GTFOplan #84: Practical Jokes, Sneaking into a dock, Best Cruising Sails

IN THIS VIDEO: We sail from Yarmouth, Maine to Mystic Connecticut with a quick stop in Newport, Rhode Island to pick up our repaired asymmetrical sail from Doyle sails. Doyle did an amazing job on the repair! We once again hit fog so hooking up our horn to the VHF hailer is a top priority before we head to the Caribbean. We broke a 2nd electric tea kettle so we might give up on having one altogether. We made some great sailing speeds - 11.4 knots in 18.2 knots of wind. We love our Balance catamaran! Ann figures out a short cut by sneaking into a private dock, making her trip to provision much shorter! We share info about our incredible sail manufacturer, Zoom Sails. https://www.zoomsails.com/ We explored a great Art Festival and Mystic Seaport Museum. The Mystic Seaport Museum regularly holds **sailing events** and **educational programs** where visitors can interact with these tall ships. **Sail training** programs allow individuals to experience life aboard traditional vessels. The museum also hosts **"Sea Music Festivals"** and **"Tall Ship Parades"**, celebrating the maritime heritage associated with these ships. These vessels at Mystic Seaport Museum not only highlight the craftsmanship of the 19th and early 20th centuries but also tell the broader story of America’s maritime history. Visitors can step aboard, explore the ships, and learn about the lives of the sailors, fishermen, and whalers who worked these waters. The **Mystic Seaport Museum** in Connecticut is home to several iconic tall ships that serve as both historical artifacts and educational resources. These vessels are a key attraction at the museum, helping visitors connect with maritime history, shipbuilding, and life at sea during the age of sail. Here are a few of the most notable tall ships you can find there: **Charles W. Morgan** - **Built**: 1841 - **Significance**: The **Charles W. Morgan** is the **world’s last wooden whaleship** and the oldest commercial ship still afloat, aside from the USS Constitution. Over its career, it embarked on 37 voyages and is one of the most important ships in American maritime history. The ship has been restored and is on display, with regular public tours that explore whaling history and life aboard a 19th-century vessel. Ann & Dennis love to play practical jokes on each other. Watch to see if anyone gets pushed into the cold Connecticut waters! CURRENT LOCATION: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV-GTFO/ ABOUT OUR CATAMARAN: We love our new Balance 482 - it's a perfect size for a cruising couple to handle and is a great "balance" of performance and comfort. One of our favorite features is the excellent ventilation since we mostly live as "hookers" (aka at anchor) where the boat automatically turns into the wind so we stay cool and we don't need to battle mold. We also have starlink for easy off-grid life. Our 2400 watt solar panel array also means we rarely need to run an engine to charge our batteries. ABOUT US: We saved for a our future boat, sold everything that we owned, and shipped the rest in a container to Cape Town, South Africa. We then flew there and explored South Africa by way of a safari and touring Cape Town before moving aboard our boat. We then sailed to Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Fernando de Naronha (Brazil), Martinique, Sint Maarten (Dutch and French side), the US Virgin Islands (Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas), the British Virgin Islands (Anegada, Norman Island, Jost van Dyke, and Anegada), The Bahamas (Inagua, Crooked Island, Long Island, George Town, Staniel Cay, the Exumas, and Eleuthera). We then sailed back to the United States, making landfall in Cape Canaveral, Florida. From there our destinations are endless! Both Dennis and Ann grew up military brats with Army fathers. Dennis (the Colonel) served 30 years in the US Army and his retirement pension helped us retire in our 50s. Ann (the ship's Captain) wrote Test Automation in Python and Java. Dennis and Ann met on Match.com where Ann had in her profile "Do you want to sail the world with me?" Ann easily brought Dennis into sailing, and he loved the GTFOplan of retiring early and sailing the world. After many years of saving, living on one income but earning two, and cutting back on everything possible, they saved enough to buy a Balance 482. Follow them as they get real about boat life and all the hassles of buying a new boat because we all know N.E.W. means Not Everything Works. Kisses, Ann & Dennis Twitter: @GTFOplan Facebook: https://facebook.com/anndennis.snellikin.3 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtfoplan/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/gtfoplan Email: gtfoplan@gmail.com