Early Season Hike

I hiked Mansfield today while Gianni warmed up on the ski slopes. I should have brought my skis. It was really nice!!!

FLL State Championships

The middle school First Lego League team competed at the CT state championships today. They ended up winning the robotics competition! Not bad given that 40 teams out of 200+ qualified from CT. They topped them all. Check out our photo album and a video of one of their winning runs.



The made the press a couple of times, too.

• The Patch
• The Day

Honored at the Board of Ed Meeting

Gianni was honored at the Board of Ed meeting on Wednesday and presented the Superintendent's award for being the "top" 8th grade boy. Pretty cool.

These are two articles on him.
http://ledyard.patch.com/articles/photos-awards-night-at-lhs#photo-8651360
http://ledyard.patch.com/articles/student-spotlight-gianni-jannke-demuzzio

Ahhh, Florida

Taken at City Of Melbourne Beach

Thanksgiving in FL: Thankful for Surf and Family

3+ foot 10 second fun morning

FLL Robotics Competition

Gianni and his team participated in the regional qualifier today for the FLL robotics competition. The day started out a disaster. The challenge tables were set up differently than the one they had practiced on, so all of their missions were dead on arrival. After failing miserably in the first round, they quickly pulled together as a team and started making mods. Their score improved in the second round, but still was nowhere near their potential. By the third round they had worked out most of the mods and posted a really good score, putting them in first place. They nailed it in the next round, pushing them farther ahead of the field. Going into the last round they had all three of the top scores of the day. In the end, they won. It was extra special to see them win after starting off in such a bind. Their teamwork and ingenuity really shined today. As a bonus, they won the teamwork challenge, too. They were put in a room and given a surprise challenge to solve in 5 minutes. They bested the other 28 teams by building the highest tower, while demonstrating the most cooperation and teamwork. Can't get much better. It just goes to show you that if you never give up and work hard as a team it can all come together. Or, as my sometimes overly simplistic mind thinks, good things happen to good people. Great job CyberColonels!

Good Old Days

Good old days - roof jumping @Stowe

Annual AMC Cardigan Weekend

Skyland hike at Mt. Cardigan was just spectacular. Over 9 miles and 1/2 of it on the ridge. Talk about views!

Annual Birthday Party

Took 7 kids rock climbing today. They loved it! Good times.

Tom Danielson Ride

Grandpa, Gianni & I beat Tom Danielson back to the parking lot. OK, we only did 25 miles and he did a mellow 50. Tom was the highest placed American at this year's Tour de France, finishing 9th. So cool to meet him!

Back on the Bike with Grandpa

Dad at 70, me at 43 and Gianni at 12 - another great ride through the seacoast of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Our 70 mile trek started out in cold rain and fog (took a while to get used to), but ended in an odd August-like heat (and humidity). Grandpa's stories around the table in the campground were priceless. Three generations of Jannke's having fun adventuring together = priceless.

Albies

Great morning on the water. Boated 4 albies. Double hookup. 

Surfing Weekapaug

Three hour surf session tonight with G and the Fogg's, into the dark. Starting to really like hurricanes again!!!

Early September Fishing

We did a lot of fishing this week. We took out different friends each day. We went for a total of 5 days straight. We caught tons of big bass and blues on light tackle. Check our our photo album.

Update on Our Recovery from Irene

Rumor has it that today they are removing the 3 trees that are down on our power lines, blocking our driveway and pinning us in. Three days without a car hasn't been that bad, thanks to Tony for the lift to fuel and to John for taking us surfing in the post-storm swell. For those who know how much we travel, it was kind of good to be home for 3 whole days. We did a lot of work around the house/boats and avoided the real world. They say we should have power by the end of the weekend. All is good, especially the weather. Get out and enjoy it :)

Details of the End of our Trip

Hey folks. Due to the hurricane we had to cut our 3-week sail short by a day or two from our original plans. We sailed from Jamestown/Newport RI to Noank this morning. It was a magnificent sail. Point Judith in the dark was an exciting challenge, as usual. Our sail down the RI coast was splendid, moon and sun rises, solitude, stiff, yet favorable weather. Our passage into Fishers Island Sound was so nice, but sad (the Sound felt like home). We really didn't want the adventure to end. Due to the weather, we went straight to work stripping the boat and dropping the mast. Should have Spiff on the trailer and in the yard by morning. Thank you all for the support! Enjoy :)

Here is the photo album from our trip.

