https://www.gofundme.com/jennytomas-lost-their-homeinmaria Hurricane Maria Destroyed My Sister Home: On September 20th, the eye of Hurricane Maria, a category 5 storm, hit Vieques, Puerto Rico, destroying my sister’s home (boat) and the majority of her belongings. Jenny Smith and her family (Tomas, Milan (3 yrs old) & Taleia (1 yr old) lived aboard their catamaran sailboat, NautiMermaid, when Hurricane Maria hit leaving them without a home. For several years, Jenny & Tomas worked tirelessly towards actualizing their dream of starting their own business on the island of Vieques -- – when it all shattered before their eyes overnight. Their planned source of income was lost after being on the island for 2 short months prior to the hurricane’s destruction. Thank you to all of you who have been so supportive of my sister during this journey. It has meant so much to her receiving all the positive messages of support from all over the world. Thank you for subscribing and following their journey on her youtube channel The Cat and The Mermaid. These videos have become even more special because they documented this small slice of time where they got to live aboard a catamaran before it was destroyed. Luckily Tomas’s Aunt has a house where they were all able to stay to safely ride out the storm. They are currently residing there with Tomas’s mother and brother (who had the roof ripped off of their home). Tomas has rigged the solar panels from the boat onto the house, so they can run the refrigerator during the day using solar, and run the generator only at night. Like many isolated areas of Puerto Rico, they still do not have consistent running water, hot water for showers, AC, power, and must wait in long gas lines (7+ hours) – in order to obtain the gas needed to keep generators running. Communication is still down on the majority of the island – cellular service & internet is still only intermittently available only from a handful of spots. Additionally, it's mostly a cash only society right now and the bank lines have been monstrous with ATMs only working intermittently. It is heartbreaking to see the devastation that has occurred to this community and worrisome that this island is almost completely dependent on tourism for their local economy. Tomas was born & raised in Vieques; it was part of my sister’s dream to be a part of this island’s community. Witnessing all the destruction that has occurred, the two of them have become dedicated to the rebuilding efforts. Let’s help them, with whatever you can give, to regain what my sister’s family has lost and to encourage them that they shouldn’t give up on following their dreams. ________________________________________________________ CNN Footage of my sister's boat: http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/28/us/vieques-cut-off-after-hurricane-maria/index.html NautiMermaid is shown from 0:57 - to 1:13 in this CNN video: http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/09/28/bill-weir-vieques-island-destroyed-dnt.cnn/video/playlists/bill-weir-in-puerto-rico/ The Cat & The Mermaid - the videos of them working to make the dream of living aboard a reality: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwkC0CouHTUieYD03D_xjBQ/videos ___________________________________________________________

For more details on our journey through the Out Islands check out our blog at http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/09/15/catamaran-confessions-islands/ To show us some extra love, to support our videos and all the expensive equipment involved, or to buy us a beer you can become a patron of ours https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid Like us and keep more up to date on our posts here https://www.facebook.com/thecatandthemermaid/ This episode we sail to Georgetown, Great Exuma to pick up my dad and get provisions. We then sail to Long Island, Bahamas. After a few days we drop him off at the airport and sail down the west side of Long Island in some rough seas. We catch several fish trolling in deep waters before making it to ship wreck anchorage. We have our first official all night sail as we make our way through the out islands. We meet some good peoples and explore the damage of crooked island after a hurricane in 2015. We have some real talk about life aboard over a few very expensive Bahamian beers. We navigate through "breakers" and coral reefs as we make way south. We officially make it to Mayaguana and leave the Bahamas. Music Credits: Scott Holmes "Happy Ukulele" Sul Rebel "Rebel Blues"

For more details on our sail through the Exumas check out our vlog at http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/08/12/helllooo-exumas/ To show us some extra love, to support our videos and all the expensive equipment involved, or to buy us a beer you can become a patron of ours https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid Like us and keep more up to date on our posts here https://www.facebook.com/thecatandthemermaid/ We start at Highbourne Cay Marina to get provisions before entering into the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. We sail to Shroud Cay first and are amazed by the beauty of the mangrove creeks that wind all the way across the island. We take our time exploring and lounging around on the different Cays in the park. We sail in the lee of the islands through Exuma Sound and go see the wild pigs on Pig Beach. We try to get in as much exploring as we can as we keep moving south on our sailing adventure.

