Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the USA

On today’s podcast, we are welcoming back a familiar face to our regular listeners. Mike Malekoff. Mike was a guest back in episodes 66, 72, 73, 77 & 78.  We have been following Mike and his wife on their journey from Lake Champlain in Vermont to the Bahamas.   They are now in the Bahamas and exploring many of the great destinations there.  Mike also talks about all of the things you need to know to be a cruiser, that they do not teach you in sailing school.  This is a two-part episode, so make sure you listen to EP-81 which is part 1.

If you would like to support the podcast, we now have a Patreon page.  Just go to Patreon.com/sailingtheeast.  

Our podcast is now also available on YouTube, just search for “Sailing the East”

https://www.youtube.com/@sailingandcruisingtheeast

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

On today’s podcast, we are welcoming back a familiar face to our regular listeners. Mike Malekoff. Mike was a guest back in episodes 66, 72, 73, 77 & 78.  We have been following Mike and his wife on their journey from Lake Champlain in Vermont to the Bahamas.   They are now in the Bahamas and exploring many of the great destinations there.  Mike also talks about all of the things you need to know to be a cruiser, that they do not teach you in sailing school.  This is a two-part episode, so make sure you listen to EP-82 which is part 2.

If you would like to support the podcast, we now have a Patreon page.  Just go to Patreon.com/sailingtheeast.  

Our podcast is now also available on YouTube, just search for “Sailing the East”

https://www.youtube.com/@sailingandcruisingtheeast

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Our guest on today’s podcast is Mark Tieszen.  Mark is an experienced sailor who has one sailboat on the Great Lakes and another in Florida.  He shares with us how a coastal sail in Florida turned into a minor disaster as they hit bottom on the way into the harbor.  The momentary grounding resulted in a jammed rudder and loss of steerage.  They soon ended up washed ashore on the beach.  What happened next was the really interesting part of the story.  This is part two of our conversation, make sure you listen to part one and the beginning of this adventure.   

If you would like to support the podcast, we now have a Patreon page.  Just go to Patreon.com/sailingtheeast.  

Our podcast is now also available on YouTube, just search for “Sailing the East”

https://www.youtube.com/@sailingandcruisingtheeast

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Our guest on today’s podcast is Mark Tieszen.  Mark is an experienced sailor who has one sailboat on the Great Lakes and another in Florida.  He shares with us how a coastal sail in Florida turned into a minor disaster as they hit bottom on the way into the harbor.  The momentary grounding resulted in a jammed rudder and loss of steerage.  What happened next was the really interesting part of the story.  This is part one of our conversation, make sure you listen to part two and the ensuing adventure.   

If you would like to support the podcast, we now have a Patreon page.  Just go to Patreon.com/sailingtheeast.  

Our podcast is now also available on YouTube, just search for “Sailing the East”

https://www.youtube.com/@sailingandcruisingtheeast

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

On today’s podcast, we are welcoming back a familiar face to our regular listeners. Mike Malekoff. Mike was a guest back in episodes 66, 72 & 73.  When we first met Mike, the goal for him and his wife was to sail from Lake Champlain in Vermont to the Bahamas.  In each episode, we have followed their progress. Back in EP-66, Mike was in the “dreaming and planning” stages for the trip.  In EP-72,  Mike shared with us the casting off of the lines in Burlington VT, and heading South via the Champlain canal to the Hudson River.  In EP-73 Mike talked about the trip down the East coast to Beaufort, NC.  Our most recent discussion is broken into 2 episodes. During our conversation, Mike was in the cockpit of his boat at a marina in the Bahamas.  They had some challenges in this leg of the journey so make sure you listen to both EP-77 and EP-78.

If you would like to support the podcast, we now have a Patreon page.  Just go to Patreon.com/sailingtheeast.

