Faithful blog followers have probably figured out that we've been busy...hence, no updates for a few days. It was 'changeover' weekend.

Jackie, the last survivor of the original crew left on Sunday, after the l-o-o-ng trip to Dubrovnik. We missed her immediately. One of the blessings of this type of trip is that you get to know your crew very well. We've known James and Jackie casually for many years but, with 1500 miles and busy lives coming between us, we never spent a lot of quality time together. This trip afforded us the opportunity to really spend time and share the experience, enjoying each other's company (well, I don't know about them but we enjoyed theirs). I feel most fortunate to have shared this experience and gotten to know them so much better and welcome them to our inner circle.

Our empty nest was quickly filled with the arrival of our old (let's face it, we're all old) and dear friends, Chuck and Jean. Ken met them skiing in Chamonix in 1986. After a few sailing conversations over drinks, they decided to charter a boat somewhere the next summer. We started chartering in Turkey and (as we figured out last night), we sailed together 12 out of the 13 years between 1987 and 2000, and skied together as well. While we haven't sailed together since then, we have stayed In touch and enjoyed family events. This year, the timing worked out well for a sailing adventure.and here they are.

BTW, often, people have asked me just who exactly are 'these people' who have been joining us for the past 2 1/2 years. This gave me a good idea for a future blog when I have nothing to write about. Former crew: don't worry. Your secrets are safe with us.