It’s Saturday morning and less than three weeks until Christmas.  Yikes!  Where did the time go?  Last I looked, it was May and I was bringing Pandora north from the Bahamas.  Anyway, now it’s December and on top of that, it’s been a while since my last post.  So, here goes.

I have wanted to write about something that has been brewing for a few weeks. The news is that we will be selling Pandora and buying another boat.  

Selling Pandora?  Yes, amazingly, that’s the plan.   In truth, we have been lusting over a particular boat, Ariel, an Aerodyne 47 owned by our friends Miles and Loreen for some time now.  They had their boat built in Finland in 2006 and took delivery in spring of 2007 when she was lowered from the deck of a freighter in, I think, Newport.  Here’s a shot of a sistership, one of a total of only four built of this design, hitting the water in Finland.  So, after spending years touting how great the SAGA 43 design is and Pandora in particular, we will be buying another boat.  Yes, this is a very big deal for us and something that I never thought would happen.  To be completely candid, we would not be doing this it it wasn’t for the fact that Ariel became available.  

We had discussed this possibility with Miles and Loreen last winter when we were sailing together in the Bahamas but I can’t say that I really thought that they would take the plunge.  The “plunge” being going over to the “dark side”. Yes, they are buying a POWER BOAT.  I won’t say anything more except that it’s GIANT 50ft+ “ship”, at least a ship by the standards of “little people”, like us. I guess it’s safe to say that their “carbon footprint” will be increasing.  Perhaps they can buy some “offsets” from Al Gore.  

When we purchased Pandora back in 2007, we assumed that she’d be the last boat we’d own.  As recently as this summer, when I put on a brand new Autoprop and the new Espar heater, I expected that we’d be using them for years.  However, all that changed when Miles contacted me a few weeks ago saying that Ariel was for sale. 

As I have mentioned in some prior posts, Brenda and I have been interested in their boat for years, since we first saw it in Block Island, I think around 2008 or so.  Since that time, we have spent time with them from Maine to the Bahamas and after sailing in company with them for hundreds of miles and eating countless meals aboard both Ariel and Pandora, here we are…  And, I won’t talk about the wine and rum consumed at those meals (Let’s just say that some might view them as a bad influence on us).

Well, our comfy position of owning Pandora, all fitted out and exactly as we want her, is going out the window.  Great, now I can focus on getting our next boat just right.

The good news is that Ariel is about right already and I’ll only need to make a few changes to personalize her for us.  Fortunately Miles and Loreen have taken a “money is no object” approach to keeping her in trim which should make it easier for us, down the road.  Well, easier at least until something breaks.  Hey, that’s boating…

So, the plan is for us to sail Pandora this winter in the FL Keys with perhaps a brief visit to the northern Bahamas, the Abacos,  in late winter and then back to the US in April in time to go to a wedding in SC.  Still lots of details to work out but we are very excited. With a decision to get a new boat in early December and the actual handover in late May or so, this is clearly not going to be a typical transaction.

Anyway, here’s a photo of Ariel I took in Newport RI a few years ago.  She’s still green but has been repainted since then.  Miles and Loreen, who live aboard, are very particular owners and keeping her in “as new” condition is a priority.  I sure hope she looks that way “behind the curtain” when we have her surveyed. Fingers crossed Perhaps better, is this one that I took in the Exumas last winter.  Yes, nice spot and a nice boat.The Aerodyne 47 was very limited production line of boats, with, I think, only four built.   In many ways she’s pretty high-tech when compared to Pandora, built of heat cured epoxy, fiberglass and kevlar.   Her interior is composite material including honeycomb core bulkheads and cabinetry and cored granite countertops, a construction approach that is used on luxury aircraft to keep strength high and weight to a minimum.   As a result, while she’s nearly 2.5′ wider than Pandora and 5′ longer, she only weighs about 2,000 lbs more.  This link will take you to some specs about the boat.

This is a shot of the main salon when she was launched.  I think the bottle of Champagne is gone.  No, I am sure it is.   But, the boat still looks very nice down below. The galley is quite well laid out with lots of room to work. Speaking of “work”, there’s even a small workshop aft of the galley. The designer, Rodger Martin, is known for designing some top ocean racing boats.  Part of the appeal to us is that the Aerodyne is very similar to Pandora, having a fairly fine entry, long waterline and flat run aft.  As a result, she’s very fast, especially on a reach where I believe that she’ll do 12kts+.   Pandora can get close to those speeds but being smaller, it takes a more pushing and heavy conditions.  Speeds like Pandora and Ariel are capable of are quite rare in cruising boats.  The pedigree of both designs are influenced by much more extreme ocean racers.  

