Welcome to the Around ‘n Circles 2017 Advent Calendar. We are counting down every day until Christmas with a fact, tidbit, or useless piece of information about our boat, our crew, and/or our sailing adventures! Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa Claus is coming to town… (and Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and Festivus for the rest of us! But who doesn’t love a little surprise every morning when you wake up? So, let’s get on with it…)
By the way, if you’re still looking for gift ideas for your salty sweetheart, don’t forget to check out our Holiday Gift Guide!
1 days until Christmas!
This is it!! One more day until Christmas!! Merry Christmas everyone! In honor of the holiday season we have selected the “one”. One marks the number of Christmas parades we’ve been to/been in since moving aboard. In 2016 we were in Key West just before Christmas and we happened to be there with Sailing the Kraken. Talk about a ton of fun! We had a blast. You can find more details on our “One Year Aboard – Part Two” post. I think I need more of this crazy fun!
2 days until Christmas!
Two more days!! We have a ton of “twos” to choose from. From the number of boats we’ve owned to pretty much everything on a catamaran is in twos. But the one we chose was the number of times we’ve crossed the Gulf of Mexico! The first time when Matt brought the boat to Texas from Florida (you can read all about that starting here). Then the second time when we left Texas to officially begin this crazy & awesome adventure (you can read about that one starting here).
3 days until Christmas!
Wow, only three days left! Three marks the number of boat shows we’ve been to. Two of which were this year. Our first was Annapolis in 2010 where we were focused on what kind/brand/style of boat we wanted. Second was Miami this year where we were shopping for parts and accessories for OG. Finally this year we went to Annapolis again. This time around was about looking for a thing or two but mostly about hanging out and visiting people we knew would be there.We got to see and hang out with so many awesome cruisers! (I know I still need to do a post about this year’s Annapolis show. #slacker)
4 days until Christmas!
This fact is completely useless if you do not live on our boat with us. However, the fact that we have 4 air conditioners / heaters on board has been amazing! We did not have a/c on OG and we SWEATED in the Texas heat the first summer. Then we sweated in Fort Lauderdale before selling and buying new Giro. The air conditioners were amazing over the summer, but we’ve actually gotten more use of the heaters this winter! It is hilarious that we think 60 degrees is HOT now…
Curious why we have four units? Each cabin (we have 3) has its own unit and thermostat, and there is one unit for the Salon. They do their job really well while we have unlimited power at the dock. Once we make our way to anchorages, they will get to rest.
5 days until Christmas!
We have a couple of memories that add up to five.
The number 5 equals the number of times Michelle puked on our first crossing as a family. That seems like a special one… Although the cat has puked more. And Matt says that crewmember Bill puked even more than that on their first day at sea.
We also figured out that we’ve had our boats hauled out five times. OG was hauled out for initial survey when we bought her, in Seabrook for saildrive work and a bottom job, and again in Key West for saildrive work because jerk didn’t actually service saildrives in Seabrook, and finally at her survey to sell. New Giro was hauled out for her survey when we purchased.
With both option for photos, let’s go with a boat in the air!
6 days until Christmas!
Today’s post has no photo because, well, we’ve lost the items… in total we’ve lost 6 things overboard!
The list includes:
- a watch, that we watched in slow-motion as it left Matt’s wrist, bounced on the trampoline, found an opening, and did a nice swan dive. At the fuel dock in Key West. While we were loading 200′ of anchor chain. Not a location to dive the boat to find it.
- a bucket, which we promptly replaced because man, it’s a great bucket. It even made our holiday gift guide.
- a pee pad, which we lost in the same storm we were struck by lightning.
- a guide for the hair clippers, which took a dive during a hair-cutting on the sugar scoop
- a suction grip, that un-gripped during a bottom-cleaning
- a nut/bolt/screw, but we actually don’t have an accurate count on how many of those, so we included it as one item representing all of them.
