AT WITTS END

Traveling with Witts End

Paul and Michelle Witt and don’t forget Luna, our boat cat!

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We are a couple that set out to realize our dream of living on a boat. We sold our home, most of our “stuff”, rented a small storage unit and left port on our Kadey Krogen 44 trawler and our cat, Luna. Join our adventure here with our blog.

  • “THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING BROKEN ON A BOAT. YOU JUST HAVEN’T FOUND IT YET”

    We love that quote and it proves to be true over and over again.

    Here’s Witts End getting hauled out for a bottom cleaning and some projects. November 2025

    Witts End being lifted out of the water for bottom cleaning and maintenance at Hinkley’s Yacht Services in Thunderbolt, Georgia.

    Heading south, we realize that due to weather conditions, we really don’t wish to cross over to the Bahamas before late March or Early April. This gives us an opportunity to catch up on a few things and finishing some outstanding projects. For November, we find ourselves at Hinkley’s Yacht Services in Thunderbolt Georgia which is not far from Savannah.

    On our list of To-Do’s are some cushion work for the salon and pilot house, finish installing our water maker and repair some varnish on our cap rails.

    We love our cap rails and how they look. Keeping them up takes a lot of hard work and love. Some have opted to paint them but in our view, nothing looks better than fresh varnish. What do you think?

    Watermaker Control Box
    Watermaker Membranes
    Salon Cushions
    Varnished Caprail
    Luna!
    Varnish Caprail

    While the boat is out for repairs, it’s time to start planning our departure and where we will end up. We have a slip reserved in St. Augustine Florida for a week in December and the question will be……Do we take the Intercoastal Waterway or do we go on the outside and do an overnight passage. We love both options and in reality it will be the weather that determines what we do. This time we have some friends joining us so we hope to show them a bit of the boat life that we have come to love so much.

    Wouldn’t you know it, the weather from Savannah to Fernandina Beach just didn’t cooperate with cold, wind and rain for our friends trip with us. I guess we did show them the other side of boat life. It’s not always white sand and clear water and Mother Nature will always show you who runs things.

    Here’s Luna in Savannah wondering when we are getting off the dock
    “Dad……Let’s go!”
    Here we are in Fernandina Beach

    That’s a wrap for November. Join us on our next trip to beautiful St. Augustine Florida.

  • What could you do less of?

    Worry

  • Living Aboard Our Kadey Krogen 44: A Dream Realized and a 3400 Mile Journey

    In 2024 Michelle and I began to realize our dream of living aboard a boat. Late in the year we were able to sell our current boat (we loved her, she just wasn’t big enough to live full time on) and magically we came across a Kadey Krogen 44 that was about to hit the market. It seemed the stars were aligning for us.

    Buying a boat is no easy task and it’s much like buying a home. First you have to find a boat that fits your needs, next it has to go through a pre purchase inspection and a sea trial. Just like a home, you come up with a list of items that need to be fixed or negotiated. This boat was in fantastic condition and with the help of our broker, Mark Pittman, she became ours. It wasn’t long before we changed her name from Magic Moments, to Witts End.

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    Starting in November of 2024, we began our journey south from Baltimore Maryland to somewhere. We had ideas of going to the Bahamas, but at that time we didn’t know exactly if that would come to fruition or not. She was a new boat to us and it took some time before we got comfortable and understood how she handles.

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    By Christmas time, we were on a mooring ball in St. Augustine Florida enjoying the decorations and the beautiful city. This time though, we had a new member to family. Enter Luna, who is a Lynx Point Siamese. She became our boat cat and trusted companion.

    After the New Year we began to settle in to the boat life and made our plans to travel to the Bahamas. We made our way south to Palm Beach and anchored in Lake Worth to wait out the weather and hope for a nice crossing day. Over a week passed but it finally opened up and we went for it.

    We had a wonderful time exploring the Abacos. Time seemed to slow down a bit and we managed to explore many wonderful anchorages and marinas. We dodged some strong storms, and became even more comfortable with our boat.

    After crossing back to the U.S. we began our trip north again. The plan is to be in the north during hurricane season and south for the winter………Always Chasing 80 Degrees!

    We made our way up the Intracostal Waterway to the Chesapeake Bay where we would spend the summer at a marina just north of Baltimore in a town called Middle River.

    Summer was spent getting some boat projects done like new carpet, recliners, some decorations and many other things. We did get out and enjoy a few new anchorages but not as many as we would have liked.

    Then the big change! We sold our home in South Carolina and became full time cruisers. We spent the first part of October in Solomons Maryland and attended the Kadey Krogen Rendezvous with 34 other Kadey Krogens. A good time was had by all and then we once again headed south. Currently we are in Savannah Georgia and the boat will stay there until after Thanksgiving.

    Stay tuned for our next adventure beginning in December.

  • Epic 30-Hour Boat Journey from Southport to Savannah

    We began our long overnight journey from Southport NC to Savannah GA at 7am.

    Final check of the weather, Engine checks done and we casted off our lines. Rounding the corner to the inlet provided a beautiful sunrise over Bald Head Island Light House.

    Luna quickly settled into her spot for the day. As soon as the engines start, she will run up to the pilot house and take over the pilot seat. It’s tough to move her, as you can tell.

    30 hours is a long time so Michelle and I try and find a schedule so we can split up the evening shifts. As you can see, Luna tries too.

    As evening started to set in, we had some visitors arrive on the port side. They tried to sneak up behind me but I caught them on the radar and AIS. The Coast Guard was great and the guys that came aboard were friendly and polite. I had to laugh when Michelle told them as they were boarding, “Please take your shoes off before coming inside.” I could hear them laugh a bit but they did exactly what she asked. They checked to make sure we had all our boat documentation in order and all our safety gear was on board. We passed with flying colors and they waved goodby as they departed.

    It wasn’t long after the “Coasties” departed that the sun started to set and we settled in for the night. The weather was great all day long but the waves kicked up a bit after sunset. Nothing bad, just a little more bumpy. As always, our beautiful Kadey Krogen can handle more than her passengers can and we are very thankful for that.

    30 hours later we tied up in Thunderbolt Georgia where we will keep the boat until after Thanksgiving. 205 miles and averaged 6.9 knots. Not too bad!

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