How could this possibly be year #15?!? We’re off to NYC, Cape May, NJ, up the Delaware River, across the C & D Canal & down into the Chesapeake.

First, time to clear the cobwebs, or in this case, floating debris which flows down the Connecticut River.

Last month, we had a nice weeklong shakedown cruise to Mystic & Block Island to test-out all of our systems before heading south. This Mystic Draw is a tourist attraction in its own right, with dozens of people always watching the show & taking photos.

Wind turbine blades being delivered to New London, CT for installation offshore. Not starting off well though near Martha’s Vineyard (a different project, I believe) – a blade splintered into millions of pieces in only 24 knots of wind forcing partial closing of beaches on the south-side of Nantucket for much of the summer. The large pieces can theoretically be eventually collected from beaches on Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard & the Cape, but smaller pieces, chards of fiberglass, foam & other materials will be around for many years…  Has anyone really thought this completely through??

These storm clouds approached Block Island after causing wind damage & hail on the mainland of Rhode Island. Fortunately, the worst of it broke up before it reached us, although several boats dragged anchor with only 22 knots of wind but were quickly rescued by the Harbormaster boats.

One more project to complete though as we head south – we’re hauling out in the Chesapeake for one week (hopefully) for a bottom paint job, replace our leaking rudder seals & some other small projects. Then, our projects should be done … for a while at least! On the other hand, it is a BOAT – Bring Out Another Thousand – although with inflation, it’s another 3 thousand!

We sure had more fun times this summer and next summer is shaping up to be even better!