As a side note… the following items have also gone overboard, however we were able to recover them all:
a blue cutting board (it sank, but then popped up and floated!), Zach’s SUP (also lost in the lightning strike storm, but somehow found on the banks two days later), Matt’s Rayban sunglasses (our wonderful friends on Cascalho dove their boat to retrieve them after they fell off Matt’s head), and all three of our pets (they’ve each gone overboard while anchored, moored, or at the dock.)
7 days until Christmas!
SV Giro has stayed in 7 mooring fields:
We grabbed our first ever mooring ball in Sarasota, FL at Marina Jack. It was surprisingly uneventful.
Next was at Garrison Bight Mooring Field in Key West. At the time, we thought it was the most unprotected mooring field ever. We were (what felt like) miles from the dinghy docks, and we had a crappy outboard on our dinghy, so we were SOAKED every time we left the boat.
Next stop: Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, FL. Hands down the best place to be on a ball. Calm, protected, well-maintained balls. Close to reefs and lots of cruiser friends.
After Florida, we grabbed a ball at The Berry Islands Club at Frazer’s Hog Cay in The Bahamas. We would have anchored, but we had a front coming through and the balls were brand new after Hurricane Matthew. We felt much better on the ball, but the counter current was crazy and we ended up spinning.
Oh, Dinner Key Marina Mooring Field in Miami… we would like to forget you.
Oh heavenly Coconut Grove Sailing Club, thank you for saving us from Dinner Key.
Last mooring field – Las Olas Marina in Fort Lauderdale. Good location. Balls could use better upkeep, but would stay there again if needed. Laundry, showers, and access to the beach and that little french restaurant that we loved.
8 days until Christmas!
We’ve celebrated 8 birthdays on board SV Giro! Going back to the first week we owned OG (Original Giro) – during our week-long sail school, we celebrated Austin’s 9th birthday in Coconut Grove, Miami.
We were still in our house until June 2016, but made it to the boat in time to celebrate Zach’s 11th birthday aboard in Port Aransas, Austin’s 10th in Seabrook, and Matt’s (ahem) birthday (also in Seabrook) with OG getting her mast back as a nice birthday present!
In 2017, we celebrated Michelle’s birthday in Fort Lauderdale on OG, but Zach’s 12th birthday was celebrated on NEW Giro in Fort Lauderdale. We made it to Virginia to celebrate Austin’s 11th and Matt’s (25th anniversary of his 21st) birthday.
9 days until Christmas!
We have been on 9 “official” homeschool group field trips since we started boatschooling!
In Florida, we met Snooty, and learned about manatees at the South Florida Museum. We visited rescued turtles at the Florida Keys Turtle Hospital and then watched as they released a rehabilitated turtle at the beach! So cool! We were surprised to learn that whales are considered dolphins, but porpoises are not (can you believe it!?) at the Dolphin Research Center, where they rescue dolphins. We hiked and saw a million spiders at Crane Point Hammock Museum & Nature Trail. We toured the museum and grounds, and then snorkeled at Pigeon Key. We hiked to the dead-end bridge, and swam at the beach at Bahia Honda State Park.
In Virginia, we learned all about weather and how they predict the weather around the U.S. at NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) – we happened to visit when Hurricane Harvey was headed directly towards Texas. We saw all of the models they were using to predict its path. We also toured the NASA Wallops Island museum and made water rockets. And we toured the Alpakawaka Alpaca Farm, where we fed the alpacas, searched for duck eggs, and learned how they make wool.
In addition to the “official” field trips with other families, we’ve also visited many museums, aquariums and historical places, hosted a kids book club, and celebrated the eclipse. So much learning beyond standard subjects in school. It has been a blast.
10 days until Christmas!