Our podcast is now also available on YouTube, just search for “Sailing the East”

https://www.youtube.com/@sailingandcruisingtheeast

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

On today’s podcast, we are welcoming back a familiar face to our regular listeners. Mike Malekoff. Mike was a guest back in episodes 66, 72 & 73.  When we first met Mike, the goal for him and his wife was to sail from Lake Champlain in Vermont to the Bahamas.  In each episode, we have followed their progress. Back in EP-66, Mike was in the “dreaming and planning” stages for the trip.  In EP-72,  Mike shared with us the casting off of the lines in Burlington VT, and heading South via the Champlain canal to the Hudson River.  In EP-73 Mike talked about the trip down the East coast to Beaufort, NC.  Our most recent discussion is broken into 2 episodes. During our conversation, Mike was in the cockpit of his boat at a marina in the Bahamas.  They had some challenges in this leg of the journey so make sure you listen to both EP-77 and EP-78.

If you would like to support the podcast, we now have a Patreon page.  Just go to Patreon.com/sailingtheeast.

Our podcast is now also available on YouTube, just search for “Sailing the East”

https://www.youtube.com/@sailingandcruisingtheeast

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Today's guest on the podcast is Tim Geisler from Nautilus Sailing.   Tim founded the company and has taken a different approach to teaching sailing.  He employs the top-rated ASA sailing instructors that are typically former teachers.  So they not only know sailing, but they also know how to teach.  Nautilus Sailing runs week-long sailing instruction at destinations around the world.  It’s a great way to get your ASA certification in some of the most beautiful places.    

You can check out Nautilus Sailing here:

https://www.nautilussailing.com/

If you would like to support the podcast, we now have a Patreon page.  Just go to Patreon.com/sailingtheeast.   

Our podcast is now also available on YouTube, just search for “Sailing the East” (https://www.youtube.com/@sailingandcruisingtheeast)

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  In this episode, I am solo as Mike is busy with final exams. I am trying something different in this episode, it’s a narrative of my 4 days on the boat solo.  It includes my experience in taking the boat out, solo for a day-long sail in 15 - 20 knots of wind.  I also share what I did each of the four days, including my non-boating activities. I hope you enjoy the episode.

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  In this episode, Mike and I discuss my experience with having kids on the boat.  I have 3 granddaughters, ages 8 and 6 years, and 14 months.  The 6 and 8-year-olds are sisters and keeping them occupied, while we are out sailing, takes some planning.  My younger son and his wife have a 14-month-old.  She is a challenge in a very different way, as her schedule revolves around eating and taking her naps.  I share some things we have learned in having them on the boat.  I hope you enjoy the episode.

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  In this episode, which I recorded solo while on Paradox, I talk about some spring projects, including fixing a leaking galley sink drain, sending my son up the mast to run a spinnaker halyard and replace a burned out deck light, and I disclose a big screw-up on my part.  I hope you enjoy the episode.

We love to hear from you, our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know—wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  Today we have a very different podcast topic for you. If you have been listening to this podcast you know that Mike and I like to try new things, well this one is way out there. It is not about sailing. It is about how the experience of losing my 95-year-old mother, this past January,  completely changed my view of death and dying.  I went from fearing it and trying to ignore it to embracing the journey and experience.

This is an episode where I talk about things I have never talked about before.  I debated with myself for many hours regarding if I should express my thoughts in public.  With Mike’s encouragement, we hit the record button and had a wonderful conversation.

My mom's passing was the first time I was present for the passing of a loved one.  All of my prior experiences were receiving a phone call informing me someone dear to me had passed.  I always had a fear of death and did not want to be present.  Early in the process, I even asked the nursing staff not to call me when the time was near.  As the week progressed and I spent more time with my mom, something inside of me flipped and I wanted to be there with my mom.  It was very clear to me that she could hear my words and would respond with a slight smile or a tightening of her grip on my hand.  I was so grateful I was there, talking to her, holding her hand when she passed.  My mom and I were together when I entered this world and we were together when she departed.

Today, I view this experience as my mom's final gift to me.  Moms forever hold a special place in our lives.

I hope it will help you think through and process these types of events.  And for me, the most important thing was not running away from it, but accepting it and embracing the experience.  One of the key things that helped in the process was over the previous 5 years, my mom made it very clear what she wanted when the end was near.  This removed that facet of “what should we do” as the events unfolded.  I encourage you to have those conversations.

Thanks for listening, I would love to hear your thoughts about this episode.   Drop us a line at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.

