Find out what's new for the Floating Maples!

My complete excitement as we see a huge pod of Whales surrounding the boat! Amazing experience.

We left West end and spend time in Mangrove, Crab Cay, Green Turtle Cay, and Manjack Cay. We got to know other cruisers while we hiked, and enjoyed the beaches together! James received a lesson on using a Hawaiian sling, and goes spear fishing.

A video from a cruiser kids perspective. We stopped at Great Guana Cay and took the kids in without letting them know that the island is the home to Iguanas. Watch from Will's perspective on our trip to the shore, meeting and feeding the Iguanas, exploring a cave, climbing a "mountain" and more! Will is 8 and lives on a sailboat!

If you have Tmobile ONE, and have arrived in the Bahamas only to get "No Service" on your iphone. This video explains what settings you need to change to get it working again!

Trip highlight! The kids think electronics are "BORING" now! Goodbye Minecraft! We Headed to the Keys, under the channel 5 bridge, done with the Gulf, up to Miami, and on to the Bahamas, across the infamous gulf stream! Hadn't planned on West End (originally Bimini), but the southerly wind and sticking with a buddy boat made it a decent choice. We were unprepared for communication/t-mobile issues and unfamiliar with the area. We made it thru what we thought would be the most difficult bit of the journey, learning as we went. All seems worse with exhaustion! Ended the trip with a little drama/emotions and ready for a break at a marina! Watch as our kids (and their parents) adjust to live-aboard cruising life!

Bahamas Bound, our first 2 days sailing from Port Charlotte into the Gulf. We anchored in Useppa Island & Sanibel Island. Enjoy the embarrassing footage of our second time anchoring.

Predicted: 11 kt wind + 0-1ft swells Actual (my observation): 20 kt (35-40 kt gusts) + 5 - 6 ft breaking waves 25-30 boats all did this crossing within an hour of us. We all thought it would be a calm sail and we thought wrong. 12 hours later, still nasty over 100 sq miles of ocean and Windy still thinks it's benign. Odd? Normal for Bahamas cruising?

After much planning, and many lists I headed out to Provision the boat for our winter cruising full time in the Bahamas! After Preparing the boat we finally push off and leave our slip at the Marina in Punta Gorda Florida.

Our Summer at Fishermans Village in Punta Gorda, Florida getting our Endeavour 40 ready to sail full time. Few things went according to plan, or budget. We lived aboard, in a marina, while we completed repairs. Not an easy adjustment!

A random collection of what Will(8), Juliette(6) and Olivia(baby) did living on a sailboat in a marina while their parents prepared the boat to travel fulltime.

Seeing our Boat (new home!) for the first time. Putting her in the water, and than back out. SHE LEAKS! We're a Full time Sailing Family (Mom, Dad & 3 Kids!) A summary of the Beginning of our adventure. Quitting our job, getting rid of everything, driving across the country, and moving onto a boat with kids (and a baby!). Hang in there while we improve our videos and our sailing skills! ***Family Friendly Video***