The Adventures of the Salty Turtle

Steve & Nancy  Schrimsher
     


     We are off on a new adventure!  After over 30 years of sailing and living aboard four different sailboats (Steve’s first was a Rhodes 40’ cutter, then together, we had a 37’ Gulfstar, 60’ Gulfstar and a 44’ Island Packet), Steve and I have now moved on board a 1987 44’ Defever Trawler which we have named “Salty Turtle”.  We purchased the boat in Punta Gorda, Florida, from Don and Chari Leitch (Shibumi) on September 27, 2006.  We moved aboard that same day with our 12 year-old cat, Wiley.  This is our new HOME!

Our first boating adventure with the Salty Turtle was to cruise what is called America's Great Loop.  We left Ft. Myers, Florida on October 11, 2006, and finished the Loop in Ft. Myers on December 1, 2007.  You can read and see more about it in our Great Loop Blog.

Our current plans (they have changed again!) are to spend the  summer and fall of 2008 in Oriental, NC, completely repainting the Salty Turtle to get ready to head to Central America.  Our camper and jeep are in North Carolina, so we plan to use them this fall in Oriental when we're not working on the boat.  Then, we'll start heading south in the Salty Turtle to Mexico via the Bahamas and Florida Keys.  May is usually the best time to cross the Yucatan Channel, but there are windows earlier.  So that’s the plan, subject to change, since long range planning for us is what we’re doing tomorrow!.  We feel very fortunate to have the good health and opportunity to embark on this adventure!  We hope that our travels inspire others to "live their dream". 

Cheers,

Steve & Nancy Schrimsher
   
     

Where Are We Now?

Updated to
September 30, 2008
 
 
Wiley
See more about Wiley
     
   
 
See Salty Turtle Photos
    
  
See our
Great Loop Blog

 
  
 
Email Us

 

     
     

    
   A Sad Wiley Update

   January 19, 2009

 
    
Wiley, our 14 year-old cat and faithful companion died on January 19, 2009.  It was unexpected, because he was quite active up until the end.  A cancerous tumor got him, and we’re just grateful that his illness was brief.  Click here to read more about Wiley.
    

A LONG, FRUSTRATING WINTER
(with a better future in the forecast)


Snow in Oriental!
Icicles on the Turtle
Snow on the Turtle

November 2008 to February 2009 

We should have known better.  In the past, we secretly smiled when naďve boaters estimated short haul-outs in a boat yard.  Now here we are…month seven in our “five month project”.  At this point, we’ll be ecstatic if we’re back in the water by April (which would be month 9) with a couple more months after that putting everything back in place.  Looks like about a year to do this.  Who would have thought? 

Multiple unforeseen delays pushed us into winter with unprecedented cold temperatures and precipitation here in North Carolina.  In December and January, the paint crew worked one out of seven days due to inclement conditions.  We’re just grateful that the crew didn’t try to rack up hours when it was obviously too cold or wet to work. 

Most of the time, Steve and I alternate days being irritated or depressed about the lack of progress.  It helps if at least one person can be rational!  I’ve never had a project where the harder I worked, the worse things looked (i.e. prepping for paint on the exterior and varnish on the interior).  At the moment, it is hard to imagine the boat looking as good as it did when we started, let alone better! 

Then, the same week we were grieving Wiley’s death, a winter storm covered the boat with snow and icicles.  We finally reached our breaking point.  Steve proposed that we pack up the camper and head south for a couple weeks for an attitude readjustment.  I heartily agreed! 

It was a great decision.  We spent several days in St. Augustine, Florida and a week in Blue Springs State Park.  We rented a pontoon boat and revisited the same area on the St. John’s River we had photographed last spring on our boat.  Lots of birds and alligators.  Lots of manatees at Blue Springs (which is a winter haven for these funny creatures). The sun shone on most days.  Even on the brisk days, we were still warmer than Oriental!  Some rain, but NO SNOW! 


Making a lamp
    
Manatees in Blue Springs
     
More Manatees
    

Armadillo at Little Talbot
 
Gator on St. Johns
    
Squirrel at Blue Springs
    

By the time we returned to Oriental on February 5, we felt rejuvenated and ready to continue the boat project.  The crew is spraying primer on the boat as I write (February 11).  This WILL get done! 


Primed Bow
  
Primed Flybridge
   
Primed Aft
    

 
 
 

 
 
    
See our Great Loop Blog Go to Previous Posts
 
     
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain