Cruising in August is the Best

This summer I’ve done a lot of sailing. In late June and July I sailed across the Atlantic on my friend’s Steve’s Hanse 505 Maverick. It was a 3100-mile passage and lots of fun. And this summer our family bought a 17-foot Thistle so we could race in the new and fast-growing Thistle fleet in Newport, RI.  These classic dinghies, designed in 1945, are still hugely fun to sail and will get up and plane in the right conditions. Our weekly Monday night traces are competitive without being too aggressive since this is essentially family racing. But for Rosie and me, the real pleasure of sailing in August are the trips we make on our cruising boat to the islands of southern New England– Cuttyhunk, Martha’s Vineyard, Block Island and the rest. Lying to the anchor on calm summer nights under the stars is about as peaceful as life can get and being lulled off to sleep as the boat shifts and rolls slightly under our bunk makes us about as content and we can be.  We love all kinds of sailing but cruising our home waters in August is the best.