06/22/2009, St-Bruno Quebec

I can't believe that each of us has sailed for almost 50 years. After learning to sail as children, spending our summers (and more than a few school days) sailing, we met at a yacht club, married and had three wonderful girls. In spite of owning a marine focused business, and so many sailboats, I have lost count, we often did not have time for sailing.

Over the years we have kept track of our progress on the web in various places, most recently at www.voilasadventures.blogspot.com. If you would like a more detailed account of our adventures (or are having trouble sleeping) you can check there.

In 2002 we bought an Albin Vega 27 and spent two years restoring it in our spare time. In 2004, we arranged 3 months off and pointed the boat south from Quebec. The first year got us to the Florida Keys and through the Okeechobee canal. Year two, we ventured to the Bahamas and had a marvellous time. After decades of sailing and racing, many aspects of cruising and boat management were new to us.

While we loved our Albin Vega - Voila! (number 2). As we reflected during our working months, if we were going to do this on a regular basis with a view of doing it full time one day, a bigger boat would be nice. Certainly a Vega can can take it's crew anywhere, our own boat had taken its previous crew around the world.

As we walked through boat yards and cruised the internet, we found the boat for us. It had the sam Swedish toughness as our Vega, but room the stretch out in. We had found a Hallberg Rassy 352 in Annapolis Md. After a quick tour during the Boat Show, we went home and began long distance, cross border negotiations while the Canadian and American dollars bounced like yo-yos. The final papers were not signed until the beginning of Decemeber. Some of the marinas in the Chesapeake were shutting down for the season. We decided the best option was to have the boat trucked to Florida where we would be able to put here in the water in St. Augustine. We puttered down the coast and worked on some of the issues that bothered the insurance company and the surveyor.

Last winter, after a month of yard work, we had a wonderful visit with our daughter and granddaughter. We then headed to the Bahamas for some real cruising. That adventure ended with a great visit from our youngest daughter who decided she wanted to spend her 30th birthday snorkeling and suntanning instead of shovelling snow. Unfortunately our scheduled return to work often creates a whistle-stop approach, although we always try to have enough flexibility to be safe.

We are currently back home in Canada with Voila! waiting patiently in Indiantown FL.

We will try to put up periodoc posts as we get ready for another season.

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