Voyage of the Bahati

Ahoy Maties! BAHATI found herself afloat again last week with a new coat of Micron 66 bottom paint and a new set of deep cell Trojan batteries! She's lookin' and feelin' smart and powerful, ready to go for a sail. We're hoping to head Downeast with Josh, Maria, and Diego toward the end of July and then take the month of August to just poke around some of her old stompin' grounds. Hoohah! Summer in Maine! She's still on the market with price reduced to $99.9k, a hell of a deal, but, fortunately, no one's jumped on it, yet! Onward! We are sure looking forward to some gunkholing and helping the old girl stretch her wings a bit! Hope to see y'all out there!

It's been quite some time since we last posted to this blog, almost 2 years, in fact! Since that time, BAHATI has been moored in SoFreeMe and also been on the market. As of January, 2016, her asking price has been lowered to $100k, a real steal! She's got all new canvass in stunning green not to mention her Whisper Grey Awlgrip job from last season. We've also had considerable work done on the rig, sails have all been cleaned and mended, and all systems are good to go. Anyone interested should stop by Brewer's So Freeport and take a look. She's lying just along the fence to the left as you drive down the hill toward the water. You can't miss her; she's the only one with the wind gen spinning keeping those batteries topped-up. If she doesn't sell this year, we may well set her up for another Atlantic crossing in 2017. She's too good a boat to be left sitting in one spot for too long. She's itching to get to sea again!
In the meantime, Capt Biscuits is busy writing a book about our circumnavigation following-up on more than a dozen related articles published in Ocean Navigator magazine over the last 10 years. With any luck, the book, tentatively titled IN SLOCUM'S WAKE, will be available within the next year. Keep your eyes and ears out!

Spring is finally here after a particularly cold and snowy winter in Maine. BAHATI spent a couple of months in the paint shed at Brewers where she had a bunch of beautiful work done on her topsides, rudder and keel taking care if a couple of wet spots and then covering all with a gorgeous Whisper Grey awlgrip job. She's officially back on the market and the broker of record is Willie Thomas at Brewers So Freeport Marine. Willie can be reached at 207-865-1994. If she does not sell, we'll be contemplating an Atlantic crossing during the summer of 2015. For the moment, BAHATI will remain on the hard and we will be heading south of the Equator for 3 months work in Oz. of course, we hope to do a little sailing at the same time...on someone else's boat!

If you or anyone you know are interested in taking a closer look at BAHATI while we are gone please feel free to call Willie and make an appointment.

Once BAHATI is on the hard in winter storage here in SoFreeMe, just in time to welcome hurricane Sandy. We were fortunate that most of the storm stayed well south of us but we did have some high winds around flood tide two nights ago. We are grieving for the good folks in NY/NJ who felt the worst of it! BAHATI will spend this winter at Brewer's Marina just across the street from her good home of last year at Strout's Pt. Brewer's is able to move her indoors without removing the arch in order to do some topside work so it made more sense to haul her over there this year. We will miss our pals at Strout's but will surely have more connection with them as time goes on. Many thanks to Cym and crew for their good care and work since our return.

Our next BAHATI talk will be at the The Barn in Topsham on Nov. 10. It will be a potluck hosted by friends Patty and Annie and should be a great gathering as we await the first snows of winter....yikes! If you are interested in joining us that evening please be in touch so we can give you more details. It is by invitation only so don't hesitate to call or email.

This summer produced some of the best sailing we've every had along the Maine Coast. We managed to be out on the water almost a month and both we and BAHATI loved it! This coastline is magical and when the winds are blowing right it's hard to beat. Good friends Jim Millinger, Dick Heller, Ben Fowler, and David Zucker all joined us for some gamming and we found our way as far east as Isle au Haut where we visited Bob and Sally Smith along with Jeremy and Molly (who's windy wedding we'd attended there aboard BAHAI just before we left on our trip!) The younger (and elder!) Smiths have been blessed with new baby Hannah...a special island babe for sure! Wonderful to have time with both them and then with Jody and Rick Simpson who were vacationing in Buck's Harbor. Great reunions with old Brookline Outing Club friends!

