Moving Ahead with More Great Stuff...

As usual, January and February were busy months for me, preparing to head over to the Bahamas, plus doing some preparatory work on a new book. As a result, I have not been keeping this blog updated.
The plan in 2019 is to post here at least a couple of times per month, and re-introduce some formerly very popular features such as our listings of free or nearly free sailboats. There is of course no such thing as a free sailboat, you’re going to spend a ton of money getting it ready to go, but… The thought is a nice one
If you are aware of a free, or nearly free sailboat, send me the information with the link using the contact form, and I will post it here for others to view.

I've been remiss in summing up the 2018 Sail to the Sun ICW Rally. This year's Rally started off with 18 boats, the smallest being 26 feet and the largest nearly double that, a 50 foot Hunter. 

Interestingly enough, we had one person who had crossed the Pacific in his late teens, and two people who had done Atlantic crossings. There was some real sailing talent in this group. We had the usual mix of sailors hailing from the Northeast and Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and even one from the west coast. All in all an interesting group of folks, and a lot of fun.
We of course hit all of our regular stops - Dowry Creek (for the pilgrimage to the run distillery), Oriental (where we had a huge shrimp boil), Osprey Marina (great stopover), Windmill Harbor Marina (because it's so lovely and they treat us like kings and queens there), Charleston Maritime Center (because it's SO well located to downtown Charleston), the St. Mary's Cruisers Thanksgiving Dinner, Cocoa FL (because they again treat us like kings and queens there)...
As is expected of a group of sailors, there were many parties, dockside get-togethers and on board fun - such as the blue crab party in the ICW anchorage at the entrance to the Alligator Pungo Canal. I bought a bushel of blue crabs from a waterman I saw on the Albermarle ($30 if you can believe it!) and we feasted that night on the back of Irv and Bonnie Alpert's catamaran, Bonni Jean II. As always with blue crab, there was an awful mess left over when we were done, and I again thank Irv and Bonnie for hosting this messy - but tasty - event.
These few pictures tell the story far better than I can, but as always, the Sail to the Sun ICW Rally was a huge, enjoyable good time for all.

For those interested in more information on the 2019 Sail to the Sun ICW Rally, go to Sail to the Sun, and if you'd like a brochure, click here...

I'm off to the Bahamas in a few days, so my next message will be from Bimini, or possibly the Abacos, depending on the upcoming weather. Cheers to all, and to my northerly readers, spring is coming. Be hopeful!