tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31489190970271484762024-02-06T20:34:46.314-08:00Blog Book of The m/v Bel SitoJulie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-48231543478950784982017-07-24T07:28:00.001-07:002017-07-24T07:36:56.163-07:00Why? By 1:10 a.m. the lightening made just enough of a flash as to cause me to head to the pilot house to check out our environment. The boat is so quiet below, it was the light and not the thunder that got my attention.<br />
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The wind was picking up and Bel Sito was uncharacteristically moving around on her mooring ball in Annapolis Harbor. There was a big blob of a deep orange and maroon mass pictured on the WeatherBug radar app and it was moving toward the pin that marked our spot in the Harbor. I watched for awhile and kept looking at the app until it updated and warned we were going to be hit be 48-mph gusts.<br />
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This struck me as an all-hands-on-deck moment so I woke Richard and we had a 'meeting' in the pilot house. I had already turned on the switches on the panel that enable the engines to start if we broke free of the mooring and had to keep the boat in place under power.<br />
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Bel Sito swung from south to east to south to north and visibility was near zero. The engines were now on and we were ready if the 1-inch line holding her to the ball chafed through and couldn't stand the strain.<br />
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This is why (without the question mark) we do this.<br />
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To experience nature this intimately isn't possible from the confines of a condo or a house. How often do you think about the wind shifting otherwise? Being able to witness AND experience these periodic moments of extreme weather make the otherwise comfortable days aboard a boat all the more interesting. Of course, we are not in Kansas, Toto.<br />
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Participating in a storm as the wind makes flags stand straight out and lightening illuminates the sight of a solid sheet of water coming down around you is a real experience. Hearing and <i>feeling</i> the wind as it moves tonnage around like a rubber duck in a bathtub is something land lubbers don't know. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbxHfILSc2ilW5NFaPL-ahIgXAdAtsqvfOP34eMgTbxvlOg5xi_QElxwpbIVe3qe1Jcm7aVehIVcTurYfIBo9t5K9qR3z3etr6uPkMuhaS8L8tXP5m2Fw38dIL5z2lLyaRStgeSQIPVBz/s1600/IMG_1345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbxHfILSc2ilW5NFaPL-ahIgXAdAtsqvfOP34eMgTbxvlOg5xi_QElxwpbIVe3qe1Jcm7aVehIVcTurYfIBo9t5K9qR3z3etr6uPkMuhaS8L8tXP5m2Fw38dIL5z2lLyaRStgeSQIPVBz/s400/IMG_1345.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bel Sito in Annapolis Harbor</td></tr>
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<i>And don't care to, thank you, </i>some of you may be thinking.<br />
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-10960562565255729122017-07-23T07:58:00.003-07:002017-07-23T07:58:41.768-07:00Thanks, Bill!Bill Hollinger spotted us on the Chesapeake Bay as we passed by the Thomas Point Lighthouse, took the pix below then searched the internet and found this blog! I am so grateful he took the time to seek us out and share what he shot!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVYTggMqsdzPciUuGOBfiKPm96DjcQq3szxkQoKiKSHQcr-2fslojYHZJFmKeckAO_tQdt-Rl1KVeN8qCzzI2W6SZfoA9YgsAzefgCYyvqLv4cKO2IdBzHHB1qCjiKUTazA1C959BvEoV/s1600/Nordhavn-trawler%252C-6-30-17-5095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVYTggMqsdzPciUuGOBfiKPm96DjcQq3szxkQoKiKSHQcr-2fslojYHZJFmKeckAO_tQdt-Rl1KVeN8qCzzI2W6SZfoA9YgsAzefgCYyvqLv4cKO2IdBzHHB1qCjiKUTazA1C959BvEoV/s400/Nordhavn-trawler%252C-6-30-17-5095.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Bill Hollinger</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3rDjumjBMIHLT-eEAUleJXKPsynFcc6mLulexhRoISy_0pu7MkR94IFX2SSa_a_PSeovJZZYjdfCEolQRbXqTyP46CuyxvHMUH2VS_3-fY1DiU47AhdsszxfVehGogp19PIDbBtuLHsb/s1600/Nordhavn-trawler%252C-6-30-17-5096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3rDjumjBMIHLT-eEAUleJXKPsynFcc6mLulexhRoISy_0pu7MkR94IFX2SSa_a_PSeovJZZYjdfCEolQRbXqTyP46CuyxvHMUH2VS_3-fY1DiU47AhdsszxfVehGogp19PIDbBtuLHsb/s400/Nordhavn-trawler%252C-6-30-17-5096.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NQP5W0pMacDt45IJZO3AMRTUtyH-TH91qltBuSqXMC0E9Nehr6bd2SJKNzB8Zlhxy7Vqc0pe6L_9L0aGfheBvdnVP5dLCSS-jKJVTx0hJLYYdo3tIe8dr4NnmX-E7Hs4upay7SWRclYw/s1600/Nordhavn-trawler%252C-6-30-17-5095.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiPkPybH4mkkwEl7T_OtWE10F9t-aw5RH133B0TzZ7Mh_J0iCSHIAEfshcBmWpqo6YxMpJIysbu4oWKEl7kp1L3ADryjfIR-wkh-63ge7Vbaw0PEPC7T9S-ybaRKRZ9UOzzD7QFjyTpRY/s1600/Nordhavn-trawler%252C-6-30-17-5085.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiPkPybH4mkkwEl7T_OtWE10F9t-aw5RH133B0TzZ7Mh_J0iCSHIAEfshcBmWpqo6YxMpJIysbu4oWKEl7kp1L3ADryjfIR-wkh-63ge7Vbaw0PEPC7T9S-ybaRKRZ9UOzzD7QFjyTpRY/s640/Nordhavn-trawler%252C-6-30-17-5085.jpg" width="640" /></a><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8NQP5W0pMacDt45IJZO3AMRTUtyH-TH91qltBuSqXMC0E9Nehr6bd2SJKNzB8Zlhxy7Vqc0pe6L_9L0aGfheBvdnVP5dLCSS-jKJVTx0hJLYYdo3tIe8dr4NnmX-E7Hs4upay7SWRclYw/s640/Nordhavn-trawler%252C-6-30-17-5095.jpg" width="640" />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-35268131865846472162017-07-23T07:46:00.001-07:002017-07-23T07:49:24.623-07:00Back by 'popular' demand!In response to <i>numerous</i> (four) inquiries as to when this blog will be updated, here we go again!<br />
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If you're a boater, you don't need me to tell you this and if you are not a boater but think you might want to be, you don't want to read what I'm about to say.<br />
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There is always something that needs repairing on a boat. Never mind if it's a brand new $1mm plus yacht or a small fishing boat, there may be fleeting periods of time when everything is working as intended so just when you get complacent, bam, the day you had planned is altered once again because something needs fixing.<br />
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At this moment, Richard and Andy are making their second run to West Marine to pick something up to get our dinghy going. We had been lulled into thinking it was the most reliable boat ever made, even casting off from the stern of the boat BEFORE turning on the engine. We were that cocky.<br />
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The Gods were taking note and decided we needed to be taught yet another lesson by having the engine conk out a few yards from the dock. We thought we'd run out of gas, and congratulated ourselves on the good fortune of having this happen just a few paddle strokes from a gas dock.<br />
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That's what we boaters do. We immediately think of a worse case scenario and as long as we're all still alive, there's always a worse case.<br />
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I vividly remember trying to calm a reluctant passenger on my first trip captaining a 26' sailboat assuring her she was perfectly safe. She had never gone sailing before, didn't know how to swim and yet some how agreed to get on a boat with me even though at that point I had close to zero experience sailing. Through a violent Chesapeake squall in which we were able to flag a boat for a tow, I kept telling her she was perfectly safe. But when I tried to start the motor to guide the boat into the last few feet to get into the slip and it burst into flames, I realized telling her she was safe was an <i>alternate fact. </i><br />
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And yet, we survived.<br />
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It could have been worse.<br />
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The guys just came down to where I'm typing this and report they are taking the dinghy out to make sure she's running ok. Andy thinks we might have picked up some bad gas. He changed the fuel filter and we now have a spare on board.<br />
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Soon, this will be a distant memory.<br />
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Now, the truth is we've been having a great time with this boat. We've had many guests, some overnight, and even taken two grandchildren age 12 and 17 from Annapolis to Cape May, NJ where their parents have a home in the seaside village of Stone Harbor.<br />
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All good, as we say. All good.<br />
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Bel Sito no longer feels overwhelming in size or maneuverability and she handles the ocean like a skiff on a calm lake.<br />
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-66696481725227002792017-05-30T08:20:00.001-07:002017-05-30T08:20:44.884-07:00'Clever' Boat Names<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1Xkhg7vKJvsFxGA5T38p0xBmp1NugEL2qcFlYxP2GWUYfkgTlBeW9IFQn0bId4lpQJzy1IpBp9NzNin3fROr5CEWwbQGDbZJKH8mcBdCcZs3PjpS9s4T0xOQBUM1U7953OlVsGCt7s0P/s1600/nicetransom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1Xkhg7vKJvsFxGA5T38p0xBmp1NugEL2qcFlYxP2GWUYfkgTlBeW9IFQn0bId4lpQJzy1IpBp9NzNin3fROr5CEWwbQGDbZJKH8mcBdCcZs3PjpS9s4T0xOQBUM1U7953OlVsGCt7s0P/s200/nicetransom.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Nice Transom'</td></tr>
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Most of us spend A LOT of time thinking up boat names.<br />
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The photo here is of the name 'Nice Transom'. It took me awhile to get it until I realized the transom of a boat is the rear end.<br />
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No doubt a conversation starter.<br />
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We had an electric Duffy and over a stretch of several days came up with: <i>Watt, Me Whirry!</i><br />
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Get it?<br />
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Bel Sito translates to 'beautiful situation' and is the name of hotel where we stayed in Italy. As soon as we come up with a name we go to the Coast Guard registry of boat names to see how many other vessels have the name because we like having the only boat named whatever it is we've come up with. <i>Watt, Me Whirry </i>was safely ours and ours alone. So is Bel Sito.<br />
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-32207622561821717232017-05-29T10:08:00.003-07:002017-05-29T10:12:56.333-07:00Our Second Post Owning Bel Sito due (2) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uXSLPGUitrXT3SBGI8qN5_YcaqMTvQZ2-YOayS6bad9OSIWPIVRPuRKQGYOYW9o3YX8PvwIJyzCsomA-8XghHKV-qMcMMpaOwA6z-Pg5FJ6y0MwW5kMXImvxLP1nP3dlrxtf2QKgGlHW/s1600/E71FB1E5-F772-48E6-9E23-B005EE3CC2F8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uXSLPGUitrXT3SBGI8qN5_YcaqMTvQZ2-YOayS6bad9OSIWPIVRPuRKQGYOYW9o3YX8PvwIJyzCsomA-8XghHKV-qMcMMpaOwA6z-Pg5FJ6y0MwW5kMXImvxLP1nP3dlrxtf2QKgGlHW/s320/E71FB1E5-F772-48E6-9E23-B005EE3CC2F8.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter, Ron, Andy, Eric, Shelley, Sue Anne, Jim, Anne,<br />
Jim Michelle, Drew, <br />
Pam, Jim, Mark, Rick, Gerry and us. <br />
Photo by Andy Hoyt</td></tr>
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This blog has been neglected since we assumed ownership of our 53' Selene. We've spared you the details of the anxiety we felt moving up to bigger boat with all new systems (to us) and I'm delighted to report we now feel confident ('fairly confident,' inserts Richard) we can manage all 100,000 lbs of her. For now. Until the unexpected occurs. Which it always does on a boat.<br />
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We have the good fortune of having Andy Hoyt, owner of the concierge boat maintenance company, Dock Call, guide us every step of the way of our boat purchase. He made us walk away from the first Selene we put an offer on once it was pulled out of the water during sea trial and inspection. Andy came with us when we brought this boat from Virginia Yacht Brokers in Chesapeake, VA to our old stomping grounds of Annapolis and taught us the fundamentals of how she operates.<br />
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Holy Moly! </h3>
