Sailing to the Dry Tortugas on a Catalina 22

This was one of our longest-awaited "bucket list" cruises: Marco Island, FL to the Dry Tortugas! We waited five years to get the right weather window, and still it was marginal! It took 26 hours to get there, and 30 hours to get back. We celebrated New Year's at midnight on the return trip. Thanks for watching, hope you enjoy the video!

[@markleyg]

Had a Catalina 22 for 11 years. Took it up and down the coast of California , as much as 50 miles off shore and trailed it to Mexico and many lakes inland. Loved the simplicity and flexibility of that boat.

[@sneady2u]

Sailing Daydream, you guys are a inspiration to me and a wonderful couple who obviously enjoy each other very much. The POS's that have to point out the size of your boat like you aren't aware of it, and posting how they wouldn't do it makes me sick! You know what....do it again and keep loving each other and sailing.

[@geneneill530]

No worries Carl, I don't think anybody has meant any comment in a bad way. I read them all and I appreciate them all. Great bunch of people here! :)

[@jolanni7]

Loved it the first time, and enjoying the hell out of it now again. And, I love the boat.

[@davidandkarenmyers]

What a great video share. Thanks for doing it. I’ve enjoyed all of them you’ve posted. Please keep them coming for all of your adventures.

[@lawrencepearson4362]

What a fantastic video, you have the right attitude to sailing, relaxed. Beautiful scenery most of all it was obvious you enjoyed yourselves. Cant wait for the next video.

[@oday3514]

Thanks for taking us along! Your Catalina 22 looks impeccable!!

[@tonycollins5890]

The little Cat 22 that could and DID. Great job Capt. and his first mate.

[@geneneill530]

Thanks Tony, very nice of you. Much appreciated.

[@jaymorgan8017]

I love how you crack yourself up. Got here cuz I have same boat. An 87 with swing keel. Party On !!!!

[@geneneill530]

Cheers brother, you got a damn fine boat!

[@steveburg5273]

Love our videos. Really love your boat. Please keep sharing your adventures.

[@LydieBaillie]

Wow, that's awesome that you sailed your Catalina 22 to the Tortugas!

[@tommycheshire5508]

Congratulations! A dream come true. You are a lucky couple.

[@BenzieGOP]

Nice video, thanks for sharing! Congratulations on the successful and fun trip.

[@DaveDude]

Great video! It was interesting to watch as you had a good narrative. Happy that you could do it

[@cnc75adventures49]

I watch to the end good video nice sail great adventure thanks for sharing 👍👍

[@cindyreid6404]

Awesome adventure, great job!

[@scdevon]

That's a great sail. It's nice to see you kind of push the upper comfort limits of a daysailer / weekender boat like this.

[@Kristian_Saile]

Thanks as always for making these videos. Great inspiration, makes me miss our ol C22. Well done crossing!

[@mrzif0013]

what a find for me. great video and info. and i did watch it till the end. good job!

[@reallyhappenings5597]

you have a great spirit friend

[@popsboatsnhotrods]

Great video, thanks for making great videos and kudos to you both !

[@yru435]

All that on an easily trailered sailboat. That is great. Nice trip, thanks for sharing.

[@michaeldautry]

I really enjoyed this, thank you for sharing with us!

[@martinmcquaide4807]

Good job and a good boat, cat 22's are awesome!

[@SailBeforeSunset]

Great vid! Thanks for taking us along.

[@vjw48sav]

Enjoyed your passage. We've sailed a 1982 or '84 Catalina 22 for the past 10 years in the Perdido Bay area of coastal Alabama. Wonderful sailboat. May 2018 I was one of three sailors on a 1964 35' Pearson Alberg participating in the Regata Al Sol, Pensacola Bay to Isla Mujeres. 3rd day out we ran into 30 hours of 25-30 knot winds w/ seas running 6-8 feet. We double reefed the main and kept sailing. You did a good job managing your boat.

[@geneneill530]

Thank you, Jay! I would sure hate to encounter those conditions on a C22. The wind is one thing, but 6-8' seas are another thing entirely. I would certainly hope it was coming from astern! Fair winds my friend ...

[@livetroy]

Nice sail! Thanks for sharing

[@donaldl.blandjr.6442]

You made a real good video ! Great family boat fun together! Kudos kiddos !

[@walkertongdee]

Catalina 22 great boat classic my friend had one good sailing!

[@kansasfox]

Amazing!! Great video! Thank you

[@toddstidham8374]

Awesome video and thanks for sharing! I loved the Catalina 22 I co-owned with a friend. Great little boats that people under estimate all the time.

[@captainsteve5475]

You got a killer laugh.👍

[@geneneill530]

Hahahaha!! (thanks Steve!)

