Flamingo was interesting for sure. I had always wanted to go see it. They are currently building a HUGE new visitor center/restaurant/hotel there. I'd love to see it when it's done, but not until they dredge the place out. We left on a high tide and still saw 2' in the channel around marker 13.

@@geneneill530 I've got a jaguar 22. Basically a UK Catalina 22. Can't wait for my first sail. Great video

It was nice to BE back!! :)

Yeah ... 5' + draft is a real handicap around here. SO many cool places you can't go. I bet you'll love that new C22! There is a lifetime's worth of gunkholing to be had here on the Gulf coast when you only draw 2'. Congratulations!

Hey John, I'm not sure how many inches above the boom our first reef is, exactly. I'm gonna be doing some work on the main in a few days, I'll take a measurement then. If you don't find your answer in a week or so, hit me up again, I should have the info. Ya kinda lost me on question #2. You talking about the poptop tent? Sorry, maybe I'm just tired. LOL

BTW ... I just looked up the Florida120, I hadn't heard of that before! But we were right there, at Perdido Key, for the 2016 B.E.E.R. cruise. We sailed west through Big Lagoon, under the bridge, and up into Perdido Bay, just so we could say we "sailed to Alabama". :) But Carlotta broke her leg the next day, jumping off the bow at the beach. So we had to leave early and go home. :(

That's really nice of you man, thanks! I'll try!

Zingerrrr! If I'd known you would see this, I'd have tried to make a GOOD video!

Hi, when you come back to sailing again?

@@enriquepascual6083 we just went a couple weeks ago! ⛵️

Missing you and Rob on the water.... to much yime on camp grounds....

Thanks Ken!!

Thanks for the encouragement, Brad! :)

That would be a FANTASTIC cruise!!

Thanks, man! Florida is waiting for you!

Thank you, Jay! The FL120 sounds like a fun cruise. We sailed almost the same route in the 2015 B.E.E.R. cruise ... although Carlotta broke her ankle in that one, and we had to leave early. :(

Georgian Bay looks absolutely stunning! (Google images ;) What you need is a winter home in Florida!

Glad you liked it! No scotch on board, though. I'm a bourbon man by nature, but only rum goes on the boat. It's the law of the sea, after all, and who am I to question it. ;)

Thanks for the kind words, Tim! We hope to go on a couple cruises this fall, around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fingers crossed!!

Did you do a cruise?

I think it's ten bucks a day, plus five or so to use the ramp. The place is fully fenced with security cams, and has showers. Sometimes parking can be scarce though, so always call ahead and talk to them. Avoid holiday weekends and such. We've never been turned away yet, but it's been close a couple times. There is a municipal marina right around the corner that would be good enough in a pinch.

It's a 13lb Mantus on 20' of chain. Damn fine anchor, we love it. No problem with the weight.

@@geneneill530 thanks for the answer. I was considering the 17lb but looks like I will be saving a few $$

@@joshuahodge8057 I actually bought a 17lb at first, but it was just too big to mount on the bow. Happily, the 13lb fits the bow almost perfectly and has performed flawlessly. I did have to make a small cutout in the forward edge of the chain locker hatch, due to the length of the anchor shank. No big deal though.

Thanks John!!

They're just zip tied to the teak trim behind them. They were there when we bought the boat. I thought it was pretty cheesy at the time, and always meant to make something more permanent. But as time went by I got comfortable with them. So I just zip tied the teak galley rail across the front of them and called it a day. :)

It's a great potty (Thetford 550P), but the hold-down bracket is garbage. By itself it WILL NOT hold the potty in place reliably. Period. Thetford has known about the problem for many years and has chosen to do nothing about it. We are officially retiring it this year, in favor of a Dometic 965. Not as elegant looking, but the hold down brackets are bullet proof. Both the 550P and the 965 are five-gallon models, which are too tall to fit under the V berth cushion-board thingy (nautical term). You'll have to go with a 2.5 gallon model to get that capability. We don't sleep in the V berth, so it's a non issue for us.

@@geneneill530 Thank you. This is really valuable information for me from someone that knows!

Chemical. We have a Thetford brand potty, which I DO NOT recommend, due to its ridiculously inadequate hold-down bracket. Thetford potties will absolutely tumble in rough water, ask me how I know!! Dometic has much better brackets.

Steve, we took on some extra ice in Flamingo, and two gallons of gas. No food, we were stocked enough on that. Our boat has a five gallon water tank which is plumbed to the sink faucet, and we freeze a few 1/2 gallon bottles of water for our main ice supply. Those ice bottles become drinking water as they thaw. The potty has its own five gallon water tank for flushing. As for bathing, we have different methods we use, mainly depending on how cold the weather/water temp is. But we can generally get cleaned up with as little as a quart of fresh water or less if need be. It's easier than you might think. :)

@@geneneill530 Are you two still making Catalina 22 trips?

@@stevebailey1682 We try. Careers and a 14 year old dog have slowed us down in recent years, but WE ARE NOT DONE! :)

@@stevebailey1682 Yes, not as often as we used to, but hopefully more often in the near future

Thanks Bob! Those panels us Sea Dog rail clamps, mounted on pieces of Starboard. Here's an out-take from the Tortugas video, to give you a better idea: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m9uVlJBhl6_UY40.html

Hey Jason, here is an out-take from our Tortugas video that shows the mounts in better detail. :) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m9uVlJBhl6_UY40.html

@@geneneill530 Thanks, just ordered a pair. Great vids

We like it enough we have a second one mounted on a picnic table at home. 👍

It's a Magma brand propane kettle grill.

I disagree ... but thank you!! LOL

Excellent question, Eric! The Bimini mounts are on movable cars, but I've never felt the need to move them aft, even when flying the big 180 drifter. If you can believe it ... I actually installed a new Bimini this week, and I didn't change a thing.

