Welcome aboard valkyrie
How does a family of 4 live on a 56' boat?
It is winter!
Well, not quite. It is actual Halloween today however as I write this, Valkyrie is actually in winter mode. We left West Island Marina on October 15 which is the last day of our summer marina’s contract. We cruised over to our winter marina in New Bedford. It is an easy 1 hour (approx.) cruise. Valkyrie was assigned slip 14. Unfortunately, this slip is not ideal for Valkyrie. The power is major problem. Valkyrie needs 50 amp power and this slip only has 30 amp available. In addition, Valkyrie sticks pretty far out of the pilings and with no side cleats leaves us very vulnerable to damage during high winds and storms. Thankfully we only had to spend a short time in that slip and the manager made room for us at a more ideal location which offered the power we need and a good solid dock to lay up against. It was a long two weeks of waiting. Picking and choosing what we could use on the boat; can I use the oven, yes but not at the same time as the skillet. Could I do laundry, no, but I can use the marina’s machines. Can we run the boats heating system, no but we could plug in a couple space heaters. A mild autumn makes the heat issue a bit easier to deal with. Long story short; Valkyrie is in its final winter resting place.
What else have we been up? We went to Florida! 4 Days, 3 nights in Orlando. The mission was to complete Epcot’s Drink Around The World Challenge, and we did just that. All 14 of us! Next; we went to Vermont for our annual apple picking weekend. Every year for the last 20 + years my brother, sister, nieces, nephews, aunts, etc., all get together for a day of fall fun. Apple picking, pumpkin picking, road side farm stands, hiking, lots of laughs. All the typical New England autumn activities. For the second year in a row we went to the Roger Williams Park Zoo Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular. Jordan and I met up with some friends and had a great night checking out the 5000 carved pumpkins. We witnessed one of Mother Nature’s most amazing gifts-the Northern Lights! Mark and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary and thanks to Lars, owner of Fathoms Waterfront Bar & Grille, Fleet Marina and Fisherman’s Market Seafood Outlet, we had a fabulous view of a firework show here in New Bedford Harbor. Throw in a few fun days of watching football with friends and that wraps up our fall adventures and brings us to today, Halloween. (10/31/2024)
![IMG_4885[1]](https://alongsidecreations.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_48851-150x150.jpg)
Weekend Summer Adventures
This has been an amazing summer. It has had its ups and downs but everyone everywhere does. For example, Mark has had to work on the stern thruster (more than once), order a new water heater (waiting for it to arrive), replace a leaking waste tank pump and the waste tank hose, he dove under the boat and took care of some maintenance issues with our line cutter, we have had a few annoying issues with the electricity here at the marina, but mostly….it has been great. Our weekends consist of cruising to nearby anchorages and rafting up with our boat friends. We have been to Bassetts Island, Marion, Mattapoisett, Onset, Cuttyhunk, and most recently Hadley’s Harbor. Illumination was a huge success. Many boats participated in lighting up, sharing food, drinks, and fun. Our theme was the Olympics. There were 2 other boats that did the Olympics as well. There was a Kentucky Derby theme, Italian, Western, Pirates and so many more. We gave out our signature Valkyrie cocktail and had a fun ring-toss game to play with medals for anyone who won. It was a huge hit. Wednesday night is musical bingo night. It is hosted right here at the marina’s restaurant, Off the Hook. We have our “regular group” that gather together to play. I haven’t won yet but many of our friends have. Keep your eye on our YouTube channel. Even though I am a bit behind, I will upload videos of our shenanigans in between trips, work, and chores. (8/20/24)
Summer fun has begun!
What a busy 4-months! We returned to New Bedford in March and here it is July already. We had so many appointments to catch up on, plus we had many reunions with friends and family, and Mark went back to work. We moved Valkyrie into her summer marina in May. This is our 4th Summer at this marina. The weather was not so great this Spring but we have managed to make the best of our time. We hosted friends, celebrated my niece’s birthday, went to Vermont for the eclipse, weathered a few storms and now we are planning weekends off the dock and at anchor and play musical bingo every Wednesday here at the marina! Haleigh has moved back on board and I am loving that! The adventures continue! (7/16/24)
We are back!
We are back in New England, more specifically, Buzzards Bay, MA. We have been at Fleet Marina for about a month now. We have had a ton of fun reuniting with our friends and family! Dinners out, parties on board, trips to Vermont, and the fun keeps coming. Not everything has been all sunshine and rosy, I will get into that in more detail later, in the meantime know that we are still sharing life on board Valkyrie and we hope you continue to stop by the website & YouTube and follow along! (4/18/24)
We are cruising..
We are 7 days in! It has been a great adventure so far. One day, we hit 6-foot waves head-on and another with up to 8-foot following seas, rolling and pitching Valkyrie around enough to make our coffee table slide!
Sunrise to sunset, we have had several long days of cruising. Now that we have reached Chincoteague, VA we can relax a little bit. We are going to hang out here for a few days.
In the meantime, check out the daily blogs posted here, and our videos on our YouTube page!
There is limited space to store seasonal items. Using these vacuum seal bags is extremely helpful. Our beach towels and flybridge sofa pillows are safe from the damp conditions that could cause mold when stored in the flybridge. I should also mentioned the space savings! Everything gets shrunk down and some to less than half its size. We also use these bags for blankets, coats & clothes that need to be stored onboard or in our off-boat storage unit.
