We are almost back to Deale, Maryland where our adventure with TOBIAS began about 19 months ago. We spent 6 months living on the boat getting it ready to go cruising. Living on a boat in Maryland in the winter was not a fun thing to do. But we managed and on May 16th 2006 TOBIAS was as ready to go as it was going to get and we untied the dock lines and headed out.

We sailed north to New England, then on to Nova Scotia and back to the Chesapeake. After a brief haulout we went on south to Florida and the Bahamas. We have traveled over 5,000 waterway miles in 13 months. We've been in storms, been crashed into a couple of time at anchorages, seen the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the world, met some really wonderful people - some of whom became the very best of friends. We've seen places that I never dreamed I would ever go to, gone aground a couple of times and "touched bottom" more times than I can count.

We have been soaked going ashore in the dinghy, watched starfish as we sailed by, been almost frozen on cold overnight passages, praised our refrigeration for it's ice on long hot days, blown conch shells at sunset, visited with locals, rescued a drowning victim, eaten fresh fish with new friends, marveled at the wonderful fall foliage, visited as many pubs as possible and enjoyed the most beautiful water in the world.

And now it is time for this adventure to come to an end and a new chapter to begin.

TOBIAS will be offered for sale in Maryland. We will return to Charleston, SC and set up housekeeping. I will be looking for the "perfect" job and Kirby the "perfect" golf course as we enjoy being near family. I look forward to spending time with my daughter, Christie, her husband Michael and my two almost grown-up grandsons, Brendan and Casey.

I haven't decided if I will keep the BLOG up or not. Sailblogs is about sailing and we won't have a boat anymore. But I know our lives will continue to have adventure because you can't live with Kirby and not have adventures!