Our next episode will be back on topic.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  In this episode, I have a conversation with Scott Wells about sailing the Chesapeake Bay.  Scott is a long-time Bay boater and sailor.  We discuss some of the great destinations on the Bay, some tips for not running aground, and nice anchorages.  I have bare-boat chartered many times on the Chesapeake, so it was great to reminisce about common places Scott and I have visited.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  In this is episode Mike and I discuss finding crew for your boat or finding a boat to crew on.  This was inspired by an email we received from Chris Curtis who lives on the West Coast and is a listener of the podcast.

He asked the question, “I like going out for 3-4 day sails, but I do not want to sail by myself.  How can I find crew?”  Mike and I go through the various ways of finding crew, the things to look for, and what questions to ask.  I also discuss how I got a crew position on a sail from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Baltimore, Maryland.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  This is part 2 of a two-part interview with Jaime and Keith Pomeroy.  They have been living full-time on their catamaran for over 15 years.  When I spoke to them they were anchored in Elephant Bay, in the US Virgin Islands

It’s a great story of selling everything, buying a boat, and embarking on a great adventure.  This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, it was well thought out and planned.

In this episode, we discuss what they have learned in 15 years of living on a boat, how they have generated income, their plans going forward, and how flexibility is key.

Lots of good tips and lessons learned in this episode and in part 2.  Make sure and listen to both episodes.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  This is part 1 of a two-part interview with Jaime and Keith Pomeroy.  They have been living full-time on their catamaran for over 15 years.  When I spoke to them they were anchored in Elephant Bay, in the US Virgin Islands

It turns out I know Jaime and Keith from the Ski Patrol when we were teaching/training skiing and toboggan handling skills to fellow patrollers.  Then one winter I did not see them and asked, “Where are Keith and Jaime?”  The response was, “They sold everything, bought a sailboat and are heading South”

In this episode, we discuss how they put together a 5-year plan and placed it into action.  How they have generated income to maintain their lifestyle.

Lots of good tips and lessons learned in this episode and in part 2.  Make sure and listen to both episodes.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

This is another pre-podcast discussion episode.  As mentioned before, these episodes were inspired by a listener.  When Mike and I get together, to record a podcast, before we hit the RECORD button, we typically have a conversation about what's going on in our lives and the world.  It’s basically, two good friends catching up. Back in EP 39, Mike and I did an experiment and we hit the record button as soon as our conversation started and we included this part of the conversation in the regular podcast. After receiving some positive comments from listeners, we decided to make separate episodes out of our pre-podcast conversations.  That way, those listeners who are only interested in Sailing and Cruising can easily skip over them. Not sure what we are going to label these episodes, but for now, we will call them, “Pre-podcast discussion”.

In this episode, Mike and I talk about his trip back to the USA during the Christmas holiday in the midst of a large COVID - Omicron surge in the US.  We also talk about COVID regulations and political donations and how Germany and the US each deal with these issues very differently.  Hope you enjoy the episode!

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  This is part 2 of a two-part interview with Heath Moldveen, whose boat sank this past summer during tropical storm Ida.

Heath Moldveen, is a technical sales rep for Sea Hawk Premium Yacht Finishes and was also a guest in Episodes 43 and 44 where we discussed anti-fouling paints. In this episode, Heath and I discuss his adventure this past summer when his boat sank at the dock during tropical storm Ida.

He received the dreaded phone call from the marina early in the morning.  The voice on the other end said, “your boat has sunk”.  It’s something no one wants to hear.  Heath and I discuss how he bought the boat back from the insurance company, his plans to get it fixed up,  and what’s next.

Lots of good tips and lessons learned in this episode and in part 1.  Make sure and listen to both episodes.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  This is part 1 of a two-part interview with Heath Moldveen, whose boat sank this past summer during tropical storm Ida.

Heath Moldveen, is a technical sales rep for Sea Hawk Premium Yacht Finishes and was also a guest in Episodes 43 and 44 where we discussed anti-fouling paints. In this episode, Heath and I discuss his adventure this past summer when his boat sank at the dock during tropical storm Ida.

