Connect

We love to chat!

Feel free to reach out with questions, ideas, or simply to introduce yourself and say hello.
You can also join the conversation below or email us at sv.theredthread@gmail.com.

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45 thoughts on “Connect”

  1. Cowgirl Jessie,

    Woke up this morning and sat down with my coffee and a few dogs sleeping underfoot with no agenda other than some relaxation and surfing of the inter webs. Remembered your post about The Red Thread’s blog and thought I’d check it out. I think that was like four hours ago and I’ve been reading this the entire time. Consider me hooked (salmon fishing pun)! You and Neil have such a wonderful gift for not only adventure but writing. I’ll be living vicariously through you two for quite a while I think.

    Brad :0)

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    • Thanks, Brad, glad to have you aboard, so to speak! So glad you decided to read our story and are finding our tale interesting. I must say, I could never have imagined where the universe would take me. I feel so lucky to get to share my life with such an adventurous man. It’s going to be one of hell of a ride. ~Jessie

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  2. Hi Jessie and Neil. I just found your blog and my husband and I are enjoying reading your adventures. We’re in North Carolina and have just discovered our love for sailing as we are graduating our oldest child from high school. Hope to buy our own boat in the near future, but not as brave as you – it will be our “second” home. We look forward to hearing more about your travels. Thanks for sharing! Maybe soon I will start a sailing blog as well, and perhaps one day our “threads” will cross. Best, Kim and Chip

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    • Hi Kim & Chip ~ Thanks for your note, and congratulations on your new found love! I’ve only been sailing for three years, and it is truly one of my greatest joys! If you do start a blog, please, do share it with us. Also, Kim, there is a Facebook group called Women Who Sail that is a wonderful resource for sailing women at all stages in life and in sailing (e.g., newby, cruiser). Excited for you both, Jessie

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    • Hi Jessie! We bought our boat in February and are having a great time! We named her Lilly Pad in honor of my mother-in-law, Lilly, who passed away in Dec. from ALS. Here’s my blog: https://coastalsailingnc.wordpress.com/. I don’t get to post a lot right now, but you may enjoy seeing a different part of the country (east coast). Still enjoying your blog! Thank you, Kim

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    • Mark & Cindy,

      Thank you for your kind words – we appreciate them and feel lucky to be stowing away good wishes from other cruisers! Yes, we too hope our paths cross! Fair winds and best wishes as you work on getting ready to make the leap as well!

      Cheers,
      Jessie & Neil

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  5. OMG I bumped into your beautiful yacht tonight on the guest dock, stay one more night, I have a world class bottle of wine I’d love to share with you before you drift off to the South Pacific…:)

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    • Hey Stormy! We’re anchored out and planning to stick around Friday Harbor until tomorrow morning (Saturday). We’d enjoy meeting up for a bit if you’re around. What time might work for you? ~Jessie & Neil

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      • hey guys I’ll be back by 6:00 if you are free anytime after that for a glass of wine. Karen and Jim who just sailed their Dana 24 to to new Zealand are also in the harbor and we were going to pop by and visit them around 8:00 you are welcome to stop by with us they have a Green hull Dana on H dock 🙂

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    • We have been out to the San Juan Islands in charter boats and we are purchasing our 1st sailboat so are looking at poking around the South Sound for now since that’s where the boat is. Are you two heading out to the big blue ocean soon? You have a destination in mind?

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      • Awesome, CONGRATS! We never spent much time in the South Sound. We’ve only gone as far as Gig Harbor, a place we adore. We are heading out soon, 27 days, to be exact! Check out our post titled, “Ready, set, sail: Countdown to cruising” (it’s one of the links found in the rotating photo bar)…it details our plans 🙂 ~Jessie

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  8. Hi Jessie and Neil,

    It was great seeing you tonight. I hope to see you again this weekend but, if I don’t, I wish you both the best trip. I envy you for it. Enjoy every minute of your time on the sea, the good days and the bad days. You will have a few bad days, that’s for sure, but when you are on rolling seas, head down on the bilge, cursing while you try to reconnect something, remember me and imagine me saying: I’d rather be there with you two on a bad day on the boat, than in a good day in my office.

    May the good days be many, many, many more than the not-so-good 🙂

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    • Dear Juan,

      We have so enjoyed having your as our neighbor these last two years. We respect you, enjoy your company, and wish you were with us to share in this leg of the journey. We can’t wait to have you aboard down the road…

      Thank you for your good wishes and reminders of things that we will carry with us during the difficult moments.

