The Third and Final Year in Photos

The blog has been quiet since we hauled Sila out of the water on June 10th, almost exactly three years after we began. We figured that since we covered the first two years in photos (http://svsila.blogspot.com/2015/06/weve-come-long-way-baby.html), we ought to review the last one as well.

 June 2015 found us arriving in Scotland for the first time after sailing north through the Irish Sea and
enjoying a variety of stops in Ireland.

 Our first set of shorelines to secure Sila since leaving Chile in January 2015

 The bright colors of Tobermory, Scotland

 This is high tide in Loch Moidart. At low, Sila sat high and dry next to this famous castle

 Sailing to the Isle of Skye- one of many fabulous days

 At the end of June, Uncle Kevin arrived to spend three weeks sailing with us

 Jack talking to the locals on Canna

 Sunrise at 2:30 am on our passage from the Outer Hebrides to Norway. So much light sure took
the edge off my midnight to 4 am watch

 Christopher, thrilled to be back in Norway after so many years, delights in sharing the Norwegian
lunch supplies that would be staples for the next three months on Sila.

 July was filled with visitors in Norway, starting with friends from Leadville, Zander
(JackRabbit's classmate), his sister, Sofia, and their mom, Kristal

Part of the Berger family (Rolf, Jeannette and Florentin) joined us for a week as well

 We tied up to more little wharves and docks in Norway than any previous place

 Crossing the Arctic Circle and admiring the monument

 Our time in Norway was marked by glorious days of hiking but not much wind for sailing

 Secure in Vieholmen with our friends Max and Lynnie on s/v Juanona

 Max and Lynnie took this photo of Sila sailing around Staad.

Hikers or blueberry pickers?

 Christopher doing his best Where's Waldo imitation

Sila secure in Little Faeroyna, at the start of September. This photo, and so many others in Norway, 

looks a lot like Chile to us, except there was cell service everywhere we went and generally more

 houses and cabins.

 Motoring through the town of Brekkesto in the area of Norway known as the Blindleia.

 In early October, the boys and I spent three delightful days in Oslo (here at the Viking Ship Museum, one of our favorites) while Christopher interviewed in California. As soon as he was invited to be a finalist
for the Midland School job, we flew to Los Angeles to meet him.

 After our brief trip to California, we found ourselves sailing south into Denmark where we explored
several beautiful islands including Anholt. This beach is almost certainly packed with people in the
summer but we had it all to ourselves.

 The Danish islands reminded us a little of northern Michigan

 Our great friend Ben Capelin was with us as we sailed from Denmark, through the Kiel Canal and
down the English Channel to Belgium, where this photo was taken, and on to France.

 Our first dry out in a while, and we manage to set down on the one little rivulet in the bay
near Île-de-Bréhat, France.

 November found us celebrating our triumphant return to Tréguier, where Sila was built and where our adventure began two and one-half years and 29,000 miles earlier.

 While the good folks at Boreal did some work on Sila, we went on a road trip that included
several days in Florence and Rome

 and a few days at the home of our great friends, the Berger family, in Switzerland

 In early December, we left France and crossed the Channel to Falmouth in Cornwall, England.
While we waited for the right weather window to sail south across the Bay of Biscay, we enjoyed a
 few adventures including a trip to London to see Les Misérables.

 The prime meridian in Greenwich

 Christmas Eve in Falmouth

 New Years Day found us walking on the beach in Parranporth along with a bunch of other crazy Brits out enjoying the lovely Cornwall winter weather!

 A trip to Portsmouth to see the Royal Dockyards and tour the HMS Victory was a real treat for us.

 After seeing the Standing Stones of Callanish in Scotland and the Moai on Easter Island in Chile,
it was fun to visit Stonehenge.

 January 12 brought the right weather, so we left Falmouth and set sail to cross the Bay of Biscay bound for Madeira. This photo was taken by our friend Colin from his house on the hill. Sila looks so small!

 The weather did not cooperate so we stopped in La Coruña, Spain, which is home to this lighthouse.
The Tower of Hercules is the oldest Roman lighthouse still in use.

 We left Spain at the end of January and soon passed a major milestone on the odometer:
30,000 nautical miles traveled.

 Christopher and JackRabbit try in vain to get Porter to dance on the poop deck
as part of our half-way there celebration

Land Ho!  After nearly 24 days at sea, the sunset on February 21st was behind St. Croix

 The Caribbean Paddle Board Wars began

 Cousins came to visit. Here is Christina overlooking Saba Rock in the BVI

 and Anna in Charlotte Amalie harbor in the USVI

 The heat and the bugs drove me to sleep on the poop deck in Puerto Rico in April

With some help from this awesome woman, Rebecca, we surprised my brother Kevin by showing up 

at the restaurant where he was eating dinner with Bec and her extended family. We then enjoyed about

a week of vacation in Vieques with them that included some visits to various beaches, delightful meals in town and a couple of day sails on Sila.

 Porter picking spiny lobsters that he and Jack caught while spear fishing in Puerto Rico in April

 One of many cakes that Porter baked between Puerto Rico and Maine.

Mary joined us for our final passage from Puerto Rico to New York City.

 This was a really great way to end an 11-day offshore passage

 Motoring up the East River

In early May, we had two incredible days of exploring the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut.

 One of our best days of sailing on the east coast was from Annisquam, Massachusetts to Portsmouth,
New Hampshire. With three reefs in the main sail and two reefs in the genoa, we zipped along at 7+ knots and had the sort of glorious day of sailing that you never forget.

 Another great cousin adventure when Garrett took Jack and Porter to pull his lobster traps.
It sure is nice to be back in Maine!

 Memorial Day Weekend found Christopher at the helm as we sailed into Somesville, where he learned
to sail as a kid with his parents

 We spent the first 10 days of June sailing in the parts of Maine where we had sailed on our previous boat, Galatea. It was a real joy to return to some of our favorite places, like the Mistake Island Lighthouse.

We enjoyed several fabulous days of sailing in company with s/v Pelerin and our friends Colin and Louise

Colin took this photo of us on one of our last days of sailing in Maine

 For three years, I have collected bread crumbs and cracker crumbs for use on baked pasta or vegetable meals. This obsession has been the source of many jokes but also contributed to many good meals on Sila. Here you can see Porter laughing in the background as I throw out the last of the breadcrumbs
right before we moved off the boat.

 June 10, 2016. One year after arriving in Scotland, almost exactly three years after we moved on board in France, and Sila is hauled out in Stonington, Maine

 Christopher setting the jackstands

 One final lunch in the cockpit

 not exactly Norwegian lunch, but close!

Three sad members of the Sila crew express their feelings about leaving.

 After about ten days of work that included taking sails to be repaired, removing every piece of line
from the deck, attaching mouse lines on all the halyards, unloading all of our personal belongings,
cleaning and repairing everything that was to be left on board, emptying tanks and winterizing engines,
Christopher leans on Sila one last time.

 June 25, we dropped the boys off at Camp Pasquaney in New Hampshire where they are now.

June 28, Christopher and I arrive at the Midland School where he is the new Head of School. The next chapter of our grand adventure has begun in Los Olivos, California.