Syeather in Print

Our wedding vows, 7 years ago today 5/15/05

Heather Alsobrook — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00:14 +0000

Syd and I were married, just 7 years ago today. There are some ironic things about the day we got married, first and foremost is that we chose this day and then realized that it was the same day that my sweet Gram and Pop Pop, Connie and Earle Drake got married. They were married 70 years ago, today! Happy 70th anniversary my sweet Gram and Pop Pop.

Syd’s brother, David also married Lesa on May 16th, so his anniversary is tomorrow, I think it’s about 24 years they have been married. We are so glad they were able and willing to celebrate with us 7 years ago, Happy Anniversary David and Lesa!

We wrote our own vows and shared them with our friends and family in Frisco, North Carolina just 7 short years ago. We rented a house called the “Nautilus”: http://www.surforsound.com/properties/property/653#. It was beautiful, 4,000 square feet, with 4,500 sq feet of deck space, right on the beach where we got married. It was a dream and it was the dream we chose, instead of a typical church or outdoor wedding and honeymoon, we decided to spend the week with our family, it was amazing!

If you read our vows, at the link below, please note that you may want to grab a tissue, I cannot read the entire poem without crying out loud. It has always touched my heart, just as Syd has touched my life. I am lucky, I am living my life with my perfect partner on a sailboat that we dreamed about together.

The VOWS:

http://www.syeather.net/our-wedding-vows/

Our Tips and Tricks for a wonderful relationship:

1) Be True: You are special, always be true to who you are

2) Communication: Make sure you can talk about anything, if you can’t talk about it, you will obsess about it and that is never good

3) Love them for who they are: Don’t try to change them, love them for who they are and if you don’t, they probably are not the right person for you

4) Be Yourself: If you are not able to be yourself, then move on. It is hard to live life as someone you were not meant to be.

5) Be Honest: Always be honest with yourself and with others, then there is nothing to hide, ever.

I consider myself lucky, lucky to have found myself and lucky to have found my perfect partner.

Happy Anniversary Syd, you are perfect for me!

First of May

Heather Alsobrook — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:43:12 +0000

Alright, this is a little late, but we heard this song for the first time at a bar in St Augustine, called the “No Name” bar and the acoustic guitar player, Evan, is there every Sunday night, quite talented. I told him he should be on the Coffee House on SIRIUS Radio, and he said he had a song for us that should be on the coffee house, although, i need to advise you, if you play this, don’t play it around young children…

It’s written by Jonathon Coultrain, hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Foam block setting. Love it.

Syd Alsobrook — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:20:19 +0000

Take II offshore :)

Heather Alsobrook — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:54:17 +0000

We have spent the last week in Georgetown, SC and we had been thinking about heading down the ICW tomorrow, that was until we met Gordon and Joyce from the “Jabberwocky”, a 43′ Slocum that is headed offshore this morning, their passage is will be 3 days as they are headed for Cape Canaveral.

We are going to follow their lead and head off tomorrow, to Saint Simons, GA.

Seas are small, 2-3 feet during the day and 3-5 at night, with winds slow 5-10 knots. These are not ideal sailing winds, but they will help us move down the coast much faster, and much less frustrating!

We have spent the past week repairing our dinghy (only 1 small hole left), putting up the lifeline netting and settling in with the 4 kitties, who have recently joined us on board!

We also had a really nice visit with Felicia and Josh (over spring break), it was great having them aboard! It is so amazing how fast our babies grow up.

Didn’t quite make it offshore today…

Heather Alsobrook — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:49:59 +0000

We did not make it out today. We got all the way to the entrance channel, we were clearing the breakers and taking 8 foot waves on the nose… we decided we would wait for a better weather window. Felicia is a little sad, as she has to drive back to Tampa (9 hours) but she understands and we are having a great visit!

Hope all is well there, we will keep you posted, at this point, we are staying in Georgetown through Sunday, then back to the ICW for now… as high tide will be during the daylight hours…

Tuesday – Mar 6

Syd Alsobrook — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 06:42:48 +0000

Felicia arrived last night. She brought the cats with her. We are now a boat of 9 souls.