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Upon arrival, we slowly headed into the marina where the boat would be docked. By then, I had just enough confidence to be dangerous, and told Andy I was ready to dock her. When we pulled up to the slip Richard and I were certain it was too narrow to ease a 16.5' wide boat in comfortably, but Andy assured us he measured the slip and it would be fine. Andy calmly told me which thruster to use when and we had a successful first docking experience.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjICVXntrizqxwOatf5XwHO27396jJkYtcdOjdj6mKupxq2lk4Azgz3jyEB355u6i9Q1pZLotNoQnntDyMHoSolfjeqprLhQrsEcsXv5FUPHUCOOjUwdiYIs3cEv3tSO9-1hCx57MVZvm/s1600/jason.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjICVXntrizqxwOatf5XwHO27396jJkYtcdOjdj6mKupxq2lk4Azgz3jyEB355u6i9Q1pZLotNoQnntDyMHoSolfjeqprLhQrsEcsXv5FUPHUCOOjUwdiYIs3cEv3tSO9-1hCx57MVZvm/s200/jason.jpg" width="107" /></a><br />
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Over time, we've fallen into a comfortable pattern for both of us around docking and anchoring. Richard handles the lines, which he always had to re-do anyway after I botched the first go around, and I drive the boat in tight quarters. Jason, a dockhand at the <a href="http://www.jibroom.com/" target="_blank">Jib Room in Marsh Harbor</a>, taught me how to maneuver 'little' Bel Sito using her twin engines by doing the twist dance step. I think of him often and fondly when approaching a dock.<br />
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Andy helped us move the boat to a mooring ball in downtown Annapolis Harbor, where we stayed and stayed and stayed, hesitant to make our first solo move. Eventually it became time to put water in the tanks and Andy hopped aboard to guide me to the fuel dock (Richard was in Baltimore for a board meeting).<br />
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We have two mantras gleaned from others regarding docking:<br />
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<li>Slow is pro. </li>
<li>Always approach the dock at the speed you intend to hit it. </li>
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So I creeped up to the dock and discovered how easy it is with bow thrusters stern and aft! Really!<br />
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Andy admonished me not to tell the dock hand it was my first time, but I couldn't wait to tell him.<br />
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Above Deck</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elly and Hank</td></tr>
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We've been in and out of Annapolis since her arrival and have hosted several dinner parties, a boat naming ceremony, overnight guests, and a party of 20 to watch the Blue Angels flyover for the Naval Academy graduation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbLk9oRrILpB9zP3KGELfotGIJklSycqLx1yOL2g8J7u5waopg1v5JuqTSa-63q7s8QaSr5qYvQbmIjZ6eElnEHPg14qxaUYSiPA_2dkoxZh9Z2ioJMVl0yaQqP5LIakCT2z5rc48oyiD/s1600/IMG_1860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbLk9oRrILpB9zP3KGELfotGIJklSycqLx1yOL2g8J7u5waopg1v5JuqTSa-63q7s8QaSr5qYvQbmIjZ6eElnEHPg14qxaUYSiPA_2dkoxZh9Z2ioJMVl0yaQqP5LIakCT2z5rc48oyiD/s200/IMG_1860.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Removing the former name, Passage</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8yaPNc4cXdxFygWeomP-9H3ZG_mwW3MODC5Bopori5tR5N8V0u8SGuvfX8VQfJcUZ209d8KWn8Qvoi6H2-_QXyzcF9qpczDiikl4OIFjVlh0wpe1w8N9ST4398WwFHANv_EbLYHmatYw/s1600/IMG_1890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8yaPNc4cXdxFygWeomP-9H3ZG_mwW3MODC5Bopori5tR5N8V0u8SGuvfX8VQfJcUZ209d8KWn8Qvoi6H2-_QXyzcF9qpczDiikl4OIFjVlh0wpe1w8N9ST4398WwFHANv_EbLYHmatYw/s200/IMG_1890.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pat Winkler prepares to feed Poseiden, God of the Sea, to which all yell 'oh no' as the champagne is poured into the water to appease him and keep newly named Bel Sito safe.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHwwX-pLYktmrU3tZ5_r9F_PsPXdbS9RoNJeCOa-7HFAhT0whX6gWEg3_141wq6pgsJ50w9GRdb-x4bu81BSJY7H5tcxkoE05uOjWdvi594R2bTW7rPZAF-K0hdgvXD5sQOxxPtQ93Rbj/s1600/IMG_1885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHwwX-pLYktmrU3tZ5_r9F_PsPXdbS9RoNJeCOa-7HFAhT0whX6gWEg3_141wq6pgsJ50w9GRdb-x4bu81BSJY7H5tcxkoE05uOjWdvi594R2bTW7rPZAF-K0hdgvXD5sQOxxPtQ93Rbj/s200/IMG_1885.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First boat gift...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xx2UeF9g3ORcXFddKIlIG04bhDtQVW1NdqWepTtkbiGzVP2r58DWyV_M4xreABkqStfvR6SIICjmUZtKlo7_wfQ2oExIx_gQCqTFkrAWAUQUO1H13IhTHH2cEtnz_C20VXKYSr9SrAX8/s1600/IMG_3457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xx2UeF9g3ORcXFddKIlIG04bhDtQVW1NdqWepTtkbiGzVP2r58DWyV_M4xreABkqStfvR6SIICjmUZtKlo7_wfQ2oExIx_gQCqTFkrAWAUQUO1H13IhTHH2cEtnz_C20VXKYSr9SrAX8/s400/IMG_3457.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat Naming Ceremony, Richard, Julie, Tom, Beth and Ruth</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzz9GioZyQcWA8LxlyjB0tce1cw5OwzSlEN7rGYFaCSvrwwPpB-Dar3X9RsAfjXQu_1SGRZzXNcP9WMWv_02i9QcoQJo94HDgxY7K45vqa-QBChNJ5oDswIvdo_zSp3dPmnhZQgyhZjNZ1/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzz9GioZyQcWA8LxlyjB0tce1cw5OwzSlEN7rGYFaCSvrwwPpB-Dar3X9RsAfjXQu_1SGRZzXNcP9WMWv_02i9QcoQJo94HDgxY7K45vqa-QBChNJ5oDswIvdo_zSp3dPmnhZQgyhZjNZ1/s400/images.jpeg" /></a><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNdCdmq09KOkgYTGSKNgk3Z7CPjs7dS9BDqm6kBOLQcK-C0H2esX6aRiMc-dFS2II7BL_8VvZu0kx_GGS4u7VIgIBhAHykXo1P8mimapwmU4krFlUWV258Ko-aR00Xz7HhwGF53RdNsNb/s1600/IMG_2046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNdCdmq09KOkgYTGSKNgk3Z7CPjs7dS9BDqm6kBOLQcK-C0H2esX6aRiMc-dFS2II7BL_8VvZu0kx_GGS4u7VIgIBhAHykXo1P8mimapwmU4krFlUWV258Ko-aR00Xz7HhwGF53RdNsNb/s320/IMG_2046.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look! Up in the sky! It's the Blue Angels!<br />
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Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-77969178805059859032017-03-28T07:15:00.000-07:002017-05-29T07:43:22.228-07:00Bel Sito (Due): A New ChapterWe can barely log into Facebook without learning of the demise or serious illness of friends our age.<br />
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If life is like a banquet, we could be in the 'dessert and decaf coffee at the end of the meal' stage.<br />
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So, what do we do? Act responsibly? Sit on the balcony in the sunshine and go on short walks around the neighborhood?<br />
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Nope. We bought a bigger boat. A much bigger boat. A huge boat (for us). A 2009, 53' Selene, currently known as Passage. Her former owners kept her in pristine condition and we hope our stewardship is even close to their meticulous standards. Our other trawler was a 38' Pacific Seacraft and adding feet to a boat is a bit like dog years. Each foot seems to expand the storage and capacity exponentially.<br />
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Now, if we could just figure out how to start the engines. I'm not kidding.<br />
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Introducing: Bel Sito, Due (pronounced dew-A, meaning 'two' in Italian). We're going to drop the 'due' as soon as our original Bel Sito takes on a new name.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37pvZfU7hAMIpFMsAhOOtH0fwjXGY8vKXlQesFsy0d3GAXSjGqGyUWjgqBxvOJLcaPdZdlbbYDJwjc0JDZCPd-0AnyA41zC41h6RAtpeG3M0SRHWWJjo1AM9b-SjYEFp9pLFoZzy7LoXC/s1600/Belsito.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37pvZfU7hAMIpFMsAhOOtH0fwjXGY8vKXlQesFsy0d3GAXSjGqGyUWjgqBxvOJLcaPdZdlbbYDJwjc0JDZCPd-0AnyA41zC41h6RAtpeG3M0SRHWWJjo1AM9b-SjYEFp9pLFoZzy7LoXC/s320/Belsito.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<div class="blogpress_location">
Location:<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Basin%20Rd,Chesapeake,United%20States%4036.720175%2C-76.237008&z=10">Basin Rd,Chesapeake,United States</a></div>
Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-12882199048407337642012-09-06T16:17:00.000-07:002012-09-06T17:36:03.587-07:00The End<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuen4zz1Dar0YYckr8qcURdJjdWS5ORRFdXtlSiuijb7cjdAXTeG38OsajpBwghuz2OiDFUk1IFOqnhUo-AbMqwwIfwQVlaVrZWXPE6l8zLmci1Sbqffuwk2uNFFtq5LUTbWOd3sqVHFtW/s1600/Image+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuen4zz1Dar0YYckr8qcURdJjdWS5ORRFdXtlSiuijb7cjdAXTeG38OsajpBwghuz2OiDFUk1IFOqnhUo-AbMqwwIfwQVlaVrZWXPE6l8zLmci1Sbqffuwk2uNFFtq5LUTbWOd3sqVHFtW/s640/Image+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hamburg Cove, Connecticut River</td></tr>
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It's time to say good-bye, for now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrj-plag3ieUF7PnM9OCq-myu41XOoLLlB1rR9WswzomaWt2ymJk8431pkC6kOXTpjowYupcq7YmC9j3ZJ9I_yDTXd26P0xOre6XBSECZuRLCywsh7DjhByESU5KzpvQNwzRVXnvNIyCAT/s1600/Image+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrj-plag3ieUF7PnM9OCq-myu41XOoLLlB1rR9WswzomaWt2ymJk8431pkC6kOXTpjowYupcq7YmC9j3ZJ9I_yDTXd26P0xOre6XBSECZuRLCywsh7DjhByESU5KzpvQNwzRVXnvNIyCAT/s320/Image+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQf99EKdIEKc-7MqZ7ApTiu_mevatJaGdv33VDLXo15uShuaCyLkAfhO1gjGafzRifKM7DCRAyOL7sJAgKbvwhu93C0uFU-YN7vx1_bJTozZ4-kGnw7lkU7E-C66Zd_ewDgIomG08BjXlg/s1600/Image+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQf99EKdIEKc-7MqZ7ApTiu_mevatJaGdv33VDLXo15uShuaCyLkAfhO1gjGafzRifKM7DCRAyOL7sJAgKbvwhu93C0uFU-YN7vx1_bJTozZ4-kGnw7lkU7E-C66Zd_ewDgIomG08BjXlg/s200/Image+4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beth and Pat stay in touch with the office</td></tr>
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After the skies cleared yesterday we left the dock in Essex and meandered a short way up the Connecticut River to Hamburg Cove, a lovely spot with plenty of mooring balls.<br />
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Richard and I have spent every night aboard Bel Sito since August 12 and it is now September 6. Turkey Point, MD; Cape May, Atlantic City and Sandy Hook, New Jersey; Manhattan, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, New York; Mystic, Connecticut; Block Island, Rhode Island; Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, then back down to Essex and finally, Mystic, Connecticut where Bel Sito will rest for several days before Andy brings her home.<br />
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We could go on. And on. And on.<br />
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Pat and I have been counting the hours until our arrival in Mystic because Richard promised to get us all the oysters we could eat during the Oyster Club Happy Hour. Captains' Treat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVraRtBINeY9oIKWzUto6jbP7uar4oVlSwVBbB0SLz5WFBAbIj84cdwj8ppgtdqja5TMAyNbUMpoDqeOfVuwS-P__UtqOQEdgLbpv1RCPrQI61zThgNtzs9mh99KcQuSTfv9YyVFfEq1bN/s1600/Image+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVraRtBINeY9oIKWzUto6jbP7uar4oVlSwVBbB0SLz5WFBAbIj84cdwj8ppgtdqja5TMAyNbUMpoDqeOfVuwS-P__UtqOQEdgLbpv1RCPrQI61zThgNtzs9mh99KcQuSTfv9YyVFfEq1bN/s320/Image+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pat won, consuming five dozen. I was a close second with four.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiPleDlVUT5WOBtkKGp168kTWJPdDFfUeeHH7m-i0FSo0sRgUe0H4-mdfDo4S14JQ5Nr7HSl9i6TRAqFr_60zpwPKNrSnxXfeqIwMJCWqY1Isar3d4JJHM-v0e7fZpHqdtaM7vZrIeusE/s1600/Image+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiPleDlVUT5WOBtkKGp168kTWJPdDFfUeeHH7m-i0FSo0sRgUe0H4-mdfDo4S14JQ5Nr7HSl9i6TRAqFr_60zpwPKNrSnxXfeqIwMJCWqY1Isar3d4JJHM-v0e7fZpHqdtaM7vZrIeusE/s320/Image+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We've witnessed a months worth of sunsets on the water and navigated a couple dozen new channels. We've had relatively calm seas and virtually no weather or boat dramas.<br />
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Bel Sito has traveled over 500 miles this trip and she's says she's just getting started.<br />
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We're listening.<br />
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-57299173862890334882012-09-05T08:23:00.000-07:002012-09-06T15:06:47.668-07:00Unexpected Surprise (guess that's redundant, huh?)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyi7NHKEtifTmSW-yDLYLPwWy18EUb2FFUMxHm1YJuDgIVcWlvvxxfkkm1HkCd-uWo-k43iALluekTPeK2eVCINHWEBA35QIzkfhr6GhYK_TLm0w-12fnlogZ1Pvu4SzbgMxvGX_Ujh6qc/s1600/Image+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyi7NHKEtifTmSW-yDLYLPwWy18EUb2FFUMxHm1YJuDgIVcWlvvxxfkkm1HkCd-uWo-k43iALluekTPeK2eVCINHWEBA35QIzkfhr6GhYK_TLm0w-12fnlogZ1Pvu4SzbgMxvGX_Ujh6qc/s320/Image+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Essex, Connecticut</h2>
