This past week has been a series of ups and downs – typical of cruising!
First, we got a new outboard for the dinghy – a 15 HP Yamaha. We’ve wanted this ever since we lost our previous 15 HP outboard in Irma and were thrilled to finally get a new-new outboard that would plane our dinghy.
Two days later, our dinghy split the seam between the hull and tube. I’d repaired a small section of this last spring; now an adjacent 4-foot long section had separated. Water cascaded in at anything above idle speed, and several inches would accumulate in just a couple hours at the dinghy dock. The reality was that it was going to be hard to repair here in the Bahamas – ugh. But due to two friends who are charter captains here, we were able to find an excellent used dinghy at a very good price in less than a day. YAY!
Seriously, when you have a problem, reaching out to other cruisers almost always results in a solution. This is just one of the things I talk about in Unwritten Rules of the Cruising Life, but such an important one.
When we first started cruising, we had no idea how helpful other cruisers would be (or how much help we’d need). And paying that forward was one of the big reasons I started The Boat Galley.
So glad to have you here!
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Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
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