Summer 17

After the Bermuda trip we took it easy, staying at home in Providence and doing some local trips.

We visited our friends Steve and Elena at their summer home in Goshen. However, all we have is a shot of this baby cow:

Goshen CT Calf

Enough of the non-nautical theme.  We next went out to Block island and Eastern L.I.   A few classic B.I. shots:

Susan's mom Louise drove out to Greenport to spend some time with us.  Nice day sailing!

I'll end this blog with some more "non-nautical" photos.  First, we had a solar eclipse this summer, and we saw it two ways:  The first was through a welding shield courtesy of the guys at the marina.  No photos of that.  BUT, we also held up the pasta strainer against our seats, and got this:

Pasta strainer

Lotsa little pasta strainer eclipses!

Next on the highlight reel is my birthday (big round number).  Here are some dessert shots:

My dessert at Gracie's 

My cake at home party, courtesy of Tiffany!

And finally, to really celebrate, I had a partial knee replacement!!  Not easy finding new doctors in a new state. I really looked hard and long to find one, until one day I was picking up Chinese food at a local take out place and this bus passed me:

MAKOplasty!!!  That sounds like something I want!

So, I did it!!

Thanks, Dr. Marchand!

Kinda makes you want to go back to the calf shot, right!

Next:  We prep for another trip south!

Spring 2017 Commissioning, Maintenance, and The America's Cup

Wow, that was a quick winter!  Now back to Pratique, it's time for commissioning fun!  Fast forward and she's back at her Cove Haven slip:






















New bottom paint, new wax, new canvas, new carbon foam batteries, new boom vang springs and some other hardware, all in time for our June trip to Bermuda to see the 35th America's Cup Finals.  For the passage to Bermuda, Matt and Tim signed up, and they brought a Maine friend, Carl D'Amato.  Great 4 day passage to The Rock.

Tim, Matt

And Carl!  Yummy ceviche snacks!

We spent a few day in St. George's, then went around to the Great Sound.  Just as we turned into the Sound, we got a solo fly-by:

"Thanks, guys!"

Each day of races, we'd check the course map they'd issue late morning, then motor out from our anchorage near Hamilton, to the course.  This strategy proved to be great, as each race we had great viewing angles and front row position.

In addition to the AC Finals, there were other highlighted events including a Superyacht regatta outside St. David's, and J-Class races.  Spectacular!

The  Maltese Falcon

After Carl, Matt and Tim flew out, Susan flew in with our friends Josh and Tiff.  More great race viewing:

Josh, Susan and Tiff at the bow watching Team Emirates fly across us

In between races we toured the whole island by scooter, including the Royal Naval Dock Yard, Hamilton, Horseshoe Bay beach, St. David's Lighthouse, and of course the Swizzle!

Susan behind the camera at Horseshoe Bay

Back at the America's Cup finals, you can see here that Oracle is slightly ahead of Emirates Team New  Zealand.  This particular photo has great historical significance, and kudos to Susan for capturing the moment--because 99.9% of AC Finals photos will show Emirates ahead of Oracle.  So enjoy the moment:

Oracle racing to the finish, ahead of Emirates!!

The eventual winner, Team New Zealand:

They say "Nothing sails to weather like a 747," so I said good bye to Susan, Josh and Tiff who flew back to Providence.  I sailed back with Dick Sweeney and Alec Brecher, two guys I originally had the pleasure of meeting back in Cove Haven through Josh and Tiff.  These guys know how to sail and have a nice time on passage!

Alec

Dick

It still freaks me out that they are not related to each other!

All in all, a great June trip to Bermuda.  Thanks to all who made it happen!!