Building a strong team is about maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses.

Eric and I are a good team.

We communicate in a good way, and work well together sharing the same goals, values and passions.  We complement each other in our skill sets.

I like to cook.
He likes to eat.

I break anything that can be broken.
He likes to fix things.

I drop things overboard.
He likes to swim.

He likes to go up the mast.                                                                                                                 I’m afraid of heights.

He’s an engineer.                                                                                                                                 I’m a communicator.

I let lines out and he pulls them in.

We are a good team!

As for our victory lap as GF Betsy calls it, it’s been a whirlwind of many ports and friends as we work our way up to Maine.
We left our small cat racing friends in Sandy Hook, NJ on July 3rd and headed to the Statue of Liberty, picking up daughter Lucretia and her friend Zach, and dropping off our delivery crew and good buddy John Forgrave.  The currents rip up here so we cruised the Hudson before passing through Hell’s Gate. We were rewarded with a beautiful sail to Connecticut and set anchor at dusk while watching fireworks.

This was Eric’s homecoming as he lived in Ct for 30+ years raising his kids and they were there to greet us as young Eric turned 21 and wanted to celebrate with family and then friends in NYC. I managed to sneak away for a day to visit the Adams/Gardner clan of sister Elizabeth. Her family keeps growing and glowing!

From there on to Newport with a stop in the Thimble Islands and Stonington where trimaran friends came out on SUP’s to visit. Watermelon martinis with mint leaves were a big hit that night.

Arriving in Newport was nostalgic. Both of us have raced here countless times over the years, but arriving on our own boat was really special. There are SO many boats and yachts of all sizes and Newport embraces sailing like no other place in our country. Everyone is out there during the summer but we hear it’s a ghost town in the winter.

We sailed up to Bristol to visit Mo and JB and to hear Tucker Thompson deliver his AC speech at the hershoff Museum. Loe and behold there was America3, and I got a chance to check out the bottom one more time. Spent 10 months scrubbing and sailing her so it was a nice reunion of sorts.

We sailed down to Jamestown and an overnight at friends Chick and Alexis Piles before back to Newport.

Big events like the NYYC Race Week and Sail Newport were scheduled and we entered both. Eric raced the F18 while I raced on Flow, the 60’ Gunboat. Sliding down the hill at the NYYC’s extremely steep hill on cardboard was a highlight at the awards party!

My sibs Joe and Elizabeth and their mates Kelley and Maurice joined us in Newport and we sailed to Martha’s Vineyard via Cuttyhunk. Kelley’s niece Holly and family live here and we took them sailing and then enjoyed a BBQ at their house.

After returning the sibs to Newport we hosted an open boat party and visited more sailing buds including the Priors, Dory Vogel, Vanicek’s, Carol Vernon, and Barnitts. A tour of JB’s company  in Bristol that uses a giant 5 axes CnC machine was impressive. He can make anything!

Currently we sit peacefully at anchor after a great weekend back on Martha’s Vineyard. Clay Feeter and family came to visit his daughter who moved here to work with horses, and we all connected with a sail on the Gato followed by dinner at Nevin and Stina Sayre’s house. Clay publishes the popular magazine Standup Journal and Nevin is a windsurfing legend who started the pro tour back in the good old days. Clay can tell stories about us that we both forgot as he has always been a journalist so it was fun going down memory lane. And the interesting tidbit is he was Eric’s roommate when Eric worked at Hobie Cat! Nevin still rips on boards but now mostly on a foiling board while kiting. Stina Sayre creates a beautiful line of high end women’s clothing here in MV, and their kids are great sailors too.

Last weekend Michael Easton, GF Lindsay and his parents came over from the mainland for a sail.

Yesterday Nevin and Eric went kiting in Cape Poge Bay off Chappaquiddick while I searched for shells and took photos.

Today a visit to beautiful and quaint Edgartown for homemade ice-cream at Mad Martha’s,  and tomorrow we sail to Nantucket where I will search for the man who once lived there according to a famous limerick.

Life is Good!