He received the dreaded phone call from the marina early in the morning.  The voice on the other end said, “your boat has sunk”.  Heath and I discuss what happens next, including getting a salvage company to refloat the boat and dealing with the insurance company,

Lots of good tips and lessons learned in this episode and in part 2.  Make sure and listen to both episodes.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

This is our second, pre podcast discussion episode.  As mentioned before, these episodes were inspired by a listener.  When Mike and I get together, to record a podcast, before we hit the RECORD button, we typically have a conversation about what's going on in our lives and the world.  It’s basically, two good friends catching up.

Back in EP 39, Mike and I did an experiment and we hit the record button as soon as our conversation started. We included this part of the conversation in the regular podcast.

After receiving some positive comments from listeners, we decided to make separate episodes out of our pre-podcast conversations.  That way, those listeners who are only interested in Sailing and Cruising can easily skip over them. Not sure what we are going to label these episodes, but for now, we will call them, “Pre-podcast discussion”

Also, we are not sure how often we will release these episodes, as sometimes our conversations are not podcast-worthy. Hope you enjoy the episode!

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Today’s episode was inspired by a listener.  When Mike and I get together, to record a podcast, before we hit the RECORD button, we typically have a conversation about what's going on in our lives and the world.  It’s basically, two good friends catching up.

Back in EP 39, Mike and I did an experiment and we hit the record button as soon as our conversation started. We included this part of the conversation in the regular podcast.

We received some nice comments from listeners who said they enjoyed the episode.

In addition, John sent us a very nice email, he suggested we make our pre-podcast conversation part of the podcast.  Thank you John for the thoughtful email and suggestion.

Mike and I discussed John’s suggestion and we decided we will make separate episodes out of our pre-podcast conversations.  That way, those listeners who are only interested in Sailing and Cruising can easily skip over them. Not sure what we are going to label these episodes, but for now, we will call them, “Pre-podcast discussion”

Also, we are not sure how often we will release these episodes, as sometimes our conversations are not podcast-worthy. Hope you enjoy the episode!

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  This is part 2 of a two-part interview with Heath Moldveen, who is a technical sales rep for Sea Hawk Premium Yacht Finishes.  It was a long interview, so we split it into 2 parts.  In part 2 we discussed the ins and outs of applying anti-fouling paint for the DIY person.  Heath gives some great pro tips for making the job easier and getting a professional result. If you missed part 1 we had a great conversation about the various different types of anti-fouling paints, how to pick the best one for your boat and how location and boat use play a role in selecting bottom paint.  We also discussed the process for painting, including the critical preparation steps.  Heath also addressed what to look for when selecting a yard to paint the button on your boat. Make sure and listen to both episodes.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  This is part 1 of a two-part interview with Heath Moldveen, who is a technical sales rep for Sea Hawk Premium Yacht Finishes.  It was a long interview, so we split it into 2 parts.  In the first part, we had a great conversation about the various different types of anti-fouling paints, how to pick the best one for your boat and how location and boat use play a role in selecting bottom paint.  We also discussed the process for painting, including the critical preparation steps.  Heath also addressed what to look for when selecting a yard to paint the bottom of your boat. In part two of the podcast, Heath gives some great tips for the DIY person so you can get a professional result.  Make sure and listen to both episodes.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  In this episode, Mike and I discuss the last sail of the season I did with my son Jason on Paradox, our 2009 Hunter 45 DS.  We arrived at the boat on Friday evening around 9:00 PM.  It was Columbus Day weekend and the weather was supposed to be nice.  We dropped the dock lines on Saturday morning around 10:00 AM and it was 45 degrees, solid overcast skies with a 10-15 knot wind from the East.  It was COLD!  We sailed, all the way to the Newport bridge on one tack and past Newport into Long Island Sound.  Where we experienced a nice ocean swell of 5-6 feet.  All of a sudden Paradox felt small.  We came back North via the West passage and arrived back at Bullock Cove, in the dark, around 8:00 PM.  It was approximately a 40 nautical mile trip, the longest of the season.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  In this episode, we discuss what to do about dirty seat cushions in your main salon.  Prior to fixing some leaking windows on Paradox, (see EP-38) we would get water dripping from the cabin onto the seat cushions.  This went on for several years with the previous owner and the tan fabric-covered cushions developed some stains.  As an experiment, on our last trip, we took two bottoms and two tops home to wash.  After soaking the bad spots in some stain remover and a good wash, they came out great.  Getting the foam back into the cushions was a challenge.  In the end, they turned out great.  Eight more to go. Sounds like a nice winter project.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing and Cruising the East Coast of the United States podcast.  In this episode, we discuss sailing, or should I say motoring to Bristol RI, and seeing the superyacht - Blue Moon.  Just search on YouTube for Superyacht Blue Moon and you will see what you can get for $50 million.  On the following day, we had a wonderful sail in gusty conditions with eight people on board.  It all went well, but I should have shortened sail sooner and a few of our guests were uncomfortable.  Lesson learned on my part.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the East coast of the United States.   In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show.

