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| Photo from Left to right Emily, Katie, Harper, David |
Many years ago while commissioning a boat for a double-handed Trans Pac race berthed on via Lido Isle Soud a college kid was teaching sailing at the Lido Isle Yacht Club and would stop by each day aboard his coaching boat, say hello, and ask how are things going. There was some kind of trust between us and who could not trust a person wearing a Ryen Sponner shirt every day? Time goes on and we always take an extra moment when crossing tacks with each other to ask how are you doing. The other day an Instagram post popped up on my Facebook page with Katie and David Levy with their two girls Emily, 12 years old, and Harper, 9 years old, pushing off the dock in this year’s Baja Ha-Ha cruiser rally down the coast of Baja Mexico. I immediately became envious of the Levy family that they are doing this, and wondered how far they would be going. Just then I received a text from David “ Morning Len, we started our cruise and Katie has been posting on Instagram. I thought I would share our adventures with you! I replied how envious I was and what a perfect time of life to take such an adventure. I then asked how long are you planning on staying in Mexico or is this an extended cruise? His reply was “ Hey Len, The current plan is to take off for a couple of years.” I thought to myself what a great story and David agreed to an interview.
The Levy’s own a 44’ CSY cruising sailboat by the name of “StarGazer”, and have owned her over the last 15 years. Back in 2011 Katie and David participated in the Baja-Ha-Ha and cruised parts of the Sea of Cortez at that time they thought how wonderful it would be to return with some kids. On their return home they got to work and had Emily in 2012 and Harper in 2015 with that part of the task completed they focused on getting the boat ready. Over the last six years, they completed a major refit to the boat “ I touched every inch or millimeter of the boat during the refit. We replaced the chain plates from internal to external chain plates and oversized them, they are extremely beefy, we replaced the teak cap rail on the bow glassed over the deck to hull joint, and an aluminum toe rail was added. Replaced all the stainless steel on the boat, all the handrails our new with solid handrails all away around the boat, a hard dodger which is fully enclosed. I completely re-wired the boat to ABYC standards, an added 120V AC system, inverter, 720 Watts solar panels. I re-plumbed the boat, replaced countertops and fixtures. I installed an Electromaax water maker that can produce 7-8 gallons of water per hour very efficiently with the least amount of draw from the batteries.” David said. During his spare time David became an ABYC certified adviser electrician, he then took the job as the Western Regional OEM Sales Manager for the NAVCO group and represented about 20 brands.” David said.
The Levy’s also added a fully enclosed dodger around the cockpit along with a complete set of electronics from and added 120V AC system, inverter, 720 Watts solar panels.
Starlink satellite communications, AIS system, Garmin “inreach” which will allow you to obtain texts, and weather. B&G sailing instruments from chart plotter to autopilot. When David was going over all the electronics most of it was flying way over my head. He did post an Instagram going over most of what he told me and Yes I would want everything he has done with the boat. Not only did he touch every base he did it right with the best equipment available at this time. We also talked about communications and the Starlink satellite system which is all new to me and I have only been retired from offshore racing since 2021. “Starlink is differently a game changer, Katie is still able to work remotely, and the kids are able to complete part of their homeschooling through Zoom and Teams calls. Within 12 miles from shore we have unlimited data which is less than your monthly cell service. “We would not have been able to do what we wanted done without Starlink right now,” David said.
I asked David what are their planned designations and if he is looking forward to one spot. “It felt great to get off the dock and sail past the Coronado Islands, after committing to this lifestyle change, renting our house, selling our cars, leaving work, “sailing into Mexican water was a pretty big milestone for us. For now, the tentative plan is to cruise the Sea of Cortez for the next few weeks, then head to the mainland over to Mazatlan, LaCruz, Banderas Bay, and PV or as far south as Barra de Navidad with the plans of heading North up the Sea of Cortez in the spring and maybe heading to Panama in the summer. From where we are headed next we will have to wait and see. We just want to go out and explore, for us it’s really about spending more time with the family and getting these experiences for our kids. David said
You can follow the Levey family on Instagram under “Stargazer”. I picked up on a great quote from David. When explaining the electronics and how data is transmitted and received he said
“It’s a boat they go in waves”.
Sea ya