For more details on our Maiden Voyage check out our blog at http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/07/24/maiden-voyage-first-offshore-sail-crossing-gulf-stream/ To show us some extra love, to support our videos and all the expensive equipment involved, or to buy us a beer you can become a patron of ours https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid Like us and keep more up to date on our posts here https://www.facebook.com/thecatandthemermaid/ After our coastal shakedown sail down the east coast of FL, we provisioned, made repairs, and waited out the perfect weather window to jump off from Key Biscayne across the Gulf Stream. We had a bit of anxiety about our first crossing with the little ones aboard. We quickly settle in on our uneventful passage losing site of land and crossing into Bahamian waters. We sail to Cat Cay to get checked in and after exploring the area we take off for Chub Cay and then Nassau. We island hop south. We fish, snorkel and sail our way down into the Bahamas as we officially say goodbye to Florida and welcome our new life aboard. We are so grateful to be living our dream and excited to share it with all of you! Thank you so much for joining us on our adventure! Subtitles in Spanish: Jennifer Smith Music: Gillicuddy- Springish, Adventure Darling

For more details on our coastal cruise check out our blog at http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/06/18/off-sailing-adventure-officially-begins/ To show us some extra love, to support our videos and all the expensive equipment involved, or to buy us a beer you can become a patron of ours https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid Like us and keep more up to date on our posts here https://www.facebook.com/thecatandthemermaid/ After a computer crash, no internet and severely malfunctioning editing software...here is an update! We finally are leaving Vero Beach and setting sail down the coast of Florida. We have sold and packed up our belongings to move aboard our new-to-us Lagoon 410 sailing catamaran. We have completed an inland shakedown cruise down the inter-coastal waterway and are now ready to do a coastal cruise shakedown down to Miami. My sister, Heather, flies in to join us as part of the crew. We leave her, the kids and pets behind for a few days and encounter some foul weather and rough seas while underway. We get to freshen up our navigation and sailing skills and learn how this vessel handles under sail. After a week sailing down the coast we get the kids and my sister back on board to sail down to Key Biscayne. We make it into No Name Harbor just in time for dinner after a nice sail down. We spend several days playing around and getting provisions waiting out weather. We start getting ready to make our first offshore sail over to the Bahamas. We are so grateful to be living our dream and look forward to sharing our journey with you. Thanks so much for joining us on our adventure!!

For more information about us and our dream check out our blog at www.ThecatandtheMermaid.com To show us some extra love and to support all the creative work, fancy equipment, or to just buy us a cold beer and some internet while we upload these videos to share with you all, you can become a patron of ours here https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid Our family of four plus pets has embarked on an unusual lifestyle of adventure, sailing to make a living, and travel. We have traded in our rather ordinary life on land in Florida and our 3 bedroom 2000 sq ft home for a life aboard a catamaran. We have worked hard to obtain a USCG Master Captains License, written a business plan, researched, saved, took sailing courses, applied for financing and have made it happen. We just moved out of our home and fully aboard our 2006 Lagoon 410 sailing catamaran. Our adventure has begun by us sailing down the east coast of Florida to wait for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. We will island hop down windward through the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, and finally cross the Mona over to Puerto Rico. We hope you will join us on our adventure. Thank you to all for your love and support from all over the world. You can track our journey real time here http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/passage-making-vero-beach-fl-to-vieques-pr/

For more info on our journey moving out of our house and aboard our new-to-us sailing catamaran check out our blog at http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/05/13/goodbye-house-hello-big-ass-boat-moving-aboard/ To help us continue to share these videos of us making our dream a reality you can become a part of our crew by becoming a Patron of ours here. https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid After doing a shakedown down in the ICW we now are on anchor in Vero Beach and are moving out of our 2000 square foot home and aboard our 410 Lagoon catamaran. We are a bit overwhelmed with jugging so much and also are sad to close this chapter of our lives. But, we are also aware that change can be scary and are really excited at the same time. We are ready to move forward with this adventure! We work on several projects aboard and get new solar panels installed on the vessel. After several trips to goodwill and a garage sale the moving company comes to ship some of our belongings to Vieques, PR. And we are fully moved aboard and ready to set sail south. Thank you for joining us on our adventure! Like us on facebook at to follow more realtime https://www.facebook.com/thecatandthemermaid/

