Time to Say Goodbye to Friends

Dennis is not the only one who has to work in tight
spaces and uncomfortable positions!

Well, here we are preparing to head back to the Chesapeake Bay. The Atlantic Cup Rally from Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI to St. George's, Bermuda is scheduled to start on May, 3, 2012. In Bermuda, we wait for a weather window and then everyone departs toward home!

We are preparing Trillium and getting the provisions organized. This time we will have a crew of five: Ron, Tom and Tom plus the two of us. Provisioning will be more challenging for me this time as I am arriving at the boat directly from a training meeting in Germany and only a three days to get everything ready.

Nirit & Chris's boat is registered in London.

It is a little like leaving summer camp here on the docks complete with sadness. We will be saying "Until we meet again!" to many sailors we have met along the way. Most likely, we will not see many of them again as we all head in different directions. Our European friends will be returning home after a year and a half of cruising in the Caribbean and the east coast of America.

Chris & Nirit on a rainy day in Nanny Cay. They were
 heading off to race in St. Thomas before leaving for
the Mediterranean and home to Israel.

We met Nirit and Chris from Israel last year when they arrived in Nanny Cay to join the 2011 Atlantic Cup. They had sailed across the Atlantic and throughout the Caribbean and were heading to New England. After a summer of east coast sailing with the fall and early winter in the southern US and Bahamas, they returned to Nanny Cay to prepare to sail back to the Mediterranean.

Nirit & Sherry saying "so long until we meet in the Med!"
 in the pouring rain at Nanny Cay. 

They are not going with a rally but on their own with a couple of other boats. (In fact, as you read this, they are probably somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic!)  I am not ready for that, but they have been sailing the Med for years!

Chris is a professional news reporter and producer so their boat blog has great videos. You can find them on YouTube if you search ccslaney. Chris has a wonderful voice and the videos are a guided tour of everywhere they have explored. Check it out.

I will stay in touch with several couples through email and following their blogs. Some of them are in the Pacific and others heading to Europe. Many are just returning to their summer home ports in the USA.

Trying to dry things out after three days of rain!

It has been a wonderful experience meeting so many nice people who are willing to share their experiences and knowledge. And everyone is ready and willing to lend a hand at the dock or when a repair is needed. There truly is a "sailing community." And by being part of a rally, you have the chance to spend time getting to know one another socially.