Followed by Dolphins On the Way To Florida - Ep. 333 - Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat

After a few challenging (and expensive) days on a dock in the fancy town of Hilton Head, Jack finally catches a flight home, and Steve’s friend, Jeff, makes his way into town to take his place. Steve provisions the boat, and cleans the rest of the snow and ice off the deck.
Before heading 20 miles offshore for the passage to Florida, Steve needs to get the stern anchor back into place on the bow of the boat. He takes the opportunity to do this, fill the water tanks, get Arabella’s name onto the boat (finally) and get some other housekeeping tasks done before Jeff arrives. The weather looks good, but Steve is only cautiously optimistic-he’s been burned before!
Jeff arrives, and Steve goes through some basic safety training with him before they untie the frozen lines and cast off from the dock. He also shows how AIS helps him make important navigational decisions.
Riding the current out of Hilton Head sets Steve and Jeff up for a smooth journey south to Saint Augustine, where Robin is anxiously awaiting her honey and her home! They sort out a watch schedule, and Steve actually gets to sit back and read a book in the cockpit-something he’s been waiting months for!
A massive pod of dolphins swim alongside the boat, putting on quite the acrobatic show, and Akiva shows off HIS new skills!
The wind dies down-and the temps go up-forcing Steve and Jeff to motor the rest of the way to Saint Augustine. But that makes it possible for Steve to rig a makeshift fishing line and hope for the best!
As they make it into Saint Augustine, the sun hat comes out-and so does Steve’s smile! Arabella has officially made it to the Sunshine State.
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Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin's Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel's gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat-sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
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