Sailing

Sailing and Writing in The Bahamas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

With Look The Other Way now on Amazon for pre-order and being released August 1st, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at my life on Mattina, a Lagoon 380 S2.

Mattina was my muse for writing Look The Other Way.  The story takes place on a Lagoon 380, and Shannon, Jake, and Debi sail from Florida to George Town, Bahamas.

Below is a little look into my life on board a sailboat. We lived aboard from 2009 through 2013, so how could not I not turn this into a murder mystery.

You’ll notice Farley has a prime spot on Mattina.

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If you like sailing or dream of spending time in the Bahamas, then let Look the Other Way take you there. Pre-order here and Look The Other Way will be delivered to your Kindle August 1st.

Look the Other Way Createspace 6x9 252pg

Thanks for reading,

 

 

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Mattina Spinnaker Sailing

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Even though we have our lovely boat for sale, Mattina continues to give us gifts as we sail toward Florida.

As we head north, the wind comes from the south at 15 knots and we raise the spinnaker. We sail for two days under these conditions, happy to be cruising at 7 knots over ground heading for our destination.

Mattina Sailing May 2014

 

With the wind and weather treating us well, we’ll make the most of our final days in the Bahamas. If you are interested in buying Mattina or would like to see her in Florida, please check out our listing. You can also contact us through that page.

 

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: My Human Came Home

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here,

My human is home.

Playing on the beach, I heard a noise. I know that voice, I thought. I looked left, looked right and there she was. Yay.

Farley Greets Tina

I’m was soooo happy I jumped on her. Now, I’m not allowed to jump on people, but I could see Kristina felt guilty about leaving me, so she hugged me instead of telling me to sit. I still don’t get where she went. Humans are strange sometimes.

Life is good again.

 

Woof Woof.

Women Sailing A Lagoon 380

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

We were out the other day sailing our Lagoon 380 with friends. There’s nothing like sailing in 15 knots off the beam in flat seas. Mattina sailed at 8.5 knots over ground.

I had to laugh at this photo of me and what the wind does to my hair. It’s a good think a person can’t see themselves most of the time.

Sailing in between Stocking Island and George Town give us lots of opportunity to tack and gibe. A piece of cake on our lagoon as she’s a catamaran and the boat stays flat during sail maneuvers.

Tina at winch

Anyway, sailing is everything about speed over ground and nothing about looks.

Thanks for reading . . .

Guests At Work On A Cruising Sailboat

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

When guests arrive on Mattina, they may think they’re coming for a vacation full of fun and relaxation, but …

Okay, it’s true there is a lot of fun and relaxation, but we also put our guests to work.

My nephew got the fun job of checking the anchor. Even though we have a pretty good anchoring process, and we love our Rocna anchor, it never hurts to have a pair of eyes check the anchor is fully buried.

Can the water be any bluer?
Can the water be any bluer?

Lucky nephew. He got the good job. Others, like cleaning the galley, are not so fun.

Thanks for reading . . .

Beach Yoga

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Since Mattina is for sale, we are trying to make the most of our time in the Bahamas and one of my favourite things to do is yoga on the beach.

Beach Yoga 2014

What do you need to do this?

If you don’t have a yoga instructor handy, yogadownload.com has a variety of classes that you can download onto an iPod. Then you need a set of speaks with loud volume. You might be surprised how loud the waves are. We discovered this early on.

I love listening to a class that mentions wind or sky, and I’m actually outside and can feel the wind and see the sky.

The only downside is if holding a pose properly is important to you. Sometimes you shift in the sand or the wind pushes you.

Try holding the tree pose in a 20 knot gust.

Thanks for reading . . .

The Day We Bought Mattina

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Now that Mattina is for sale, all kinds of memories are surfacing. Things I haven’t thought of in a while. Sometimes in life you just have to laugh at yourself.

On the day we moved on board Mattina, we drove from Ottawa to a marina in Delaware and met the owners. We’d met the previous fall when  we flew to Baltimore to see Mattina, and since had been corresponding at a furious rate about Mattina. As it turned out, not enough to know the boat.

Mattina Day 1 2009 07 13

After checking out our lovely new boat, we agreed with the previous owners to go out for a drink and celebrate. Well, drinks turned into dinner and darkness had settled  when we arrived back on board.

Did we think about arriving in the pitch black this ahead of time? Not so lucky.

Try getting on an unfamiliar boat in the dark and figuring out the electrical panel. It’s hard to know which switch to flip to give power to the lights when the lights are out. We managed, but the event was good reminder we better take some time and get to know our knew home well.

New boat owner mistake. Gotta laugh.

Thanks for reading.

Volleyball While Sailing?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

We often get asked how we keep fit while cruising, and usually I write about the sports I like to do. Today I thought I share a bit of Matt’s life on the  beach. He’s the one in the red shirt about to set the ball.

Volleyball

Everyday on Volleyball beach a group of people meet to play ball. There is anything from 2s to 9s at all levels of play. The 9s is fun volleyball. It’s comprised of nine people on each side, and as far as I can tell, a lot of laughter is mandatory.

On the other end of the scale is 2s. This is for the more serious players and Matt’s personal favourite. Next comes 3s and then 4s. Nothing like a bit of competition to make a guy happy.

If you’re interested in this lifestyle, Mattina is for sale.

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten in a Dinghy

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here,

I’m a dog who is treated well and sometimes I’m a bit of a baby.  The water may look flat, but that’s an illusion. We’re about to head around the corner of an island and into open seas – and I don’t like to get wet.

Farley s Dinghy Ride

Did that last statement surprise you? I’m a dog who lives on a boat, spends hours every day on the beach, and my car is a dinghy. So what am I talking about? Seriously, getting wet annoys me. Kristina knows it. Sometimes she humours me – like in the photo above and holds me tight, but other times, she just says, “Suck it up, buttercup.”

“What does that mean?” I bark.

“You live on the ocean, pup,” she says.

The dinghy bounces and spray hits my face. Then I look my cutest and Kristina gives in, and you can see the results. I get to ride on her lap.

“Suck it up, buttercup,” I bark and make Kristina laugh.

Woof Woof . . .