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Cooper Island Beach Club, an Eco-Resort in the BVI
Because Cooper Island Beach Club is an eco-resort, they have incredible flora (and some fauna)! Some of the food used on site in the restaurant is grown on the island. I had never seen bananas “in the wild,” and honestly, I thought it was the coolest thing seeing them hang from a tree off one…
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Top 5 Must-Do Activities on Norman Island, BVI
We’ve now chartered three times in the British Virgin Islands and have gone to almost all of the larger islands in the chain. The one island we keep coming back to the most is Norman Island. Just south of Tortola and Peter Island, Norman Island is a great spot for beginning and ending week-long charters.…
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Books Read by Rebecca in 2024
I think I set a new personal record for books devoured in one year! Most of these books were non-fiction and “read” on Audible, but I love the flexibility of being able to be productive doing boat chores while listening to a good book. Have you read any of these books? Got any recommendations for…
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7 Day Sailing Itinerary in the British Virgin Islands
Since 2018, we have chartered three times in the British Virgin Islands, an island chain known for its beautiful beaches, local hospitality, and some of the best sailing in the world. The majority of the islands in the BVI can be reached within a few hours, making it easy for day hops, especially if your…
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Essential Steps for Installing Boat Thru-Hulls
We went into the boatyard in late June and spent 15 days living on the hard (in sailor speak, this means our boat was lifted out of the water, placed on jack stands, and we had to climb up and down tall stairs to get on/off the boat). Our list of boat projects was long,…
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12V Wiring Diagram from our Lithium Battery Installation
We received multiple requests for a schematic of our recent 12V wiring project, so Paul put together this diagram showing all of the electronics that were used for our lithium battery upgrade. I hope this is helpful to all who are undertaking this project. As always, if you have a general question, feel free to…
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Three Sheets Podcast
We’ve made our first podcast appearance! Sailing magazine Latitudes & Attitudes, which presents the Three Sheets podcast, invited us for a recent interview to discuss our liveaboard lifestyle and the U.S. East Coast cruising we’ve been able to do on our 47 foot sailboat over the past four years. We had a great conversation with…
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Quantum Sails Interview
Our friends at Quantum Sails interviewed us this spring to learn a little more about the places our Quantum Sails have taken us. A copy of the full interview is below. If you’d like to see the interview as posted on their website (with pictures), you can check it out here. THE CRUISER’S DREAM WITH…
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Electrical System Upgrade on the 120V Side
After installing our lithium batteries over the winter, we also upgraded the 120V side of our electrical system. We started by upgrading to ELCI breakers (in the port lazarette) on shore power inlets. Then, we installed isolation transformers (in the starboard lazarette). Isolation transformers give us 2 advantages. First, they isolate the boat from marina…
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Lithium Battery Upgrade
Our AGM batteries were on the boat before we purchased Mystic Hearts four years ago and had certainly done their job for us over the years, but their ability to keep us charged started getting worse until we finally decided that we couldn’t go cruising again without changing them out. So, we spent winter 2023/2024…
Sailing Mystic Hearts
Sailing the U.S. East Coast & Bahamas Since 2020!
Sailing Mystic Hearts 