Interestingly, Bob Perry, designer of Pandora wrote a review of the Aerodyne 47 back in 2002 when it was fresh off of Martin’s drawing board.  He had some nice words to say about the design.

Yes, Ariel is faster than Pandora, in part, because she’s bigger, Pandora’s no slouch in the speed department and I have kept up quite well with Ariel when we have sailed together.  However, the extra length does give her an edge, especially off the wind.

Making a decision to sell Pandora, the boat that we thought was to be our last, was a tough one.  We thought that we’d own Pandora until we were too decrepit to sail.  We expected our next step might be, horrors, a pontoon boat.

Now, wouldn’t this be a great “post sailing retirement boat” for us?  Actually, this is a really scary image.   I like the idea of Ariel as a next step much better.On the bright side, with a pontoon boat, there would be plenty of room for a Weber Grill, wheeled cooler and a slew of cup-holders.  Perhaps that would take some of the sting out of it?  Perhaps not…

“Bob, Bob, stick to the point”.  Sorry…

So, where’s Pandora going?  First, we’ll be aboard for the winter in our usual stomping grounds. And then, who knows.

And speaking of “what’s next”, it’s not too early to think about where we’ll be going next winter and I think it will be the Caribbean.  Yes, that would be great fun, and it’s only a bit more than 1,500 miles from Montauk.  It’s a good thing Ariel’s a bit faster than Pandora.  Perhaps she could cut off a day of the trip.  We’ll see.

Perhaps I am getting a bit ahead of myself as first I have to go sailing for the winter, buy a boat, sell one (no simple feat) and put out some Christmas decorations.  

Yes, Christmas decorations.  Brenda’s out today, my honey-do list is long and I’d better have made progress before Brenda gets home in a few hours.

Yes, I’d better get a move on.  First things first.  

It’s Saturday afternoon and I am working my way through chores and thinking about all that we have going on between now and when we head south to join Pandora in early January.  The holiday season is just so busy it’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away and Christmas… It seems like just yesterday that I brought Pandora north from Nassau.

Well, I won’t think about how quickly the end of the year will be here. Somehow it always seems like the holidays and a brand new year are so far off in the future and suddenly… Well, they it is right in front of you.  Where did the year go?

This may date me but this Monty Python clip somehow reminds me of how quickly things can come up on you, when you least expect it.   Well, it seems that way to me at least.see
“Bob, that was totally random.  What are you talking about?”  Ok, perhaps that was a bit of a stretch but work with me on this.

Anyway, it’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away and that Brenda and I will be down in Florida in less than six weeks.   At least I can say that the lawn is all tidied up and ready to sleep for the winter.  Heck, I even split some firewood today.  

Speaking of winter, this shot of our “land home” was sent to us last winter by a neighbor.  I am sure glad that I wasn’t here to see it first hand.  Brrr…I prefer this view.Yes, I love it here in CT in the summer but winter, that’s another story.  I hope to make it out the door in late December without having seen anything like a “winter scene” much less than a the sort of “Buffalo moment” that hit the folks normally famous for their “wings”, a title that they would probably prefer right now.  6′ of snow?  What the &^%$?  

The sort of white I am looking forward to is more like this.  Or, perhaps this.  It’s white right?And, like snow, sometimes there’s white in the sky. And sometimes, the white comes right at you all at once. Don’t get me wrong, I love white, there’s just some types of white that are easier to take if you aren’t a polar bear.

No, cold isn’t my first choice unless it’s one of these.  All kidding aside, I feel blessed to be able to follow my dreams, and the sun. And I am doubly happy that Brenda is willing to live them with me.  Time is short.  

And to quote my good friend Bill, of SV Kalunamoo from a recent blog post when he put it so well..  “But, hey, life is not a race to the the finish. Its a Journey that ends without warning, enjoy it while the winds blow in your favor.”  

Isn’t that the truth.  Time is, well, it’s right around the next corner and I don’t intend to waste it.

 

It’s Thursday afternoon and I sort of feel like I am dug out of the things that piled up while Brenda and I were in Portugal.  It’s amazing how much mail piles up in a month, and that’s in a world where nothing of value comes in via “snail mail”.  And, I won’t even talk about all the bills that needed attending to.   And, to make matters even “better”, our credit card was compromised while we were away so I had to contact all of the vendors that we do business with via card and change the number to the new one.  I think that it’s the third time this year we have had to deal with a new card.  And, the list of companies to contact is especially long and fun as we also handle bills for Brenda’s and my mothers.