BAHATI is still on the market with price reduced as of Aug 1. Please refer any interested potential owners to John at Gulf of Maine Yacht Sales in Yarmouth. Some lucky long-distance sailors are going to be blessed with a great boat for your own adventures We look forward, with mixed emotions, to helping her move on to a new family. Meantime, we are continuing to do lots of work to keep her in good shape and hope she finds the right new home soon!

Enjoy the coming of winter wherever you are and please be in touch if you get close to SoFreeMe!

Cheers and happy holly days!

Nat and Betsy (and Avery the Dog!)

Dear family, friends, and all good virtual crew mates!

Well, we managed to go to sea, perhaps for the last time, aboard our beloved BAHATI. She is still on the market and, in fact, there has been a price reduction in the last week...please visit the brokerage site to check-in (www.gulfofmaineyachtsales.com) We managed to carve out 3 weeks between Casco and Penobscot Bays in July....delightful! We had unrelenting good weather and even some great sailing.....and practically NO FOG!... so unusual for Maine this time of year. Aside from dodging a few violent thunderstorms and having to replace the fresh water pump and accumulator tank, it was an uneventful and lovely cruise. Betsy could only jump aboard for a couple of days given her call to service with her parents, Tim & Phyllis, who have been dealing with Tim's recent hospitalization and resulting care. Thankfully, he is home now and happily heading for a vacation at Rock Gardens in Sebasco! It's been a tough row to hoe but they are forging ahead with great courage....onward! CapB invited several good friends to join him during these gorgeous days afloat including mates Jim Millinger, Dick Heller, Ben Fowler, and David Zucker. Avery the Dog also maintained her 1st Mate's status with great expertise (see photo album)! We found our way as far east as Isle au Haut where we visited Bob and Sally Smith, along with son, Jeremy and partner, Molly, whose wedding we attended out there just before we left on our circumnavigation. Jeremy and Molly are the proud new parents of young Hannah and you won't find happier grand parents anywhere on the coast! (see photos) We also found more Brookline Outing Club friends, Jody and Rick Simpson, up on the Bagaduce River near Castine where they were escaping for a couple of weeks from the heat out west (in NH!) It was wonderful to re-une with these old friends in such idyllic surroundings. Special times indeed! We also stopped at Yarmouth Island, Christmas Cove, Tenants Harbor (where we rediscovered Colleen at her un-equalled Rose Ledge Bookstore....www.roseledgebooks.com) and bought a number of books and some beautiful shirts, on the honor system!...thank you Colleen! We went on to Camden with a day's cruise back up to Rockland to cheer on the good sloop CELEBRATION, sailed and owned by the Merrills from Linekin Bay, in the annual Friendship Sloop races. David and Julia Merrill and Nathaniel (who sailed with us in New Zealand) joined me for an exciting day skirting the gorgeous fleet flying along under strong NW breezes gusting up to 20+knts.....stunning! One boat was dis-masted as we watched; fortunately no one was injured. These race days are a sight to behold and a wonderful Maine Coast tradition. It was a real pleasure to revisit some of our old haunts and discover new delights....like the houseboat in Perry Creek! Amazing structure! As we rounded Small Point on our return trip with 15+ knts, again from the NW and on the beam, we hit 8 knts several times; BAHATI was thrilled with a "bone in her teeth"! Ahhhhhhhh...summer in Maine!

Cheer and 'ave a good watch mates!

PS Good news! We just heard from our Norwegian friends, Heidi, Eivind, Young Eirik, and Bro Marius aboard EMPIRE that they have reached Greenland safely and are busy dodging "ice cubes" as they prepare to leave on their next leg toward Iceland and home! Bravo! Brava! You can visit their wonderful blog thru our links.