Gaviidae Sails
Gaviidae Sails

Adventures of a Wandering Loon

Gaviidae Sails
Gaviidae Sails

Adventures of a Wandering Loon

Gaviidae Sails
Gaviidae Sails

Adventures of a Wandering Loon

Gaviidae Sails
Gaviidae Sails

Adventures of a Wandering Loon

Gaviidae Sails
Gaviidae Sails

Adventures of a Wandering Loon

Gaviidae Sails
Gaviidae Sails

Adventures of a Wandering Loon

Gaviidae Sails
Gaviidae Sails

Adventures of a Wandering Loon

Recent Posts

St. Lawrence Estuary – the Southern Shore
We departed Tadoussac on July 30th and crossed the St. Lawrence to the southern shore. Our friends Frank and Marie-Claude from SV Komeekha had left...
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The Saguenay
Please don’t call me Ishmael. This account does describe "sailing about a little and seeing the watery part of the world." And it involves a...
Read More "The Saguenay"

Dan’s Galley

Dan loves to cook and the galley or kitchen is his domain. When he has an idea for a particular dish, he will find numerous recipes and then merge them together. Of course he always adds his own twist as well.

Click on the wine bottles to see the complete recipe list.

 

Random Posts from the Past

Montreal, the Jazz Festival and Further Adventures East
We spent a couple of days in Montreal, right in the heart of the old city. We learned the Jazz Festival would be going on...
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Great Lakes Cruising Club 2016 Wilderness Rally
The Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC) holds several summer events for its members on the Great Lakes every year. The events include picnic gatherings, rallies...
Read More "Great Lakes Cruising Club 2016 Wilderness Rally"
Downbound and Outbound
Our journey downbound (or outbound) on the St Lawrence River continued as we ventured into unfamiliar waters. Leaving the comfort of the Thousand Islands, with...
Read More "Downbound and Outbound"
Standing Watch – Batchawana Bay to Sinclair Cove
While Dan is below trying to determine the model number for the engine thermostat (which has been reading 130 degrees rather than 180 for the...
Read More "Standing Watch – Batchawana Bay to Sinclair Cove"
Yikes – it’s a long ways up!
I've been saying for the past year that I needed to make a trip to the top of the mast. Well today was the day...
Read More "Yikes – it’s a long ways up!"
Houghton/Hancock Hospitality
With Bekkala Diesel working on Freelance, Dan and I turned our attention to our house batteries.  It would have been great to have Bekkala look at...
Read More "Houghton/Hancock Hospitality"

The Boat Kitty

Our boat kitty is subsidized in a very small part by our affiliate relationships with a number of vendors. When you go through our site to purchase an item, you may get a small discount and/or we may get a dollar or two dropped into our boat kitty by the vendor.

We do not have affiliate relationships for all of the items, some we have included because we have found their products exceptional. The items included are also not exclusive to life on the water – many work equally well in any home.

Click on the kitty to see our favorite items.

Our Journey into Housesitting

A number of years ago, I met a woman (Lisa) through the Facebook group Women who Sail and I followed some of her postings. Along the way she mentioned ‘housesitting’ and I asked her for more detail. Lisa supplied me with tons of information about her foray into housesitting including contacts, websites, and tips on getting started.

Realizing that we did not need to stay in one place during the non-sailing months opened up a huge number of possibilities for us. Equally important was the realization that we did not need to pay rent when we could travel and take care of people’s homes and pets. As the bean counter in the family the idea of taking those dollars designated for rent and putting them towards either travel expenses or boat improvements sounded like a win-win.

Housesitting Information

Required Skills
Both Dan and I had both grown up with an assortment of animals and we really missed having furry critters around. My experience covered dogs and horses but Dan had grown up on a ranch...
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Housesitting Resources
One of the most common questions we get asked is how we find the housesits. The simple answer is the Internet. There are numerous online services that you can join to either find housesits or look for a house sitter for your own place.
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Tips for Sitters
Housesitting Tips for Sitters (based on our experiences) We’ve learned a few things during our time as housesitters. We have compiled a list of things we wish we had known when we first started housesitting.
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Tips for Homeowners
We also get asked by homeowners what they can do to make their sit more appealing and how to make sure they get qualified sitters.
Read More "Tips for Homeowners"
House and Pet Sitting Locations
Here are the locations where we have been house and/or pet sitting. Locations with multiple icons in an area are repeat house sits.
Read More "House and Pet Sitting Locations"
Housesitting Profile
About Us My husband (Dan) and I are retired. In 2013 we sold our downtown Minneapolis condo and now spend our summers on our beautiful 41′ Gozzard sailboat. Currently we are sailing on the Great...
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Housesitting Posts

It Never Rains in Southern California
Got on board a westbound seven forty-seven may sound familiar to many but Dan was surprised that I knew the song – he figured I...
Read More "It Never Rains in Southern California"
Housesitting – Changing Course
My sister recently commented that Dan and I live a glamorous life. Yes, there are moments – quite a few actually. But there are also...
Read More "Housesitting – Changing Course"
Reflections of a Winter
I stepped outside with our two canine wards on their leashes. The smell of wood smoke wafted through the surrounding woods. While the convenience of...
Read More "Reflections of a Winter"
Housesitting – It’s a Wrap (and time to get ready for the sailing season)!
I am currently enjoying my morning coffee in an idyllic place near Roxbury CT. Again, our house and pet sitting adventures have taken us to...
Read More "Housesitting – It’s a Wrap (and time to get ready for the sailing season)!"

About Dan and Julie

We started our sailing journey very casually – Dan on a Sunfish and Julie on an O’Day Daysailor. A chance invitation from a co-worker to sail in the Virgin Islands got us both hooked and started us on a very different path for recreation and as a lifestyle.

2013 – Heading into Duluth on our G37

From that initial charter experience we both began to dream of a sailboat large enough to live on with a goal of getting to tropical waters. We did our research on boats, made a list of requirements (the must-haves vs. would-like-to-have). Our process led us to Gozzard Yachts but it was 2013 before we actually purchased one.

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Team Gaviidae

Daniel DeWeese
Captain, Galley Slave, Mechanic
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Julie Thorndycraft
Navigator, Chief Efficiency Officer
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