Jamestown

In Jamestown. Another beautiful day. Hurricane shortening trip. Will leave for Watch Hill or Noank tomorrow. That will give us Friday and Saturday to prep for the storm. Don't worry about us. We are loving life and will be cozy at home before it hits.

Big Day to Bristol

We did our longest leg yet today, over 47 nm. This morning was incredible. We did the first 32 nm in 4 hrs. Averaging over 7 on a 26' boat is fast and fun. Sunrise over the Cape was beautiful. We sailed part way up the Sakonet River before motoring the last narrow 10 to Bristol. On shore visiting family. Best sail of the trip. Short day to Jamestown tomorrow.

Matapoisett

Today's sunset. We like Mattapoisett. Off to Bristol before sunrise. Should have a good pic in the am.

Arrived Mattapoisett Harbor. Awesome sail today.

Scratch that. Blowing 20 already. Weathering the front protected in Pocasset. Will leave when the weather breaks tomorrow morning.

Heading to Mattapoisett this morning before the front hits us.

On a mooring on the B Bay side. Smooth crossing.

Week in Provincetown

See the full gallery on Posterous

We spent the week in PTown. Leaving for Bizzards Bay in an hour. Should be an easy crossing of Cape Cod Bay and the Canal.

What a week. Fishing was great, squid being the big fare this year. We ate like royalty all week thanks to Chef Mike. Will post more details later.

Relaxing in the rain today

Made Provincetown

See the full gallery on Posterous

Opted for a moonlit crossing through the canal. These two pictures were taken at the same time, moonset and sunrise. Trolled for bluefin tuna on the way over and actually ran into a school of 50 pounders. Tried our best to catch one, but they were too wise. Finished off the trip following right whale for a half hour. It's only 11 am and we are relaxing on the hook. Pretty good day so far ;)

Day Off

Spent the day fooling around in Pocasset. Lots of great fishing and a sunset kayak adventure. Ate clams we caught on Block for dinner. Bummed that Ben can't join us on our PTown passage tomorrow. We leave at 4 am for a moonlit crossing. Safe travels Wassers and we'll see you soon!

Cuttyhunk to Pocassett

End of a picture perfect sail from Cuttyhunk to Pocassett today.

Video of Dolphins

Here is the video footage we took with the dolphin pod.



Also, there are decent photos of the dolphins in our trip album.

Dolphin Wisperer

See the full gallery on Posterous

Magic. Today was an incredible day. We did a 35 nm crossing from Block to Cuttyhunk. The wind was directly behind us so I sailed out to sea for a better angle and hopes for stronger morning winds. A pod of 25 dolphin joined us. They surfed our wake. There were 5 babies. They put on a show. They jumped and swam along side us just inches from our hull. The experience was too incredible to describe from my phone. Suffice it to say that Gianni talked them along with us for an entire hour. One of the most incredible experiences of our lives. Pictures and videos on other cameras. More to come. These pics are sunset on Cuttyhunk. Love you all!

Sailing to Cuttyhunk Today

35 nm crossing. Leaving Block at 8:30 am. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Following wind.

Clamming on Block

Spent the day clamming in New Harbor. We are pretty good at it and plan to do it again next summer!

Nice Night on Block

Leg One of our August Sailing Adventure

Boarded Spiff last night. Set sail for Block at dawn. Foggy morning. Smooth, quick crossing. Gianni is fixing the rigging. Getting ready to catch clams for dinner next. Will try and post daily during our 3 week sail. Stay tuned.

Happy 70th Birthday Grandpa

Gianni caught a dozen or so snapper blues and cooked them up for Grandpa Tom: his favorite treat!

Weekend on Block

We spent the weekend out on Block with the Pearse's. We took the motor boat for a change. It is always interesting to camp/sleep on Hobbes! We had spectacular weather for the crossings. We took Jon fishing the first day and nailed it with the fluke and black sea bass.

Weekend in Stowe

We spent the weekend up in Stowe with the McWassers. Spent a day on the lake and another on the mountain. Good times! See all photos here...

Fun with Ben

We spent the last two weeks entertaining Ben in Florida and Connecticut (see earlier posts). Here is a more complete photo album of our experience, which included some incredible fishing. We caught 100+ fish over the two weeks.

Adios Florida

Our last day in FL today was blessed with the best surf of our 2 week visit. Mahalo FL!

