Katie turns one

Spring has finally arrived in Newport and Katie had sunshine for her first birthday. Perfect weather for walking round the dock to try out her first pair of shoes. She is already very attached to these and reluctant to have them taken off!



She had three little friends round for lunch on deck and a messy cake-eating session. She got lots of new clothes, books and toys but her favorite gift was a pink helium balloon which has given hours of fun.

Otherwise, preparations are going full-swing for our trip back. The shrink-wrap has been cut back to summer proportions to allow Dave access to the topsides for painting. He has finished re-pitching the decks, replaced most of the standing rigging and welded a new stem fitting and anchor platform.

We are aiming to leave for the Azores around the 15th May and are still on the lookout for one more person to join us. Chance of a lifetime!

Winter wonderland

We have done two ten-day trips to Maine in March. We drove the 280 miles twice in our borrowed Toyota, watching the snow appear as we proceeded north and cranking the heater up a notch every hour or so.
Dave has been doing a last push on his friend’s boat, trying to get it ready for the grand launch in May. The cabin top is back on, making it look like a 'real boat' again, most of the interior is finished and tanks and instruments are being installed.

We stayed with our friend Carol, who has a lovely renovated ‘log cabin’ near the water. We were woken each morning as the rising sun streamed through our windows and we looked out onto a wonderful wintry vista.



Unfortunately, Carol was in recuperation during our second visit after impaling her arm on a knife that Dave had bought to replace a damaged one. She spent Easter weekend in hospital with a rare and serious condition called ‘compartment syndrome’ and had three operations under general anesthetic. Once back home, she had to hold her arm up at shoulder level for days on end.



We were at least able to help out a little around the house, which alleviated some of the guilt from buying the weapon! Luckily the wound is now healing well and she should soon regain full use of her arm. Apparently the recipient of a sharp implement must give the donor a penny to avoid a similar mishap.


Katie enjoyed having a large space to play in, especially now she has finally mastered the art of crawling. She pulled herself up to standing at every opportunity, walked between rooms holding our hands, and climbed her first set of stairs while we were there.



She also seemed to enjoy the snow. It was a foot deep on the ground when we arrived and several more inches fell during our stay. We had a good time making snow angels and building a snowman in the garden, complete with swimming costume – in honour of Carol, who regularly braves the chilly sea water of Maine to swim in the summer months.