Cruising to Far-Away Places -- Mostly Warm!

We have started out on another cruise to the Caribbean and back. Be sure to follow us at our new blog address. Www.sailblogs.com/member/rjpalm
We're looking forward to hearing from you.

Altair is snuggled into Bert Jabins Boat Yard near Annapolis until June 14. We had a quick visit with grandsons Owen and Eli (their parents too) last night in Towson MD. Owen is finishing third grade as well as his lacrosse season. He will come up to Maine again for a week in July by himself and take sailing lessons. Eli is finishing kindergarten. We hope he and his parents will come up to Maine at the end of Owen's time with us, too.

Tomorrow we will fly home to Maine to get our summer jump started with house and yard projects, Rick's real estate stuff, etc. We will come back to the boat on the 14 th and bring her on home by the end of the month. No use bringing a boat to Maine before July 1 when the water temp might be approaching fifty degrees!

I will resume my blog entries then.

We've put 999 miles on the boat since leaving Puerto Rico on April 14. What a wonderful way to return from the Caribbean. In years past, we've had to hustle on the way home...it's been nice to take our time.

Seldom do I say nice things about an upwind sail, so it is worth mention in the blog. Yesterday, we sailed the 45 miles from Solomon's to the Rhode River near Galesville hard on the wind....and it was comfortable. Seas were flat in 15-20 knots of wind at 30-40 degrees. The gusts to 25 or more were frequent and the wind direction was a bit inconsistent so Rick hand steered most of the way. That,too, was unusual as we almost always use the autopilot. The boat moved along beautiful at 7-8 knots. Sun shining...and even a bit of warmth!

The Rhode Harbor anchorage was recommended to us by the Saga 409 owners Richard and Ruth that we met in Solomon's the night before. It's a lovely place with limited development on the near shore....unusual for the western shore of the Bay. After the Go-Fast boats finished their Indy 500 wannabe sprints, the evening was silent except for a lone loon who hasn't yet gone North.