Sailing with Samson

Please note that donating to the Sailing with Samson fund at this time will only contribute to the sailing-and-rum-fund to keep the boat moving and morale up.

Check back in the future as we will be putting up donate buttons for specific fundrasing projects to support locals of the communities we visit.

Arrgggg!

This is the blog that will document the dream of two sailors, their wives and a rambunctious border collie as we adventure across the Gulf of Mexico around Florida, through the Bahamas, west to central america, and back to the good ol' US of A. Along the way we will explore as many islands and reefs as possible, even trying to help out the local residents of these beautiful places as much as we can.

Well at least that's the plan for now and together we'll all see how it plays out.

The boat, CoolBreezeII, is a 1984 37' C&C sloop built like a rock and owned by Richard and Betty Robinson of Pearland Texas. Thanks to the love that Rich and the previous owners have given this boat she is structurally ready in every way for an adventure to sandy beaches and clear water. Over the last couple of years Rich has sailed CoolBreeze in every weather condition under 40kts and together we have taken her on some great long weekend adventures offshore in everything from perfect conditions to 7-9ft seas for way more hours than anyone whose blood is not part salt would care to endure. This has allowed us both to become familiar with almost every inch of wiring, fiberglass, hoses and dead space that she has onboard as well as discover as many weak points in her hardware as possible. In the process of performing the highest level of maintenance we somehow managed to give birth to the idea of taking her south, which will no doubt be the greatest adventure she and us have undertaken at sea.I think this idea of sailing, diving and spear fishing via sailboat in crystal clear water has been an idea in each of our heads long before either one of us learned to sail years ago. It was the ability to think up great adventures (some of even which we could talk the women into) and make them a reality that convinced us we could pull this off with CoolBreeze in only one short year of preparation. Along with some true patience from our spouses the preface of this story is coming to a close while the first chapter will soon begin to reveal itself. Soon, the water under the keel of CoolBreeze will turn clear and the winds through her rigging will build as she leaves the shelter of Galveston bay and enters the blue water and trade winds of "El Carib!"