For more details on getting the boat in the water and the shakedown check out our blog at http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/04/14/our-boat-is-in-the-water-the-shakedown/. You can help support the creative process and hard work of making these videos by joining our crew and becoming one of our Patrons here https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid You can check out our pages on facebook for more real time photos. For The Cat & The Mermaid https://www.facebook.com/thecatandthemermaid/ And for Nauti Mermaid at https://www.facebook.com/nautimermaidcruises/. We are out on the hard at St. Augustine Marine Center and finishing up on projects while we wait to install the new generator on our new to us 2006 Lagoon Catamaran. The marina uses a forklift to lift out the old generator and to lift in our new one. After replacing, installing and fixing several things the marina gives us a lift back into the water. We get to tie up to the dock overnight after being splashed but have to leave early in the morning. We have to replace an impeller before getting underway and maneuver off the dock in high winds and strong currents in a tight channel to get underway on our shakedown. We breakdown our shakedown sailing trip into 3 days motoring (and some motor sailing) in the ICW. Our mast height of 60' permits us to pass under the fixed bridges in the ICW. We have several electrical issues and minor things with the motor as well as VHF issues on the first leg of our trip. We drop anchor in Daytona the first day, Titusville the second day, and sail home to Vero beach the third and final day of the trip. We are now officially in go time as we have to finish moving aboard and get our house ready to sell.

Boat Projects and Puerto Rico You can find more details on our written blog http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/04/03/boat-projects-and-back-to-puerto-rico/ . You can become a member of our crew by becoming a Patron of ours to help support what we do here https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid The bottom paint is finished and we get our business logo "Nauti Mermaid" on both of the hulls. We start working on several priority projects as soon as we took over ownership of the catamaran. We re laced the trampoline and installed lifeline netting around the vessel. We were having issues with the heads on the boat so we decided to replace the Jabsco- factory installed inexpensive heads with a higher quality marine head- Raritan. Tomas installed one electric head for our guests and a manual head for us. We replace out several chafed lines and do several electrical repairs on old wires. We start ordering all the equipment for the business and start moving it all aboard. And then we travel back to Puerto Rico to attend the DRNA required navigation course. After we finish the week long course we take the ferry over to Vieques, PR. We spend several days in Vieques and try to handle things for the business. At the end of our trip we go to a beautiful wedding in Condado where Milan was asked to be the ring bearer. We then head back to Florida to hopefully wrap things up with the boat and get her back in the water to do the shakedown from St. Augustine down to Vero Beach. Our Business https://www.nautimermaidcharters.com/ Spanish Subtitles by la gringa Jennifer Smith ;)

For more details http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/03/21/we-bought-a-big-ass-boat-finally/ You can help support us making these videos by becoming one of our crew members on Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/Thecatandthemermaid Its official we finally closed with the bank and then on the boat. We officially bought a BIG ASS BOAT! We take the kids and the dog up to see the catamaran sailboat – a Lagoon 410 owner version - for the first time at St Augustine marine center. Once we get to the marina we discover that we have shore power and decide to stay aboard up there. We end up making several trips back and forth from Vero Beach to St. Augustine to bring up things we need. The family starts getting acquainted with the boat life and living aboard a sailboat. We start various projects to upgrade the vessel and become familiar with her systems while we wait for the bottom paint to be done. We do research to pick out a new genset and new toilets. We decide to get a Kohler 6kw gentset to replace the Onan 9kw and Raritan toilets to replace the factory Jabsco toilets and will order those soon. And we start taking measurements for several projects we need to get done. We are able to start the baby-proofing process and start locking down the dangerous cabinets and lockers aboard. Our adventure of boat ownership and entrepreneurship has officially begun. There is a lot to do and a lot to learn before we can set sail, and we are under time lines with the new sailing business venture. We are keeping very busy juggling everything right now and the vlogging is one of the things that has taken a back seat. We are trying to keep up with it though! We are so excited and grateful that everything is finally coming together and that it is really happening and at the same time completely overwhelmed. Thank you for joining us on our adventure and hopefully you will be inspired to follow your dreams too!

