It was so good to be together that we decided to celebrate several family events, past, present, and future: our parents 59th wedding anniversary in September, our father's birthday, and our mother's birthday in November. Too bad this picture does not do justice to the occasion.
Lexi is right. Her sign says "This is Axel my dog. He is a Leoinbiger." To the rest of the world he may be known as a Leonberger, but with an adult weight of 170 pounds, LeonBIGER seems to be a more accurate description.
Why is this puppy so tired? It might be that he is growing so quickly. At the age of 4 months he has achieved the size of an adult Labrador retriever. At this rate he will be as big as a carport when he is one and a half years old.
Axel, the new member of the family, loves showers with Nat. Well, perhaps he just tolerates them patiently.
Even an advanced 7 year old needs some time to consider ancient wisdom literature. This monument to fallen police men and women is inscribed: "The wicked flee when no one pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion."
Sailing all night brings us to places before we fully arrive. Suddenly, the boat was secure in Annapolis and we were in DC with Liz, Nat, and Lexi.
The tide helped us up the Dreadful Delaware and into the Chesapeake Canal for another night time passage. This is Vinnie at the helm with the prettiest bridge behind him.
Off in the morning, we got to see the sun set on south bound sailors. (Say that out loud fast) We were in a flock of boats were riding the winds of a front to warmer weather.
We walked above the city on an abandon elevated railway track. The area is planted with flowers. Some of the benches and sunbathing lounges are mounted on wheels set on the track so that they can be moved to sun or shade.
This is our usual anchorage in the shadow of the tall city. The statue of Liberty is out of sight on the right.
We left Peter and Ginny's place and set off for Long Island Sound and New York City. As we passed the Coast Guard Station leaving the Block Island Channel, we got to wave goodbye and see you again once more.
Hey Peter and Ginny, thanks for another great visit. This morning we start the Long Island highway south.
We saw the fall decorating the kettle ponds red
This young man and his mom joined a long line of fisher men along the beach. He picked a spot and before the waiting empty handed men soon had the line whining through his reel. He pulled in a nice big porgee repeating "I must be lucky". His triumph was contagious.
On Block Island we found our friends Peter and Ginny and stayed with them in luxury. Showers! We went to beautiful places, ate great food, and enjoyed the time together.
With fall approaching we left Ed and Lisbeth hard at work and set off for a 3 day sail to Rhode Island, crossing the Cape Cod canal at 3am. Along the the way we picked up a small hitch hiker. Like Noah's raven, he flew on and off the boat three times, but this seemed to be more due confusion than an interest in weather assessment. He flitted from place to place, getting pooped on the stern, sliding across the glass hatches, hanging on the the mainsheet tackle, and briefly sitting on Vinnie's head. Finally he went into the cabin, found a secure perch, and put his head under his wing. Sad to say, he died there and we had a burial at sea, using the short order of service. He was a lovely bird.
But the day was not over yet. A friend of Ed's had a yard sale give away and we got a Force 10 4 burner stove with AN OVEN and Broiler. Such excitement. We now need to find cookie sheets, a Dutch oven, and other storage challenges.
We wander around the Wooden Boat School where Ed has taught. looking in at the boats being built and meeting some of his friends.
campus. Ed designed Dancing Seahorse to provide trawler cruising speed and living space with maximal fuel efficiency. He modified established plans for an efficient monohull to create his catamaran and added unique features of his own. He and Vinnie filmed sea trials of the boat speed and behavior at various RPMs. While testing the boat they made almost 11 knots. Ed showed his films and photographs to the enthusiastic editors of Wooden Boat and Professional Boat Builder.
While Maria was absent from boat duty, Vinnie finished wiring the boat and Ed continued to build the internal structure. The sofa bed was completed and a the kitchen began to take form.
Ed and Lisbeth and Vinnie continued to work on the boat and in the pottery. The day after launch, however, Maria flew to Minneapolis for her Uncle Don's funeral.
When the boat was ready on the ways we climbed aboard and prepared for sea. The yard crew set us sliding down the rails and suddenly we were afloat with engines engaged. As we set off from the cove Ed's nephew Matt came along side on his lobster boat, recording our progress. Ed's brother Wayne and his stern man welcomed us to Goose Cove. 
It was a long awaited and beautiful day. Celebrating Lisbeth's birthday together at Manjack become more of a possibility and less of a wispy dream.
After all the long days and hard work preparing for launch, we found ourselves with hands in pockets as the yard managed everything smoothly.
Slowly, the boat moved across the yard towards the railroad or ways. When we arrived at the yard in the morning it was low tide and the rails went down from the yard into a flatland of mud that extended far out into the cove. By the time we maneuvered the boat onto the carriage which would carry the boat down the ways, the tide had come in and the water was up to the tracks.
We were up early in the morning for the day of the launch. The yard crew came with pine poles and a tractor. The boat on its cradle was rolled across the yard as the poles were placed under the runners. The pyramid builders could not have done a smoother job. Picking up the poles left behind also kept us out of trouble or anxiety.
As we approached launch it was time to name the boat and Dancing Seahorse was born. We learned that it is unlucky to name the boat too soon. Other things which could cause trouble include having anything on the boat colored blue, launching on a Friday, or bringing bananas on the boat.
We entered a new phase of the cruising life, a work study program in boat building. In less than a week the boat was ready to launch.
Last year Ed and Lisbeth's boat was still in pieces, the cabin here, the pilot house there, and the hulls firmly aground in the boat yard. We returned to find the structure united and yearning for the sea.
We returned to Goose Cove on Mount Desert Island and found ourselves back in the land of Ed and Lisbeth and the Seal Cove Pottery. We anchored near the Davis wharf, the only family owned wharf left on the island. Ed Davis is an artist and boat builder. His brothers continue the family tradition of fishing.
Beans and rice are excellent, but birthday boys deserve red meat and sweet potatoes. We also drained the house wine box in celebration. Happy birthday sweetie.
We found mussels for dinner on the shore as we returned to the dingy. Free and delicious seafood.
Jewel Island was one of the command centers for destroyers on the US east coast during WWII and the island is covered with ruins of the military presence.
One of our first stops after Glaastah was Jewel Island. We anchored near the cliffs as they were flooded by the golden sunset light.
We had spectacular skies and no boat disturbances as hurricane Bill approached and passed us by. We ambled about Glaastah with Gail and Bob and heard stories about earlier years from Bob's lovely 90 something mother. She remembered about the yearly visits of gypsies, the Stanley tribe, who came and fixed roofs or did wicker work. She described them as nice people who came, camped, worked and then left. Where did they go we asked. "Oh, they were Indians", she replied, "they went back into the forest."
It was a beautiful day to swim and an even better day to sit in the sun and watch other people exert themselves.
The big thrill of our visit was catching up with friends Bob and Gail from Star. We managed to arrive just in time to see Bob compete in the clean harbor race. Using his elegant no splash, no kick endurance stroke, he did very well despite one small oversight. In the excitement of competition, he managed to incorporate a moored sailboat into his course, lengthening his circuit considerable. The participant T shirt said: "If you can see it, you can swim to it". In Bob's case it seems that if he can see it he will swim around it.
The mooring field was large and the anchorage was small, but we were able to squeeze in. Once settled we found a variety of interesting boats.
