Back in the water, finally!

Well, I have been remiss in not posting since Pandora came out of the water in November. It's been a very busy winter and it seems that I was up working on the boat most every weekend. I can't even begin to list all that has been done to the boat but I have gotten a new genoa, main, storm trysail and storm jib. I also had a new propshaft put on and installed Spurs to keep lobster pot warps from fouling the prop. And, many subtle upgrades to make Pandora more comfortable and ready to go offshore.



This photo is of Pandora being launched a few weeks ago. The two folks to the left are my mom & dad who came down to watch the boat go in. I kept Pandora in Bridgeport CT, near where they now live, so that I was able to see them a lot over the Winter. It was a thrill to see them both come down. It's tough for them to get around these days which made their presence all the better. Wow, they both look so small next to the lift.


Our plans for the Summer include moving around quite a bit. On Memorial Day weekend we will leave Norwalk Yacht Club where she is now and head out to Shelter Island in Eastern Long Island Sound. We will hang around for a few days and then I will drop Brenda in Mystic so that she can head home for a three day weaving workshop in New York. Christopher, my newly graduated (Yea!) 22 year old will join me for a run to Block Island on that Thursday. My oldest, Rob and his fiance Lauren will take the Block Island Ferry out to meet up with us. Keith Reynolds, a fellow SAGA 43 owner who winters in the Bahamas has offered for us to use his mooring in Mystic until he arrives in mid June.

We will also be using a friend's mooring for a few weeks in New Bedford MA so that it will be easy to do a few weekends over to Martha's Vineyard.

Brenda and I are also planning to visit Wickford RI and enjoy our friends there for a few weekends of sailing in Narraganset Bay.

That takes us up to late July when I will take Pandora back to CT and the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club to participate in the Stonington to Boothbay Harbor race that the Corinthians are sponsoring. Check out the site at http://www.stoningtontoboothbayharbor.com/ and see the list of boats that are entered.

The race is rated as a category #2 which means that we are going to be substantially on our own but within east Coast Guard and helicopter range if we get into trouble. We will have all sorts of safety equipment on board including a liferaft, EPIRB (emergency satellite transponder) and a crew of seven. The course for the race will take us East to Nantucket light which is about 60 miles SE of Nantucket and left up to Maine. It's a long way with a 350nm course length.

Following our arrival in Maine we will participate in a cruise with the Corinthians for a second week.

After that we will come home for Rob's wedding which takes place on August 23rd in CT. Very exciting!

Well, that's not all as we will head back up to Maine for yet another two weeks on Pandora. At the end of the trip I will bring Pandora back to CT in mid September.

Lots of sailing this Summer.