Our plan is to sail around the world. Our vessel is Norman, a 1985 Joubert-Nivelt Sauvage 41 – a tough, strong, steel boat:

After a much-too-close brush with the events of September 11, 2001 in New York City, Frankie and I made big changes in our lives. We decided it was time to sail around the world.

We figured we would buy a “practice boat” and then wait until we had enough money to either find or build a”" boat that would suit – but then the Sea Muffin came our way, and we scraped every penny out from behind the sofa and bought her!To augment our cruising kitty, and to have an excuse to meet people along the way, our plan was to install an extra-large galley in the Muffin to be able to… bake muffins. We know from cruising ourselves and from listening to other people, that fresh baked goods can be a real treat. We were sitting on the beach on St. John, drinking a couple of cervezas and talking about Aldo’s on Block Island, when we came up with the idea – why not bring fresh baked goods to all of those cruisers in faraway places?

So we sailed the Muffin up to Maine and started working on refitting her. We got married, time passed, and suddenly we had a baby! The Muffin suddenly seemed rather small.

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So we sold her. Sad to see her go, she was a heck of a boat. But Davide Favaretto, of Venice Italy, bought her and sailed her across the Atlantic – she’s currently resting in the Azores, waiting to sail on to her new home in the Mediterranean. He got her across the Atlantic without using the windvane or hooking up the autopilot. Tough guy, and must have had a lot of coffee on board.

Anyways, we then found and bought Norman (she’s named for our dear old cat, Felis P. Normous, who didn’t make it long enough to join us on our adventure. We miss him). The boat was

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languishing in a yard in Key Largo (the yard’s name is Tires and Boats – seriously – and the owner, Sam Stoia, is a crook – literally) waiting for a refit… after a long struggle, we got her up here and are feverishly working on getting her fitted out, with the help of Myles Manns, a friend and awesome boat builder/mechanic/jack-of-all-trades.

We were hoping to be underway by now, but Tony unexpectedly developed Type 1 diabetes in the beginning of 2008 – a scary trip to the emergency room followed by some major lifestyle adjustments have put the project a bit behind schedule, and have added some interesting logistical issues – health insurance, redundant refrigeration – and have put a bit of a damper on the muffin baking plan, as muffins have become pretty tough to fit in the meal plan!

But we’re plugging away, working on the boat, working on the kitty, and still want to get out there just as soon as we can! Have a look at the blog to see our latest news.

Thanks, and fair winds and following seas to you,

Tony, Frankie and Ursula

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