We have spent the last few days resting and working on projects. We now feel we are in a position to make that coastal run we have been planning. We leave in the am for St Simons Island, GA. We should arrive before 4pm on Thursday. We are not as scared as we once were, it is time. We subscribed to Chris Parker’s weather service he sees no weather reason for us to not have a great sail.

It should be a great time.

Mustard glaze for salmon!

Heather Alsobrook — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 07:41:29 +0000

Georgetown, SC 3/5/2012 We have spent 3 days in Georgetown and we are more relaxed than we have been since we moved onto our boat. We have worked, but not all day and because we have not had to move the boat, we have been able to relax and enjoy our new lifestyle a little bit more.

We took a bike ride today and found the "Independent Seafood Company". We bought a salmon fillet and 2 lbs of shrimp. We cooked the salmon up for dinner and served it with alphabet pasta. It was the best salmon we ever ate. Here is the recipe and hope you like it!

Mustard Glaze

2 large Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
3/4 tsp Rosemary
3/4 tsp Thyme
1 Tbsp dry white wine
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Let glaze set for 15-30 minutes so the flavors can meld together.

Broil your Salmon fillet for 2 minutes (with salt & pepper). Flip and apply mustard glaze. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. The mustard will brown slightly.

Wishing we had asparagus! Delicious, delicious, delicious. Let us know what you think, if you try it!

Thursday – Mar 1

Syd Alsobrook — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:33:04 +0000

What a day….

This was are longest yet. We made 42 miles. We got in about 30 minutes late because we grounded twice at the Little River Inlet. The first we were off in about 10 minutes, the second took 40. In both cases we were able to back off and into deep water. Boy do we need a forward looking sonar.

We are at Barefoot Landing Marina. It is a strip dock attached to a mall. It is a bit upscale. The restaurants are typical high end chains, nothing really great. We had a late lunch at a burrito shop so dinner was cheese and crackers. One of the stores is a hat shop and the sell Tilley Hats so I was able to replace mine that is tearing, Tilley offers a lifetime guarantee, the new hat cost the difference between the one I had and the one I got, so $12. I also got to keep the old one. Heather got herself a hat too, although she wants her hair to lighten more.

Tomorrows plans are to make more progress and try to make Georgetown Landing in Georgetown, SC. It is 50 miles, so might be a stretch. The backup plan is Wacca Wache Marina at 30 miles. Not much between the two.

Saturdays forecast is calling for thunderstorms. If so we will not be moving.

Fair winds friends…..

Update: Just took the dog for a walk. We were assured there was plenty of water for us. Almost at low tide and we are sitting on the bottom about a foot up. Fun….

Wednesday – Feb 29

Syd Alsobrook — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:47:40 +0000

Today was a good day.

Started the day off in Wrightsville Beach. Pushed off the dock at about 9:15 and headed south. Weather was decent, calm when we left with a raising breeze.

Made Snows Cut in no time. Was visited by dolphins twice, we can pay a bit more attention to them as we are getting used to driving the boat. Once through the cut we entered Cape Fear River. Lots of depth and no worries about grounding.

Coming back into the ICW was easy enough, you could easily miss it if you didn’t have a chart. We were tied up at South Harbour Village Marina by 1 o’clock. Got some fuel and pumped out the head.

Tomorrows forecast calls for a slight chance of a severe thunder storm, with large gusts and fog before 11. We will check the weather in the morning and adjust our plans accordingly. We hope to make the Myrtle Beach area, possibly The Marina at Dock Holidays.

Forks in the road

Syd Alsobrook — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:05:12 +0000

3am, see the time stamp.
We are tied up in Morehead City and the wind is blowing 10 – 15 knots. I just went and added a second spring line and pulled in some cushions.
Heather and I are discussing our plans. We are anxious about how to go next, off shore or down the ICW. We are wide awake now, she is catching up on her Words with friends. I am doing this, obvious. Either way will be fine it is just new.
What do you do when the road less traveled has forks?