Lagoon 380 S2

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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Farley’s Friday: A Boatless Wheaten Terrier

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here,

I was born in the fall of 2008. In July of 2009, I moved on Mattina. She’s a catamaran and is great for dogs. The only life I remember is on my sailboat. I’m a cruising dog. I love running free on the beach. I get to chase crabs.

Farley on Deck

I think I’m a key part of our pack, but how come I don’t get a say in key decisions! Mathew and Kristina just laid a whopper on me.

They sold Mattina. How could they without asking me? You heard me right. They sold my sailboat.

“Why?” I bark at Kristina.

“Don’t us that tone with me,” she says.

I sit in my most handsome way, roll my eyes up at her, and lay my head on her lap. “But why?” I whine while my tail swishes back and forth on the floor. “I’m sad.”

“Don’t you remember living in the mountains?” she asks.

“Sort of,” I say in my low growl. I’m very suspicious of this.

“Don’t you remember Joe?”

My ears perk up and I peak around at the scene on her laptop. There he is. I remember him. I tilt my head to Kristina.

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She smiles. “I see you do. There are lots of dogs and lots of off leash time. You’ll be fine.”

And I will be.

Woof Woof.

 

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 . . .

Why Did I Ever Watch Jaws?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Is there a movie you wish you’d never seen?

Mine is Jaws. Even though I watched the scary movie a long time ago, the dreaded music sounds off in my head – and you know the music I am talking about – as soon as I swim laps. I like to watch a scary movie, something like Aliens works for me. I know I’ll never have to face an alien the way Sigourney Weaver did – at least I hope I won’t. But sharks? I’m in the ocean most days. I love to swim laps, but I’ve yet to make it through a session without thinking of Jaws.

Below are two dolphins swimming along my favourite beach for laps. A mom swimming with her young one. A lovely sight. An amazing opportunity to swim in the wild with a wild animal.  A big grey creature, but not the kind to be afraid of.

Dolphins at Sand Dollar

My only close up and personal encounter with a shark happened while I was kayaking. Unlucky for me, I got between a shark and its lunch. The annoyed shark bumped the side of my kayak. A good message to tell me to get away from the buffet. All the food was spoken for. Was I scared – yup. Did I go right back to the same spot the next day – yup. Somehow I feel safe in the kayak, but not while I’m swimming.

Someone please turn off the Jaws music so I can swim in peace.

Thanks for reading . . .

Mahi Mahi: Fishing off a Catamaran

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Sometimes life offers a bounty.  Mattina is equipped with two stainless steel rod holders, one off each hull, and we love to fish while we’re sailing. Sometimes we catch a Mahi Mahi . . .

Mahi Mahi
Mahi Mahi

Sometimes we catch a shark. The trick is to get the lure back without hurting the shark. This shark snagged a homemade cedar plug, and lucky for us, it popped out of the sharks mouth and we got the lure back. The shark swam happily, or maybe grumpily, away and all was well.

Shark 1

 

And sometimes we don’t catch anything at all, but we still got to sail.

Thanks for reading . . .

Rain in the Bahamas?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Rain doesn’t happen often in the Bahamas, at least while we’ve been here, but the skies can dump a large amount of water in a short period of time.

What do we do when that happens?

Sometimes, I’m caught out on the beach, usually running with Farley, but that’s okay. The rain is warm and often a welcome cool down during a work out.

Sometimes, we’re on board. Then we hide. The main salon windows mean we get at 360 degree view of the anchorage and can keep an eye out for moving boats. 

Our cockpit enclosure keeps us dry and warm, so we have an extra room if we want to be outside while the weather decides to soak us. 

Enclosure SB View

Mattina is for sale and we updated the photo gallery yesterday if you’d like to see more pictures.

Thanks for reading . . .

Mattina in the Bahamas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Emotions run full speed when life changes are on the way. Since we’ve put Mattina for sale, we’ve been very pleased with the response we’ve been getting. Gotta love social media for getting the word out there. Thanks to everyone who has shared, tweeted, or reposted my blog. The added visibility is a big help.

The added visibility also makes selling Mattina feel real for me, and I have to confess there is a little part of me that’s sad. But alas, new adventures await, and I’m excited about that too.

Mattina At Anchor

The Bahamas provide many  beautiful places to anchor, and there’s nothing like the clear blue water to entice a sailor to stay a while.

This is our fifth winter roaming the Bahamian islands and cays, and I’m still amazed at the beauty of the water.

Now I need to make the most of it and enjoy what’s on offer. Hence . . . time to go beach running.

Thanks for reading  . . .

Farley’s Friday: What? My Boat is For Sale

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley,

So I’m part of the pack right? Then how come I don’t get a vote when it comes to major life changes? See me looking like the captain. I think I look like I’m in charge and this is my boat.

Farley On Deck

But . . . I hear Kristina and Matt talking, and I bark, “Wait, I don’t want to leave the Bahamas.”

Kristina smiles at me the way she does when I’m not going to get my way. “Don’t worry, you get to stay with us.”

“Stay with you,” I bark. “I want you to stay with me in the Bahamas.”

“Whatever we end up doing, you’ll still be the centre of the universe,” Kristina says.

Now that’s more like it. I just want to know I’m the top priority in their lives. I don’t really care where we live as long as I get to run free everyday, I get fed yummy food, I get groomed, I get to play with other dogs, and I get to sleep on a cold, hard surface. Other than that, bring on the changes.

Woof Woof

FOR SALE: 2007 Lagoon 380 S2 Owner’s Version

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

2014 has arrived and it’s time for Matt and I to make some changes and move on to new adventures.

MATTINA has been sold to happy new owners.

Mattina Sailing

Mattina is fully equipped for extended live-aboard cruising. She is a fantastic owner’s version example of the Lagoon 380 S2, one of the most successful catamarans ever built. She’s fun, fast and comfortable to sail thanks to her easily managed sail plan.

Key equipment includes a 5.5kw genset, 15 gph water maker, SSB, radar, solar panels, 2kw inverter, liferaft, spinnaker, air conditioning, full cockpit enclosure, and a 10.5 ft AB dinghy with a 15hp Yamaha outboard.

Mattina has cruised the Bahamas the last 4 winters and has been laid up on the hard in Florida in the summers. All systems have been fully tested and maintained by experienced owners. Mattina is ready now for more adventures. She’s never been chartered, is Canadian registered and is currently in the Bahamas.

To find out about Mattina click on:

If you still want more . . . you can also search the blog for Lagoon 380 and you will find everything I’ve written about her.

Please send us an email if you would like to inquire further about Mattina.

I don’t usually asks this of my readers, but if would be great if you could help spread the word and share this blog for me.

Thanks for reading . . .