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Cruising doesn't change you. It reveals you.*<br />
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The weather on this 25-day journey had been Chamber-of-Commerce perfect until we reached Essex. Fortunately, with radar at the touch of an iPhone, we had a good idea what to expect and that's why we picked this port. So the crew is having a couple of peaceful land days and Beth, in particular, made a huge discovery.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cgijocjRiJcj7dibD1LMObWtSHTaM0nlCZhkUgzwPWVIHTxjBsWVFSDeu0ujPpugXNSqnfZRC4onWCj79Nf0NrNBEsfCM0pvXqSajgYHJXg52C2mnv3_l1uizzGtAnV61XxxQ5TJXshD/s1600/Image+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cgijocjRiJcj7dibD1LMObWtSHTaM0nlCZhkUgzwPWVIHTxjBsWVFSDeu0ujPpugXNSqnfZRC4onWCj79Nf0NrNBEsfCM0pvXqSajgYHJXg52C2mnv3_l1uizzGtAnV61XxxQ5TJXshD/s320/Image+5.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Traveling by boat means the cruiser is dependent on foot once ashore. The scope of the exploration territory is limited but one has a more in-depth view of things so you notice stuff you'd miss otherwise.</div>
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For example, the houses around downtown Essex have name plates naming the homes' first owner.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokE3Gccq2VvjzNZbVofAlJE0S2qSjcsH5Gpm8EkGfmczG4lR0YrecXbsB2Ist28qcWCKJlJWkTLwxlE8ZTyLPMhTXb0NFz6y3T2KQQdJMACx5rp0OAte6eX4hdrT14TxsJCQXGyG9yMOo/s1600/Image+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokE3Gccq2VvjzNZbVofAlJE0S2qSjcsH5Gpm8EkGfmczG4lR0YrecXbsB2Ist28qcWCKJlJWkTLwxlE8ZTyLPMhTXb0NFz6y3T2KQQdJMACx5rp0OAte6eX4hdrT14TxsJCQXGyG9yMOo/s200/Image+7.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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Friend and blog reader Marty Petty had encouraged us to stop in Essex, and we're grateful for the suggestion. She had been publisher of the Hartford Courant back in the day, and we've become pals since we first discovered we were Florida neighbors. Her husband, Mark Petty, is a renowned photographer who shot a wedding on the Hepburn estate and the famous actress actually appeared straight from the garden.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Of Mice and Beth</h3>
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But the happiest tourist to Essex in our group of four is Beth.<br />
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For years, she has been collecting mice. Not just any mice, but mice that cost more than an iPod Nano. She has so many of these things that her husband, Pat, built display cases that take up much of their second bedroom wall space. We could retire on what these things are fetching on EBay these days.<br />
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As she walked down the main drag of Essex Beth spotted a faded circular sticker on the window of Gracie's Corner, a sprawling variety store with everything from magnetic bracelets to an entire section dedicated to pets.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlz6R21vKUg7IDK_4FFVblHWfUPn7CCIu-pd9QlyoW7_kDkdOaT8ulgFGq5iVZMzk-DARiPcLYyJs4b4DM4FkxED72fYck-nKIm2rfNvfpgxK4Vxz4twldv9NSYTD88d0DORSB0vV1ntzJ/s1600/Image+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlz6R21vKUg7IDK_4FFVblHWfUPn7CCIu-pd9QlyoW7_kDkdOaT8ulgFGq5iVZMzk-DARiPcLYyJs4b4DM4FkxED72fYck-nKIm2rfNvfpgxK4Vxz4twldv9NSYTD88d0DORSB0vV1ntzJ/s320/Image+8.jpg" width="320" /></a>And, drum roll, Wee Forest Folk, started by Annette Petersen in 1972 and now carried on by her sonWilly and daughter Donna Petersen (who know a good schtick when they see it).<br />
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Wee Forest Folk pieces are first created then the original is cast into white ware. There is a booklet describing the process, but for those of you hankering to know more about these collectables: <a href="http://www.weeforestfolk.com/" target="_blank">http://www.weeforestfolk.com</a><br />
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Turns out, Beth grew up in Concord, MA where founding mouse-maker Annette began the cottage industry. Beth was a high school classmate of Donna Petersen, Annette's daughter.<br />
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Beth has been collecting the Wee Forest Folk ever since she first discovered them in 1973.<br />
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I've not been much of a collector of small ceramic things or anything other than technology gadgets (so I have no room to talk about obsessive compulsive behavior) but I must admit, upon close examination of these little things, it is impressive to see the amount of detail in the little critters.<br />
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You know you're a cruiser....</h3>
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You know you're a cruising woman when you have your hair cut so short you don't need a hairdryer.<br />
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Footnote</h4>
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* A tip of the visor to Michelle Obama for her line from her convention speech last night (The presidency doesn't change you; it reveals you). It's great to have XM radio on board and be able to listen to unfiltered audio of the proceedings on the POTUS station.<br />
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Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-34580042329741810792012-09-03T17:17:00.003-07:002012-09-04T00:40:10.340-07:00Change of Plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GxPUQogtODvZr6W0DDbg2MvWPIrKsUb-oPQDeQrFGXP34ztwgDBkbsNcjFJMl56SARw9B6e1NBERiok0NzuzGmZtwVQKyvQfn8WkAj7qeqtZnoCtPbM7Yc-mwN61Pv9rO8trPmFb8sRE/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GxPUQogtODvZr6W0DDbg2MvWPIrKsUb-oPQDeQrFGXP34ztwgDBkbsNcjFJMl56SARw9B6e1NBERiok0NzuzGmZtwVQKyvQfn8WkAj7qeqtZnoCtPbM7Yc-mwN61Pv9rO8trPmFb8sRE/s320/Image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Connecticut River</h2>
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As I said to a pal who has been following Bel Sito's progress on Marine Traffic (an app that tracks vessels with AIS systems installed) in answer to his question as to what the heck we were doing in Essex, Ct:<br />
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Cruisers plan, but that's often all it ends up being. </div>
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The plan for today was to go to Sag Harbor, until the 'committee' met to go over weather conditions etc. It was then decided we'd be better off sticking close to our ultimate destination (for this week anyway) which is our old marina in Mystic. That's where we will leave the boat for an indeterminate amount of time while we all go back into the real world for awhile. We'll come back toward the end of Sept. and bring her back down. Or have Andy bring her back down. All up in the air. </div>
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The big excitement of the day was making it through 'the race', so called because the current races in and out of Long Island Sound whooshing back and forth in four-hour increments. It's a race.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWspTVI0xUumxlgMSYa3B7j6zVTiihBLpuoFdTZvR9jv5xz4pOYr5i_bEShD5vlSOpentTxMh8wun10PTwaT6MDEOspW5OVWTkWLzTqTSbW6boc2dxrG4yxYxqWkOq_ldtSLeOhOSOj3Wz/s1600/Image+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWspTVI0xUumxlgMSYa3B7j6zVTiihBLpuoFdTZvR9jv5xz4pOYr5i_bEShD5vlSOpentTxMh8wun10PTwaT6MDEOspW5OVWTkWLzTqTSbW6boc2dxrG4yxYxqWkOq_ldtSLeOhOSOj3Wz/s320/Image+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Busted for going too fast in a 'no-wake' zone! <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-size: small;">Busted</span></h3>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-size: small;">There's a phenomenon of the waterways that is the stuff of water-rage, something akin to road rage in a car. Only on the water, the boater who has been cut off or almost swamped by a bigger boat speeding by and coming close enough to create a big, rolling, wave aimed right at the broad side of the smaller vessel, is truly rage inducing. And victims often take to the VHF radio airwaves saying things they probably wouldn't say to the offender face to face. </span></div>
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Little Bel Sito gets her share of wakes, as she cruises between 7-10 kts and bigger boats often go roaring by. </div>
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There seemed to be a bunch of these yo-yos today and so one of most gratifying shots of the day was of this guy getting busted. Hooray.<br />
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Essex, Connecticut</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Katherine Hepburn's former estate. It's for sale. </td></tr>
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We're having a lovely time in old Essex, all nested into an actual slip with electricity and water. We read various restaurant reviews on Trip Advisor and ended up at a great old place called The Griswold (locals call it 'the Griz').</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard, me, Beth and Pat</td></tr>
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That's all for now. Might not blog tomorrow because we're going to PROBABLY be here another day. I'll do laundry. How boring is that?</div>
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You know you're a cruiser when you get excited about a nearby coin-operated laundry facility.<br />
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Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-23104658724894299612012-09-03T05:02:00.000-07:002012-09-03T12:04:16.448-07:00Here Come the Brides<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Here Come the Brides</h3>
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Nantucket is a bucket list destination, a wedding destination and the ultimate destination for the worlds' elite. </div>
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We were there for a destination wedding, and to the surprise of the bride and bride, apparently so did just about everyone they invited. We partied on the beach at sunset Thursday night, dined at one of Nantucket's finest restaurants Friday night, attended the wedding in Nantucket's St. Paul's church and celebrated Melissa and Josie's marriage at the most beautiful country club setting I have ever seen. Every detail was simply stunning. </div>
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For those who God has joined together, let no man put asunder. </div>
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I've attended commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples before but am thrilled to have lived to see the day when two people in love, committed to a life together, can be joined in holy matrimony if they so choose. </div>
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Sitting in the pew, I thought about my grandfather and great grandfather, neither of whom I met. They were both Episcopal priests and my grandfather was rector of a church in Fitzburg, MA. He was on a committee that re-wrote the Common Book of Prayer and as family legend goes, it was my grandmother who insisted they remove the 'thou shalt obey' clause in the wedding ceremony. Surely, something so commonplace today must have been quite radical at the time.<br />
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I would like to think they would be on the right side of this transformational time today, too.<br />
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Nantucket</h3>
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The wedding and reception were the exclamation point of an incredible visit to Nantucket. We had time each day to explore the island and take in its personality. The downtown roads are still cobblestone and the homes and buildings ALL wear a gray-shingled uniform. Even the local pet hospital is a rambling, beautiful structure befitting animals of the extremely wealthy. As charming as Nantucket is, it is that very seaside character that draws extreme wealth. Do a Google search about Nantucket and you'll find stories upon stories of the monied names who summer here. If we lived here we'd be in the 1% on the bottom rung of the ladder. There was a 200' boat so big in the harbor that in addition to being tied to a dock it also had two huge anchors set ahead. Before the yacht moves, a diver is hired to go down and make sure the anchor chain doesn't get cross-wise or otherwise tangled.</div>
