hard time finding any) and this was his personal boat for many years, but it has an interesting construction material... CONCRETE.

Fero-concrete to be exact, which is a method of covering steel lattice with a mixture of concrete to create the hull. I'm sorry, did you say steel? You know this boat will be used in SALT water right? Intuitively I'm thinking to myself, the last things I want involved with a floating vessel in saltwater are concrete and steel. Now, being in architecture and interested in engineering, I have always been interested in the concrete canoe design contests, but this is going a little too far for me. 

Learning about stability and sea worthiness, this boat is clearly designed for blue water cruising, but I'm willing to forgo some of these characteristics (and a 6'-9" draft) to avoid the headache of the lattice beginning to rust, or the concrete chipping on impact and I am amateurishly starting with coastal cruising instead of crossing an ocean. I know if the boat is well designed and constructed, there may be few problems with the structure and there are some very old fero-concrete boats still sailing today, but having the limited experience I have with this type of vessel, I'm going to have to pass. Aside from it being more than I need, I really did like the 200 gals of fresh water, 80 gals of fuel, and the arch for solar panels, a wind generator and weather radar.

Oh, then there is that insurance thing. Not likely.

Morning coffee...

In case you are wondering, this is the view you get with your morning coffee living in St. Thomas as a watchmaker. Just another piece of inspiration for me because the Lesser Antilles are the the final destination.

To develop the story...

One night before falling asleep, I was reading Sailing Magazine at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex near Allenwood, PA (pause for effect). Just to be clear, I was not incarcerated there nor have I ever been accused or convicted of a crime, but a friend of mine's father is the Warden and I was spending Christmas with him, his wife and their family. Yes, I spent Christmas at a federal penitentiary. This gives you an idea of how unconventional I can be, which may prove to be an asset on this adventure. Anyway, I read an article about two high school friends that bought a sailboat after graduation and sailed down through the U.S. Virgin Islands. What a great adventure I thought, and realized this was just another sign that I should make my idea come to fruition.

How it all got started.

When I had a spontaneous whirlwind weekend that included a 20th high school reunion, a wakeboarding trip on Biscayne Bay, visiting old friends in Delray Beach, FL, and dinner at Calamari in Coconut Grove, FL with a childhood friend and his family, I really should not have been surprised to sit down with a watchmaker from St. Thomas and a chocolatier from Naples, FL... but I was. Granted, dinner with this family has never been boring and I have a lot to thank them for over my lifetime, but that is another story entirely. "So what are you in Miami for?" I ask my new acquaintance. "Oh, I'm here for a little vacation and I'm bench testing a new employee for Breitling." Of course you are. I hear that all the time at parties. Ok, not really, but fascinating nonetheless. She asks me what is going on in my life and I tell her I am a month from finishing my masters degree in architecture at Virginia Tech and I'm planning a sailing trip from Maine to Key West. I want to write a book on the "true" stories behind yacht names and why people escaped their normal everyday lives to go live on a boat and subscribe to the mariner's lifestyle. Of course you are. I hear that all the time at parties. Again, not really, and so the story begins.