Our four month Southeast Alaska cruise aboard our Catalina 400 Mk2 sloop was perhaps a substantial prelude as we step into decade number seven.
We have carefully planned two trips this spring and early summer, the first coming up next week to Croatia where we will attend a week-long All American Rowing Camp and cap that off with a full week sailing a skippered, guided Lagoon 42 catamaran around islands in the east-central Adriatic sea with our good friends Earl and Lindy Weintraub. Ulterior motives include trying to bringing Jim Deitz, Mark Wilson, and an All American Rowing Camp session to Bainbridge Island Rowing down the road and complete groundwork for obtaining an International Certificate of Competence to skipper a charter sloop in the Adriatic also down the road.
Our second trip rings of Southeast Alaska. In our preparations for last summer’s adventure, we became acquainted with a gentleman sailor of considerable repute named John Neal. We will be attending John’s last ten-day Mahina Offshore Sailing Expedition (Leg 5 of 6) in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland from 13 to 22 June. I guess we hadn’t had enough with two ‘interesting’ overnight passages last August! Objective? Determine with greater certainty our dream of biting into off-shore sailing. Our good friend and amazing travel (and rowing) companion Chrys Hansen will join us both for the Mahina expedition and a week-plus cruising around the Scottish Highlands afterwards. Whisky (and of course great hiking, birdwatching, and sightseeing) anyone?
The lure of trade wind sailing, so well-portrayed by Matt and Amy aboard their SY Florence, remains strong. We have flirted with sailing to San Francisco or LA, thence to Hawaii for a few months, flying home, then back to cross the Pacific a second time to Sitka before returning home (old hat!). Or sailing down the Washington-Oregon coast and up the Columbia River to the Grand Coulee Dam and back. Nuts you say?
I have no idea presently just how easy it will be to regularly post cool pictures mixed with commentary in either Croatia or Scotland, but we shall find out in a little more than a week!
Stewart Travels 
You go guys! Sounds great!!!
Sent from my iPhone
LikeLike
Thank you Jeff!
LikeLike
Fabulous, You Intrepids!!
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
ok— I’m in!! How do I sign on as crew!?!
Fair winds,
Theresa
LikeLike
Have fun Appreciate your independence! I await a double hip replacement! House bound now . I am lucky and know my surgeon ( £30, 000) private however because of the severity he has pushed me to the top of the NHS list. 6/ 8week wait if l am lucky! Oh how the nighty are fallen!🤣
LikeLike
Carolyn, thank you and ugh at the same time. When I awoke this morning, I thought yikes!, I need to engage with you to try to meet us in Edinburgh the end of June. Alas, How the mighty are fallen indeed! I can see that reunion is not in the cards, darn it!
LikeLike
Would love to have met up at my.old stamping ground (argh cannot get to the bottom of my garden without 2 sticks now!!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hola & safe travels ~
LikeLike
So exciting! Love reading about your adventures, seeing the photos and occasional visits from others. Hurrah!
LikeLike
Thank you Kate. It promises to be an interesting spring/summer! Hope I will be able to post from far-away places!
LikeLike
I love your adventurous spirits, and it’s so fun to follow along. Bon Voyages!!
LikeLike
I love your adventurous spirits, and it’s so fun to follow along. Bon Voyages!!
LikeLike
Marc,Wow! Both trips look amazing; and I suspect a far cry different from your Alaskan adventure. (The on-line photos of sailing
LikeLike
Yes indeed. Especially the fully-guided, captained Catamaran adventure out of Split. Our expedition aboard Cloud Nine in the Outer Hebrides will probably feel a lot like rougher off-shore days during our SE AK cruise!
LikeLike