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There's much to appreciate about the island's charms, of course. The beaches, charming shops, dunes. I was also taken by the window boxes full of flowers and greenery on many of the downtown homes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nantucket Pet Hospital</td></tr>
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Here we are at the wedding reception. That's the Atlantic Ocean off in the distance:</div>
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We were joined by our buddies Beth and Pat, who are now on board and great crew. There's an additional peace-of-mind that takes place when an extra couple sets of experienced hands are on board. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFFm8GAGFpbKBZGeggd6bKMvk5y2zhb7lCRIhP0tvk3V4aEftkkO8fhyphenhyphenEu0yTMnz-SbG7eU4wsAOwfyqRawMFNIDdEBixh1yaelaisTfoQu83kfEanvsKqNeZI2W84IAnS9EzEnaFOKo1/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFFm8GAGFpbKBZGeggd6bKMvk5y2zhb7lCRIhP0tvk3V4aEftkkO8fhyphenhyphenEu0yTMnz-SbG7eU4wsAOwfyqRawMFNIDdEBixh1yaelaisTfoQu83kfEanvsKqNeZI2W84IAnS9EzEnaFOKo1/s320/Image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Weather is predicted to take a turn here by tomorrow so we got out of Nantucket early yesterday morning and made a long day run back to Block Island. We head to Sag Harbor this morning. Strike that. Guess we are heading to the Connecticut River.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibx2l67wM21L1kvbR0uZRWt67LHuVAW0lKKbOpM0SdozKGwQhte3lDKL0l_rqtRO3kJ-pBJd4Z_BaucbMOUMIfR-b39R83dFPtF3-a4roUYLkn6vgLmxoYGZU5gkq4K8YYdM4VxOo3X1Fn/s1600/Image+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibx2l67wM21L1kvbR0uZRWt67LHuVAW0lKKbOpM0SdozKGwQhte3lDKL0l_rqtRO3kJ-pBJd4Z_BaucbMOUMIfR-b39R83dFPtF3-a4roUYLkn6vgLmxoYGZU5gkq4K8YYdM4VxOo3X1Fn/s1600/Image+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Surf Side Hotel, Block Island</td></tr>
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I'm having a hard time getting a strong enough wireless signal to upload pictures...(takes over 10 minutes a photo!). When we get a faster one I'll upload some more pix. </div>
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You know you're a cruiser when you don't know what day it is.</div>
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Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-60532070729845797922012-09-01T19:42:00.001-07:002012-09-01T19:42:40.542-07:00Nantucket Nuptials<br />
Reflections will come tomorrow morning. This was one of the most deeply touching experiences of all time.<br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxaH-_qV8bxDEjq7FvoUVCuMnjl2Vx9e41-EWO2BVl1_SJc84366Vlb-1GEHThKsGRKqzhPtuoF0nHcQ3kbdrSBz6u5FEutwwHT5JRpLwTCag-lNJbKLSgJ8P-PtUULCCKdDYnN9gZeo3/s640/blogger-image-1022166605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxaH-_qV8bxDEjq7FvoUVCuMnjl2Vx9e41-EWO2BVl1_SJc84366Vlb-1GEHThKsGRKqzhPtuoF0nHcQ3kbdrSBz6u5FEutwwHT5JRpLwTCag-lNJbKLSgJ8P-PtUULCCKdDYnN9gZeo3/s640/blogger-image-1022166605.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVHdBi-MghBOIP8v1p7nLJ095ZLGEkGKhcDJbKDPP3VLCHp3IonkorN67Dm-AY_D4JOybEdzvb9MHkn670swQrYSIRAX2_ljuTtCiKPQNT7tzcylQHQ7nWqxl2zBjpkcF97aenBObACE9/s640/blogger-image--224015190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVHdBi-MghBOIP8v1p7nLJ095ZLGEkGKhcDJbKDPP3VLCHp3IonkorN67Dm-AY_D4JOybEdzvb9MHkn670swQrYSIRAX2_ljuTtCiKPQNT7tzcylQHQ7nWqxl2zBjpkcF97aenBObACE9/s640/blogger-image--224015190.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdMnoXks3KLufy7xu_pDbomuoJgV9E7lzwApM2BAKZgZyudai0oicBgLZPf8JIVy1S3Blz3O7Her4-yQZbGamAMS6fPdIYffGCoz-q-TpXptlKFkUQyYecJ3wEsDQJt_uFAqLCdkTJ2lM/s640/blogger-image--654002712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdMnoXks3KLufy7xu_pDbomuoJgV9E7lzwApM2BAKZgZyudai0oicBgLZPf8JIVy1S3Blz3O7Her4-yQZbGamAMS6fPdIYffGCoz-q-TpXptlKFkUQyYecJ3wEsDQJt_uFAqLCdkTJ2lM/s640/blogger-image--654002712.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEST5otQ6Yl76UyiOKbmFz4s6WTKMZSMdk8WqU6g8vaZbL_b-0csTG80CMEZumMj4bKDZOQDehJoCkhFtcb6Z62h2WgvLtGcftaFRMmrqXGZ8tru7sl8AYPZZAJeX6XeA-ao2uOGm6PvM/s640/blogger-image--1396430899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEST5otQ6Yl76UyiOKbmFz4s6WTKMZSMdk8WqU6g8vaZbL_b-0csTG80CMEZumMj4bKDZOQDehJoCkhFtcb6Z62h2WgvLtGcftaFRMmrqXGZ8tru7sl8AYPZZAJeX6XeA-ao2uOGm6PvM/s640/blogger-image--1396430899.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGXOTrkK1W7_EPvfz2dt7h4Izj6gAZBzq00IpmrJlGneVlzzW4PJIBGu9xoXfdb5zUvTJU1vZXNcx-BhRjg97OvmGMuwO4BBoFnlwbHlDj3WRKRfhzVzh1-8M-t8fy3WKBTPbBUnybiV-/s640/blogger-image--1493262196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGXOTrkK1W7_EPvfz2dt7h4Izj6gAZBzq00IpmrJlGneVlzzW4PJIBGu9xoXfdb5zUvTJU1vZXNcx-BhRjg97OvmGMuwO4BBoFnlwbHlDj3WRKRfhzVzh1-8M-t8fy3WKBTPbBUnybiV-/s640/blogger-image--1493262196.jpg" /></a></div>Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-7956969023090604102012-08-31T20:28:00.000-07:002012-09-01T04:57:56.856-07:00Blue Moon Over Nantucket<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI7kn4uys3u1D8ukr_e7OAhNJSTvyPjIzz29QSQE-PBo6dSE6MbNm6PrQ0e14FbucxZzancnPuOL8dHFXoCfe-szvLn4HxQPTx1xu6nJ95lng6o_qxpIxllfsOwf0ka4vKbipM_mzJKbI/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI7kn4uys3u1D8ukr_e7OAhNJSTvyPjIzz29QSQE-PBo6dSE6MbNm6PrQ0e14FbucxZzancnPuOL8dHFXoCfe-szvLn4HxQPTx1xu6nJ95lng6o_qxpIxllfsOwf0ka4vKbipM_mzJKbI/s640/Image.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Don't suppose you can see this very well but it's the view of the 'blue moon' shinning down on Nantucket Island shot with my iPhone while waiting for the launch to take us back to the boat.<br />
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And oh, what an evening.<br />
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There are an average of 15 weddings a weekend in Nantucket so it makes sense that we got a 'save the date' notice for this one about a year ago because hotels and restaurants get booked far in advance. Everything about this destination wedding weekend so far has been a once-in-a-blue moon kind of experience. Tonight was the rehearsal dinner hosted by Melissa's sister. All of the people we are meeting have been extraordinarily accomplished and interesting and our hosts and hostesses couldn't be more gracious.<br />
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Our friends Beth Newbold and her husband Pat Winkler joined us shortly after 1 p.m. today. They came in for the wedding and will be joining us for the next week aboard Bel Sito. Beth and Pat are very experienced boaters who not only own a 57' Tazwell sailboat which they've cruised from Maine to the Caribbean, but also joined the trawler world recently by buying a Menorquin 36' which they've been cruising around Maine lately. I wondered how they'd feel about coming aboard yet another boat for yet another week, to which Pat said:<br />
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"Are you kidding? It's like asking if you can have too much garlic or cinnamon!"<br />
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Well said, Pat.<br />
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These two are great boat hands. Pat and Richard have already started playing around with the electronics, moved a table and discussed how to get the water flow meter working.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll get a better picture of Pat and Beth tomorrow</td></tr>
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Ah, water.<br />
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So, last night I tried to turn on the water to wash dishes and nothing came out of the spigot.<br />
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No water. And no water in the heads, either. This could be really bad news. Richard crawled down into the engine room area and checked the water pump. Visions of a Nantucket yard bill started dancing around in our heads.<br />
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But then we wondered: could we have run out of water?<br />
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It couldn't be that simple, could it? That would be the equivalent of an I.T. person asking: 'Did you turn the power on?' when asked why the damnable machine isn't working.<br />
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Let's see. We filled the tanks in Mystic...now remember, we just got the boat in May and this is the longest cruise we've been on so we are learning as we go. Could we have gone through 190 gallons of water so soon? Nah. Could we? Maybe.<br />
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But nothing's really ever that simple, is it? We wouldn't know for sure until the next morning when we could move the boat to the water dock.<br />
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Richard obsessed about this all night long...he runs through all the options in his mind...and usually figures it must be a worst-case scenario (because it often is).<br />
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We got the boat to the dock, fingers crossed, and plunged the hose down into the tank and started filling. The minutes dragged on and on...and then, miracle of miracles, the water started streaming from the faucets.<br />
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YEA!<br />
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So here begins an ongoing series I'm calling "You know you're a cruiser when___________"<br />
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For example, You know you're a cruiser when you get back to land and feel guilty for taking a long shower.<br />
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Or, you know you're a cruiser when someone uses the term 'head hunter' and your first thought is of the Nantucket Pump Out Boat.<br />
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Got the game? Cruisers, feel free to add your own.<br />
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0Nantucket, MA, USA41.2834704 -70.09945141.0925614 -70.415308 41.4743794 -69.783594000000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-71743866441267418322012-08-30T16:46:00.000-07:002012-08-31T08:06:06.780-07:00Nantucket. Oh Yeah!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHa50yD0gTr2e3An8BzYRLFL40oWPqdYXcHrRmCTIZ8c_ImOSSxaPaKOa29YP6lP2qAoynZUkaYJCW9K5_Uiw9uf8BblaRMLf9gGhW0LL6tIb8GiIe1oo4ArS7Pq1sXwSCyDf1WrtwW2w4/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHa50yD0gTr2e3An8BzYRLFL40oWPqdYXcHrRmCTIZ8c_ImOSSxaPaKOa29YP6lP2qAoynZUkaYJCW9K5_Uiw9uf8BblaRMLf9gGhW0LL6tIb8GiIe1oo4ArS7Pq1sXwSCyDf1WrtwW2w4/s320/Image.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nantucket, oh yeah!</td></tr>
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We have reached our destination...</h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bel Sito's track from MV to Nantucket</td></tr>
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Let the wedding festivities begin! The purpose of this cruise was to ultimately arrive in Nantucket for Labor Day weekend and the wedding of our friends Melissa and Josie. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josie Martin and Melissa Meyers</td></tr>
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We made it.<br />
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Bel Sito left Oak Bluff Harbor in Martha's Vineyard at 7:30 a.m. and we arrived in Nantucket Harbor by 10:50 a.m. A big current pushed us so our speed averaged about 10 kts. </div>
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We've been living aboard this boat for 18 days and it seems like only yesterday we left our dock<br />
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in Annapolis. The boat 'lives well' with time as do we.</div>
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We've been to Nantucket just once before, coming over via ferry for one day, thus making us 'day trippers'. It was crowded and we weren't familiar with the island so didn't give this storied isle enough of a look see. We intend to remedy that this trip, starting with attending an amazing party on the Sconset beach complete with a raw bar, and other great appetizers. There were seals fishing in the waters close to shore so we could see their heads bobbing in and out of the waves. I tried to shoot some video for you but you can't tell it's of a seal. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.<br />
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Living in Annapolis, I've seen plenty of humongous yachts in the harbor but I have never seen so many packed in one place as there are here in Nantucket. Who owns these things? <br />
