Sailing Agora

Author: Susanna Fontenot

  • Sweet Home Alabama

    Sweet Home Alabama

    Greetings from Orange Beach, Alabama! The skies really are so blue here, where we’ve been waylaid for just over a month.

    We’ve worked hard lately, as parents, as partners, and as professionals, and while we knew a haul out mid-April would entail some critical boat repair, neither of us ever thought we would spend so much time in Alabama. It sort of feels like we got stuck before we even got off the starting line for cruising this year. This is all part of our life, and we wouldn’t be doing it if we weren’t flexible and able to roll with the punches. The reality is we wanted to be looking at the Florida Keys right now, and instead, we’re looking at getting past Destin.

    It hasn’t been easy, but it has been fun!

    We’ve spent hours at the beach, spotted dolphins at sunset on several occasions, dyed eggs for Easter, and celebrated Mother’s Day. We found ourselves always birdwatching, getting snuggled up on rainy days to watch family movies, and returning to a wonderful local playground and waterfront park. We have a favorite hiking trail here now, and we experienced several impressive versions a bushwacker.

    Agora spent exactly a month at a shipyard with the crew at Saunder’s Yachtworks, on the hard and getting some TLC after the delivery passage. After all the events Barrett shared in his previous posts, we needed a new cutlass bearing, a new propeller shaft, and a new shaft log. We had the pros install an emergency swim ladder, and we upgraded the bow roller to improve our anchoring system. Thankfully, the mystery engine issue worked itself out with all the prop and shaft repairs mentioned above.

    While we’ve been here, Barrett single-handedly (with phone-a-friend support, thanks Bill, Keith, & Steve) repaired the damage done by the anchor coming loose. He totally crushed the fiberglass work on a project we got an initial $10,000 quote to fix. Way to go, Barrett!!

    Agora was put back in the water on May 15 and needed time to sit before testing to make sure all the work below the waterline settled properly. We spent one night in Gulf Shores at Homefront Marina, which is connected to Lulu’s, a vibrant restaurant by Jimmy Buffett’s sister on the ICW with great live music, tasty food, and a huge sand playground for all ages.

    On the sea trial the next day, the engine seemed fine, but something still wasn’t right with the throttle. So, Agora was hauled out two more times to tweak the feathering prop, a complicated installation that apparently everyone learned something from. The third time really was the charm, and we threw the dock lines yet again!

    There are no words to express our gratitude for our Houston family friends, Carla and Keith, who happen to be living in Orange Beach at the same time as our detour here. We’ve been fortunate enough to feel at home in a little compound of two casitas and gazebos – perfect for our family of four. With access to two pools, laundry facilities, and reliable Wifi, there is truly not much more we could ask for. Thanks to our dear friends for their hospitality, including a loaned golf cart (land dinghy!) to get around and a borrowed Jeep when we needed to visit the shipyard or they insisted we explore places a little further away (hello, Flora-bama!). We are forever grateful.

    As we prepare for our biggest adventure yet, we find ourselves planning where we’ll go now – and what’s next moving forward. Stay tuned!

  • A little waylaid, a little out of the way

    While the delivery passage was underway, there were moments of stress and anxiety among what we dubbed the kid-delivery crew – Grandma Kit, Aunt Mer Mer, the twins, and me.

    Despite some sleepless nights of worry for the boat and crew, there were also moments of joy and laughter in a town that was new to all of us! I am so grateful to Kit and Meredith for being a part of the journey; huge thanks to them for being there for all of us. It was a memorable trip for all of us, I’m sure.

    We had a great time exploring Pensacola over the course of one time warp week. We made the most of two separate Airbnb rentals – recharging, recuperating, and repairing what we could following the delivery through the ICW from Galveston. 