For more on our business loan and the closing http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/02/14/closing-on-the-loan-lets-buy-a-big-sailboat/. We came up with an idea of how to create the lifestyle we want to live about four years ago. It was set into motion shortly after and is FINALLY coming to fruition. The idea is using a day sailing business aboard a catamaran to share with people from around the world the magic of a tiny paradise island called Vieques. We are moving out of our 3-bedroom house in Vero Beach Florida and will be moving aboard the catamaran to deliver the boat to Puerto Rico with our two small kids and our pets. We will use the boat to make a living and also live aboard with our family in Vieques. We have been anxiously awaiting the closing on our business loan with the Economic Development Bank of Puerto Rico to be able to buy our Lagoon 410 sailing catamaran. We finally have a date for closing and are flying to Puerto Rico to close. We will try to submit all the applications, for permits to work using a sailboat in PR, while we are there. We have overcome several obstacles and uncover new ones as we move forward with the starting of our sailing business. We are very grateful to the SBA for their guarantee on our loan and also to the Economic Development Bank of PR for the opportunity to live our dream. After we close with the bank we can then close electronically on the boat!

For more details on our financing venture look here http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2017/01/17/waiting-on-the-bank/ Our family continues down our journey to move out of our 3-bedroom home in Vero Beach Florida, to move aboard a cruising catamaran to be located in Vieques, Puerto Rico. We currently have a 2006 Lagoon 410 under contract in St. Augustine Florida. We are waiting on the closing with our bank in Puerto Rico, The Economic Development Bank of PR. The bank is a government bank and we also have an SBA (federal government) guarantee on our loan. The government involvement in our financing of the venture is not exactly quick moving. We were supposed to have it all wrapped up by the 12th or 13th of January and it is the 16th of January 2017 with still no official closing date. After we close with the bank on our business loan we can then close on the vessel. The boat is currently having a few big repairs done on her at the St. Augustine Marine Center, by the seller, prior to closing. The repairs were supposed to be finished by the 6th of January and that didn’t happen either. We have signed an addendum to the contract and were now supposed to close by the 17th of January on the vessel. We are keeping busy with things we need to do for the business. And we have been researching safety gear for toddlers/babies by families that live aboard sailboats. We have started ordering those items. And we will hopefully be traveling to Puerto Rico soon for closing.

For more details on the negotiations & financing obstacles of buying the not so perfect- perfect sailboat http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2016/12/23/negotiations-buying-a-sailboat-the-not-so-perfect-perfect-catamaran/ After the survey and sea trial on the prospective 2006 Lagoon 410 sailing catamaran, Tomas and I had a lot to think about! In a few short days we got the survey report back for the boat and within a day we had the oil analysis results back. We sat down with the reports to analyze all the findings. We organized a spreadsheet of the repairs we would need on the vessel, the cost of parts, labor costs, and what we could do ourselves. We weighed all the information we had and started negotiations with the sellers. They offered doing several of the large repairs the vessel needs and a concession. Finally after counter offering back and forth we came to an agreement on the vessel. The repairs are underway and will be completed by the 6th of January. In the meantime we have been going back and forth with the bank in Puerto Rico that has approved our sailing business loan. The business loan also has a Small Business Administration (SBA) guarantee on a large portion of the loan. The process has been extensive and we have had many obstacles to overcome. Finally we have seemingly overcome the last obstacle and should be in the clear to close on the loan in January. We should be heading to Puerto Rico soon to close on the loan and bring our sailing dream even closer! Happy Holidays to all!!! Especially grateful this holiday season for David and Lynn of Caribbean Images Tours!

For more info on buying a sailing catamaran- Survey/Sea Trial, and Haul-out check out http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2016/12/06/buying-a-sailing-catamaran-survey-sea-trial-and-haul-out/ Our family of four, plus pets, are in the process of buying a sailing catamaran. The cruising catamaran will be used for living-aboard and to run a sailing business in Vieques, Puerto Rico. We are currently in Vero Beach Florida and have found a boat in St. Augustine that we are interested in. The vessel is a 41' 2006 Lagoon 410 owner version - sailing catamaran. We have hired an experienced surveyor, Brian Stetler of Stetler Marine Surveys, to do our survey/sea trial of the boat. The survey/sea trial is a thorough inspection of the boat, its engines, sails, rigging and all the systems onboard performed prior to purchasing. The sea trial portion is to test the engines under load and to raise the sails. An oil sample analysis is also done on both engines, both sail drives, and the generator. Based on the findings of the survey the purchasers can purchase as is, potentially further negotiate on the boat, or decide to walk away from the deal. This sailboat has been hauled out of the water by the owners and has been sitting on the hard at St. Augustine Marine Center for 7 months. The boat was used in charter and so we know it has some wear and tear. We will find out just how much and have to make a decision how to proceed. Stetler Marine Surveys http://www.amarinesurveyor.com/

