Where to start. Let's see, well, two and a half years ago I decided that I wanted to live on a sailboat. I didn't just wake up one day and say "hey I want to live on a boat". But I'm sure it felt that way to Sharon. It had actually been brewing for about a year before I made that definitive statement. At 49 years old, one heart attack, one failed business (never go into the restaurant business), both kids grown, it was time for a change. Call it mid-life crisis, boredom, or an adventurous spirit, but traveling around by sailboat just seems like the right thing to do. I started sailing three years ago with my brother. Then in 2008 We bought "Morgan" a 1970 Coronado 25 on eBay for $610.00 sight unseen. She was in Boston, we were in Indiana. It cost us $2,000 to go get her and bring her back to Indiana (gas was $4.25 a gallon then). We were blessed in that the sails, rigging, hull, and about everything else was in really good shape. That is except the motor and the wiring. I am a master electrician, so the wiring was nothing. I found a used Johnson sailmaster motor for $750.00 and we were in the water. Morgan was to be our starter boat, and then buy a bigger boat to live on. Then the economy went bust, work slowed down. So we came to the realization that we go now on Morgan or wait and hope that things will turn around. I'm not much of a waiter. In the space of three years I had three near death experiences. One heart attack, one motorcycle accident, and one auto accident. I knew it was time to go enjoy life while I could and not take a single day for granted. We set the departure date as November 3rd, 2010 to leave Kentucky Lake (that's where we keep Morgan) sail down the Tennessee river to the Ohio river to the Mississippi river to the gulf, and over to Florida. We will start cruising Florida and see from there. In the mean time we are three quarters of the way through a refit. I will post pics soon of how that's going.
See post "Catching up" dated December 11 to see how the Mississippi River trip went.
16 comments:
Why don't you rename the sailboat...."The Rodney"??????
Extremely excited for you and happy for you. Hey....we should hook up in the Bahamas. You sail there and I'll fly there! Again, I'm very happy for you!
C'mon. The Rodney sounds cool. What or who is Morgan?
Sounds good to me Philip. I'm hoping sometime this winter, maybe feb. That would be fun.
Hey Mike and Sharon,
Am excited for you 2 about the up coming adventure. This is like extra cool that you will be making reg. post on the adventure. And as far as renaming the boat...... personally I like "Salt Flat Jack". now that's a great name for a boat! LOL(in my opinion). Love you guys!
Jack
What are you going to use for a dingy? Make sure you get a good one and name it rum runner. Won't you miss your brother? Also you must have a wonderful wife to put up with you on a 25 foot boat.
PS keep that depth sounder on around Florida!!
You must be very brave Sharon ! As accident prone Mike seems to be , I don't know that I would want to be on a sailboat out on the ocean with him.Maybe you should be the Captain.
How about if I just supervise the captain!
I think the dink will be ready to paint on the tenth. Maybe,will see, could be, hope so, will try, should be. The two weeks will be up on the 2nd so I might be a little behind.
Do you ever say brother where art thou?
Scott
Greetings!
For the past several years, I've periodically looked up a Coronado 25 on the internet. I've come across a few here and there, but never a 1970 model. So it came to great surprise to me when your webpage showed up in my most recent search. What surprised me even more was where you purchased it from---Boston. And as I read further--I was shocked to read the name "Morgan." It could be total coincidence, but my grandfather Luis Aparicio (yes, the baseball player) owned a 1970 Coronado when he played for the Boston Red Sox. I don't know if it was a 25 or not. We've got old pictures but the quality is not good. The only reason I remember the name is because my father always used to drink a beer called Coronado and we always laughed because that was the name of grandpa's boat. I've always wondered what happened to that boat. Maybe it's in your hands now? I have great memories of that boat. He only owned it for a short time, but whenever he had an off-day in the summer, we would go down to the harbor and take her for a spin. If it is the same boat, I'm glad to see it's in such good hands. Good luck on your journeys. I will keep apprised of the boat's travels here on your log.
Bon Voyage! John Gertson, Walpole, Mass.
What are we... Gilligan and Mary Ann? Is the Minnow, er...Morgan lost at sea? Where are my daily updates....damn it!!!!
Why have a blog if you ain't gonna blog? Blogger wannabes is what you are. I'll bet you still haven't made it to Ky. Dam yet and you just don't want your blog flock to know, right?
Rodney
If you had a yellow boat or a catketch you would already be in the Gulf!!!!!!
Not your brother
Glad you have good support from shore helping you find marinas!
John
Mike and Sharon, where are you?
Your friends,
Katie & Fred
Don, you really do have too much time on your hands. By the way, do you have a spare room?
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