ATTENTION: BAHATI is officially going "on the market" this week. You can check for listing Gulf of Maine Yacht Sales - www.gomys.com - 207 899-0909 - ask for John. There are not many Montes on the market and even fewer with the kind of upgrades and refits BAHATI has acquired over the last few [...]

years. For a truly dependable and remarkable high performance blue water vessel, contact us now. We'll be very sad to see her move on to another family but we are aware that we don't need a big bluewater boat now as we sail the Coast of Maineand environs. We'll be launching a Cape Dory 26 sometime later this summer and hope to get a few final weeks of cruising aboard beloved BAHATI before then! Please see the September 2011 issue of Ocean Navigator for an article and photos of our "lengthwise" Atlantic crossing. Our mate, Susan Hoff, graces the cover! You go girl! Our series of presentations about our trip continued at the Palegic Sailing Club in Dorchester, MA and at the Centerboard Yacht Club in So Portland, ME in March. If you or an organization you are connected with might like to host an event please let us know! Our Sailmail address has expired and we will not be renewing it, at least for the time being. If you want to contact us via e-mail please do so thru this blog or by using either my AOL or Gmail accts.... or Betsy's Yahoo acct. Tnx! BAHATI is still "on the hard" at Strouts Point Boatyard in So Freeport where she has received some long-awaited loving attention to her woodwork below decks. We "closed the loop" last March! After more than 4.5 years and 30,000nm sailing...from Maine to the Caribbean...from Panama to the Galapagos...from there to the Marquesas and French Polynesia, the Tuomotus, Cook Islands and Tonga and south to New Zealand.... north to New Caledonia and Vanuatu, then west to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef, thru the Torres Straits and on down to Bali, then up to Singapore, Malaysia, & Thailand and back down the Straits of Malacca to Bali again before crossing the Indian Ocean via Christmas Island, Cocos Keeling, Mauritius and Reunion Islands...on round the bottom of Madagascar and into Durban, So Africa! Thence round the southernmost African Cape Aghullas and into Simon's Town. Departing So Africa last spring, we rounded the Cape of Good Hope, sailed past Cape Town, (BAHATI's place of birth!), on up the So Atlantic with stops at St Helena and Ascension Islands and finally back to the Caribbean crossing our outbound path at the magical island of Bequia! We had 10 glorious days there on a Daffodil mooring walking the old trails to Hope Beach and other places we fondly remembered from our visit in 2006 and we discovered many new haunts as well. From Bequia we sailed north thru the Windward and on into the Leward Islands and then jumped off from St Maarten for the nearly 1000nm hop to Bermuda. Our old friend and crew, Phil Worboys, (who has now begun his own voyage aboard SEA MONKEY with his girl friend, Jen!) joined us in St Maarten along with Jen, to help sail BAHATI up to their hometown of St George, Bermuda. Nat's bro, Ben, and his good friend, Jack Thomas, jumped aboard in Bermuda and, along with Phil, made the run back across the Gulf Stream and on up toward New England. After hitting 40knts on the nose coming out of the Cape Cod Canal, just ahead of some tornados and wild thunderstorms we arrived in Annisquam on a barely rising tide! Whew! In Annisquam we attended the wedding of Betsy's nephew, Tyler Warren, and his bride, Sarah Cunningham...a gala affair with reception at the lovely and historic Annisquam Yacht Club. From there we sailed overnight home to Casco Bay with our old buddies, Pete Kovner and Jeff Brummer, aboard to help us find our way back into SoFreeMe. We were greeted at dawn by cannon fire from the decks of Jack Thomas' new lobster vessel, DARK 'n' STORMY, and likewise from Jim Harvie's gorgeous black Hinckley Pilot, MADRIGAL , the boat we had honeymooned aboard in 1977. A week later, on June 25, we hosted a wonderful "Welcome Home BAHATI Pahty" at the Harraseeket Yacht Club complete with dancing music played by Sean Mencher and the Rhythm Kings....a truly fitting afair! Many friends and family joined us on the dock and under the tent to sample wonderful Flying Point oysters (Thanks Eric and Valy!) and the fine horsdouevres created and served by Jennie Gwylim and rhum punch mixed and served by Andrew Zeeb. Leavitt & Paris setup a couple of terrific tents for us to help hold-off the inclement weather. Huge thanks to all who helped us put this event together and pull it off so seamlessly and a special tribute to Cindy Drake and the HYC membership for generously allowing us to use the clubhouse! Molly and John would have been thrilled. It was lovely to reconnect with so many old friends and feel truly welcomed home at last! We are now, at last, home again! BAHATI is still on the hard at Strouts Pt Wharf Co. but is due to be launched on April 30 with a new coat of Micron 66 applied. She'll be ready to show the following week. We returned to the USofA in June 2011 clearing customs in New Bedford, MA where we had visited on our outbound passage in order to pay homage to Capt Joshua Slocum who left on his famous "round the world alone" trip in the late 1800's. For 2 weeks in July 2011 we cruised the Coast of Maine with stops at old haunts like Quahog Bay, Boothbay, Christmas Cove, Matinicus Island, the White Islands, Camden Hbr, Tenants Hbr, Linekin Bay, Yarmouth Island (where we celebrated Josh's 30th in style!) and home again as of the end of July. So great to see so many old friends and favorite places along this remarkable coastline. We sailed round Eastern Egg Rock on our way home to say "Hi!" to the puffins who Mum and Dad loved so much...(they'd even "adopted" one a couple of years ago!) We saw plenty of them swimming and flying around out there. Back in So Freeport we weathered Hurricane Irene safely and are looking forward to some good local sailing next spring and summer while BAHATI begins her search for a new home. If you, or anyone you know, are interested in a proven well-appointed blue water sailing vessel, completely refit in 2006, please contact us here. Cheers, 'ave a good watch! Nat and Betsy PS It is with great sadness that we must report the tragic death of our mate, Wes Haskell, who sailed from So Africa to Barbados with us in March 2011. Wes was killed in a construction site accident in Searsport where he was working as a supervisor for the local water company. You can read Wes' obituary by going to the link: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/hartfordcourant/obituary.aspx?n=Weston-HASKELL&pid=153281357 There are not many Montes on the market and even fewer with the kind of upgrades and refits BAHATI has acquired over the last few years. For a truly dependable and remarkable high performance blue water vessel, contact us now. Thank you!

