Superbowl, Volkswagons & Trawler Training in Florida

A couple from chilly Massachusetts joins us for a week of training aboard Sandy Hook- a week that happened to include the Superbowl.

(NOTE: We no longer charter our boat but are pleased to come aboard YOUR boat anywhere for personal training with you and your mate)

Football fans, be assured we can adapt to anything- we are CRUISERS! After we determine that Glen and Julie want a front row seat to witness Green Bay take the championship we select our anchorage for the night – not just for wind direction but also for TV reception on FOX. A full day of navigating, range markers and learning how to maneuver SANDY HOOK, we find the perfect location to drop anchor and settle in for some hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and other junk food- perfect football fare. Go Packers! (sorry Steelers fans but Alyse’s dad had Vince Lombardi for his high school science teacher at Saint Cecelia’s in Englewood NJ- Old affiliations are strong!)

One goal of this couple is to LOOP in a few years aboard their own boat so we made two lockings on the Okeechobee Waterway with a water level change of 12.5 feet. The lake is low so lock openings are limited until we get some more rain. You’ll see some photos of our locking below but Glen also took a short video as we left the lock. Check it out!

Avid Volkswagen collectors, this couple learns about what interests them and then gets comfortable by immersing themselves in it. As VW Bug collectors, they are friends with like-minded enthusiasts and as boaters they take a similar stance, using their 34 ft trawler COOL BEANS during the summer months in the North East. Boating has turned into a passion and 34 ft doesn’t seem big enough anymore particularly for when they loop full time. So, they now have two objectives: get Julie more comfortable at the helm and both of them working together as a team. After all, the bigger the boat, the more important is is to Build Cruising Confidence As A Couple. So far, so good. The photos show that Julie is becoming quite the skipper. No worries, Glen gets time at the wheel too!

Glen spied a Fleming 53 on the internet that is offered for sale in Palm Beach so we make the time and headed south to see her. We also orchestrated a look-see at a DeFever 49 and time with an experienced broker, Curtis Stokes. Curtis learned about their wish list and time line and plans to work with them as they move forward in their looping dream.

Seven days aboard offers this soon-to-be cruising couple time to build each new day on what’s been mastered already. Line handling, knot tying, safety equipment and getting comfortable working with charts are some of the more important tasks at hand. Julie has a new appreciation for situational awareness: which direction are we heading? What could be around the bend? Which side of the dredge do we pass? Which way is the ocean vs the heartland? Glen can’t wait to get back to COOL BEANS this spring, just the two of them, because teamwork doesn’t happen without practice.

These photos tell a story of a cruising couple who came aboard with a dream and now they are really living it! Can you imagine it’s YOU at the helm? Let us know how we can help you live the dream too….