[@MrMuppetbaby]

What a great video on your little boat. You have a slightly nervous laugh that makes me well nervous.... Love the boat, I think I would like one like it. Thanks!

[@buckwhidden1]

Great video! Good for you to take a trip that far. The water looks awesome.

[@wes326]

Sounds like a dream trip. Thanks for sharing.

[@BigPlanetMedia]

your giving me hope... love it

[@markdavis7645]

Love this video! :) thank you for filming and sharing the trip with the world! I just bought a spindrift 22!

[@Bierdaddy1]

Great way to spend New Year's! Pesky planes. Lol. Thanks for the journey!

[@DD-gd3fr]

Congrats guys great Sailors you are. The little 22 cat that could!!

[@michaeljosefowitz5960]

Like your video ,thinking of getting a 22 or 25 ft sailboat,you both look like you enjoy sailing and being with each other,very refreshing.

[@RSPiqua2007]

Wow! I really enjoyed watching this! --- something I would love to do! I have a Cat 22 also.

[@Hindukushsailing]

Watched till the end that was awesome!!

[@beardedbiker333]

Wow, you did that in a 22 foot Catalina. Thanks for the video friend.

[@alanmorris7634]

Great trip and video. Contemplating purchasing a 22 so it was interesting to watch.

[@txhypnotist]

Glad you let me ride along... All my gear is still dry. Yay. ha ha ha, as you say.

[@paradisefilms3355]

I watched to the end of the video. Good stuff!

[@rrrobeltnest7295]

thanks for the trip to the fort and back

[@SP-kx3xm]

Fun video! Thanks for posting!

[@bellathewonderdog4302]

Awesome adventure. Good video. Those 22's rule. seriously.

[@jparks4815]

Great video - thanks for sharing!!

[@dpsrmag]

I enjoyed uour video. You both did a good job. You make a good team.

[@nonames1957]

Congratulations!

[@CheersWarren]

Great trip guys, thanks for posting , trailering tooI, gluten for punishment ! Twice a year is quite enough for me. Cheers Warren

[@tobinkoch4064]

Fantastic video, I feel like I am on vacation watching it. I hope to make that same trip eventually. Thank You.

[@geneneill530]

Thank you, Tobin!

[@CaptainJohnmaddux]

Love this great video thanks I making our lives better and God bless

[@JoshJX]

You guys need to keep pumping out content if you can. Your experiences are unique, and deserve to be vlogged!

[@edmilsonsilva7283]

I agree with you Sir., they making sailing available for any kind of budget.

[@arthurcayer6630]

Cool. Love your spirit.

[@billriley3535]

Great to see more of what a little C22 can do. New lesson here, watch out for aircraft. Nice to learn from other people's experiences.

[@luisitoesquivel5091]

Bravo! I have a Catalina 22. Muy lindo viaje. Gracias

[@dougfairweather]

Thanks for the vid... Took me back to the '80s when my Father used to take me sailing in a Catalina(Boomaroo in Australia) 25. I don't think that extra 3 feet would have made much of a different!

[@The1stGurehaundo]

Looking at the Eeyore hat: -"Aww, adorable!" Looking at the blanket, shoes, jackets: -"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

[@paulwright7239]

You guys are awesome sailors, and what incredible inspiration for the 2019 sailing season! I know you had been trying to make that trip, and I salute your patience and wisdom in waiting for the right conditions. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment evident on your faces - that's a long way in a 22' sloop! As another C22 owner, it's really cool to see how well these boats can handle coastal/offshore conditions in the hands of competent crew. Thanks again for sharing your trip and CONGRATULATIONS! -- Paul (Igetit80 from the SBO Forums)

[@geneneill530]

Thank you for the kind words, Paul! Happy New Year!!

[@bobn1378]

That was a great video.

[@sarahthompson5518]

What a nice vessel and an enjoyable trip. I've visited Fort Sumter with my future husband many years ago now and those old forts really are impressive.

[@jayfromboston]

You guys are awesome.

[@kentmerrill8925]

What a good trip. Hope you have a good trip

[@gerbrandhakvoort1174]

Dude that fish is as big as your dinghy wow man

[@cmeek65]

"I don't want anyone to laugh" ***Proceeds to nervous laugh***

[@bellathewonderdog4302]

YUPH south florida is part of the thorny path. Great cruise. I hope you have a lot more

[@jamesgraves6567]

man ive watched this three times you both are great.. its on my bucket list and I live in AZ. thanks...

[@Slumberjacksix]

Great vid. Well done.