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Living aboard a 38' trawler like Bel Sito, I'll admit to having a bit of disdain for these multi-million dollar floating cities three and four times our size.<br />
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Imagine what these 'toys' cost their owners. And it's not the initial cost, which could be well over $40,000,000. Think about the ongoing upkeep of paying a captain and crew, dockage...not to mention thousands to fill up the fuel tanks. Thousands. For a tank of gas!<br />
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This is also a mecca for old, classic wooden boats. We've already spotted a 70' Trumpy and an old Elco. Great to watch, for sure, and I'm hoping to wend my way through the harbor in the kayak to get a closer look.<br />
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It's delightful to be able to be here to participate in one of the biggest days in a couples' life. We are honored to have been included and look forward to the festivities to come!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're anchored off Brant Town Point and partied on the beach in' Sconset</td></tr>
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Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-52243294890005953962012-08-29T20:06:00.001-07:002012-08-29T20:12:01.057-07:00Community Sing in Oak Bluff What did we do today? The pressure is really on with this blog-task. <br />
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Another lobster for lunch, putting clean laundry in drawers? Ack. How to make it interesting!?<br />
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Actually, the highlight for the day was meeting Chuck and Ginnie Hurley, owners of a Sabreline 36' and from Annapolis. We came real close to buying that make and model of trawler and if we hadn't found Bel Sito might very well be blogging right now from their sister ship. We still hope someone in our extended 'family' buys her. She's a real beauty:<br />
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Luck of the Irish<br />
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When we saw their boat pull in and take a mooring ball in Oak Bluff Harbor, we dinghyed over to say howdeedo. They've been on their boat since June so we had tons of questions, and much in common past and present.<br />
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They are full of information about cruising New England and beyond and we hope to duplicate some of their experiences.<br />
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Ah, what to do in Oak Bluff on a Wednesday night besides talk of anchorages and boat maintenance? Why go to the Methodist Tabernacle for the final all-camp sing of the season, of course! The Hurley's went with us and we all tried mightily to stand and sit and march our feet and salute and and and and, but we four novices were just not in sync with the regulars.<br />
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With the exception of 'Amazing Grace', 'Auld Lang Syne' and 'Good Night Irene', I didn't know any of the songs and it went on for over an hour.<br />
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Here's a video clip from the singathon: <br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMgHnFGx7c">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMgHnFGx7c</a><br />
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I hope the link is live ( I'm filing this from the iPad blogger app, not the computer. <br />
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Anyway, that's all for now. All that singing has worn me out.<br />
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- Posted by Julie Gammack using BlogPress from my iPadJulie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-48726679871884833652012-08-29T06:39:00.001-07:002012-08-29T15:58:32.539-07:00Martha's Vineyard and the GOP convention<br />
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This is the view from Gay Head, MA., uh wait, they changed the historic name to Aquinnah in 1998. The printed explanation for the name change is that the new name better reflects the American Indian population there. <br />
Yeah, right.<br />
Anyway, most locals still call it Gay Head, even though I couldn't find a souvenir coffee cup to prove it. <br />
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We arrived by tour bus, having eliminated the use of mopeds, bikes or a rental car. It is a big (100 sq mile) island, after all.<br />
The trip was sold to us as a 2 1/2-hour guided tour which we concluded would be less stressful than our usual mode of touring plus, would be informative. Of course, once onboard the bus one is committed to that time block. Now, the tour guide's English is much, much better than my Russian and he should be applauded for learning the language so quickly, however we could only understand every fifth word or so. <br />
I think he pointed out Atty. General Eric Holder's home, and said something about James Taylor and John Belushi, who is buried there. He used a pointer on a map at the front of the bus to show where we were.<br />
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I couldn't find T-shirts other than plain of Martha's Vineyard, but these signs might reflect the MV culture just as well.<br />
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I wish I knew more of my family history because I'm certain my uncle, Tom Gammack, roamed this island. At the time of his death (complications of the mumps) he was governor of the NY Stock Exchange and Joseph Kennedy's right-hand man. He was my fathers' oldest sibling and by all accounts the favorite son. I know very little otherwise, although friends published a book about him after he died and I've discovered some of his writings through Google Books searches. Oh the questions I would have of him today!<br />
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Ah, the cruisers life.<br />
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We made it back to Bel Sito in high winds, me drenched from sitting in front of the 8' dinghy, and settled in to catching what we could of the GOP convention via live stream on the iPad... The NYTimes ought to stick to what they do best: print (omg) but USA Today ran a decent stream. I am not supposed to make political commentary in this blog, but just let me say this: <br />
I sure can't wait to see what Jon Stewart will do with clips of the Republicans 'dancing'!<br />
Any political commentary that might creep into this blog is solely that of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the entire crew. But he can't dance either.<br />
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Off to Nantucket tomorrow!<br />
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- Posted by Julie Gammack using BlogPress from my iPad<br />
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Location:<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chapman%20St,%20United%20States%4041.458784%2C-70.563017&z=10">Chapman St, United States</a></div>
Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-11491599034460623522012-08-27T18:10:00.000-07:002012-08-27T18:20:27.993-07:00We're Island Hopping<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Departing Block Island @7:30 a.m.<br />
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Our plan had been to leave Block Island at 8 a.m., but Richard took another look at the weather forecast and wanted to get a jump on the day. He was kind enough to say I could stay in bed and finish my first cup of coffee while he handled everything (he is THAT kinda guy) but team work is important so I jumped up and readied the mooring line for slipping as soon as he got to the upper helm (and I'm THAT kind of mate). Yea us.<br />
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A successful cruising couple must be mutually supportive. Guess that's true on land, eh?<br />
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Here's what we monitor on Bel Sito's GPS system...you see the dark icon with the red line going upward? That's Bel Sito and the course we are heading:<br />
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We were back in the rollers of the Atlantic Ocean. I love the motion at 1-2'...probably not much more, though. We kept a look out for whales and lobster pots. No whales, but lots of pots to dodge.<br />
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Here is a glorious site we came upon in the open water....a beautiful old schooner named Lynx. Richard gives his commentary describing what we are seeing in the video:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9ZZoxYSyfc" target="_blank">Click here to see a schooner underway by Martha's Vinyard</a></h2>
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We made it into Oak Bluff Harbor of Martha's Vineyard, a 100 square mile island, and opted for a mooring ball instead of a slip (it's a bit quieter out here in the field). We ambled around this neck of the woods, scoping out a grocery store etc and revisiting the Methodist Camp Cottages, </div>
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I'm usually curious about real estate when we visit places. Here's what $15,000,000 can buy you: </div>
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<a href="http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/78-Squibnocket-Farm-Rd_Chilmark_MA_02535_M32256-22541" target="_blank">$15m house on MV</a></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR-gRqvnDGs07vZqUvJlpe0WaxMbEfR6L8w-yE_9OhliUtobIIFZok7pQYMr9B-B86HrndX1-PactBdIqyyarRBB9qLYocfFrbs7q8fFyTRiUxcuviOPUHZW-g4peTtf6-f2Pop_nLD6Z/s1600/l2a09c843-m1o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR-gRqvnDGs07vZqUvJlpe0WaxMbEfR6L8w-yE_9OhliUtobIIFZok7pQYMr9B-B86HrndX1-PactBdIqyyarRBB9qLYocfFrbs7q8fFyTRiUxcuviOPUHZW-g4peTtf6-f2Pop_nLD6Z/s320/l2a09c843-m1o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Or, if the little gingerbread houses have any appeal, here's one for $320,000. </div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUI8eweByzm63HID7SJ6az5b5QVpwuU7esQLYOE0AHMCuRGTVeq3qU3GzsE8M8jA63Fiqp7bggtignxIiw5lmJMsnCYSJYQuUoGHLzX58vq1IPBBlofFhCmfMag3ocT46ZQMMzobKfxK0Y/s1600/lc016c243-m0m.jpg" /><a href="http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/69-Trinity-Park_Oak-Bluffs_MA_02557_M34360-29202" target="_blank">Overview of Gingerbread House for sale</a></h2>
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Six years ago we came to Martha's Vineyard over on the Edgartown side of the island aboard Alleluia, a 41.1' Bristol, with Eric and Shelley Rubin, then returned to Annapolis with Drew and Margaret Davis. We had to contend with storms and all kinds of problems associated with fog and not having operational radar, let alone AIS, on that voyage to and from Annapolis. </div>
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Wonder how Martha's Vineyard got the name? Wonder what movies have been filmed here? Wonder what celebrities have lived here? All of this is answered and more in the Wikipedia entry for Martha's Vineyard. Interesting stuff:</div>
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Bel Sito in Oak Bluff Harbor, Martha's Vineyard. Many more sunsets. </div>
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-50665135136734430832012-08-26T17:21:00.000-07:002012-08-26T17:25:46.796-07:00Bye-bye Block<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fisherman's pal waiting while a prize catch weighs in at 40 lbs. Some in our crew t<span style="text-align: justify;">hought she was visually more interesting than the fish.</span><br />
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Leaving Block Island in the A.M.</h2>
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When the morning comes it'll be time to press on, hard as it is to leave. We've felt that way at every stop since Oyster Bay and yet each new port has been better than the last. That said, I think I'm an island person. There's just something about being on a tiny piece of land out in the middle of the ocean that feels wonderfully weird. The main industry on Block Island, Martha's Vinyard and Nantucket is tourism, hands down. Ferries come in two and three at a time, unloading armies of T-shirt buyers on a day trip. The Block Island Harbor has over 90 public mooring balls for visiting pleasure craft in addition to marinas for transients. If, however, you have a chance to get to Vinalhaven, Maine, an island about an hour and a half ferry ride from Rockport, you'll experience a real, working island home of a thriving lobster industry. Yeah, you can get fudge and T-shirts, but there's only one motel and not much else. Maybe a couple of restaurants. About as un-Nantucket as an island in the U.S. can get, me thinks. </div>
