Believe it or not, we’re still here. Not “here”, as in”on the boat”, but here as in still alive, still kicking, still working toward getting back to cruising.

The current plan (written in the sand at low tide, as they say) is a return to the boat in Florida in January, 2020, get her back in shape (we’re mighty worried about what two summers in the Florida sun may have done to her), and get her launched, then begin moving her – and us – back to Maine.

It seems unlikely that we’ll be able to make it to the Bahamas this time around, and the way things are shaping up in those islands, we may have missed our chance entirely. Fees are multiplying, anchorages are disappearing, Disney is buying up entire islands, and the whole country is sounding way too much like south Florida all the sudden.

In any case, the little house is taking all our energy, time and money for the rest of the summer, and then – with luck – we’ll at least get a chance for some extended boat time while we bring her back to the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world; The Penobscot Bay.

In other boat news, I (Keith) did manage to hitch a ride on one – as crew aboard a friend’s boat headed for Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was my longest passage to date – 46 hours underway from Rockland Maine to Lunenburg, NS – and then an additional 10 hours the next day over to Halifax.

On that trip I learned that the Atlantic Ocean is COLD, even in July; that having an autopilot aboard a sailing vessel is a total game changer when doing overnights, and that Nova Scotia may be the most beautiful, friendliest place in the known universe.

I’d go back in a heartbeat. Next time with Nicki, and on our own boat.

That’s called “foreshadowing”.

Stay tuned!

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