So, here we are in Penobscot Bay, Maine. It’s been a long arduous summer but now we’re cool and comfortable. First, let me bring you up to speed on all the excitement. I finally found a surgeon (after trying Richmond and Easton) in Des Moines who would attempt to repair my poor little finger. Dr. Gaffey put in a couple of pins complimented himself (rightfully), and sent me on my way. One month later, pins out, finger healing. One month later, all is fully functional. Dr. G and his staff were wonderful and especially entertaining. You are welcome aboard any time Doc.

In the meantime, we participated in my sister Julie’s wedding to her long-patient beau, John Taylor. It was a multi-day affair with dinners and parties and even a wedding. I was allowed to say a few words of advice and we had cake. Lots of cake. Julie had asked a few people to contribute cakes to the wedding; we ended up with 18 or 19 of them. It was a real treat. The weather even cooperated since it was at the rose garden at the Art Center. A beautiful day, I’m glad we were able to attend.

Meanwhile, My father and I did some tune-up work on our Triumph TR-3 so we had a car to drive while we were in town. When my sister Denise returned to Australia we took over the TR-6, it’s just a smoother ride.

We also undertook construction projects in the shop to take back to the boat. Grates for the garage (aft lazarette) and engine room, a cribbage table for the cockpit, and other assorted bits, pieces and welding projects. Our luggage was quite interesting to see when we got to the airport.

Back at Oxford, our new set of sails arrived. Main, jib and staysail, all radially cut by North Sails, look and set beautifully. Our new A/C unit also arrived. Before we left for Iowa I had taken out the old chillers, so the new unit only took me a few hours to install and get operational. We haven’t used it yet. The Max-Prop, which we had sent to California for a rebuild, arrived just in time for our return, and the crew at OBY got it installed and Tristan put the boat in the water so we didn’t have to spend another night at the inn. We had put a coat of paint on the bottom before leaving and Norm polished the hull and put a super shiny product on and it looks great. We’ll see how it lasts and let you know if we recommend it. I’m also using the new IMAC Nancy ordered for the boat, with the new WIFI booster she had me install. We did a bit of canvas work, making rain screens to connect the Bimini to the doghouse and hit the road.

We sailed up the Bay and through the C and D canal, down the Delaware Bay and around Cape May to Block Island. The less said about that transit the better. Calm and BORING!

Ah, but Block Island. We like that spot a lot. Nice anchorage, pleasant walking, and killer donuts! We picked up our friend Rick to sail with us the rest of the way to Maine. We arrived in Tenants Harbor 19 years to the week since our last trip up here. We spent a few days in Rockland, where we met up with Allan Pressman, who was the broker for Zephyr 5 years ago. We shared a few tales and then had a great sail up to Camden, home of so many beautiful schooners. Rick, unfortunately, left us here; the old taking son back to college commitment. So, here we sit, doing laundry, waiting for the rain and fog to lift. Then off to Pulpit Harbor for a couple of relaxing days.

If you’ve been checking in occasionally for updates and getting frustrated that I am so delinquent, we have a solution: Go to the bottom of the home page and subscribe! The only thing that will happen is you will get a notification when we post a new, uh, post. Thanks for sticking in there. Oh, if you think you’d like to come sail with us just drop us a line, we’re glad for the company.