More of our Cruising Catamaran Sailboat Shopping thoughts can be found here: http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2016/11/22/sailboat-shopping-searching-for-that-special-catamaran/ The search for the perfect cruising catamaran for our live-aboard/sailing business venture has begun. Today we are meeting up with our boat broker Greg Bracken in St. Augustine to look at a 2006 Lagoon 410. There aren’t that many cruising catamarans in our price range on the market and they typically get snatched up fairly quickly. Like anything in life there are always trade-offs of what we would want in a perfect world versus what we can afford that’s currently available. This particular catamaran has many features that we are looking for. It is an owners version of the Lagoon 410 so one hull is the owners suite with a desk, large marine head, and ample storage. It also is only a 10-year-old sailboat, has two air conditioning units, and a generator. The negatives are that is spent some time in charter and doesn’t have solar, wind or a water maker, which are all costly upgrades. We are excited that the vessel is located in Florida and not that far off our budget. Let’s see if she has the potential to be the Nauti Mermaid Charters LLC vessel! Thanks to our friend Captain Jaye Melanson for referring us to Greg Bracken from East West Yachts. He really is a nice guy and has been very helpful to us. http://www.yachtworld.com/eastwestyachts/index.html

For more thoughts on decluttering your life look here: http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/2016/10/17/declutter-your-life/ Decluttering to prepare for our family of 4, plus Oliver (our dog), upcoming move from our 2000 sq ft, 3 bdrm house, aboard a sailing catamaran. This is a continuation video of our progress to make our dream a reality. Our family is starting a sailing business in Vieques, Puerto Rico. We are currently living in Vero Beach, Florida and are getting ready to downsize from our house on land to move aboard a sailing catamaran. We are selling, donating and throwing away items that we no longer really need or "must have". It is not always an easy task letting go of our belongings because we attach sentimental value to objects. At the same time It is liberating to have less baggage to lug around through life. A sailboat in particular has tight quarters and weight is an important consideration aboard. This is our journey going after our dream of living aboard a sailing catamaran. We share in hopes of inspiring others to follow their dreams too.

For more about us check out http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/ Hurricane Matthew category 4-heading straight for Vero Beach Florida. While we are getting ready to downsize from a 3 bedroom family home to move aboard a sailing catamaran a massive storm throws us a curve ball. It is only a month away from the end of hurricane season in Florida and we are projected to get a direct hit from a monster category 4 storm. We are not located in an evacuation area and both of us are familiar with the hurricane preparation drills being from tropical areas. We help family and friends and get all our supplies and hurricane shutters up. We get gas, propane and fill up tubs and containers for water. Our intense focus on our sailing business startup and our upcoming move to Puerto Rico temporarily shifts to Hurricane Matthew. This is a peek into the tropical life. And our family getting prepared and bracing for the worst.

For more information about our sailing dream and our story click http://www.thecatandthemermaid.com/ Introduction to our family of four, plus Oliver, making our sailing dream a reality. The business plan we developed will facilitate us being able to live aboard a luxury sailing catamaran and travel with our family. We are now very close to achieving this life goal. Since we met in Puerto Rico almost 5 years ago, we have joined and combined our goals to create a joint dream. We have been working towards this goal over the past several years and obtained a USCG Masters Captains License, written a business plan, researched, sailed, saved, and applied for a business loan. We have been approved for an SBA guaranteed business loan and will soon be sailboat shopping and moving aboard. We currently reside in Vero Beach, Florida and will be moving to Vieques, Puerto Rico to launch our business. There are still many unknowns and pieces that have yet come together. We likely will buy a sailboat in Florida and have to deliver the vessel, island hopping, down through the Caribbean to Puerto Rico. This is the beginning, documenting our journey of adventure, travel, parenting, business and love. We are starting the Cat & the Mermaid vlogging series in hopes to inspire others to go after their dreams as well! We hope you will join our family on our sailing adventure! Welcome aboard!