Oh yeah, and our yard was piled high with leaves too.  Now that was a treat worth coming home to.

With only six weeks at home before we head down to meet up with Pandora in GA for the rest of the winter, we don’t have much time for catching up and getting ready for the holidays.   And, of course, everything that goes “up” for the holidays has to come down, and PDQ, as we are headed to MD to visit our son Rob and his girlfriend Kandice a few days after Christmas.  “Quick, put the tree up.  No wait, time to take the tree down.”

Just thinking about all that has to happen between now and the end of December makes me feel a bit overwhelmed.  However, before I feel too sorry for myself, at least I don’t have to count “work” as part of the mix.

Well, Portugal was wonderful and being away for a month made it possible for us to take our time touring around much of the northern half of the country.   Yes, we had a great time putting 2,000 km on the rental car.  I will say that by the last week I was getting a bit tired of packing and unpacking dirty clothes.  “So Brenda, what pair of dirty jeans should I wear today?” Hmm…

So, what were my favorite parts of the trip?  Thanks for asking.

Taking our sweet time was nice as we were able to stay for several days, sometimes 4-5 in a single place.  All around us were folks that were on a week long holiday and they would race from hotel to hotel, always on the move.  We didn’t do a lot prior to the late morning, which was very nice.

The scenery of the country was fabulous and never deciding where we were going next until a few days before we were going to be “homeless” was very nice.  By taking this approach we were able to do some exploring beyond the normal tourist spots and take the advice of locals on what would be interesting.  The good news is that we never had problems finding a nice place to say, even with just a few days notice.

For sure, we did plenty of the things that tourists do, such as seeing some of the fabulous museums and castles.  Did we ever see castles.

Perhaps the best one was in Sintra, a short distance from Lisbon. We stayed in this fabulous inn outside of town with a magnificent view of the castle from our room.   The places we stayed were so wonderful.  Perhaps the beds weren’t always as comfortable as a top hotel in the U.S. but they were certainly more scenic.  We had the corner room in the tower of this.  And, our view was the photo above.   Really amazing. And, when you got close, it was breathtaking to see the level of detail in the castles, built hundreds of years before our country was even founded.  We loved having an opportunity to meet real local folks.  A highlight was our visit to a “factory” that makes traditional pottery.  The owner spent an hour showing us around his place.  There were only 4 working in the shop and they were all members of the same family.  I should note that we heard about this spot, which has probably never had a tourist visit, from the owner of a restaurant that we ate at.  I wrote more about our visit in this post, if you missed it.  We purchased more than would fit in our luggage to bring home.   Unfortunately, this piggy didn’t survive the trip.  Too much jammed into our luggage. Perhaps we will have to order a replacement.  So nice to meet someone that is really proud of their work.

Another highlight was our visit to a bobbin lace school and museum.   Brenda is very interested in this technique and has been studying for a few years now.  To visit a real working school was wonderful.  It’s worth noting that there are precious few places like this anywhere and none in the U.S.  

In this school young girls, some as young as four years old learn the traditional techniques.  Brenda was in heaven.  It was fun to watch the “girls” compare notes.  They spoke only a little English but way better than we spoke Portuguese. Never the less, there was a common language in lace. Lace making is impossibly complicated.  Well, at least to me. However, like everything else, it looks easy when an expert does it.  To manipulate dozens of bobbins as fast as the teacher is stunning to watch. She has been doing this technique since she was a young girl.  It shows.   As they say, practice, practice…Language barrier or not, there was a very personal connection for Brenda and it was fun to watch.

I loved the boats we saw.  No, not enough posts about boats for a blog dedicated to sailing but hey, not bad for a “land trip”.  So much color.  In a world of “plastic boats” these were very refreshing. And octopus.  The lovely pottery jars that they catch them in. Watching the fisherman unload bins of octopus, or should I say octopi?And, best of all, me eating them.  Yum…  What’s the world coming to when we take pictures of our meals? I loved the food and wine.  Perhaps the most memorable glass of wine for us was sitting on the wall of an ancient castle in Lisbon with wine we purchased from a “food cart” called ‘Wine with a View”.   Not something you’d see in New York, that’s for sure.   Imagine buying wine on the street from a cart?  You can not beat this view. 
Yes, food, it was terrific.  Better than that was the scenery that went along with the food.  This nighttime view in Porto was the best.  Wine, cheese, olives and bread.  What a magnificent evening. We stayed in some really amazing inns like this one that had been in the same family for several hundred years.  The “barn” was 900 years old.  That’s several times older than our country.  And the family that owned it treated us like family and even gave us a wonderful bottle of port while we were there. When we left they all lined up on the front porch for a family picture. I do hope that they visit us here in CT someday.  We’d like that very much. And the Douro valley in very northern Portugal.  Breathtaking.  The place we stayed here was on the top of a mountain and had been in the same family since the 1700s.  That’s hard for me to relate to.  My house was built in the 1970s.