    Highlights include:

    • Pensacola public parks are on point! We especially loved Bruce Beach Park and Corinne Jones Park. 
    • Tearfully watching Agora motor into the harbor at Palafox, and welcoming the boat and remaining crew to Pensacola with those first hugs after a very long, tense five-day journey.
    • Attending a Blue Wahoos MiLB game (the boys’ first ticketed baseball game!)… and then seeing fireworks at the stadium a few nights later from the cockpit at the marina while debriefing the delivery with Kit & Farley
    • Peering out at the bay and watching from the piers at Palafox as the GL52 Southern Series boats practiced and raced, and connecting with members of the sailing community along the way
    • Wandering around Pensacola for a few days with Barrett and the kids, finding festivals, food halls, and fun places to play games

    After throwing the dock lines yet again from Palafox, we spent a couple of days on the hook in the Big Lagoon outside of Pensacola Bay. We took the dinghy off deck to explore white sand beaches, practice our birdwatching, and observe hermit crabs at eye level. In an almost surreal welcome to cruising life, we also had dolphin visitors at dinner on deck the first night and again the next morning. Not to mention, what felt like a private Blue Angels practice show, thanks to the anchorage’s proximity to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola.

    We pulled up the anchor in Pensacola on Tuesday, April 15. Then we headed west toward a shipyard that could handle Agora’s height and any repairs needed. It was only about a three-hour trip through the ICW on a pleasant day with calm waters before we arrived at Bay La Launch in Baldwin County, Alabama. We anchored in beautiful weather and had our calmest night on the hook yet. We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset after cheeseburgers for dinner, and bird songs lulled us to sleep. 

    Just another hour west to Gulf Shores, we pulled in at Saunders Yachtworks to get hauled out and assess the damage sustained from the passage. It was quite a shock when we pulled into the deep slip at the shipyard and immediately began getting lifted out of the water. We assumed we’d get off the boat and then the lift would engage! Once secure mid-air, though, we all climbed off, and the team there carefully operated the wheeled lift to take Agora the rest of the way, positioning her on some boat stands. We were able to pack up toys and toiletries, clothing, and fridge items, because we had a feeling we might be on land for a while.

    sister time in Pensacola
    Agora at Palafox Pier Yacht Harbor Marina
    A Blue Wahoos game, with Palafox Marina (and Agora’s mast) in the background
    y’all, don’t sleep on Pensacola’s public parks!
    helping hands
    bye bye Mer Mer
    we love you Mer Mer
    Agora leaving Palafox
    Agora on the hook, our first
    dinghy trip
    the Blue Angels overhead
    Agora being hauled out in Gulf Shores, AL
    What will be diagnosed as a shot cutlass bearing, a broken propeller shaft, and a shaft log that requires rebuilding
    morning craft time
    70′ going under a 73′ bridge
    heading to Gulf Shores
  • Setting sail with Agora

    Setting sail with Agora

    Oh hey, and ahoy! Whether you’re a sailor, a fellow dreamer, or a family member following along, welcome aboard!!

    Let’s start with a little background.

    In May 2023, we leveled up in our dream of leading a pirate life and bought Agora in Kemah, Texas. She’s a 2005 Beneteau First 47.7, a racer/cruiser that leans racey and has a history as winning as she is beautiful. We knew she was something special from the moment we stepped aboard but had no idea how perfectly we’d fit – and just how wonderfully our lives would change.

    2024 brought natural and man-made disasters that delayed our live-aboard plans, including house projects in April, derecho winds in May, Hurricane Beryl in July, and one broken foot in August. Onward to the fall, when we finally, officially moved aboard. (And Captain T-Bear turned 40 – ‘twas a bash, to say the least.)

    In a whirlwind year of downsizing and embracing this new way of life, every day was an adventure. Whether fixing broken parts, adjusting to smaller living spaces, or learning to let go of land-based expectations, we’re grateful for it all and proud of how each one of the four of us have tackled the constant transitions. 

    There have always been moments of pure magic that make the adjustments worth it – foggy mornings with sunrises above deck, the twins finding their sea legs, and the growing realization that this is what we want for our lives right now.