In this episode of the podcast, Bela and Mike trying a new format for the podcast.   When we record a podcast, we usually spend 15 to 30 minutes talking about what’s going on in each other’s lives.  This is with the recorder off, so you never hear it.  Well, this time we decided to record our conversation.

We talk about fishing, the German elections and how the process is different from the one in the USA, a COVID update, life in general, and a few thoughts on some new podcast ideas.

Please let us know what you think!

Thanks for listening!  We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay.  Hope to see you out on the water.

If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the East coast of the United States.   In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show.

Today we’re are going to talk about leaky windows on S/V Paradox, a 2009 Hunter 45 DS.

If it is one thing that bugs me, it’s having water dripping into one of the cabins in my boat.  Deck leaks drive me nuts and I am always chasing them down. It seems like every boat has them, including “production” boats and “custom” ones as well.

In this episode, I re-seal the 4 large, frameless windows on Paradox.  It took the better part of a day and the following week the windows got a real test from Hurricane Henri. No Leaks!  The bilge has been dry ever since.

Thanks for listening!  We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay.  Hope to see you out on the water.

If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the East coast of the United States.   In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show.

Today we’re are going to talk about hurricane Henri and preparing Paradox for the storm.

The marina was buzzing with activity, boats were being hauled, dock lines were being doubled, and dodgers were being removed.  We got Paradox, our 2009 Hunter 45 DS ready for the storm.  In the end, everything turned out fine.

Thanks for listening!  We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay.  Hope to see you out on the water.

If you know someone that would be an interesting guest on the show, please reach out to us and let us know.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the East coast of the United States.   In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show.

Today we’re are going to talk about replacing the house batteries on Paradox, our 2009 Hunter 45DS.

During the survey we had done in the Fall of 2020, when we purchased Paradox, the surveyor indicated that the lead-acid batteries on the boat were at about 50% of their rated capacity.

During the early part of this sailing season, I noticed the batteries were almost depleted after a full day of sailing.  So, it is time to replace the house batteries.

We discuss why I decided to stay with lead-acid wet cell batteries and not “upgrade” to Gel or Lithium-Ion batteries.

Thanks for listening!  We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay.  Hope to see you out on the water.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the East coast of the United States.   In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show.

Today we’re are going to talk about our first family vacation on Paradox, our 2009 Hunter 45 DS. My wife and I, along with our son, his wife, and their 2 daughters, ages 5 and 7 spent a week on the boat in Narragansett Bay.

It was an interesting week, as unlike all the other times we have been on the Bay, the typical afternoon sea breeze did not appear and we had 3 days of no wind. We had to get creative and we were sure glad our marina has a pool.

It was the first time on a sailboat for my granddaughters, so it was a great week of learning new things and exploring for them.  I even got them to understand “Red Right Returning”.

In addition to motoring and sailing around the Bay, we took the high-speed ferry from Providence to Newport.  We also visited the Blount Clam Shack in Warren, RI.  Blount’s is one of those “must experience” places in RI.

All in all, we have a great week with the family in Paradox!

Thanks for listening!  We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay.  Hope to see you out on the water.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the East coast of the United States.   In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show.

Today we have Simon and Sawyer Balint as guests on the podcast.  They are repeat guests and were on this podcast in EP-29.  In today's episode, we are going to discuss Simon and Sawyer’s experience when they were anchored out during tropical storm Elsa when it hit the New England coast on July 9th, 2021.