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Ah, but I digress from our trip.</div>
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We did a little touring today, enough for me to grab a couple blog photos. The rest of the time we hung out on the boat reading and in Skipper G's case, doing a couple projects. There is ALWAYS a boat project to be done. ALWAYS. AlWAYS. ALWAYS.<br />
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Here's Richard in the Block Island hardware store:</div>
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Leo Oxburger said he and his wife, Mona, read a book "Sailing Down the Moonbeam" by Mary Gottschalk while they were cruising. Thanks to a good wi-fi connection, I downloaded it onto my Kindle app on the iPad and started reading. Whoa! The author acknowledged a couple of Des Moines friends for encouraging her writing, including Mary Kay Shanley and Diane Glass. I searched and found the author on Facebook and we have since struck up a 'conversation'. I can't wait to finish her book, read her blog and get to know her in real time if possible. Any woman who writes in her bio that she makes her living writing and speaking on topics such as career planning, adjusting to aging and 'the amazing things that can happen when you accept the fact that control is an illusion' has got to be a kindred spirit. Her first novel is due in 2013. I'm 30% into the Moonbeam book and right in the thick of their cruising angst. Hope it has a happy ending. </div>
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It's great fun to hear from our readers. George Pattee says reading the blog reminds him of the Jimmy Buffet song, "Lovely Cruise." As it is. </div>
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Here are some shots and videos of our last day on Block Island (for awhile): Kid getting filthy in the sand, oars decorating a restaurant called (can you guess?) The Oars, me after returning from a long kayak journey exploring places motor boats can't get into, and Richard featuring a pasta he made with basil, lobster, pine nuts, garlic etc. etc. </div>
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This video drove Richard crazy when he realized I shot it while driving a moped. Click here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myn620vjIqY" target="_blank">Moped View</a></div>
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Many more sunsets.</div>
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Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-40333828741053948432012-08-25T17:00:00.001-07:002012-08-25T17:34:01.567-07:00This is no deserted island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinghy dock, New Harbor, Block Island</td></tr>
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[Click inside the text to see the full blog post. Lots of pix today]</h4>
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There are planners and there are the spontaneous. Try as we might, we are the latter.<br />
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Perhaps it comes from being sailors. At some point, you just have to give up planning anything because the winds are ultimately in control.<br />
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Cruisers are dependent on a dinghy to get to town and then dependent upon whatever mode of transportation is available once you arrive on land. Often, one must rely on the compassion of fellow cruisers with a car, as was the case with Jack and June, the marina managers in Mystic.<br />
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In Block Island there are a number of transportation choices: bikes, mopeds, taxis and foot. Before starting our day inland we spent a good 15 minutes discussing how we would get the groceries, rent mopeds, where we'd have lunch etc. and we actually developed a plan.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of New Harbor</td></tr>
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It's a delightful stroll from New Harbor to the main activities along the Atlantic coast side of the island, and we were on course for a good 25 minutes. Then - uh oh - we came upon a Farmers Market in a small park!<br />
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All plans were quickly changed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Block Island Saturday Farmers Market in the park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Napkins and placemats</td></tr>
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Just about everything was very expensive: $7 jam, $8 for napkins, $5 for a loaf of bread...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">blockislandsweatersetc@gmail.com</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand-knit sweater with form of Block Island</td></tr>
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....and then I stumbled upon a woman hand-knitting sweaters for $55 (about what a sweatshirt sells for downtown). The image woven into the sweater is of the island. </div>
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Next, mopeds and an exploration of this amazing island. Polly, our cab driver, said there were 211 bicycle or moped accidents on the island just last year. We certainly understand why. She also says tourism is down considerably (could have fooled us!). I asked another cab driver about real estate values. He said the $4 to $6 million dollar homes are selling quickly but not the $1 million.<br />
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Who would have thought we'd live to see the day when $1 million was considered an entry-level afixer-upper.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Varoom, varoom</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southeast Lighthouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finns Seafood Restaurant</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stairway to the top of Southeast Lighthouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spring Hill Inn<br />
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For more information about Block Island: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_Island" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_Island</a></div>
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-74414146381673931632012-08-24T17:23:00.001-07:002012-08-24T17:56:40.953-07:00Block Island<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Block Island, Rhode Island<br />
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This is where we are right this minute. We are anchored in Salt Pond, the large bay area at the 'bone of the lamb chop,' as the land suggests. In one of the last weekends of the season, boaters have come from all over to explore this amazing place. We discovered a lovely old hotel, the Surf Inn, where we had mussels and clam strips overlooking east entrance to the island. This is such an amazing discovery we're staying an extra night (or more!).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First thing in the morning, a yell comes through the Block Island anchorage: "Andiamo!" This means a boat with fresh baked goods, fruit and coffee is wending it's way through the mooring field. Very pricey, but so is everything on an island</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGQK_b2PLK5dcNrHQoKO22UybNDvHho4ld9d7_9PTDhptsFOiVgPTgjt8RteKCOG4bYKm0FntX4CP1ApYiPmjydTFBiwLKSaykj63Q4qoK_5ap0UvxSQOjipxbu9aK-Mjs_MAH0pJZ2Mw/s640/blogger-image-1844774341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGQK_b2PLK5dcNrHQoKO22UybNDvHho4ld9d7_9PTDhptsFOiVgPTgjt8RteKCOG4bYKm0FntX4CP1ApYiPmjydTFBiwLKSaykj63Q4qoK_5ap0UvxSQOjipxbu9aK-Mjs_MAH0pJZ2Mw/s320/blogger-image-1844774341.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Andiamo boat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgkUUbi2Bl2dNx6LLaB0DXVaVK4w_szJYW1lXnyCh-RiyPYi1xEwgGzYvpFODZT3nq1J6xX_LXhLtDxrKEcr5H_ggyoVgkwlWGE5vasIEh0GNf9incFoby57_F_NhOgecxHT2ASq4Ojk0/s640/blogger-image-338782350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgkUUbi2Bl2dNx6LLaB0DXVaVK4w_szJYW1lXnyCh-RiyPYi1xEwgGzYvpFODZT3nq1J6xX_LXhLtDxrKEcr5H_ggyoVgkwlWGE5vasIEh0GNf9incFoby57_F_NhOgecxHT2ASq4Ojk0/s320/blogger-image-338782350.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classic old hotel on the walk to town</td></tr>
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Boat Names</h3>
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Boat names are fun to observe. Sailboats often have lyrical, soft, names like 'Windsong' 'Halcyon' 'Adagio' 'Anthem' 'Hymn' while power boats, especially the phallic designed monsters are named 'Bow Thruster,' 'Throbbin' Robbin,' 'Purely Pleasure', and my all-time least favorite, 'Wet Dream' ... then there are those for the white liars who can honestly say "I'm at 'The Office' or on a 'In a Meeting' when that's just what their boat is named. </div>
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Here you see 'License to Chill.' </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9mGcThQeiRjnXl77H3i804bb3Vau05tLbTb-aey_xyo6z0f3C3FTEVItJbuDimgFZb94RRud0edUJcVpxTUf4RX7KMTm90SoUWDSEcjBuNRfrj8CqolTRyHVdVYtMLl8h6vp0Dz1UfYA/s640/blogger-image--450658242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9mGcThQeiRjnXl77H3i804bb3Vau05tLbTb-aey_xyo6z0f3C3FTEVItJbuDimgFZb94RRud0edUJcVpxTUf4RX7KMTm90SoUWDSEcjBuNRfrj8CqolTRyHVdVYtMLl8h6vp0Dz1UfYA/s400/blogger-image--450658242.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat Name: License To Chill</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwZqYkgPiPVIwruxDCgj_ktUk7tTDsqsfmvh5U9WpQ-3dF9ZO_DhSMPAVJCuYvK8j2qwu54kmIe_EWP8q5MZqiEdsgDxFvXvy3Cm_ieB9XA0IaAFYjIHiGJJia48uC75e2_es3TAv7LPU/s640/blogger-image-942899519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwZqYkgPiPVIwruxDCgj_ktUk7tTDsqsfmvh5U9WpQ-3dF9ZO_DhSMPAVJCuYvK8j2qwu54kmIe_EWP8q5MZqiEdsgDxFvXvy3Cm_ieB9XA0IaAFYjIHiGJJia48uC75e2_es3TAv7LPU/s640/blogger-image-942899519.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat Name: Private Reserve</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkkcvMq7wahYf0CL4103U2TCgPgOJ-Oj41Qyfpz10r0kVqms5c5i1kNONelMMb0JeqiPzBE2EkETNrONDIo9oSVkJY7pD_Fvf5eZqqDkHVa4dMpuIq4TATXjlO1rL09wdYUirWG7jj6Fl/s640/blogger-image-971709624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkkcvMq7wahYf0CL4103U2TCgPgOJ-Oj41Qyfpz10r0kVqms5c5i1kNONelMMb0JeqiPzBE2EkETNrONDIo9oSVkJY7pD_Fvf5eZqqDkHVa4dMpuIq4TATXjlO1rL09wdYUirWG7jj6Fl/s640/blogger-image-971709624.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat Name: Nauti Girl</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sO18rSMe9Dzo3K4CJ1kNAuCP2LQI9qENcqHf7CwSbAeR4z9pWJ454K35F_WdoUpz5-BmguqIZQAbJWhE3FZyMgCSpv7acuy-NdjJKpYfxL0idQVXKx5DztLH7dHTW6Y70nkHkFHYfihd/s640/blogger-image-1047448014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sO18rSMe9Dzo3K4CJ1kNAuCP2LQI9qENcqHf7CwSbAeR4z9pWJ454K35F_WdoUpz5-BmguqIZQAbJWhE3FZyMgCSpv7acuy-NdjJKpYfxL0idQVXKx5DztLH7dHTW6Y70nkHkFHYfihd/s640/blogger-image-1047448014.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many more sunsets, please</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><h3>
View of the Atlantic from the porch of the Surf Inn </h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3celdVYQ7Qlhw3CVkJgHZv-kAemhz4mAi5arcFKUL5nnYrHLgChkFz53luUMq9065Em79Z0is35imoaNEhtbxDvKLBwnO7XpvqEVaxatNQilDTA3Ns1jlPMnca5RaergWHa7_Hv-vV5b/s640/blogger-image-46972456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3celdVYQ7Qlhw3CVkJgHZv-kAemhz4mAi5arcFKUL5nnYrHLgChkFz53luUMq9065Em79Z0is35imoaNEhtbxDvKLBwnO7XpvqEVaxatNQilDTA3Ns1jlPMnca5RaergWHa7_Hv-vV5b/s640/blogger-image-46972456.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the ocean side of Block Island (we are moored in the 'New Harbor' on the other side)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFJ_au16mO5p7HxX1bLVdY99zZggg2s_AoNY9bqCqAB7V-THgLH7SIxG-56CN9Hpji94zQ0DSpMsPj9io9Y6XgypoHBYIdLEMzLrJ8lxyJFSxwonIirHylKil3yBfPd_6z5dQL8-kFHbO/s640/blogger-image-539813841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFJ_au16mO5p7HxX1bLVdY99zZggg2s_AoNY9bqCqAB7V-THgLH7SIxG-56CN9Hpji94zQ0DSpMsPj9io9Y6XgypoHBYIdLEMzLrJ8lxyJFSxwonIirHylKil3yBfPd_6z5dQL8-kFHbO/s400/blogger-image-539813841.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXs_AtwyhK8EflSMXuirBR5hyphenhyphenUOdx2HPwWU8XkL3uG_3Jc_dSNHXU_KpnQ3t5D3S04_pnqWLmTuInurOk-rP4l6ueR5MYoRC5cDbOAk6UOE-PtmhOB37QFsLxGgMNuQdM2SgKR7q8QjoB-/s640/blogger-image--1274735679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXs_AtwyhK8EflSMXuirBR5hyphenhyphenUOdx2HPwWU8XkL3uG_3Jc_dSNHXU_KpnQ3t5D3S04_pnqWLmTuInurOk-rP4l6ueR5MYoRC5cDbOAk6UOE-PtmhOB37QFsLxGgMNuQdM2SgKR7q8QjoB-/s400/blogger-image--1274735679.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTetgCpM-l24hpk24G-2mjE-S3L9qQbI_K9wLsQZMxfcSNkVmCc7XdI6H7B6W2ulFSeDSRrAU1MrSRiamhMG0PcXe10bmZrT8DkA6bOhk9EW_uzCmq-QDAzjdRnIge9cr8vAoM1VbMQvZ6/s640/blogger-image-474063958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTetgCpM-l24hpk24G-2mjE-S3L9qQbI_K9wLsQZMxfcSNkVmCc7XdI6H7B6W2ulFSeDSRrAU1MrSRiamhMG0PcXe10bmZrT8DkA6bOhk9EW_uzCmq-QDAzjdRnIge9cr8vAoM1VbMQvZ6/s640/blogger-image-474063958.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">T-shirt culture on Block Island</td></tr>