We had an amazing Summer at West Island. We were able to spend many weekends cruising and exploring onboard Valkyrie. Including Martha’s Vineyard, Marion, Onset, and more. Unfortunately due to an unforeseen medical issue I was not able to type up any updates or edit any videos to share with you. I am slowly on the mend so once I have time to, I will update you on our summer adventures. For now, I invite you to follow along on our Winter Cruise 2023-2024.
The New England Summer Boat Season is officially underway. Many marinas contract boaters from May 1 – October 31 or like us May 15 – October 15. After a short transient stay in Sandwich, MA we are now back for year #3 at West Island Marina. Memorial day weekend weather was cool and windy. Valkyrie stayed at the dock but many ventured out on the water. Food, drinks and a lot of laughs were to be had this weekend.
Today, May 30, 2023 I uploaded March & April 2023 update. I have been experiencing a lot of wifi issues along with planning a few huge life events in May, there has been a long delay in uploading files, photos, and writing. Please keep checking in on our YouTube channel for new videos (I’m working on them, I promise!) as well as keep following along on FaceBook and returning here to our website for the latest and greatest.
During the winter months, Mark’s work slows down so he is able to focus on some boat projects. One of those boat projects: Project Soft Floor is in full swing. Jordan better not need to come home from school anytime soon because her room is in shambles. (January 23, 2023)
I will put together a video of that project once it is complete.
Most boat projects are not necessarily planned, for example when we get a clogged toilet! This not-so-pleasant task had Mark in the engine room of all places! Why? Watch and check it out! I promise there was no poop involved in the making of that video!
We have had some winter weather events here at the marina. Wind is always a concern for us. Wind speed and direction have a huge impact on how we tie lines, secure bumpers, AND how much we are going to get pushed/rolled around AND how loud our lines are going to creak which will keep us up all night. Unfortunately our isinglass is starting to tear so we have to figure out how to take preventative measures against the winds to make sure it does not get worse.
Check out the two videos below that discuss our winter weather and how we prepared for it and how we are enduring it.
Stay tuned…I had a beautiful walk along Chapaquoit Beach that I want to share with you!
It is a brand new year and we are so excited to see what 2023 has in store for us. Some of the things we are looking forward to in 2023 is celebrating Jordan’s college graduation, Mark and my 25th wedding anniversary, and anticipation is building to see where Haleigh’s career path will take her.
This winter we are in Falmouth and we have prepped Valkyrie the best we can to endure whatever Mother Nature throws at us.
You can find the details in the latest update by clicking above but the quick of it is:
1. Taped up the vents in the engine room.
2. Put the engine block heaters on a timer so at least one is on every 4-hours.
3. Plugged in 4 electric heaters. One in each stateroom and one in the salon. Hopefully they can keep up with and not trip too many breakers.
4. Winterized all outdoor water spigots including the anchor wash and the three water sources in the cockpit.
We have already had some frost & thin ice coating the cove this winter. December 5, 2022. It rattles the nerves to think how cold is it going to get in January & February. Time will tell.
We have some River Otters that are living here in the area. Three have been spotted on several occasions and I was able to get a video of them. Check it out on our YouTube Page.
October 22, 2022 we leave our Summer home and cruise across Buzzards Bay to Fiddlers Cove Marina our home for the Winter. It was a beautiful day to be cruising. Enjoy the video!
We got KICKED out of our Marina! Thankfully! With the winds predicted to be 45 +mph we had to go! Our new home for the week (9/30-10/6/22); Popes Island Marina. That means a new view for us for a few days.
Recently (August 2022) we have had large, enormous schools of bait fish swimming in the West Island Marina waters. Fun to look at? Sure. Do I get startled once in a while when I hear them jump and splash? Yes.
What eats these bait fish, besides bigger fish? Birds! Seagulls! These schools of fish have drawn the attention of seagulls near and far. They are crowding the docks and shitting all over them. Walking the docks and dodging bird shit is now officially deemed a new exercise in health & fitness!
How do we decorate seasonally and for the holidays?
Maybe not the best photos to demonstrate BUT, space is an issue and I think you will get the idea. Our sofa pillowcases change with the season/holiday. They are easy to store and festive. Throw blankets for the sofa, table clothes for the coffee table and main salon table can be found in multiple motifs and as juvenile, as it can seem, window clings take no space to store, are cheap enough to throw out, and they add an element of whimsy! Nothing is keeping me from having a Christmas Tree! We just make it fit!
Everything is multi-purpose!
The salon table is a work station for me; a homework station for the college kid; our supper table; my craft space, and an ironing table!
The master bedroom is also a craft room. The salon can be a bedroom; the galley is also a navigational station and Jordan’s state room is also the laundry room! Lucky her!
Instead of mowing a lawn...we wash
Our mind is constantly thinking...."Water"
Household chores are A LOT different on boat!
What is worse?
Cleaning a gutter on a house
- or -
Cleaning a nasty chain locker?
Sometimes you need to be a contortionist!
When it comes to fixing things Mark has to be very limber and squinch his body into unusual spaces!
Stay Tuned & I will tell you how important that white post is!!
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