Time to Smoke Bluefish

We had an epic morning of fishing. Suffice it to say, that we caught 14 blue fish in an hour. With a full cooler, we headed home to try out the new smoker.

Surfing Hurricane Earl

A big swell came in this weekend. Friday afternoon we went to Matunuk. The waves were massive and the current was strong. There was no way I was getting out through the way overhead sets. It was a blast to watch the young ones on short boards ripping it up. Gianni actually went out and tried to surf the inner break. The hurricane rolled through over night and we headed back in the morning. We went to Narraganset and enjoyed some fine surfing. On the way home we stopped back at Matunuk to see these boys ripping it up on windsurfers. It was as good as Maui!

Our August Sail to Cape Cod

Gianni and I sailed for 3 weeks on our J/80. We went up to Pocasset, MA to pick up Ben. The sail up was good and bad. We had a very rough night on the boat, getting hammered off Point Judith in 4 foot seas and adverse tides. It was one of the toughest nights I have ever had on a boat. We rested and enjoyed a nice afternoon in Pocasset, picking up Ben in the Zodiac. The next morning we had a perfect passage through the canal, but the crossing of Cape Cod Bay was slow as usual, so we had to motor to Provincetown for about half the crossing. We enjoyed the week with the McWassers before sailing to Cuttyhunk. We crossed to Block, beating a nor'easter. This crossing was one of the wilder ones of my life. We were surfing 9 to 11 knots. A J/44 did the crossing with us and we held our own for the entire 35 miles. The storm stranded us on Block for 3 days. Even the ferry was shut down for two days. We were lucky to pick up a mooring. The wind was intense, with one night of 30-40 knot winds. Each day we went to shore one time to get food, ice and walk a bit. Unfortunately, we would get soaked to the bone, just a few feet from the boat. The final day we took the launch, which was wonderful. We went to town for a big hot breakfast. Finally, the small craft advisory diminished and the tide looked good for the Watch Hill passage, so we set sail at 1pm. We enjoyed a speedy trip home, hitting Watch Hill on a perfect tide. We pulled into Noank at dusk and enjoyed a much needed restful night. Overall, it was definitely the most challenging trip we have done together, however, it was also the most rewarding. We really worked hard and well together. We can't wait for next year! Check out all of our pictures from the adventure.

Falmouth with Paul and Mom

We enjoyed a nice week up at Paul's in East Falmouth. He had a new dock build. Here you see Gianni and Sam catching blue crabs. They caught us a dozen and I made a wonderful crab risotto. We went fishing at the Fence and caught plenty of blues, scup, fluke and black sea bass. Gianni even caught a bonito! Of course we ate our share of crispy fish that week! I did a fair amount of biking and Gianni joined me on a few rides to try out his new bike. We enjoyed time at the beach, and of course a couple of trips over to Martha's Vineyard to jump at the bridge.

Sailing with the Coasta's

While Gianni was in Europe I worked and fished a bit with Jon. Also, I did a lot of sailing with the Costa's. These are pictures from a couple of our trips. Missed Gianni.

Gianni's First Big Solo Adventure

Sending Gianni off on a three week adventure to Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. He had a blast. We missed him!

Summer Vacation in Florida

We had a wonderful trip to Florida again, spending our typical 2 summer weeks there. The first week was surf camp for Gianni. Paul and family came down for the 4th. We enjoyed sailing with Jan on Sleighride, as usual. The surf was unusually good for summer. I enjoy several excellent sessions before we had to leave midweek to get Gianni home for his People to People trip. Can't wait for next summer!