The Douro valley is in northern Portugal and by early November it was beginning to get cold.  However, with all the walking we did we managed to stay warm while we were out.  We did a LOT of walking each day or our trip.

We just loved walking through the vineyards.  The highlight of our visit to Douro was our picnic in the vineyard.  Yes, perfect. Yes, we had a great visit to Portugal.  Even with a few rainy days thrown in. I could go on all day about what fun we had but it’s sufficient to say that Portugal is worth the trip.  The scenery, food and people.  Really great.

Well, enough of Portugal.  Time to think about sailing and it won’t be long till we are aboard Pandora.  I won’t think about the fact that St Mary’s is currently in the 30-40 degree range.  That’s cold.  I am told that it’s not normally that cold.

Let’s hope not.  We are trying to avoid winter, after all.

This is more like it.  Blue waters and warm sunshine. Yes, that’s what we want.   Our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.Wish us luck.  

 

It’s Tuesday morning here in Lisbon and its our LAST day in Portugal; we fly home tomorrow.

It’s been a great trip and it’s hard to believe that a month has gone by since landing here in mid October.  Yes, we are certainly living in a different lifetime from when I was working when we measured vacations in increments of weeks or most often, days.  I have to say that I am liking this lifetime.  Yes, I like it a lot.

As a cap off to our trip Brenda’s old friend Leslie from England flew down to spend a 24 hour whirlwind visit with us on Sunday.  Although they had not seen each other in seven years, they struck up again as if it had only been a month; two girls having a great time, with a token male in tow.

This photo just about says it all.  Happy friends, in the rain.We walked all over Lisbon, in the rain, (It was, in case the umbrellas didn’t tip you off.) for the entire day yesterday and drank our share of wine.  We are in Portugal aren’t we?  Remember that they say “if it’s a meal without wine, it must be breakfast”.  Yes, that has worked for us.   I will say that the “girls” somehow managed to cover days of talking in just a bit longer than 24 hours and it was a lot of fun to watch them together and they did their best to make me feel part of the conversation.  It’s a good thing that I am firmly in touch with my “feminine side”.

We went out for a terrific lunch in an overpriced tourist restaurant and I had octopus, the best yet.  Yum…  Brenda didn’t want a taste at all.  She isn’t too fond of the “sucker thing”.   Good.  No need to share anyway. How about that pool of olive oil it was served in? Yes, that’s Portuguese cooking.  Lots of olive oil used here.  Fabulous.

We walked much of the day, rain or not, like the three tourists that we were.   Along the way we stopped for coffee to dry off.  It was very nice day.

Lisbon looks wonderful in the rain from under the big umbrellas at the sidewalk cafes.  Notice the intricate tile work on the sidewalk.   That sort of detail work is all over Portugal.  I particularly enjoy the contrast of old and new, especially when they are perfectly color coordinated like the trolley and building.   Love the little motorized carriages.  Everything looks so clean and new, well not new exactly, but it looks great in the rain.  Lisbon is a remarkably clean city, actually. It’s going to be tough to leave Portugal as we have had so much fun here during our visit.  However, I am very much looking forward to being home again, at least for a bit, until we rejoin Pandora for the winter in Florida.  I hear it’s near freezing in CT.  And the lawn.  Well, I don’t want to think about that today…

Brenda and Leslie were very gracious when I muscled myself between them and asked for a photo moment.  Nice picture I think.  Well, I had better wrap this up as it’s our last day in Portugal and time’s a wasting.   We are tourists after all, and even though we have been here a month, THERE’S ONLY ONE MORE DAY and tourists don’t waste a moment.

Off we go.

 

It’s Saturday morning and we have what is arguably the nicest room yet here at Cabecas do Reguengo near the town of Portalegre in central Portugal. Their site is very interesting if you read Portuguese, that’s great.  If not, check out their site anyway and click on “EN”, for English, on the upper right of the home page. One way or the other, it’s a very interesting spot and the story behind it is particularly unique as the owner is a retired ballet dancer.

