Enchantress and Rita P sailing outside of Sequin during Hurricane Bill

We had to sail outside of Sequin Island because we didn't dare to go in less than 35 ft of water for fear of the breaking waves - not to mention the chop generated by the Kennebec River . We met up with Gail and Randy on "Rita P" a 30ft Pearson sailboat. The attached picture really doesn't do it justice because the swells were BIG. Some were breaking on outside rocks that I didn't know existed. "Rita P" and "Enchantress" were both at the bottom of a trough with a swell between us when the picture was taken.

Van Alstine Family Adventure Update

Update from the Van Alstine blog: "We arrived in Marblehead yesterday noon after a motorsail from Rockport. Still no fish on the line much to Hayden's chagrin. Stolen Hour's systems seem to be tuned and working well. The wifi amplifier I installed enables us to surf up to 5 miles from an access point (as I am doing currently). I still need to connect the Pactor modem and get that going. We have been fortunate to connect with the Sommer's at Richmond Island on our first night out, and then we had a fun dinner at the Costello's last night. This morning a couple of Marblehead buddies took me out flyfishing, and they each hooked a fish or two (see Gallery). Let's just say that my casting is a bit rusty... A few boat projects to tackle today while we re-explore this beautiful area and wait for northerly winds predicted for Sunday."

Cliff Island Maine

Sailing in Maine doesn't get much better that this past weekend with warm 10 knots breeze and calm seas. "Enchantress" and "For Pete's Sake" spent Saturday night on the hook at Cliff Island, Maine. We had a dinner on the boats and enjoyed the shooting stars. Sunday morning we hiked on a path that overlooked Jewel Island and then went swimming. We'll remember this weekend during the long cold winter nights.

PYC Member Sara Fox Hopes To Qualify for US Sailing Team

Scott Fox recently emailed me about his daughter, Sara who is spending the summer in Europe Racing 470s trying to qualify for the U.S. Sailing Team and eventually the Olympics. Sara was training and racing in Kiel Germany and Lake Garda Italy and is now in Copenhagen Denmark for a month preparing for the 470 World Championships. Eventually she heads to Portland/Weymouth England to compete in the multi class Sail for the Gold Regatta being held at the site of the 2012 Olympics. And, if that wasn't enough she is taking online courses so she can graduate with her class of 2010 at Roger Williams University! You can follow Sara's travels and accomplishments and pictures.

Family Cruise to Sebasco

The Family Cruise to Sebasco was wonderful and we had a great turnout. Nine PYC boats gathered at Sebasco: Happy Ours, Catamount, In-Security, Cold Shots, Windy II, Epiphany, Breezing Up, Robin and Enchantress. Most of the boats arrived early afternoon and members enjoyed sitting pool side while the kids frolicked in the salt water swimming pool and the parents enjoyed adult beverages in the sun shine. We also enjoyed ice cream, dinner in the pub, singing around the campfire, bowling and ping pong in the Game Room Saturday night. Despite waking up to fog Sunday morning we gathered again and ate "world famous blueberry pancakes" at the Sunday morning buffet. While the sail home had "sloppy seas", once inside the Monument we enjoyed a wonderful sail home with a steady breeze around 10 to 15 knots.
Club member Ward Graffam said his oldest, Isabelle age 6, summed it up the best during the dingy ride to the boat Sunday morning, "Dad, these are the time I'm always going to remember".
And Isabelle is right....it is all about the memories.