First Sail

Since this is basically a recap of last years short season, because we didn't get the boat until late February, I am going to do kind of a recap of the season in just a few posts. That way, all the super exciting stuff happening this year will be more current. We picked the boat up in St Martin in February, and spent a few weeks adding important stuff like a watermaker and some solar panels. We also added another battery to the house bank to up the storage capacity. Then we were ready to go. So we thought. Our plan was to sail 90 miles West, to the BVI's, and spend a few weeks there before moving South. The trouble was, it was crazy windy. Winds were 35 knots and higher, almost enough to blow you off the dock! It finally started to decrease and we made our way through the bay and past the draw bridge out of Simpson Bay. Early the next morning, we set sail for Virgin Gorda in the BVI's. This was our first sail on the boat, and it was wild. The winds had increased again, and we were showing 30 knots apparent wind and we were sailing 9 knots with the wind at our back. The passage is called the Anegada Passage, and is notorious for big confused seas. Lucky for us, we were going downwind. The swells were sometimes breaking, and were huge. We made it in one piece, and the boat was great. The BVI's are the sailing capital for a reason, and they didn't disappoint. We had a great time with friends and family, and soon it was time to start South.

Go to the new blog at S/VDiscoVolante.blogspot.com

The Blog Is Back... But Is Moving

We are re-starting our blog, but it is moving to Here is the first post at the new site, that is still a work in progress cause we are in Grenada and the internet is really slow. What in the world? Where have we been all this time? Well, a LOT has happened to us in the last year or two. It all started at the Miami Boat Show in February of 2016. We like the show, but never considered that we would be buying a new boat, we liked to look and that is all. But, we saw a boat and almost as quick, we decided to buy it. Our new catamaran is a Lagoon 42, and the boat we saw was hull number 2. It is a new design and we put an order in right after we saw it.

When you buy a new boat, the builder puts on it exactly the things you order with it, and the process of building the boat takes a bit of time. In our case, it took about 8 months to hit the water, and a couple more to sail it from France to St Martin where we took posession of her. This gave us some time to sell our Manta catamaran, and the first couple that saw her bought the boat. Suddenly we didn't own a boat for the first time in years. It was weird.

We considered keeping the name Saltrun, but decided something new would be better, and would keep the memories of the Manta cat separate. Why did we choose Disco Volante? Well, glad you asked. The name is Italian for Flying Saucer, and catamarans always looked like they are from outer space to me. Also, we have been known to break out the disco ball on occasion, so it was a good fit.

We finally saw the boat in St Martin late February 2017. We spent about 2 weeks getting her the way we wanted, including a watermaker installation, and we sailed to Tortola for a few weeks.

Not Much, How Bout You?

Hello, yeah, it's been a while. Not much, how bout you? The band England Dan and John Ford Coley said it first, with there song "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight".

Why the the lack of posting? Well, there has not been much to say, really. We have been in the waiting mode now for some time, and our boat isn't ready yet. So we have been busy not sailing and haven't had much to talk about. I made a new video from a bunch of pictures sent to us by our new boat broker. He went to the world premier of the boat we are getting and sent them to us. We hope you like them, it gives a pretty good idea of what the boat is all about. There are a few other videos on youtube that also showcase the new 42, but really, there isn't much out there. The boats are just so new that nobody has one yet. But, we hope to be back in the water soon!

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day weekend, we would like you to take just a minute and reflect on how lucky we all are. We live a dream life here in America, a life that provides not only opportunity and reward, but on a more basic level, it provides safety and security knowing that we really do enjoy the most basic rights as so clearly spelled out in the Declaration Of Independence. "Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness" are often quoted as a famous and integral part of the Declaration Of Independence, and indeed are very powerful words. But words alone mean nothing, and without the sacrifice of so many, those words would have soon been forgotten, or gone down in history as the foolish fodder of the deranged colonists. Luckily, for us, these words were worth fighting for, as sometimes things are. Think about how lucky we are, as we sit in the AC and casually watch something entertaining on the tube. Or as we travel in our cars for the holiday, free to go about our pursuits without fear of search or seizure. Next time you go to the store, stop for a second and be amazed at everything that you can put in your buggy, and think of how different things would be without your local grocery store, Walgreens, or Home Depot.

Memorial Day started in 1868 as Decoration Day, as a way to remember those killed in the Civil War. On Decoration Day, the graves of fallen soldiers were decorated, as a way of honoring and remembering the ultimate sacrifice that the fallen soldiers had made. As the years went by, the modern Memorial Day was established to remember those that gave everything they had, so that we might be free to enjoy those words from the Declaration Of Independence. In a sad way, many people do not even know that Memorial Day is a remembrance of those fallen soldiers. We are all busy, consumed by the day to day chores. Please, take just a minute to stop, and reflect on not only how lucky we all really are, but if not for the brave young people that made it possible.

Remember

Be Thankful

I am Sad

I am Proud

I am Lucky

I Remember

Thank You

Intergalactic

Well, this past week finds us shamefully boatless, and in the beautiful outer banks area of North Carolina. We are here because, since we are boatless, we probably should do something constructive with ourselves, like maybe work for a bit and make some money to pay for our new boat. We have been here for two weeks now, and the area is not only beautiful, but the weather has been refreshingly cool. Maybe even a little too cool for our south Florida taste, but it has not been bad overall. We toured the small town of Morehead City, and went to the beach there and toured the fort at Fort Macon. Then we went to the beach at Atlantic Beach.