BAHATI crew members to date: Maine to NJ & Maryland: Bruce Brown & Tom O'Reilly Norfolk, Va to Bermuda: Bill Barton, Jeff Brummer, Ben Walker-Brummer, Bob Wagner Bermuda to St Maarten: Philip Worboys & Art Edelstein St Maarten to Auckland, NZ: Josh Warren-White St Lucia to [...]

Opua, NZ: Michael Callahan Antigua to St Lucia: Ben Fowler, Sarah Haskell, Mariah Warren Guadeloupe to Cartagena: Gareth Weis Panama to Malpela & return: Kirk "Kule" Jackman Panama Canal: Michal Rogers & Jerry Gould Balboa to Las Perlas: Sarah Spaulding Tonga to Opua & Opua to Tanna, Vanuatu: Tim Barker Tonga to Opua: Hillary Gerardi Opua to Auckland, NZ: Catherine Lambert Auckland to Auckland: Julia O'Brien and David Merrill Opua to Opua: Sandra Bisset & Wally Mallet Auckland to Opua: Nathaniel O'Brien-Merrill Auckland-Weiheke: Beth Coleman Opua to Tanna: Meghan DeWalt & Tim Barker Auckland to Cairns: Cameron Grillo Cairns to Bali: Georgina Greville Serengan, Bali to Lovina Beach: Jerry Knecht Serengan to Point Nongsa, Batam: Oliver Ghelen Point Nongsa to Puteri Harbor, Malaysia: Martin Lambert Phuket to Phuket: Chris and Teo von Baeyer Phuket to Langkawi: Christopher Blake Singapore toward Bali: Tim Van Ness Bali to Xmas Island: Josh Warren-White and Luke Newton Bali to Cape Town: Ben Powers Cape Town to Barbados: Susan Hoff, Weston and Sarah Haskell Barbados to Bequia: Martha and Jim Burns Dominica to Guadaloupe: Peter and Debbie Warren Antigua to Antigua: Joel Bernstein and Ann Blackstock Antigua to St Maarten: Betsy and Nat St Maarten to Bermuda: Phil Worboys & Jenn Quinn Bermuda to Cape Ann: Ben White, Phil Worboys, and Jack Thomas Cape Ann to SoFreeMe: Pete Kovner, Ben White, Jeff Brummer and Betsy W-W We are extremely grateful to these stalwart and courageous sailors who have willingly joined us to help-out on in this amazing adventure and we look forward to welcoming others as we slowly find our back home to Maine again!