I can't believe the 2011/2012 season is drawing to a close for Independence already. It seems like yesterday that we were scrambling to be ready for our first charter last November and here we are looking at our last one for this season. It's already booked and, appropriately enough, it will be Independence on Independence Day!
We have plenty of openings between now and then so if your travels bring you to St. Thomas before July 4th give us a call or an email and let's go sailing.
We had mate Leah aboard this year, I am really going to miss her as she and her Coast Guard husband, Drew, are leaving for his new assignment in San Diego and she is hoping to get back to her first love - teaching special needs children. It was fun to have an all female crew again and I don't think anyone left the boat without an aside to me about how wonderful she was. I wish her all the best for the future and hope she can come back for an alumni sail soon.
The season was busy! Word is out on Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic that daysailing out of Red Hook is a great way to see the islands, snorkel, relax and enjoy great service. We had a lot of first time sailors aboard ranging in age from toddler to senior and so far all rave reviews. We got a lot of great art work from some of our young sailors and you can see a few samples in the guest book.
Our plans for the summer are to spend a week or two with our daughter and grand daughters - they arrive next week - and then head out for our sail north to Wilmington Marine Center, 25 miles up the Cape Fear River. We rode out Irene there last year and know that Independence will be safe and secure. We have some maintenance projects and some travel plans so it well be busy and fun.
September will see us in Greensboro, NC. Both girls will be playing soccer this year, Lea is 3 and it will be her first time, Marisa at 5 is a veteran player, and Oma and Opa will be on the sidelines cheering them on. Early October will see us in Beaufort waiting on a weather window so we can head to Bermuda and then home again in time to start day sailing in early November.
I will be checking in with email and will post details of our passage on arrival in North Carolina. I hope that you will think about a day or half day aboard Independence and will be happy to answer any questions. The passage takes about ten days so if you don't hear back right away it's because we are at sea.
Have a great summer!