      With love,
      Jessie & Neil

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  10. Hey Neil and Jessie – Elizabeth and I are sitting on an airplane on our final relocation flight to NY City. Great to see you this past week and to celebrate your big, upcoming journey last Friday night. Best of luck getting underway and can’t wait for the regular updates as you make your way to the land of Oz! May the winds always fill your sails! Talk again soon

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    • There is a great deal of movement, literally and figuratively, in all of our lives right now, eh? We are really glad that we had the opportunity to get to know you two and wish you the best on the next phase of your life adventure. Keep in touch! ~Jessie

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  11. I found your blog through Take To The Sea (the blog of our own cruising kids). I am amazed at the support you cruisers all have for each other–though it seems we need a support group for parents of cruisers! Knowing our kids have a DeLorme tracker and emergency communication system has really helped us to deal with the stress of parenting cruisers. If you don’t have one, it is a great gift of peace of mind to give your parents. As you work your way down the coast, if you find yourselves in need of help anywhere near Newport, OR we are just an hour away and happy to help in any way. Good Luck on your adventure!

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    • Linda, we love reading your cruising kids’ blog! I actually think have a parent support group is a good one! I’m sure both of our mothers would agree. My mom vacillates between pride of having raised an independent child and secret wishes that I be not quite so adventurous. I can imagine Neil’s mom feels similarly. We made it safely to San Francisco this morning. We had a wonderful ride and made no stops, with the exception of a brief overnight anchorage to wait for proper tides to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge. Thank you for your kind offer, should we have needed assistance in Oregon. Cheers, Jessie

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    • Mike & Michelle,

      So good to see you both as well! There are always silver linings, even in the saddest of circumstances. In this instance, reconnecting family was certainly the most special. We’re excited to follow along with the antics of your herd of hooligans!

      Be well,
      J+N

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  14. Neil & Jesse,
    Your blogs are wonderful…so well written and interesting! We were very sorry to read about your dad. We’ve both gone through it and there just is nothing easy about it. time will dull the pain of loss while your memories will always celebrate his life and bring comfort.

    We are now situated in La Quinta for the winter, and are enjoying it very much already, though none more so than Hank, whom we cannot keep out of the swimming pool!

    Continued safe travels, our friends!
    Kecia & Marc

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    • Kecia & Mark,
      Thank you so much for that compliment! It really is a blast to write about our journey…the places, moments, and people. Thank you also for the kind words about Neil’s father. Our hearts are heavy with missing him, but there is truly something healing about the sea.

      I can imagine that Hank is keeping you on your toes…such a great dog! We hope to see you two again down the road, ideally somewhere sunny and with a big pot of crabs!

      Lots of love,
      Jessie & Neil

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  15. Greeting from the crew of Rinpoche! Megan and I heard of your plans when we were anchored beside you at Poulsbo on July 3 this year. We’ve often wondered how you were doing, so this morning I checked with Google, and there you are! Now that we know about your blog, we’ll be following your adventures.

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  16. LOVE reading your posts!! Neil, you really got me with “one day I’d sail right by there” -and Jessie got a pic to go with! So touching. I think “Three For All” and “Ale ‘er Ron” had to carry all of C dock in the holiday lighting contest 🙂 We miss you at EBM!! Safe travels!!

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    • So glad you like ’em, Lori! It’s a special (at times inspiring, at times stressful) time in our life, no doubt! Glad those two carried C-dock…damn those D-dockers and their exceedingly festive spirit!!! We miss you… ~J+N

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  17. Hey guys. Ken from Seattle West Marine. After playing fix up a boat with ya’ll, it’s awesome to watch you fly. You are about into my old play ground of Costa Rica. Hope you like it, but the tourist industry is eating it up. Here’s to fair winds and another awe inspiring vista. I’m redoing a 35′ ketch to make Hawaii in 2 or 3 years … Then you can read my adventure. I’m enjoying yours and am only a little jealous.

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    • Hey Ken! Great to hear from you!! The tourist industry definitely has a stronghold in Costa Rica. As a result, prices are high; comparable to the US. Keep us posted as you ready yourself to go. We’ll definitely be following along! J+N

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  18. Jessie and Neil:

    My wife, Linda, and I have only recently discovered your blog but we have enjoyed “catching up” with you on your great adventure. One of the things that lead us to your blog is that we have had the Catalina Morgan 440 on our short list of retirement boats for some time. We’ve been sailing for 20+ years, have owned a Catalina 30 for 12 years, and have completed an offshore trip with a friend from Norfolk to St. Thomas on his IP 465. We’ve also chartered many times in the Caribbean and Greece. We are very interested in your assessment of the CM 440. Our sailing agenda will be to spend a couple of seasons in the Caribbean and then head to the Pacific and the coconut milk run. In all probability we would try to sell the boat in Australia or New Zealand.

