You can’t say that Bill Swezey and Sierra Growth, the cruising couple behind the popular Tula’s Endless Summer You Tube videos and blog, aren’t adaptable.
Indeed, a few years ago, they cruised up and down the East Coast and the Bahamas on a 34-foot Marine Trader trawler with their dog Jetty, living and working on board. Then they moved to a 40-foot Crowther Spindrift sailboat.
Now, they have it for sale and they’ve ordered a new Seawind catamaran. While they’re waiting for it to be built in Australia, they’re driving to the best cruising spots from Florida to New York on a camper, towing a new custom Highfield RIB, stopping when the spirit strikes to explore, go fishing, clamming (see the picture above), wakeboarding, or just having fun.
The new RIB is a Highfield Patrol 540 with an aluminum hull. It’s 17’ 9” long, and comes with a 100-hp Honda outboard. Most important to Bill and Sierra, it only weighs 1,700 pounds, including the motor, so it’s relatively easy to tow and launch. It has a Simrad plotter, a T-Top for some protection, a 24-degree deadrise for better handling in choppy water, and a 20- to 25-knot cruising speed. It’s large enough to hold 12 people, and it has a special seat for Jetty on the bow.
Bill and Sierra say they considered living in a house while they’re between boats, but then decided they wanted to keep traveling and to keep close to the water. So far they’ve been living in the camper and boating in the Highfield, realizing that they really aren’t between boats at all. You can follow them at http://tulasendlesssummer.com