[@roadboat9216]

Hey great job. Back when I was making ocean passages in my 25’ outboard powered sailboat, we didn’t have GPS, plotters and the incredible weather apps and info that there is today. Not to mention things like solar panels and small autopilots. You just did your best guess, listened to the very poor weather forecast available took off and prayed. Ha ha. But these things make is so much more feasible and safe to make passages like this in smaller daysail type boats. Well done!

[@babypigmotor]

What a wonderful video ! I am a inspiring wanna be ! Right now enjoying the RV life on land but hoping someday to hit the Great Lakes !

[@mvserenity9331]

Fantastic! I am a couple weeks from the Dry Tortugas myself.

[@willfriar8054]

BRING BUDWISER TRADE FOR SHRIMP AND FISH IF YOU GO BY BOAT TALK ON RADIO TO SHRIMPERS

[@algentry1]

I love all your videos.

[@thedrummersclub3667]

Thank you for sharing. Good information

[@krispress7824]

You sure have your boat in great shape

[@RustyBaban]

yes good job you 2 for living the dream ... i hope to make the trip some time on my 1987 moody 376

[@aerospot2]

Awesome adventure. I've been to the Keys many times, never to Ft Jefferson.

[@sailinslim402]

Great video Gene and Carlotta!! Thanks for taking all of us along with you again. I'll go ahead and put my vote in for the boat tour as well.

[@geneneill530]

LOL! Dang it Ken, we have the exact same boat!! hahaha

[@sailinslim402]

@@geneneill530 Lol!! Yes, but yours has different upgrades, styles and touches that mine doesn't and gets more miles under her keel in one day than mine sees in a year here lately.

[@geneneill530]

Okay, well, apologies in advance: I still haven't installed that beautiful custom made table you gave me. Turns out it is just a hair too wide to fit between the seats. I promise it will get done eventually!! :)

[@sailinslim402]

@@geneneill530 I'll be darned....it drops into place, right and tight on mine. I guess there are some differences between Daydream and my '86 model.

[@HinterlandSailing]

Great, thanks for sharing. Will subscribe.

[@klausjensen9150]

congrats , yup , watched it to the end .

[@JamesHoward-ee5kd]

Hey! I saw the Rolly Tasker Sail tag on the sail. I got one of those for my Spindrift 22 and love it. Glad I caught your video.

[@geneneill530]

They're great sails. We bought ours (main and working jib) from thesailwarehouse.com in late 2013. Our big red 180 Genoa is a Rolly Tasker also. All of them are doing great after seven years. :)

[@brocklanders6172]

Catalina 22 is a good, solid boat. I've sailed them back in the day on the Chesapeake.

[@bdwillis8284]

Fantastic!

[@sailingluana3037]

That's pretty awesome. I had my Catalina 22 in the keys for a year. I've never considered taking it to garden key.

[@howardbull9001]

I sail a Pandora 22 in Northern Ireland and it was interesting comparing your boat with mine. Great adventure.

[@natucaribe8917]

That was great!

[@SuperBullyone]

you really have this boat setup well. backstay adjuster, a kicking strap - boom vang, nice avon dingy!

[@robertlee8042]

Nice. I had a bigger boat. More than twice as big. You’ve got a perfect sized boat for what you’re doing.

[@sailawaybob]

Awesome cruise , of the two sailboats I've owned I've always regretted not buying a Catalina 22 in the first place.

[@symphonyfarm2009]

you guys have kahoo-nay's of steel!!!

[@geneneill530]

Haha, thanks, but I dunno about that! We pick weather windows like craven cowards! :)

[@neomaja3102]

Just awesomeness, so jelious

[@barrygascoyne8040]

I love this video!

[@lppools]

Loved the journey. you speak the little boat lingo

[@geneneill530]

Thanks LP, from a fellow pool professional. ;)

[@SBChannel688]

I learned a lot! Thanks!

[@trailtooth1447]

I love your videos! You have a great voice for narrating!

[@johnirby493]

The laugh is irritating.

[@hideawaysailing9078]

Great video

[@markleyg]

Brings back great memories of my Cat 22. Took that boat everywhere.

[@genedieken164]

So cute!

[@JustFlyIt09]

What a great video! Really enjoyed watching all of it. Guys...come though...you need to get a bigger boat for those kind of trips!😀 And...I envy your awesome trip!

[@geneneill530]

We're refitting a 27' Albin Vega in the driveway. Does 5' bigger count?? :)

[@JustFlyIt09]

Sounds better but I was thinking something between 30 - 35! Then again, my wife and I are timid sailors on the Chesapeake Bay.

[@TermiteUSA]

When I saw that seaplane for a second I thot "you found jimmybuffet!" Nice vid and trip. Very like the O'Day 22 we used to have on the Chesapeake.