We pulled into Oxford Boatyard for what we thought was about a 2-week haulout, enough time to paint the bottom, clean and wax the hull, take care of the most important items on our "to do" list, and enjoy biking around the charming town of Oxford, MD. Seven and a half weeks later (and you don't want to know what we spent!) we are back in the water. We had hoped to saunter up the rest of the Chesapeake, then perhaps spend some time in Cape May before heading to our mooring at Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy, NJ. But, since it is now mid-August, and since we'd still like to get up to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket before heading south again, we decided to make it a fast trip.

Our very good friends, Stu and Julie Conway (Stu is the artist who created the Deeper Season picture, and Stu and Julie circumnavigated for a couple years, so they have loads of experience) volunteered to help us on the trip. There will be at least one overnight, and since we haven't done one of those on our own on this boat, it will be great to have knowledgeable company.

We're enjoying Sailor Jerry's at night, and hoping for a wind that will actually let us sail. At the moment we're coming through the C&D canal, which links the Chesapeake Bay with Delaware Bay. We'll then come down the Delaware Bay, around Cape May, and then up the NJ coast into Raritan Bay. More later. Thanks, Julie and Stu!