McCall, Idaho USA …
Tidings to you from our winter wonderland in Idaho, where the current temp outside lingers in the 20s and the forecast is calling for over two feet of snow in the coming week. Our seasonal transition from sea to mountain life is in full swing, as we have traded our flip flops for snowshoes, kayaking for skiing, and rum for cinnamon whiskey spiked hot chocolate. We arrived back in Idaho in late November, after a hectic time getting Kailani settled for a winter near Norfolk, Virginia – our first time ever winterizing our boat. The few weeks back in Idaho leading up to Christmas have been the usual “Earl whirl” chaos of readying the property for snow, Thanksgiving prep and recovery, a quick trip to San Diego to visit Jen’s mom, the celebration of Sophia’s 12th birthday, and finally Christmas. And now that 2019 is winding down, we have some quiet time to reflect on our year and reach out to all of our family and friends scattered around the world.
After weathering the winter of ’18-’19 (dubbed “Snowmageddon”) with near eight feet of total accumulation here in Idaho through last March, we fled to the Caribbean to ransom Kailani from 10 months in the boatyard and start another season of cruising under sail.
We spent almost four weeks lingering in the Grenadines getting reacquainted with shipboard life before heading north. After a brief hop to Antigua and a slightly longer passage to Bermuda with our good friend Bill as crew we began what turned out to be a great summer of cruising the North American east coast. We tarried here and there making landfall in Newport and sailing as far north as Halifax in Nova Scotia and as far south as Norfolk, Virginia. Along the way Sophia learned to sail, graduating “Most Improved” from the SailNewport dinghy program. Of course she had 30,000 sea miles to her credit and was standing a regular watch before she stepped on a dinghy, so although she was one of the older kids in the “starter” group, her nautical lifestyle for the past 8 years certainly gave her a leg up.
We had our usual share of moments wishing we were somewhere else besides on the boat, mostly on account of nasty weather. We managed to run afoul of four out of the five named storms that hit the east coast: Andrea banged us up on the passage to Bermuda, and she wasn’t even in the forecast when we left Antigua; Barry soaked us with buckets of rain; Erin nearly blew us out of the sheltered anchorage in Lunenburg and finally Dorian drove us out of Nova Scotia altogether as a Category 4 hurricane. As fall caught up with us in New England we had to run our heater for the first time since leaving northern California eight years ago.
This cruising season was categorically different: tropical islands and swaying palm trees gave way to tree lined shores and the “lobster pot boogie” of Maine’s waters. We enjoyed dining on countless lobster rolls in a variety of quaint fishing ports from Martha’s Vineyard up to Frenchboro, Maine. Kailani dropped the hook in numerous historic anchorages, and going ashore we all reveled in striding on the same cobblestoned streets that Herman Melville and Paul Revere had once walked, tying up our dinghy to the same pier where the actual Tea Party took place, and sailing Kailani down the East River along New York City past the Statue of Liberty, imagining what this sight must have been like for early immigrants arriving from Europe.
No doubt, this summer was packed with culture. Museums, museums and more museums: from the seemingly endless galleries at the Met in New York City to the tiny dory museum in Shelburne, Nova Scotia; from the mansions of Newport to the period village of Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; from the Whaling Museum in New Bedford to the battleship Wisconsin in Norfolk to Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua – the list is too long to document here, but in all we visited over 40 museums, forts, historical sites and memorials this summer. Then there was the Broadway matinee of Phantom of the Opera contrasting with the Lobster Fest on the tiny island outpost of Frenchboro in Maine; the reenactment of the Nova Scotia loyalists on the parade ground and the longest running Fourth of July parade in Bristol, RI.
Our favorite part of this cruising lifestyle is the opportunity to meet a diverse array of people, and not to disappoint, this season our best memories came from those people that made our travels special: Carl, the master classic car judge at the Concours d’ Elegance in Newport; David, the pediatrician turned lobsterman who picked up Sophia from Kailani every morning in Kittery Point to pull pots and returned her with dinner in hand; Pauline and Maggie, the crew of Saorsa who partied hard and sailed harder; Jane and Mike who pulled off organizing and leading a 15 boat cruise through the best spots of southern New England; Jack and Tommie in Marion who handed over their house with air conditioning during a heat wave; and Douglas and Tasha, fellow sailors who put us up in the Big Apple, making Sophia’s first time in Manhattan so very, very memorable.
And finally it was a season well spent reconnecting with old friends and family, many not seen in years: Chip and YaYa; Jack and Tiffany and their three strapping boys; Sue and Paul; Pam and Jeff; Goldie and Marcy; Melissa, Kelly and Dave from Jen’s work days when Blackberries were de rigueur; Jen’s family relations in New Jersey; and Harley’s relations from Rhode Island down through Virginia. We are grateful for their friendship and for their generosity in sharing their homes and laughter with us (not to mention their high speed internet, autos, spare bedrooms and laundry machines!)
As usual, we have no idea where we will be this time next year. But the adventures of our life will continue.
We wish you our very best for the coming year. May it bring health and happiness in all of your adventures!
Anchor Ranch
McCall, Idaho USA
