Hello everyone, my name's Chase. I turn 35 in January. For a little more than the last decade, I've been a whitewater raft guide full-time during the summer months, in East Tennessee since 2020 but started in Richmond, VA on the James. I used to work in kitchens and a bakery outside of the busy season. Five years ago, I discovered ski instructing and would spend winters at the ski resort. I grew up in Chesapeake, VA, which the intercoastal waterway runs right through. I surfed a lot growing up but knew nothing about boats. I have had a passion and curiosity about sailing for as long as I remember; it just seemed like one of those things you are raised into, to me, I guess. When I was 24 or so, me and an ex-girlfriend took a local county parks and rec class on sailing, and I was really introduced to the idea of living on the water and on a sailboat and have been hooked since. I have been living in my Toyota Sienna since a bad breakup around the middle of summer. She is also a ski instructor and lives close to the resort I had been working at. Deciding to take a winter away to let the dust settle took me back to Richmond, VA. A buddy of mine had been asking me to go check on his sailboat that he had been too busy to get to out at Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Finally, after the 3rd or 4th time asking, he said, how about it's your boat now, and you need to go take care of her. The boat is a C&C 24 that is pretty solid. Surprisingly big down below for such a small boat and will be my first actual fixed keel boat. I owned a San Juan 21' with the ex from the sailing class, and we both used to crew on a Catalina 320 out of Deltaville.

So far, I am loving the life aboard. I'm asking for any help; there are many items the boat could use, but mainly it needs my time and elbow grease. I have added 300w of solar to her and added 2 AGM batteries; the house batteries it had were toast. It could definitely use a little more solar and a few more batteries, but I can keep a mini fridge and nav lights going from what I have. I just got a nice 11' inflatable dinghy for a great deal on Marketplace; just had to drive to the OBX to get it, and another buddy gave me a little outboard he had sitting around. Unfortunately, the motor is seized up, but I should be able to get it running eventually. The toll to get to the Eastern Shore is $16 one way, and there is not much going on here as far as employment. I primarily Instacart shop and DoorDash when not rafting or skiing, and that is not possible here. I have decided to move the boat to Norfolk and live on it at anchor. I'm asking for anything you may want to donate towards my cause and my journey of chasing my dreams and letting the boat teach me what I need to learn along the way. If I take care of it, it will take care of me, is how I see it. I plan to set sail for Norfolk tomorrow, December 3rd. After Norfolk, I plan to head up the James River to a couple of spots I know about from my Richmond paddling days. Any help is appreciated. If you are local and also live aboard, then I'd love to meet up and ask questions/not feel like the only one who is living on a boat in the Chesapeake Bay through winter.