We discuss the decision-making process for evaluating their options.  Such as anchoring vs. getting a mooring vs. going to a marina.  We also talk about what happened during the storm with other boats in the anchorage,  why they called harbor patrol and TowBoatsUS, and why they reset the anchor during the height of the storm.

We also covered the lessons learned and how it was a positive experience for them both.

Thanks for listening!  We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay.  Hope to see you out on the water.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast. This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the east coast of the United States. In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show. As our frequent listeners can tell, I am doing this episode solo today as my co-host Mike Wasserman could not make it. 

In this episode, we discuss marine surveys and my experience when we purchased Paradox in September 2020. Paradox is a 2009 Hunter 45 DS. It's been 9 months since we took possession of Paradox. Since Paradox was on the hard for the Winter we have used paradox for about 3 months so far this season. We purchased her from the original owner and she had just under 200 hrs on the engine. That is a very lightly used boat. 

We hired a marine surveyor who was SAMS, and NAMS accredited. A surveyor typically goes through all of the systems on the boat, checks the hull and deck for damage or water intrusion, they may also do a rig inspection and test the oil in the engine, transmission, and generator and a do sea trial where you hoist the sails and run the engine under load. A typical survey in the North East of the United States costs between $25 to $35 per foot. This does not include paying a marina to lift the boat out of the water so the hull, rudder, and keel can be inspected. This is often called a Short Hall and costs $10-$15 per foot. 

The recommendations from the surveyor were organized into 4 groups.  Legal requirements, These are things that need to be done to meet USCG requirements. Such are insufficient life jackets or expired single flares.  The next group is Safety recommendations. For example, getting fire extinguishers recharged. Or repairing a non-working bilge pump.  The third group is immediate attention. Replacing low batteries.  The fourth group is Maintenance. Items like replacing the worn zincs and lubricating sea cocks. 

There were a few items we have discovered that the surveyor missed.  I list them in the podcast.

What is the lesson learned here? Don’t just turn stuff on. Turn it on and let it run. Make sure it working and not just turning on. Put it through its paces. There are big items and not so big items. But if you are paying someone to check over the boat, they should cover it all. I was pleased with the survey and the surveyor. He did a good job and on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give him an 8. 

So, if you are considering buying a boat, in addition to being there with the surveyor for the survey, I would make it a condition of buying the boat to spend a day going through everything myself. Turning stuff on, letting it run. I would try to do this prior to the survey so anything you find can be pointed out to the surveyor and included in the survey report. It’s important to have stuff in the report because things uncovered during the survey give you grounds to walk away or renegotiate the price. Don’t rush, take your time, use it as a learning experience. 

Thanks for listening! We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay. Hope to see you out on the water. We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com. If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below. For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast. Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas. 

Bela and Mike

Hello and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the east coast of the United States.   In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show.

In this episode, Mike and I discuss the C&D Canal and Chesapeake City, MD.  Chesapeake City is a small town on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The population in the 2010 census was 673. The town was originally named by Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohemia — or Bohemia Manor — but the name was changed in 1839 after the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built in 1829.

The C&D Canal, as it is known, connects the Chesapeake Bay with Delaware Bay.  It makes the trip from NYC, Boston, or Philadelphia, to Baltimore or Washington several hundred miles shorter. Chesapeake City is located about ⅓ of the way from the Chesapeake to the Delaware Bay along the canal.

In Chesapeake City, there is a nice bay to anchor in.  With a Marina and restaurant with docks. The anchorage will hold about 5 or 6 boats, so it is not large.  It is well protected from any wakes in the canal. The town is within easy walking distance and there are several nice restaurants and shops.  With under 1000 residents, there are no big box stores or restaurant chains.  It’s all local businesses.

Thanks for listening!  We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay.  Hope to see you out on the water.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello listeners and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the east coast of the United States.   In some episodes we will focus on passages and destinations, in other episodes, we will talk about boats, equipment, and techniques, and when we come across an interesting person, we will try to get them as a guest on the show.  In this episode, I will tell you about some of the water pump woes I have been having on Paradox, my 2009 Hunter 45 DS.  Not the water pumps on the engine or generator, but the water pumps that are part of the water system on the boat.