The number of times we fill the water tanks per month while at the dock… we are spoiled with unlimited water at the dock, so we don’t conserve it like we do when we are on the hook and have to lug jerry jugs of water to/from a marina dock in our dinghy. Right now, we fill the tank about every three days. Hence the number 10! When we leave the states and head to the ocean, Bahamas, Caribbean, etc… we will use our watermaker to fill our tanks! We can’t wait!
(P.S. Pretty sure this is the last lame fact on the list… the rest are totally AWE.SOME! YAY!)
11 days until Christmas!
In 2016, s/v Giro sailed over 11 hundred nautical miles! We didn’t hit our 2015 numbers despite this being the year we moved aboard and left Texas setting off back across the Gulf of Mexico and ultimately ending up in Marathon, FL. Meeting some pretty awesome peeps and watching some pretty awesome sunsets along the way!
12 days until Christmas!
In 2015, s/v Giro sailed over 12 hundred nautical miles! This includes our week-long sail school, and the Gulf of Mexico crossing from Miami, Florida to Port Aransas, Texas.
13 days until Christmas!
The crew of SV Giro have caught and eaten 13 fish! (Technically, we have also caught 3 barracuda and 8 bait fish, but we didn’t eat any of those. But we did find a conch that we ate in The Bahamas! But is a conch a fish? And since Matt just picked it up of the bottom of the anchorage, was it “caught”?)
14 days until Christmas!
SV Giro has called 14 different places “home” since we moved aboard on June 20, 2016! In order:
- Port Aransas, TX (June – July 2016)
- Matagorda Harbor, TX (one night in July 2016)
- Galveston, TX (one night in August 2016)
- Seabrook, TX (August – September 2016)
- St. Petersburg, FL (October 2016)
- Sarasota, FL (November 2016)
- Key West, FL (a week in November – another week in December 2016)
- Stock Island, FL (one week in November 2016)
- Marathon, FL (December 2016 – March 2017)
- Andros Island – The Bahamas (three days in April 2017)
- The Berry Islands – The Bahamas (three days in April 2017)
- Miami, FL (the rest of April 2017)
- Fort Lauderdale, FL (May – one week in July 2017)
- Hampton VA (July 2017 – present!)
15 days until Christmas!
Okay… this number does not reflect the actual number of people we’ve met cruising, HOWEVER, we counted, and we’ve only collected 15 boat cards! Do you have one of our boat cards? Do you hand out boat cards? We want MORE!
16 days until Christmas!
We moved aboard to realize our dream in 2016! Best decision ever. Mostly. Right now, we are in Virginia freezing, while it is sleeting outside with snow on the way. This particular move may not have been our best decision. But the rest of it… the beaches, and warm sun, and warm, crystal clear waters, and friends, and sundowners, and wearing tank tops in the Florida Keys last December… all of that? That was terrific.
This was our first official day living on a boat – June 20, 2016. IT WAS MISERABLY HOT and we had NO AIR CONDITIONING. And today we are MISERABLY COLD, but we do have heaters. Not sure which is worse. 🙂
17 days until Christmas!
We have been living on our boat (no other home) for 17 months now! Holy cow! Totally surprised by how fast it has gone by. We’ve made some of the best memories living on a boat, and met some of the coolest people. Every day is a new adventure. Unfortunately, this morning’s adventure was sleet! 🙂
We’d love to be back in warm water and sunny days… hopefully soon!
18 days until Christmas!
This is a fun stat! The crew of SV Giro have sailed 18 overnight passages. It always gives me a chuckle when we tell people we have a multi-day passage coming up, and someone asks if we anchor out in the middle of ocean. Nope. We are on watch 24/7. We take shifts.
Night sailing can be any combination of boring, scary, spooky, calm, peaceful, beautiful, or a complete beating. Here is the recap of our overnight sails: a 6-night passage from Miami to Texas (thanks to our crew – Ben, Bill, and Dale), 5-night passage from Texas to St. Pete, 1 night from Sarasota to Key West, 1 night from Marathon to The Bahamas, 1 night from The Bahamas to Miami, and 4-night passage from Fort Lauderdale to Hampton, VA.