Surfing with Ben

Ben stood up on first wave. Caught waves on his own all day. 2' 10 sec glassy. Sweet longboard session w/ the boys!!

Action packed first 24 hours with Ben!

After Ben arrived yesterday, it was pool, tennis, more pool, hot tub, dinner, then fishing. Today, we went out to the islands for a great morning of fishing. We caught 20+ sea trout. Ben caught a feisty jack, too. (Oh, and there was also a "big one that got away.") We kept a couple of trout for dinner. It's 10 am and we are off to Cocoa for a surf session. Good times!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Gianni's friend Ben just arrived from VT

Made Florida, surfing tomorrow

Mt. Hood Training with Ted Ligety

Gianni spent the week ski race training on Mt. Hood. He was coached by Ted Ligety, the current World Cup GS champion. Priceless experience for him. I stayed home and worked, finishing up so I can enjoy summer with Gianni!

Father's Day Ride

Best Father's Day present ever: a nice ride with my boy!

Enjoying our first ride of the year with Grandpa

We're going to see USA vs. Spain today in Foxboro

Kinsmans, Osceolas and Temucha

We spent the long weekend hiking five 4,000 footers. We enjoyed the Kinsmans on Saturday and the Osceolas on Sunday. After our hike on Sunday, I treated Gianni to a bit of zip lining at Loon Mt. We were pretty tired after 4 big peaks in two days, so on Monday we did a quick hike up Temucha. Check out our photo album from the weekend.

Mizpah Hut Trip

Enjoyed another nice weekend with our AMC friends at Mizpah Hut! Pics are here...

British Virgin Islands

We spent the week sailing in the BVI with the Pearse's. It was one of the best vacations ever! Check out some photos.

Willy Wonka Light Man

Gianni was the lighting technician for his school play. He is really good at it!
http://ledyard.patch.com/articles/willy-wonka-junior-opens-tonight-at-lms

Last Ski of the Year

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Gianni and Ben enjoyed one final day on the slopes together. It was a perfect spring day at Stowe!

Brad Haight Memorial Race Kombi

Gianni skied his last race of the year today at Mt. Snow. He finished in 6th place vs. VT kids. He is a happy boy.

DI State Tournament Today

The boys did really well today. They enjoyed another successful year of DI. They placed 2nd at States.

Pat's Peak SL and First Day of Spring

Gianni had a really great day today. He finished 8th out of 27 in another NH race, this time slalom. Gianni hates slalom, but today he kicked butt, beating four kids that dominated over him this year. I enjoyed another day resting my knee, while watching him in the spring sun. Great weekend!

Sap Run GS Results

Gianni finished 18 out of 38 in the first run. Really good considering they were all VT and NH kids, Burke Mountain Academy, etc. He had his first crash of the year (ever, for that matter) in the second run. His ski just popped off on a steep icy turn. He had a really fast run going and his form was great. I was told to tighten his bindings beyond the level set at the shop, but didn't. Gianni wasn't happy with me. GS is his favorite and he was doing really well. I guess that's ski racing, on the edge. If I crank down the bindings he could get hurt, and then really be unhappy.

Tri-State J4 Championships

Gianni participated in the Tri-State J4 Championships yesterday. Due to rain they canceled Sunday's races. Instead they packed all 4 races in on Saturday. Gianni did pretty well, slightly better in salmon, which is typically his weaker discipline. It rained in the morning yesterday, but overall was an OK day weather-wise. Nice job to the organizers for pulling off 2 days of racing in one! Now we have a rare day of rest to enjoy.

Great Family Trip to Curacao

We enjoyed the week in Curacao with Mom and Paul's family. Basically, we just went to the beach every day and snorkeled. The highlight of the trip was our day spent at the aquarium. The kids swam with dolphins and we watched the dolphin shows. They all want to do it again! Check out some of the photos from the trip.

Dolphin Bliss

Gianni has been fascinated with dolphins for some time now. Yesterday, he enjoyed one of the best days of his life. Many more pictures to come...

Finally Made Curacao

We just arrived in Curacao. We went to Porto Mari for the day. We all enjoyed a day of snorkeling. Gianni tested out his new underwater camera. He is going to love this week! Art homework = take pictures of fish.

Piche Qualifier at Bradford

Gianni participated in the Piche Qualifier at Bradford today. He already qualified for championships, so this was just a day on the slopes to practice. He did quite well, despite the super soft snow.