A Dream Come True!

Many of us share the dream of casting off the dock lines and sailing to the Caribbean. Our customers, Greg and Missy Thomasson did just that and they are checking-in from the Bahamas.

Missy, our cat, and I departed on Ukiyo, a 31' Hallberg-Rassy Monsun from Monroe, Michigan. Bound for warmer waters and trade winds. While in Annapolis we reached out to Chuck O'Malley at Chesapeake Sailmakers to get a new "offshore" Jib and Mainsail. After picking up our sails we continued on and did a 5 day offshore jump from Beaufort, NC to Marsh Harbor, Bahamas.

The new sails made all the difference on our boat. We now point higher than ever. We heel less during heavy wind, and sail faster during lighter wind. We have spent a lot of time, sweat, and money fixing up our boat before our journey and the sails were one of the last things on the list. Now that we know how much of a difference they make, they should have been the first.

Chesapeake Sailmakers were fantastic to work with. They took the time to come to our boat and see how we had the boat rigged up and to take the required measurements. They delivered the sails on time and even helped improve upon our slab reefing method.

As we continue on down the Caribbean and hopefully to the Pacific we have the confidence our sails and boat are ready for any conditions. It really is true what they say, "getting new sails is like getting a new boat".

To follow along as we make our way through the Caribbean check us out on Instagram at @Gthomass and @Missymitz and check out our tracker at thirdreefadventures.com

P.S. We also got our Tides Marine Strong Track mainsail system through Chesapeake Sailmakers and it is a must have for any slab reefing offshore sailing back (if they don't have a low friction track already).