Sailing was not the only highlight of our time in Maine. Many years ago when we were working in Sydn

Call it writers block, call it overstimulation, but as many of you have noticed, I haven't written a newsletter in four months. As we traveled right around the USA, driving more than 7000 miles in Brownie Lite , our pickup truck/camper, flying another 13,000 miles, doing seminars, visiting with old friends and family, sailing on a fine variety of boats and fitting lastminute travel deals in some really good live music too, I never seemed able to settle in and write much more than short notes which I posted on my Facebook page. My experience definitely makes me wonder how people who set off across oceans expect to keep up daily blogs. When we were in Newport Rhode Island we shared lastminute travel deals twp days with Herb McCormick. lastminute travel deals A rabid sailor, editor at Cruising World, and former yachting correspondent for the New York Times, lastminute travel deals Herb spent over a year circling the Americas , by way of the Northwest Passage then around Cape Horn on board 64 foot Ocean Watch during its research and educational voyage. As one of four permanent crew on board, his main job was to post daily internet dispatches. I asked him how he managed to come up with something new to say each day, and at the same time stand his watches, help keep the boat in sailing lastminute travel deals condition and find time to sleep. "It wasn't easy. I had to keep notes, read the comments folks posted to learn what they wanted to know, then lock myself away each day until I got something written, then edited and uploaded." His word of warning for would-be voyager/bloggers, "don't try to write something on a set schedule. Even skilled professionals have a hard time doing it." My unsuccessful attempt to write even a monthly newsletter while on a road trip confirms this.
Thick fog obscured the fleet of classic wooden boats that we knew surrounded us. A five knot breeze kept Seminole moving gently through the flat seas. For four hours all of us sat staring at this blank wall, listening intently for the sound of any boat, any fog horns. Occasionally one of us would spot a brightly colored crab pot marker almost directly lastminute travel deals in our path and call back to the helmsman so she could avoid tangling it in the propeller. There was a quiet camaraderie that let the six of us sit quietly, contentedly. Then one of the crew said, "If someone saw me sitting in a chair at home staring at a blank wall for hours on end they'd say – why aren't lastminute travel deals you doing something, are you okay? But I can do it all day out here and it isn't the least bit remarkable because everyone knows I'm sailing." lastminute travel deals Yes, the six days we spent on board the handsome Lawley designed, 107 year old 48 foot yawl Seminole was one of several highlights of our northern hemisphere summer. When her owner, Elizabeth Meyer heard we'd be near Maine, she invited us to join her for five days of racing around lastminute travel deals Penobscot Bay. From Castine to Camden, from Camden to Brooklyn, then as one of a hundred classics in the famous Eggemoggin Reach Regatta and afterwards onwards to the quaint village (and fine ice cream) of Bucksport, we threaded our way past rocky islands, through heavy fog banks, and among thousands of crab pots.  Seminole has been lovingly restored. Originally conceived as a gentleman's cruising yacht, it still has a porcelain bath (and plenty of hot water to fill it.)
Accompanying us for all of this cruise lastminute travel deals and side-tying each evening to share stories and meals was definitely the oldest boat in the fleet, 28 foot Elly . Originally built as a fishing boat for work around lastminute travel deals the islands of Sweden 150 years ago, this 28 footer was later bought back by the family of her original owner. lastminute travel deals For over 100 years the same family has cared for Elly . Kerstin Gilkerson, who grew up playing on her, shipped lastminute travel deals the boat from Sweden to Nova Scotia where she lives and continues to enjoy sailing the family boat at the age of 70 accompanied by her crew of son and grandchildren. Just as fun and definitely adding a different dimension to our time on board, we were cared for by the professional crew on Bystander a 42 foot tender, lastminute travel deals built in 1930 and used as towing vessel for two J class yachts in their original America's cup attempts and also 7 different lastminute travel deals America's Cup 12's including Enterprise,Rainbow, Ranger,Vim, Gretel, Dame Pattie and Gretel II. Evening snacks, morning coffee lastminute travel deals were prepared for us. Elizabeth handled all the organizing for this traveling trio and did most of the helming. Michael, Elizabeth's partner called tactics and was alternate helmsman. I worked as navigator – learning that electronic charts do not have details of land formations, something I would have liked as by knowing the shapes of hills and cliffs I might have had a better idea of how breezes would shift among the close laying islands. Larry was mainsheet handler.. The other crew who sailed with us was all well-experienced in these waters so we had lots of local knowledge on board. What an easy pleasant time; with so much crew to pitch in, so little lastminute travel deals responsibility. I think I could become use to this.
Sailing was not the only highlight of our time in Maine. Many years ago when we were working in Sydney, Australia another shipwright took us to hear his favorite guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel. ( www.tommyemmanuel.com ) To put it lightly, we became Tommy groupies. We have heard him play in four different countries. We have literally driven 600 mile round trips just to hear him his amazing lastminute travel deals fingerpicking guitar music. When I checked to see where he might be playing this year I noticed his gig at the Ossippee Valley Music Festival in western Maine. That became a definite to-do. Turns out the festival is held at a rural fairground. The nearest village, Kazer Falls is tiny. Even combined with the next town the total population is less than 1500 people. So the vast majority of festival attendees bring their vans, their tents and we joined about 1000 folks for four days of fine music on four different stages. Some of the best music we heard happened around campfires late at night as various musicians gathered together to pick and sing in quiet groups. When I mentioned to someone that Larry and I have a home base in New Zealand, they said, "Come on over and meet the only other New Zealander here." Thus we met Mark Mazengarb and his partner Loren (Loren is from New York.) They are Tommy disciples and play amazing duets. We listened to them for several hours at Ossippee ( www.lorenandmark.com lastminute travel deals ) and now Larry and I have another music act to add to our list of must-sees.
Thus went the first part of our northern sojourn. I'll share more in the coming months. But right now I am back home in New Zealand preparing for Thanksgiving dinner and anticipating the arrival of three different cruising couples who have found a window for their voyages south from Tonga ahead of the cyclone season.
lastminute travel deals P.S. Three special treats arrived in our mail while we were in Maine. The first was a finished copy of our latest DVD, Cost Control While You Cruise along with two enthusiastic reviews. Secondly, I was delighted to be informed my memoir Bull Canyon which tells of the trials, tribulations and joys of building lastminute travel deals Taleisin was one of three finalists lastminute travel deals for three separate literary awards. Though the news came too late to let us divert so I could attend the awards ceremony for the Intendant Book Publishers Literary Awards, we were able to arrange plans for the end of our trip and attend the Woman Writing the West Convention in Albuquerque New Mexico to receive my finalist award for the WILLA Cather Literary award in Creative Non-Fiction. Almost as fun, we received copies of the Russian translation of, Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew and also Storm Tactics lastminute travel deals Handbook which were both introduced at this year's Moscow Boat show.
We know what you mean about the difficulties of keeping up with a blog. Readers expect frequent updates and it can be tough to come up with something creative and interesting to say three or four times a week. We struggle too.
Next year we too will embark on a road trip across America. We will travel from West to East towing Lealea. First we will have to sail from SE Alaska to Port Townsend where we will refit and put the boat on a trailer for the Voyage to the Atlantic.