    We’ve recently looked at a CM 440 that appears to be a good buy. I don’t know the type of generator or watermaker aboard The Red Thread, but this boat has a Fisher Panda 8kw generator and a Sea Recovery watermaker, both of which get mediocre reviews. Realizing that installed boat systems differ greatly, I understand your experiences may not be directly relevant. We would still value your opinions on these and other boat systems onboard The Red Thread. My biggest question as mentioned before is: what is your overall assessment of the CM 440 as a blue water cruising boat? Any thoughts you have about the boat itself, the installed systems, things you have you wish you didn’t have or things you wish you did have, or would change etc., would give us guidance. We value your opinions, whatever they might be.

    Be safe out there.

    Thanks,

    Jim and Linda Woodall
    s/v Kanaloa C30
    Oriental, NC

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    • Hi Jim & Linda!

      Thanks for reaching out. The long and short is that The Red Thread has been a phenomenal cruising vessel for us! We’re hard pressed to imagine a boat we would’ve preferred over her. We’d enjoy talking more about this with you, if it would be helpful. Send us an email (sv.theredthread@gmail.com), and we can talk specifics there or arrange a time to Skype or talk via phone.

      That said, the prior owners had a generator aboard, but it was removed by the time we bought her. We have a Honda 2000i “suitcase” generator, which has served our purposes well, and a Spectra watermaker that produces 12 gallons/hour.

      Cheers,
      Jessie & Neil

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  19. Dear Jess and Neil,

    With a positive spirit and positive outlook, I share the following news with you and your network of friends, family, and fellow sailors. I had always known that through your network I would be able to promote the service our marina would offer, now I’m hoping to spread the word looking for a helping hand in the sale of the project.
    During this final stage of completion of the Velazul project, now at about 95% completion, unexpected irreconcilable differences have caused our partnership to run aground. With a clear objective, the partners met three weeks ago and in a formal gathering agreed to sell 100% of the shares. Now legally a sale can take place without delay.
    We just had renewed for a 2-year period of the Salvadoran environmental permits to complete the last installation of the remaining floating docks. The work needed to complete the 15 slips can be done in 3 months, during this dry season.
    I have a data sheet with some basic technical information that may be helpful in promoting the sale of the marina, so please send me an e-mail address where I can send this data. Any buyer buyer would get detailed plans, and technical data from me to complete the project.
    I ask you today to spread the good word and help me find an interested buyer, or buyers. The partnership has agreed to sell all shares at $3,750,000, which includes a 5% commission for any intermediary who helps find a buyer and close the sale.

    Keep in touch with me via this e-mail, I’m right now in Miami, with family. My great friend and partner Sam Hawkins is in San Salvador and can act as host to an interested buyer.
    Keep in touch,
    Giovanni

    The best way to see the work completed is on the web site: http://www.velazul.com

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    • Dear Giovanni,

      We will email you privately as well, but we do not know anyone in our network who is interesting in purchasing a marina at this time. We wish you well as you work to sell the project! Be well.

      Kindly,
      Jessie & Neil

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  20. Hello: We, my wife and I, have an Aphrodite 101 sloop, Averisera, which we cruise and race around New England. She is a stunning boat and great sailor. We find the short headroom, 4.5 ft, to be a bit difficult these days. Even so, I can hardly imagine parting with her.

    I read a lot of cruising blogs. When I was young, my parents took the family cruising for two years. Cape Cod to the Bahamas and South Florida where we settled. There were no blogs then though we have mom’s notes. Modern cruisers allow me to share the adventure. Thanks everyone!

    Long time sailor and long time sailing instructor. Now retired and making plans to sail for my own pleasure. We blog at http://www.averisera.com.

    Norm

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  21. You wrote a great blog on the Galapagos! It is very informative and I just wanted to say thank you! Can you tell me where you checked in and got Fumigated – was that all done on Isla Cristobal with your agent? We will be transiting the canal early March, visiting several sets of islands and then going to Ecuador before we head to Galapagos. Just wondering where we meet Bolivier and do the clearance and fumigation as we don’t want to do the “fake” way. Great blog!

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    • Hi Christine!

      Sorry for the delay on this reply and so glad to hear you found the blog useful! Yes, we cleared in at Isla San Cristobal with Bolivar. Everything was managed when we arrived. Bolivar knew we were coming, so by the time we had our anchor set, word had already spread across the anchorage and into town that we had arrived. He showed up at our boat a couple hours later. It was all quite smooth!! We loved the Galapagos and spent 23 days there. Check out our other blogs for some ideas about some really fun things to do on each island (click Galapagos on the location sidebar to see all relevant content). Be ready to haul in tuna on the passage, too. Ooh, I’m envious. How I would LOVE to be on the brink of beginning our Pacific crossing once again.

      With kind wishes,
      Jessie

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