The final countdown, reflections of Newport

By Sailor Keddy -
All the prep work is complete. Winchelsea, Jon and I, with Carla, are ready to go. The checklist I made nearly a month ago has exactly zero items left without a strike through, and all that remains is a little bit of organizing, weighing anchor, raising sail and following a compass heading. I've decided to move our departure up a bit, from early Monday morning to Sunday afternoon. This will put us well within a good weather window for the nearly 40 hour sail to New Jersey, and allow us passage through the heaviest shipping lanes out of New York during daylight hours; a win-win. It's still a few days off though, which means it can change drastically, so I'm keeping a close eye on it.

I'm really going to miss Newport overall. It has been my introduction to the sailing community, and I've felt welcome from the get go. Green and Isaac have taught me so much, and Green has been more than helpful on numerous occasions. From my carburetor, to the wind turbine, to my water pump, salvaging a dinghy from the bottom of Newport harbor, hurricane preparations, and pretty much any and all advice I could have ever asked for; he's been the closest thing I've ever had to an actual mentor. I was practically begging for something like that at CDM, and they never delivered. I've learned about 12 meters, weather watching, currents and tides, to watch out for erratically moving boats, etc, etc, etc. It's hard to put words to it, but I feel 1,000 times more solid in my seamanship than I did even 6 months ago; it's a feeling of confidence you carry with you. Anywho, I'm ready to take the next step and give myself a real challenge sailing this boat south. To draw an analogy, it feels like I've been building a roller coaster. The chain has been pulling me up to the first summit. The tension is mounting as I reach this peak. I'm about to go over the crest. It's just me now, coasting....I just hope I've laid out enough track below as the ride begins...

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