Patron questions part 2

These are the rest of the questions from the patron couple!

1. What was the most daunting task that you felt you had to accomplish to make your dream a reality?

Aside from everything, I felt like the scariest part was knowing that I would have to be the one to protect the family on overnight passes. Getting my confidence up was a big deal!

Leading up to actually buying our first boat, we had to sacrifice a lot. Saving up took a long time. We had to live very frugally for a few years in order to afford this way of life. Jeremiah couldn’t go out with his work buddies at lunch or after work, and I couldn't go out with the girls all the time. It was totally with it tho!

1. What was the hardest thing to learn for each of you?

Just learning how to sail in general. Setting anchor, putting sails up at correct times in correct locations. Literally we had no idea what we were doing at first.  We had to learn currents, winds, charts and best ways to sail!

1.  What are your kitchen must-haves? Our short list so far includes the instapot (rice, beans, etc), KitchenAid (super heavy, but has so many attachments for shredding, peeling, pasta making, mixing, bread making etc. that it will take the place of a lot of other utensils), crock pot, microwave is a must have and we are really interested in getting the soda water maker you had in one episode to make mixers. 

We actually do not recommend the soda stream, lol! We have had it with us this whole time and I don’t think I’ve used it one time. My drink of choice is vodka tonic and I still never used it! It just took up space and we actually just left it for other cruisers at our last stop.

When downsizing you have to remember that you think it’s all important when living at home.  Heck, you have the space for it so why not have all the gadgets? When moving to a boat you don’t want to be overwhelmed with so much stuff so we recommend sticking to as little as possible.

If you are coffee drinkers, we recommend a french press rather than a coffee maker. GOOD cutting utensils (we have ceramic so they won’t rust). Good coffee mugs, blender/chopper, cutting board, non-sliding dishes, collapsible tupperware, and the toaster is a nice extra to have as well.

1. Do you have any "go to" books that you suggest every sailor have onboard?

Jeremiah doesn’t really read but the one book we have found that is super useful was Passages South 10th Edition by Bruce Van Sant on the Thorny Path.

1. What has been your most expensive repair so far? most frequent repair?

-most expensive: batteries $7,000

-most frequent: water maker filters

1. What are your least favorite "chores"?

-Jeremiah: strainers

-Brittany: bathing dog and cleaning dog pool, especially under sail

1. Do you maintain a storage lot on dry land to hold everything you can't take on the boat or did you truly sell it "all"? 

We did not sell everything completely. We do still have storage for our truck, dirt bikes, and basic memory things (pictures, family stuff).

1. During the transition to Calypso, I seem to remember the promise of a finances video discussing the transition from mono to cat, but I can't find that video. Is it still in the works?

We never got around to it! We should do it!

1. Do you still follow news from the US or has that faded into a distant memory?

We do not follow the news. It became a source of stress, and it wasn’t worth it. It’s been way better not to worry about it. Plus our family or friends would let us know if it was something we really needed to know.

1. Would you be willing to take on a couple of paid stowaways for a week next year??

So, our insurance won’t cover it.  It will not allow us to have someone pay to come on board, but our friends do come on board with us. We also don’t feel comfortable having people on board especially because of Rhys.

Thanks for the questions! Send us some more, that was fun!