Really nice room.The bathroom is marvelous and marble.  The picture does not do it justice.This is the view that we woke up to today.  Not bad for a rainy day.   The siting of the building, new this year, is very well thought out.  The hotel is a completely modern design and yet looks right at home among the older homes dotting the nearby landscape. They also have a vineyard on the property and the wine is very nice.  We liked the white as it’s more full bodied than most Portuguese wines, more like a California with a fair amount of oak.  Very nice. It’s obvious that the hand of an artist was behind it all.  What a view to wake up to, infinity pool and all.  Yesterday we drove the 4.5 hours south from northern Portugal where we had spent much of the last two weeks.  This is our final stop prior to returning to Lisbon on Sunday where we will spend the last few days of our trip before we return to the U.S.  I expect that we’ll fine some fun things to do to occupy us until the 12th.

As a special treat, Brenda’s friend Leslie is flying in from England to spend the night with us on Sunday.  I expect that the “girls” will be up to all hours as they have not seen each other for years.   It’s a good thing that we have two rooms as I am sure that they will be up all night talking.  “Brenda? Leslie?, is it bedtime yet? I need sleep…”

Anyway, the ride yesterday took us from the mountainous north of Portugal where vineyards and olive trees dominate the landscape to this area where it’s much more postural with cows, sheep and rolling hills.    After days of terrifying switchbacks and steep drop-offs, it’s nice to again be in a “less dramatic” area.

This video is of the white knuckle run down the road from our inn high up on the mountain in the Doruo valley to the village of Pinhao down near the river.  Trust me that this video doesn’t do justice to the nail biting around hairpin turns, all the way.This town isn’t on the itinerary of most tourists as it’s overshadowed by some of the more dramatic destinations such as Sintra, with huge castles looming over quaint villages. Never the less, it’s lovely here but the attraction for us was the tapestry museum and workshop, one of the best in Europe, a place that Brenda, a tapestry artist herself,  just had to see.  We visited it yesterday and it was indeed fascinating.  I’ll post one shot of a major piece, and it’s huge and quite impressive.   That’s Brenda to the left.  Big piece…The level of detail is really impressive.  However, I’ll leave the details to Brenda who will no doubt write about it in her blog soon. More to come on that.

On our last day in Casal de Loivos, perched on the side of a mountain, we decided to head out for another walk in the vineyards for a picnic.  Years ago, when Brenda and I were in college together, we used to picnic with wine, cheese and bread.  Our outing brought back memories from another lifetime.  Nice memories for sure but I very much enjoy being a “grownup”.

Anyway, we collected the items for lunch the day before in shops in the nearby village so we were ready to go.  What a great time we had in spite of the light drizzle.  Actually, after hiking up the mountain we were plenty warm and happily we found a beautiful olive tree to sit under with our legs dangling over an ancient stone wall on the side of, you guessed it, a vineyard.  Rain?  What rain?  That’s just dew…  It was a perfect moment.

We had a very nice spread of local wine and all.  I even remembered to bring a cork screw.   Good thing or I would have had to whack the bottle against a rock to open it.   Editor:  However, notice the “fine crystal” to the right of the bottle. Oops, I forgot the glasses.  Not to worry, I’ll cut up a water bottle, with a cheese knife. (Don’t try this at home, Professional wineglass maker in residence)  I used the top part of the bottle as it almost looks like a wine glass, if a bit tippy. Brenda took the bottom.  Besides, it held more.  Cheers!  Big smile, even before my first sip.   Perhaps it was the altitude. What a lovely spot to picnic, legs dangling over a stone wall. The olive trees, laden with fruit almost ready to harvest, were such a wonderful silver grey green. And the ancient grape vines, ready for a winter nap.  Haunting.We walked further up the mountain flanked by beautiful stone walls. Along the way we came upon a “mature” women cutting old growth from vines in a vineyard (yes, lots of vineyards there) and putting them on a fire.  We stopped to talk.  There was lots of “talking at each other” us in English and her in Portuguese but not much was accomplished.  I have no idea what she said but she said it in the nicest possible way.  The haze from others burning vines hung over the valley like a fog.  What a day.  Perhaps this shot of late season grapes still on the vine says it best. Beautiful and so peaceful. Here in Portugal, it’s all about the grapes, and wine.  They are very proud of their wine.  Yes, wonderful wines.  And a great country to visit.  We chose well, coming to Portugal.

And where we are staying now for a few days?  Brenda chose particularly well.

Yes, perfect.