In a bit of sad news, it seems that one of the Beastie Boys has passed. John Berry, age 52, died yesterday. Another Beastie Boys member, Adam Yauch, passed away a couple years ago at age 47. This is way too young, wow. While we were not huge fans, who can deny the entertainment value alone of the low budget and ridiculous video from the song Intergalactic! While our travel plans do not include intergalactic travel, we can appreciate the theme! Go Beastie Boys!

INTERGALACTIC - PLANETARY

PLANETARY - INTERGALACTIC,

INTERGALACTIC - PLANETARY

PLANETARY - INTERGALACTIC

ANOTHER DIMENSION, ANOTHER DIMENSION

ANOTHER DIMENSION, ANOTHER DIMENSION

ANOTHER DIMENSION

ANOTHER DIMENSION

Well Now, Don't you tell me to Smile, You stick around, I'll make it worth your While

Got numbers beyond what you can Dial, Maybe it's cause I'm so versa-Tile

STYLE!!!! PROFILE!!!!!

I Said- It always brings me back- To when I hear, OOHH Child From the Hudson River Out To the Nile

I run the marathon to the very last Mile, Well, if you battle me, I will REVILE!

People always say, my style is WILD You've got Gall!- You've got Guile! GUILE!

To step to me, I'm a RAP-O-PHILE!!!--- If you want to battle, you're in DENIAL!

Coming from URANUS to check my STYLE- Go ahead, put my rhymes on TRIAL- Cast you off, into EXILE!!!!

INTERGALACTIC - PLANETARY!

PLANETARY - INTERGALACTIC!

INTERGALACTIC - PLANETARY!

PLANETARY - INTERGALACTIC!

I think this is a great sailing song! YES, IT IS!!!

Sailing Vicariously And Suffering Anticipatory Impatience

Well, that is certainly a mouthful, and yet it is just so true. We are living out our own sailing fantasies by following along with our sailing friends that actually have a sailboat right now ( there's a concept). Sailing vicariously through others is what we have had to resort to, as we are still waiting for our new boat to be completed. I was curious as to the exact definition of the word vicarious, and looked it up. Webster;s dictionary states:

vicarious adjective vi·car·i·ous \vī-ˈker-ē-əs, və-\ Popularity: Top 10% of words Simple Definition of vicarious : experienced or felt by watching, hearing about, or reading about someone else rather than by doing something yourself

Well, that is us to a tee, and you too evidently, or you wouldn't be reading this, would you? Pitiful we are indeed, but there is always hope! For us, we are counting on a bunch of Frenchies to put together our brand new boat. For you? Not sure, but you gotta have it. Hope that is. Anyway, we continue to wait, and we are employed right now too, making some money for the the eventual launch and sail into the sunset later this year.

We are living vicariously through our sailing friends Neil and Jeannette on the boat Echo Echo. We met them in Miami, as we were both about to set sail for the first time to the beautiful waters of the Bahamas. Well, we both had a great time in the Bahamas, and we went back to Miami and decided to move up to a new boat. This put our sailing plans on hold for a while, as we transition from our old boat to our new boat. Neil and Jeanette are from Australia, and flew here to the US to take possession of their new to them Beneteau 473. We met them after they brought the boat to Miami in order to cross to Bimini, Bahamas. They are a great couple, and we hit it off. We sailed across the Bahama Banks together for a few days, and after a week or so, went different directions. We caught up with each other later in Georgetown Bahamas, and swapped stories over a few sundowners. Echo Echo then made it's way up north, through the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas, and we returned to Miami. Since then, they have made their way to Georgia for some boat repairs, and then back through the Bahamas, to Jamaica, the San Blas Islands of Panama, and through the Panama Canal. Today, they completed a 32 day sail to the beautiful South Pacific, and are anchored in a beautiful harbor in the Marquesa's Islands. We sure wish we were doing the trip too, this is the part of the title that says anticipatory impatience. Sometimes, good things are worth waiting for, and we know this, but we really want to hear the water rushing under the boat, and the smell of clean ocean air everywhere. But for now, we sail vicariously through our friends. Congratulations to you, you made it! If you too would like to live vicariously through the crew aboard Echo Echo as they make their way home to Australia, there is a link to their blog to the right of this post.

Eat Cake By The Ocean!!!

So, we wait for the boat to be built and do nothing but wait and wait. The boat is still in liquid resin form right now, and has, well, a long way to go. We expect a lot you know. No problem, so we wait. But what to do in the mean time? We keep busy, doing normal things like... going to the beach. We ate some cake there just the other day, it was really great! Delicious! As a matter of fact, Joyce surprised me with some really killer cake, I was shocked... I thought we were just going to the beach! And before I knew it, we were having some of the best cake you could imagine, and the view was awesome!!! So, todays video link is all about eating cake by the ocean!!! Enjoy, and have some cake by the ocean too!!