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Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-64260325813520021422012-08-24T07:13:00.001-07:002012-08-24T07:54:52.561-07:00Sadness in Paradise<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNna6GtEG3BYa6QnFffWB0xKEIfPJNyud5nzgfhcn7aE1b0MihlP_WLt3MJswQl0uDNtb3YxxEP86IpC9o2byl0GvkKraD0ElqskVHZCXjy87R-3Qlrp8sRX5hv4ItvTYXMrdFdKnYuH_/s1600/Image+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNna6GtEG3BYa6QnFffWB0xKEIfPJNyud5nzgfhcn7aE1b0MihlP_WLt3MJswQl0uDNtb3YxxEP86IpC9o2byl0GvkKraD0ElqskVHZCXjy87R-3Qlrp8sRX5hv4ItvTYXMrdFdKnYuH_/s320/Image+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Block Island, 8-23-2012</td></tr>
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One electronic message can sure change a day.</div>
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Just 24-hours ago Richard and I were having breakfast in a small cafe on Main St. in downtown Mystic, Ct.</div>
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I was looking at Facebook on my iPhone and saw a note from Natasha Newcomb, whom I had met at Barbara Mack's house about four years ago at a woman's potluck in Des Moines. She wrote how sorry she was to learn of Barbara's death. </div>
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'What?!!!" I responded. More Facebook updates confirmed the news. </div>
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Richard and I both had histories with Barbara Mack. Mine tangential, Richard's directly when she was corporate counsel to The Register and Tribune Company at the time he was president. When the company properties were sold off and Gannett bought The Register, Barbara joined the faculty at Iowa State University.</div>
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Barbara Mack was two years younger than I am. Our first jobs at The Des Moines Register were as 'copy kids'. As I drifted through my 20s and 30s, Barbara was focussed and driven in ways I better understand now that I read a feature story a former student wrote about her when she began working in the office of the president of Iowa State. An alcoholic and abusive father tried to thwart her college education, and as Barbara was quoted: "…Gave me the only broken bones I've ever had."</div>
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Phone calls started coming in from former Register staffers who knew Barbara. There's a primal need to connect when a member of 'the tribe' dies. As the day unfolded, Barbara Mack's Facebook page was flooded with tributes from her former students, mostly, talking about how she had changed or shaped their lives. I learned more about Barbara Mack via this strange new medium than any obituary or sermon could ever capture. </div>
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An unexpected and untimely death draws one inward and being on a seemingly limitless body of water, as we were traveling from Mystic to an island off of Rhode Island, both of us were in a reflective, quiet mood. </div>
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What kind of legacy are we leaving? What's left to do? Barbara apparently thought about her legacy a good deal. Without children of her own, she adopted those she taught and yesterday many of them wrote to say she was the best professor they ever had. It's clear she had a direct impact on the betterment of these young lives. </div>
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This loss also underscores decisions such as buying and cruising Bel Sito. </div>
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None of us know what tomorrow will bring let alone if there will be one. Apparently, there were shootings moments ago near the Empire State Building in downtown NY, not far from where we were just a few short days ago. News alerts are just starting to stream in. A Facebook post from a NY'er just says: It's mayhem in Mid-town.</div>
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Each day on this journey we marvel at the sunset and say to one another:<br />
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Many more sunsets. </div>
Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-34084401257406232362012-08-23T16:59:00.001-07:002012-08-23T17:01:30.083-07:00Mystic, Ct to Block Island, RICan't get a wireless signal for the computer so am just loading photos from our trek across the Long Island Sound today from my iPhone.<br />
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Block Island is one of the loveliest spots we have seen so far. Islands have a very special feel.<br />
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More to come.<br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKvnYqr_akiP-PxOltjnpx7__TiH88uT-42sC8XSIYWY-qldStNUI_cZ23WNBcYeggy4j_dz235kDbzY66hxgsrrGEjjbooTdx7IrTq8qjI0KikFU1C7yeV4y6QNjdS0u4O2Ig5uC_5qx/s640/blogger-image-1269261132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKvnYqr_akiP-PxOltjnpx7__TiH88uT-42sC8XSIYWY-qldStNUI_cZ23WNBcYeggy4j_dz235kDbzY66hxgsrrGEjjbooTdx7IrTq8qjI0KikFU1C7yeV4y6QNjdS0u4O2Ig5uC_5qx/s640/blogger-image-1269261132.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnX5F7dwObAZUXPtYsSKqaWWMB9QJGnppiCK73FRdVMNiPc7cOzYZ_cXxnurlxxjJK0tQ_f9o239SVfHQ26hfyjWP7ukvlcsn0mE9MwCkikwnO1hzbgJRhUqMgWq7nrrfNukUmasxx2ya/s640/blogger-image--886197053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnX5F7dwObAZUXPtYsSKqaWWMB9QJGnppiCK73FRdVMNiPc7cOzYZ_cXxnurlxxjJK0tQ_f9o239SVfHQ26hfyjWP7ukvlcsn0mE9MwCkikwnO1hzbgJRhUqMgWq7nrrfNukUmasxx2ya/s640/blogger-image--886197053.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2_yjxL3qw5_GeDw0eJG3hZ-tMtkCxn67hFniwIlhrKkBpQtJiSDgP-RxU1paOFStTIT4aZaqqSilMXN4wsxv_JxR7HSCyOYhM8qmPBAygTvFc4HsRTys-GIQ6L_qC_MnOCU73Uc6IuXi/s640/blogger-image-179420389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2_yjxL3qw5_GeDw0eJG3hZ-tMtkCxn67hFniwIlhrKkBpQtJiSDgP-RxU1paOFStTIT4aZaqqSilMXN4wsxv_JxR7HSCyOYhM8qmPBAygTvFc4HsRTys-GIQ6L_qC_MnOCU73Uc6IuXi/s640/blogger-image-179420389.jpg" /></a></div>Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-88316352055790104042012-08-22T13:39:00.001-07:002012-08-22T18:40:51.591-07:00The Un-Varnished Truth About Varnish<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYx9UOyLCTQWKGVvwAjZjM7x_qLkluuZKNgc0LG9N6hSROdCDG0LL4vsBYDH6PEWXgkD8fIaOu1yRHGt-lo-2hrwmE4eat6ylOE_dhZ9ZGb2YNSE1K3DhyAm5Kafd8T_mwXutHWx9gECc4/s1600/Image+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYx9UOyLCTQWKGVvwAjZjM7x_qLkluuZKNgc0LG9N6hSROdCDG0LL4vsBYDH6PEWXgkD8fIaOu1yRHGt-lo-2hrwmE4eat6ylOE_dhZ9ZGb2YNSE1K3DhyAm5Kafd8T_mwXutHWx9gECc4/s400/Image+16.jpg" width="330" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bel Sito's varnish by craftswoman Melissa Meyers<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOuuv0Ps6k65McmhyNdqTfejsaCuL93pxYW-DRjUApTkDa3D0nu0JgcAMHlYQ02L61BMzMcUW2-dsLPRBqNe6ITFfYzf12Xd5gNnPEBIdnS-Va9nohZ12nOiZxAQnIOtRSBR2mfyxG6kZ/s1600/Image+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtOuuv0Ps6k65McmhyNdqTfejsaCuL93pxYW-DRjUApTkDa3D0nu0JgcAMHlYQ02L61BMzMcUW2-dsLPRBqNe6ITFfYzf12Xd5gNnPEBIdnS-Va9nohZ12nOiZxAQnIOtRSBR2mfyxG6kZ/s320/Image+17.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing on this wood<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MNQScrEqU2XuSmFlKENdFp2PMn2TRT62RepArrJqWMw3wWitEXjannyQLo2ApSEmkV65kNwnkpuIQ_1sWLz9hFUE418h2lhj1p1Wj3OOO6tQOooyvj1UK4qDkTujHvvlIbyQjRTBEXlL/s1600/Image+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MNQScrEqU2XuSmFlKENdFp2PMn2TRT62RepArrJqWMw3wWitEXjannyQLo2ApSEmkV65kNwnkpuIQ_1sWLz9hFUE418h2lhj1p1Wj3OOO6tQOooyvj1UK4qDkTujHvvlIbyQjRTBEXlL/s400/Image+18.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A boat with Cetol covering wood trim<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Be sure to click in the post to see the entire entry. </span></div>
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<br /><br /><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Study these three pictures. Notice a difference? Of course you do!</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">What you see here is what we in our household believe is a significant differentiator when it comes to wood on a boat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Boat owners fall into three camps. There's the traditionalist who adhere to lots of wood, covered with varnish, which they call 'brightwork'. Then there's the Cetol camp, which cover wood with a fast-application varnish substitute called 'Cetol'. And then, there are those in the naturalist camp who subscribe to nothing at all generally because they just don't want to do any work. Or, they like the unfinished look. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">There's a fourth camp, which holds to the doctrine that no wood on a boat is best of all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I grew up an Episcopalian where order of worship came in three forms:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">High Church, complete with chanting and incense, Low Church, which was almost impossible to tell from any other Christian church and Middle Church, which drew on some of the rituals of a High Church service, but without most of the pomp.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">We refer to low, middle and high church practices as lazy, hazy or crazy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I have subsequently learned there is a fourth kind of Episcopalian who rarely sets foot in church at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Using that analogy in The Great Varnish Debate, I would say that the varnish devotees are like High Church goers (crazy), the Cetol proponents are like Middle Church (hazy) and none-at-all, are of course, in the Low Church or 'lazy' camp.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Those pure fiberglass worshipers are sometimes looked upon as at least agnostic, as far as this tale goes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Richard falls squarely in the High Church/Crazy camp and worships a good varnish job with the same ardor that a High Church Episcopalian (which by the way he was) enjoys a great ecclesiastical chant. </span></h2>
Seriously, there is true artistry to good varnish work and Melissa Meyers is a master at her craft. After stripping old varnish completely off with a heat gun, she sands the surface and gracefully applies a total of eight coats of high-gloss marine varnish. Sure it would be quicker and less costly to protect the wood with Cetol, but it wouldn't be true brightwork and as you can see from the contrasting photos above, there's a world of difference. No varnish or Cetol at all on teakwood will turn grey, which has it's own kind of beauty.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">We've had close to 4,000 page views on the blog so far, so I expect this post might offend one of you. Although among our friends, the intended audience, there's probably more chance of offending the Cetol camp than any church-goers. If so, sorry. It's a 'lay' day here in Mystic and it's the best I can come up with when all we've done is do laundry, eat great food and generally kicked into full cruise mode.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Mystic Downtown Marina is most pleasant, by the way. Jack and June couldn't be nicer. They've offered to drive us places and invited us to pick herbs planted outside their office window. The herbs, as you note in the photo, are in dirt, which is part of land. Land is good. So good we may stay here another day. </span></span></h2>
