The last time I wrote was 21 Aug. from Gloucester. I departed there as planned the 22nd, arrived in Hingham, MA after another nice day of sailing, and went sailing with Nikki, Jeff and Denise the 23rd. Beautiful weather all around, and we had a near perfect day of sailing Saturday. Jeff is threatening to take up sailing. Denise, on the other hand, is wondering how he is going to fit that in between getting his pilot's license, a demanding job, and assorted duties related to raising 4 kids. I say GO FOR IT JEFF! ;-)

Had a great stay in Burlington and just returned to Kristinly late last night. The Hingham Yacht Club is a nice place, and they have even given me free mooring for as long I plan to stay for the duration, after paying for the first 10 days. Very nice folks. Their launch (like a taxi) only runs until 2100, and I just missed it last night as I had a flat tire on the car on the way down, and then proceeded to get lost down here - I know, surprise, surprise. I had left my land GPS on the boat when leaving for Burlington and did not see the need to go back and get it. Duh ... Anyway, the folks at the club were nice enough to lend me a rowing dinghy to get back to the boat in the dark.

The weather here is supposed to turn nasty Saturday night/Sunday morning with the passing of tropical storm Hanna. Planning to stay here on the mooring through Monday and depart for the cape Tuesday. That may be delayed to Wednesday or Thursday, as I am trying to make arrangements for the delivery of a new windlass, and it's arrival time is still up in the air. From the looks of the weather forecast, Thursday may be the better departure date anyway, so we'll see. Also have to see what Ike and Josephine have in store ...

By the way, while in VT, we did a few fun things like off-roading with a specially built Segway. What a blast. Only one serious crash on my part and Nikki wound up chasing hers down the hill once. But it was a really different experience. Robin at the International Sailing School in Colchester (where I was given some great formal instruction and am a past member of the club there) was gracious enough to let us take one of her Solings (a 27' pure racer) out for the afternoon, and the conditions were fantastic. There is nothing like having one of these very responsive and fast boats under your feet. If any of you folks ever consider taking up sailing, I strongly recommend finding a school such as Robin's in the beginning, and not attempt to do it on your own like I did. You will dramatically shorten the learning curve and save yourself a lot of headaches. And it is a lot safer. For those of you in her area, I highly recommend Robin and her talented instructors.

Also stopped in to see the great folks at the Moorings, where I had Kristinly in a slip last summer. Peter, Julie, Sean and Joe were there, and while we had hoped to get together for a few beers, that did not work out. Hopefully next time. Of course, I found time to see Kristin, Jenni and Matt - always a treat. Kristin and I spent the night at Jenni and Matt's and got them to stay up until 2130. WOOHOO! Lastly, we had to take the boys in to the groomer and basically have them shaved as they had acquired some bad tangles in their hair. Nikki is calling them the bobble head dogs, and the name fits.