August 24th, 2018
The Elms
Newport Rhode Island has a lot to offer on many fronts but for me its the summer cottages that stand out. It was here that the great and the good congregated for the summer and demonstrated their wealth. The British would call it a pissing contest and these guys could piss like a race horse.
There are lots of them remaining thanks to a restoration trust that was set up after twenty-two had been demolished, one for a car park. We visited two and our favorite was The Elms, what's extraordinary is that they were only used for eight to twelve weeks a year.
August 16th, 2018
NY Yacht Club
One of the absolute highlights of Newport was being invited to the NY Yacht Club for an evening meal on the terrace overlooking the harbour. We met Chris, Kara and their lovely family in the Bahamas and promised to catch up with them in their home port. We felt like royalty as the club launch picked us up with a uniformed cox. Chris and Kara could not have been more gracious and the club is just amazing. Sunset saw us all stand for the canon as the Stars and Stripes were lowered. I just love how patriotic the Americas are.
August 16th, 2018
Limes Disease
There is a big problem here abouts with ticks and Lyme disease and so it was good to see the local community in Cuttyhunk pulling together with an elegant solution. This is toilet tubes stuffed with cottonwool with a few drops of Permethrin. It doesn't affect the mice as they pinch it for making winter nests but it does knock off ticks that would normally reside with them.
August 16th, 2018
Newport
This is as we enter Newport Rhode Island where we are having a great time.
For a start its a trip down memory lane for I have finished three transatlantic races here. We also celebrated our first wedding anniversary in the town.
Its a lovely place and we will spend a few days here exploring the town, museums etc etc
August 16th, 2018
Cuttyhunk
From Nantucket we had a lovely sail to Cuttyhunk which is a stunning little Island that reminds us of the Scilly Islands for its charm and lack of cars. The community is small, very welcoming and so it was nice to have the time to soak it up. As you can see we are now heading west having decided to save Maine for next year. The decision was made by circumstance in that we lost two and a half weeks to a Volvo recall and another two weeks to a big job in Europe. This meant that we would have been very rushed and thats not what this trip is about. We will do Maine properly next year and explore our way back to the Annapolis Boat show with time to linger in places we like. It feels like a weight has lifted. Time, its always about time isn't it? If you Google Earth Cuttyhunk we are anchored in the inner pond.
August 16th, 2018
LYNX
This is a replica of one of the US ships that gave the Royal Navy such a spanking. You don't need to sail her to know that she is fast, elegant and will run rings round a cumbersome warship.
August 8th, 2018
Nantucket
Nantucket was fantastic and one of the reasons for this was the people we met in bars from a Parliamentary Clerk through to being taught to play a strange kind of dice by a couple of rough characters with big hearts. We also caught up with a number of friends so it was all very social. On top of that I found some time to tackle the job list which included a rig check......we shall be back next year for sure.
August 8th, 2018
A Fair Wind
Thirty hours at sea saw us anchoring in Martha's Vineyard. We were originally heading for Block Island but such good speed was made that we pushed on. I'm not sure why but Martha's Vineyard just didn't do it for us so the next morning we grabbed a fair wind and had a romping sail to Nantucket. These spontaneous decisions seem to be a bit of theme and they are based on intuition. We just knew that Nantucket was the place to be so why delay.