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-13025440629883642912012-08-21T16:07:00.003-07:002012-08-21T18:55:26.274-07:00From Port Jeff to Mystic, Across Long Island Sound<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Tp4efSdTslMyu68AqfX5-QS8K6NxImG1f4TsKmcrP_CxdP70rDUmZsT1PpnnFfl46h_uH6rirkKOMvsUxNqBA1VMUZJfmoHeLsxdkF5BVKj8ZKtpCMNnEJC0TUAkcN31o5yZy-cDa9C1/s1600/Image+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Tp4efSdTslMyu68AqfX5-QS8K6NxImG1f4TsKmcrP_CxdP70rDUmZsT1PpnnFfl46h_uH6rirkKOMvsUxNqBA1VMUZJfmoHeLsxdkF5BVKj8ZKtpCMNnEJC0TUAkcN31o5yZy-cDa9C1/s320/Image+8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We traveled from Port Jeff, NY in the lower left hand column of this map, to Mystic River, CT across Long Island Sound today. Charting this path, as Skipper G does while I blog or keep myself otherwise occupied, always seems trickier than it turns out being. If we stay out of the shipping channel, and stay between the red and green markers, our only other challenge - and this really is a big one - is keeping our eyes peeled for lobster pots. They are potentially treacherous and it's so easy to get lulled into thinking they're not around until you're almost right on top of one. <br />
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The float is attached to a lobster trap 100' or more below the surface by a length of rope. If we got one of those ropes around our propeller shaft it could cause serious damage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUojNZk5qVl_3i_xmtgGw8L1bzpDle5aeI8q1qrjypVWhyphenhyphennql50fsEzLG9IzaBemkDB_5oKPOHIp8n4icD5gvA4LMA_IQ1AEBl_-lKeWdGsb-mrjQE25LeRT9hjeP0g9IviAEUhyphenhyphenwKEA_k/s1600/Image+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUojNZk5qVl_3i_xmtgGw8L1bzpDle5aeI8q1qrjypVWhyphenhyphennql50fsEzLG9IzaBemkDB_5oKPOHIp8n4icD5gvA4LMA_IQ1AEBl_-lKeWdGsb-mrjQE25LeRT9hjeP0g9IviAEUhyphenhyphenwKEA_k/s320/Image+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagine this is your view for hours on end</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXKJp2f89IU_nA0ppxZfccRjTdW5pOB1CzRhKgwtCrNzaQ-PyeVsBLQfvyeuZXOcKiuEAB3Z0ZgNhr6XHNrG0gTmYDv1XoqVc0nQaCOdgApyXkOPIJkQkFrMKyJ8HnoScu-Fsk-wq4_Fv/s1600/Image+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXKJp2f89IU_nA0ppxZfccRjTdW5pOB1CzRhKgwtCrNzaQ-PyeVsBLQfvyeuZXOcKiuEAB3Z0ZgNhr6XHNrG0gTmYDv1XoqVc0nQaCOdgApyXkOPIJkQkFrMKyJ8HnoScu-Fsk-wq4_Fv/s200/Image+10.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the lobster pot float in the upper right?</td></tr>
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In about two hours from this very minute I will have marked my 62nd birthday. As family lore has it, I didn't arrive until after 8 p.m. and it took months to get my days and nights in alignment with the rest of the world. This was my first, but certainly not the last, problem I gave my mother. </div>
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I have now stepped into the twilight zone of life and can tell you younger folks 'they' were absolutely right about the need to wear sunscreen and save for retirement. The day actually does come when you will be either glad you did or regret you didn't.</div>
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There couldn't possibly be a better way to spend the milestone of becoming eligible for senior citizen discounts than what we are now doing. </div>
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We left Port Jeff around 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Mystic around 4 p.m. Pretty uneventful day as you can see by the pix below. Naps were not taken simultaneously, of course.</div>
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The stops are getting better and better. We picked up a mooring ball in Port Jeff and a slip here at the Mystic Downtown Marina. </div>
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I insisted on bringing the boat in myself today. It's hard for my captain to let go of the helm in tight situations, but if I'm going to be equally competent - a necessity for a myriad of reasons - then I need to be confident and competent at docking. Of course, talk is cheap, and tempting as it was to chicken out when it was clear the current was running hard and we had some wind come up, I acted like I wasn't one bit scared and brought her in.</div>
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Easing a boat into a slip is a bit of physics and luck. </div>
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Jack and June, the couple who run the Mystic Downtown Marina, bestowed upon me a docking award of 9.2 on a 10-point scale. They rate folks, mostly among themselves, on their docking prowess. After we were safely tied up I proudly reported this was my first non home-port docking job and they were duly impressed. </div>
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"I'd give you a ten if you'd done it with one engine," said Jack. Bel Sito has two engines so you steer the boat from neutral by moving the port or starboard engines forward, neutral or reverse to guide the boat. It's not hard once you've done it a few times. I don't know how anyone could do it with one engine. </div>
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Now, I must say, Capt. G and I had our headsets on and he was coaching me a bit, but I think I would've nailed it if he hadn't. The headsets, by the way, are the best investment a cruising couple can make. They are aptly called 'marriage savers' - well-named because it cuts down on the yelling back and forth when it comes to docking. </div>
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This seaport town of Mystic is incredibly appealing. I regularly try on a town's livability when traveling through...what would it be like to live there? In that house? Mystic is one of those places I can picture doing so. </div>
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Quaint. Great water flowing into the sound and sea, yet protected. With an Amtrak stop, a local independent book store and a restaurant called The Oyster Club that had the very best oysters (I had 30) we've ever had in our lives, Mystic ranks right up there in livability. </div>
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A great day and a great finale. </div>
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We'll stay here at least one more night. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mystic mystique</td></tr>
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<br />Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-49146093480631511412012-08-20T13:05:00.001-07:002012-08-20T19:21:54.198-07:00Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Now we're through the intensity of our urban stops along this journey to Nantucket and the real 'cruise' part of cruising begins. To quote a 6-year-old I know: That's what I'm talking about. </div>
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The overnight in Oyster Bay, kayaking around the next morning, and the easy pace to our next stop, Port Jefferson, NY was about as idyllic as it gets. </div>
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So, I've been thinking about love. </div>
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First, comes the actual physical attraction; then the getting-to-know-you phase. Not all attractions turn into love. Some are deeply forbidden, out-of-reach, or merely surface. And it can take awhile before love settles in but when it does, it feels right even if a little high maintenance. When the relationship fully blossoms, resources are re-allocated and our priorities shift dramatically.<br />
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Lest you think I'm talking about love between two people, I'm talking about boats. </div>
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Now, it's taken me awhile to get the fact that people really can love their boats. I witnessed it long before experiencing same. After all, I can love kayaking without loving the kayak. </div>
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But it happened for me last Saturday night when we came back from a long day in Manhattan and approached our awaiting Bel Sito.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2oyGLwdsAT0VAuOKAsnvRlI0QKHZZH1pzb3z6SbUMjy18zdXs43-ckMeuqy4gEDuqdVmgXmONogTDEu9RPC-xNpkkLZ8-pa4HxKRCDm7Qxl83tfxudDjIruNkh3nfNlKwG678Iw15G1_/s1600/IMG_7239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2oyGLwdsAT0VAuOKAsnvRlI0QKHZZH1pzb3z6SbUMjy18zdXs43-ckMeuqy4gEDuqdVmgXmONogTDEu9RPC-xNpkkLZ8-pa4HxKRCDm7Qxl83tfxudDjIruNkh3nfNlKwG678Iw15G1_/s320/IMG_7239.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bel Sito with the Manhattan skyline in the background</td></tr>
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Pow. I fell in love. Just like that. Richard and I had the exact same feeling that night. We had crossed the threshold of really liking to loving our boat. Every nook and cranny now feels like we're home. </div>
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Gosh, this must sound so goofy to those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, but the rest of you boaters probably do. </div>
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We have friends who are boatless but searching the maritime equivalent of Match.Com otherwise known as Yachtworld.com. It's the site where dreams begin...the hopeful search by size, weight, coloring, age and engine hours. Photos help.</div>
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By the way, Richard calls yachtworld.com "Annapolis porn". </div>
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Men especially really love their boats. Some advice for women: don't think for one minute that you can pretend to like boating then once your married say, 'uh, I was just kidding.' Any boating priest would declare an immediate annulment. And do not make your man chose between you and the boat, unless you want out of the relationship. </div>
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There is a reason why 'My Mistress' is a popular boat name. </div>
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I better stop the analogies here...certainly don't want to debate the merits of renting versus owning.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to Port Jefferson, NY</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT98Is7x_85lxBvKEi8-c4aBUXQS8H1dkVPdN8XydAO2_L1j5GnqaG4y-r66BFo25p2AhPzybyq8MbI-1IA5Ih6Ei8qUUb98enh0fP_FCInUAqQQhouXYJXDpM3Un1HKYvpsyJP9l5MlB0/s1600/Image+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT98Is7x_85lxBvKEi8-c4aBUXQS8H1dkVPdN8XydAO2_L1j5GnqaG4y-r66BFo25p2AhPzybyq8MbI-1IA5Ih6Ei8qUUb98enh0fP_FCInUAqQQhouXYJXDpM3Un1HKYvpsyJP9l5MlB0/s320/Image+3.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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See below for pix that represent why we do what we do:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridgeport Ferry to Port Jeff</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Steam Room, Port Jeff</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oyster Bay</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI__3CZWUEd85wZyMbV-0UmhkvN7J7MPXcK1zMbKUZ3FAJeMFHN5SK-ra2r4tlJ2O7aJ2o1HokiTeLa5eNgqkgbq8XrEPdQ4Ry4RWwEiDB2LvtKArbKfMymnHZQTXdgExQRJVdyk70f8jK/s640/blogger-image-1457108607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI__3CZWUEd85wZyMbV-0UmhkvN7J7MPXcK1zMbKUZ3FAJeMFHN5SK-ra2r4tlJ2O7aJ2o1HokiTeLa5eNgqkgbq8XrEPdQ4Ry4RWwEiDB2LvtKArbKfMymnHZQTXdgExQRJVdyk70f8jK/s640/blogger-image-1457108607.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our path from Oyster Bay to Port Jefferson (sorry it's so fuzzy)</td></tr>
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Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148919097027148476.post-570291645594112902012-08-19T13:45:00.001-07:002012-08-19T13:45:19.959-07:00Pix Up The East River, plus Oyster Bay<br /><br /><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/08/19/2920.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/08/19/s_2920.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' align='left' style='margin:5px'></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/08/19/2921.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/08/19/s_2921.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='146' align='right' style='margin:5px'></a><br />-<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/08/19/2922.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/08/19/s_2922.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='222' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/08/19/2923.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/08/19/s_2923.jpg' border='0' width='281' height='210' align='left' style='margin:5px'></a><br />I<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Brooklyn%20Bridge,%20United%20Nations,%20Oyster%20Bay&z=10'>Brooklyn Bridge, United Nations, Oyster Bay</a></p>Julie and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01295077205597624881noreply@blogger.com0