Moonrise over the Atlantic! A little fuzzy but a full-ish moon is always nice to sail with.
19 days until Christmas!
SV Giro (new Giro) has 19 hatches!! (The extra exclamation point really helps to make this announcement super exciting, don’t you think?) To be fair, I did warn you that there would be “useless piece[s] of information…” included in this list. I did not disappoint.
Hatches to Boats are like Windows to Houses. They give us the awesome breezes throughout the boat.
I’m not even sure I have a photo to go with this… oh wait… here you go.
See all those squares – those are hatches. (Some are hidden by the mast so don’t try to count them in the photo.)
20 days until Christmas!
We have a total of 20 outboard horsepower for our dinghy (the family car) – a 15 hp Yamaha and a back-up 5 hp Mercury. When we bought OG, it came with a deflated dinghy and Mercury 5 hp outboard. We quickly replaced the dinghy, but kept the Mercury. We could not get up on plane and we took forever to go anywhere, but it was fine… until it wasn’t. We upgraded to the 15 hp Yamaha in Key West after a ridiculous trip from shore to boat in which we were literally soaking wet when we arrived back to the boat. We kept the Mercury as back-up in case we ever need it…
This is “on plane” (well, actually it looks like we are coming down) – But being on plane means you sit on top of the water and you go faster.
21 days until Christmas!
SV Giro has spent the night at anchor 21 times! Not nearly enough in my opinion… but 2018 is looking up… This time next year, we should have 10 times that number under our belt.
Here is the lowdown on where we’ve anchored: Biscayne Bay – Miami, Flato Cut – Port Aransas TX, Pumpkin Key FL, Key West FL, Bootkey Harbor FL, Andros Island – The Bahamas
All of the other nights, we’ve either been on a mooring ball, docked in a marina, or overnight sailing.
One of the best sunsets we’ve ever had… anchored in Bootkey Harbor (Marathon), FL in the Florida Keys
22 days until Christmas!
Double Deuces! 22. This one was EASY! We have owned TWO boats, and named them both Giro. And we happened to own BOTH boats at the same time for TWO DAYS! Double TWOs. Two and two.
Original Giro was a 2007 Lagoon 380 with 4 cabins, 2 heads. She was our first boat ever, and we loved her. But we realized after a year aboard, that we wanted a bigger boat (read about our decision here), and fell in love with our new boat, a 2008 Lagoon 420 with 3 cabins, 3 heads. For a tour of our new boat, click here!
OG – Original Giro – Lagoon 380
“New” Giro – Lagoon 420
We’ll be back again tomorrow with more fun stats as we countdown to Christmas!
23 days until Christmas!
This is the only number in the whole calendar that we had to estimate. But if you’ve ever worked on your own boat, I think you will agree that it is possible that we may have underestimated. However, 23 equals the number of trips to West Marine, Home Depot and/or Amazon orders it takes to complete a single boat project.
Thank goodness my photo editing skills are on point.
(The rest of the calendar gets better… promise! See you tomorrow!)
24 days until Christmas!
Starting off our calendar with the number 24. You came, you saw, you probably didn’t go sailing with us, but that’s beside the point… Since we moved aboard in June 2016, we’ve had 24 groups of friends visit us on the boat. Are you on the list??
Top: The Kraken and Izula Crew; Middle left: The Moritzes from Austin; Middle right: Michelle’s mom and Tony; Bottom: Matt’s mom (middle) and aunts
Top left: The Leach family from Keep Your Daydream; Top right: Michelle’s dad; Bottom left: Mr. Toast from The Kraken; Bottom right: Izula on New Year’s Eve
We’ll be updating the post every day until Christmas with a new tidbit of information! See you tomorrow!
I love this post! Such a cute idea to do a boat advent calendar 🙂
Thank you! It has been so much fun…