These smiling faces are the family crew of Randy, Rachael, Patty and Steve. The glamour girl in the back is my Alice. Picture taken at Crescent Beach, Block Island. Now for the cover story.

Once before while sitting in Grenada contemplating sailing to Trinidad and then rethinking that choice, changing our minds and turning north instead, we have changed direction yet again. This time after touring pretty much all of southern new england waters from Block to Chatham, from Cuttyhunk to Nantucket, we have decided to return to Lake Michigan. We have experienced the islands and all their history just as we did the Chesapeake. We weathered big blows in Edgartown, Block and Chatham, we motor biked around Nantucket, spent many hours absorbed in the history of whaling on the island, visited Cutty several times, hiked around its perimeter and made three trips to Block. Newport is still our favorite with all the sailing activities, we are always impressed with that sailing town.

Patty, Rachael, Steve and Randy from our family spent four whirl-winds days with us, arriving on Sunday, sailing from Wickford to Newport, Newport to Block, Block to Cutty, Cutty back to Newport. We were on the move and yet had time to enjoy Crescent Beach on Block, walk to the top of Cutty and have a family dinner in Newport. Good times, great folks, thanks.

So back to turning another corner. It's time to head home, re-acquaint ourselves with our dog Kody and bring Lucky Bird back to Chicago, closing a very large loop of almost 8,000 miles. So after dropping off our family quests we checked back into Newport for one last time. Charlie and Jennie on Lady were there so one last visit, cocktails and stories. Since then we've been moving down the coast of Rhode Island, the full length of Long Island Sound, down the east River, through Hell Gate, under the Brooklyn Bridge and now here we are halfway up the Hudson River. This time we'll take the shorter route to the Great Lakes, the Erie Canal with Kody, Oh MY!!

Southern New England island sailing is similar to the Virgins. Plenty of harbors, medium length sailing passages, chances for strong weather, add in the fog and what more could a sailor ask for? So we start the last chapter of this journey with some uncertainty just how to handle our dog, yet all-the-while looking forward to future journeys on Lucky Bird and more time with family. It's been a hoot.