@@geneneill530 Thanks! Any chance you could point me to where to find the appropriate movable cars? I've done some searching, but nothing I've seen yet has looked like it would work.

@@EricCarden I got them from Catalina Direct. Here you go: www.catalinadirect.com/shop-by-boat/catalina-27/canvas-covers/biminis/bimini-genoa-track-cars/

@@geneneill530 Thanks again! Unfortunately, a note on that page says that these are incompatible with the 15/16" wide track on my "early" (1981) 22. I've spent a good bit of today starting to fashion my own set of cars. Any advice on choosing a bimini? I see plenty on Amazon, but if you have any non-obvious tips, I'm all ears! Thanks.

@@geneneill530 Thanks again! Unfortunately, a note on that page says that these are incompatible with the 15/16" wide track on my "early" (1981) 22. I've spent a good bit of today starting to fashion my own set of cars. I was getting ready to order a bimini, but I'm just not sure about the width and height to get. I can take more measurements on my next sailing day, but would you be so kind as to tell me the width and height of yours (if you know) - and whether the bimini ever interferes with the boom or mainsheet? Thanks!

It was sold to me as a 180. But by my measurement it is a 170.

Hey Patrick - our panels are 30 watts each. Our battery is a Trojan 24TMX, 12 volt flooded, with 85Ah capacity. According to the Victron controller, the two panels produced an average of 14Ah daily on this cruise, which kept up with our consumption. The battery was at (or very near) 100% when we pulled the boat out of the water. :)

@@geneneill530 Thanks Gene, I originally got the idea of how to mount solar panels to my stern rail from your video sailing to Dry Tortuga. I’ve owned a Catalina 22 back years ago and now I have a Helms 24 and Compac 16. I will be putting at least one 50w panel on the stern of the Helms to keep my 2 deep cycle flooded batteries going. Your input helps. Although my boat is on a large land locked lake I’m making her ready for a voyage this fall from mid Chesapeake Bay down to at least Beaufort, NC. Until then, trailering my Compac 16 down to sail the “Florida 120”is in the works. I was just studying the Everglades area a couple of days ago. Thanks again.

For us, a Raymarine autotiller is an absolute must, on long trips. Without it, yes this trip would have been miserable. We still take three hour shifts at the helm, but being free to move around the cockpit makes all the difference in the world!

@@geneneill530 Thanks ! I was going to get one this season, even more so now.

Oh yes, Bimini is definitely within reach.

Thank you!! We still sail, but lately not near as much or for as long as we would like. Our kids grew up and moved away, so we lost our house/dog/chicken sitters. LOL But the situation is temporary. Retirement is coming, and we like to think our cruising days have barely begun. :)

@@geneneill530 know how you feel! Ours all grew up and moved away too. Glad y'all got more sailing in the future, look forward to more great videos ⛵

@@geneneill530 Glad to see you guys are okay! Get your sails up and cameras out!

Thanks John! This was all just shot on my old iPhone 6, with a beanie hat folded over the mic to cancel the wind noise. :)

@@geneneill530 thank you for sharing the C-22 sailing videos. impressive sailing.

Wow. That is really super nice of you! Because yeah, parking is ALWAYS an issue. The list of places we trust is very short. Some marinas are safe, some aren't, and some don't allow long-term parking at all. So it is indeed a challenge. Whenever you find a new marina to use, a whole new new cruising area suddenly opens up for you, and it's like finding a diamond on the sidewalk. The place we launched from on this cruise (Calusa Island Marina) is wonderful, but their parking is limited, so they may or may not have a spot available when you get there. Definitely call ahead!

Thanks Gene for your replay I watch all your videos and take notes of the places that you mention and mark them on my charts to plot a future trip. like I say if one day you want to explore the St John's rive get in touch with me. Happy Holidays to you and wife.

Thank you John, hopefully soon!

We conscript family members to house/dog/chicken sit for us. ;) Congrats on the birds! We've had ours a year now. They are much so more fun, interesting and rewarding than I ever thought they would be.

@@geneneill530 They are amazing creatures. They come running when they see me.

@@musketman2008 Bawk!🐔🐔

Six horse Tohatsu.

Tohatsu Sailpro 6, long shaft.

Ours came with the boat. Catalina Direct used to sell them, but I'm not sure if they still do. Catalina Yachts might still carry them. Sorry I don't have a more positive answer. Because yes, you do need one. LOL

It came with the boat when we bought her. I think it was originally sold by Catalina Direct in California.

Aw shucks, that is so nice of you to say, thank you!!

Im on binge of all your videis. Great job. Curious which keel you have?

Why, yes I am! I'm so glad you enjoyed Dad's book. God bless you and yours!

@@geneneill530 OH wow, this makes me cry. His story goes deep!! He told us his story at CFNI in 1976, I was an Israeli student at that time. All these years I remembered this special man and his story and wondered if he was still alive and well. I found his book on Amazon and was so happy!!! Couldn't find much about him otherwise, but he mentioned your name in his book and you look much like him and ride the boat like him 😂. Thank you so much for answering and blessings on you!!! Can you please tell me a little about how your dad/parents are? I would like that and thank you in advance.

@@esteraleitner5128 Thank you for asking! My dad passed away (or "graduated", as he called it) about ten years ago. He lived a long and wonderful life. My mom is very elderly now, but still in good health. She continues to maintain the ministry, sending Bibles, books, tracts, videos, etc. into prisons, and corresponding with prisoners, and so on. The ministry's website address is www.go-to-jail.org, although I think the site is down for maintenance at the moment. LOL

@@geneneill530 thank you so much Gene, this meant a lot to me!!! Have a great time....