Thanks for listening!  We will be spending most of the summer sailing around Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and Buzzards Bay.  Hope to see you out on the water.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.  For as little as 99 cents a month, you can help defray the costs of producing this podcast.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

Hello listeners and welcome to the Sailing the East podcast.  I’m Bela Musits.  This is our podcast about sailing and cruising the east coast of the United States.  In this episode, I am interviewing Simon and Sawyer Balint.  They are a father and son team that spent last summer cruising the coast of Maine.  Sailing is relatively new to them and this was their first extended cruise.  They visited many interesting locations in Maine and had other members of their family join them as well. They also share how they decided to jump headfirst into blue water sailing, how they selected a Passport 40 as their boat of choice, and how COVID turned their sail across the Atlantic plans into cruising the coast of Maine.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  If you would like to support the podcast, click on the sponsorship link below.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

In today’s episode, we explore the sailing from Sandy Hook NJ to Cape May NJ. Sandy Hook is just south of NY harbor and as the name suggests, it’s a hooked-shaped spit of land that projects out into Raritan Harbor.  Cape May is at the Southernmost tip of NJ which makes this an approximately 120 NM trip.  This is one section of the East Coast, from Maine to Key West, where there are not a lot of stopover points, especially for a sailboat.  Many of the inlets along the New Jersey shore and not sailboat friendly.  They have either strong currents or low bridges.  If you want to do the trip non-stop, it is about a 24-hour passage and a great first overnight passage for any sailors desiring to get such an experience.  It is a relatively easy passage and if you are heading South, any wind direction is fine, except directly from the South.  All you need is a good weather forecast for the next 24 hours.  I find these short term forecasts are typically very accurate.  In the summer, just be on the lookout for thunderstorms.  Lightning on a boat with a 62-foot aluminum mast is not fun. This far north and close to shore, you do not need to worry about the Gulf Stream.  Once you are out of the inlet, any currents are minor and are not an issue with the wind.  There is a fair amount of commercial traffic.  Tugs with barges, fishing boats, and some large ships.  Most of the commercial traffic stays at least 10 miles offshore, so if you keep about 5 miles offshore, you will not encounter too much traffic.  The entrance to Cape May is well marked and there is a large Coast Guard station there.  This Coast Guard station is the primary training center for new recruits.  There is an anchorage just off of the Coast Guard station, which is where we anchored.  It’s a great place to stop and get some rest on your way south or north.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.  Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas. 

Bela and Mike

In today’s episode, we discuss why sailing on the East Coast of the United States ranked as one of the best and most diverse sailing, (and boating) destinations in the world.  It’s approximately 1,800 nm from Maine to Key West.  You can make the trip in 4-10 hour day hops or you can sail the whole thing non-stop.  You can see large cities, historic small towns, and enjoy very diverse cuisine.  So, listen in and set some time aside to explore this great sailing and boating region of the world.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

In today’s episode, we explore the passage from Port Washington NY to Sandy Hook NJ via the East River and NYC. It’s a spectacular trip of approximately 35 nautical miles with beautiful views of NYC, the Statue of Liberty, and NY Harbor.  We also discuss passage planning and dealing with tidal currents, commercial traffic, and daylight hours.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike

In today’s episode, we discuss putting your boat on the hard for the Winter.  If you live where it gets below freezing during the year, you need to winterize your boat.

Winterizing day is always a sad day that sailors and boaters who live in colder climates face.  You either sail to warmer climates or you put the boat away for the winter. This Winter, with COVID in full swing and borders closing, I will not be sailing to warmer climates.  So, in this episode Mike and I discuss:

The process of putting the boat away for winter.
The amount of work that goes into winterizing your boat.
And thirdly, and this is the silver lining in all of this - you get to go over most of the systems on the boat and check their condition.   I like to perform a thorough check during the winterizing process because it gives me several months to get the parts and fix the problem before Spring.  If I wait until spring to check things over, then it’s a mad rush as I have the itch to go sailing.

Hope you found this episode interesting.

We love to hear from our listeners, send us your questions, comments, and suggestions at sailingtheeast@gmail.com.

Wishing you fair winds, and calm seas.

Bela and Mike