Imagine a more perfect day...

Yesterday's weather on the Chesapeake was not conducive to a great day on Namaste (she being a bit too gentle for really rough seas and wind) so we went out with Alfonso and Pauline on the most fabulous 40' Beneteau sailboat on the bay that day - 'Imagine' is aptly named.

Wind gusts up to 25 knots or so just made this boat into a pure joyful sailing machine at a top speed of 7.80 knots. Magnificent is the only way to describe the way the boat dipped and swirled amongst the waves. It was like being in a limosine, complete with all the acoutraments a queen deserves. Breakfast was served, cocktails were furnished, snacks provided - does it really get any better than this? I mean, really. Well, actually, if a servant had slathered me with sunscreen, that would have been nice as I picked up a bit of a burn while sitting on the swim platform, dangling my feet in the water as we zipped past other boats. Evidently, and no one will admit this but there is a huge bonus to overtaking another sailboat. Sure, sailors will tell you it's about the journey - they're liars. It's about who can go through the journey at the fastest pace. And, those little waves you exchange with the skipper of a neighboring boat you've overtaken? I believe I detected a few one finger salutes instead of all five...

Regardless, the Imagine is everything one could want in a boat. With 2 staterooms, chocked full of gleaming mahogany furnishings, it's well suited to ocean sailing. John and I were drooling the entire day - we could barely pry John's hands from the wheel... Hopefully, John will be able to go on an oceangoing trip with Alfonso one day as a trip to the islands is in the making. Would be a grand way to spend 12 days.

Note: my new camera was hard at work yesterday - I'm not sure that I could have gotten this picture of this seagull  in mid poop with my sony dsc...A bit oogey, and a bit fascinating at the same time.


On another note, we're planning on taking Mom on a cruise out of Baltimore, we hope. Of course, as with everything else, it will be a decision we make the day before the boat is to sail but we have the biggest balcony cabin short of the penthouse, reserved for, what we hope is, 7 glorious days. We got the upscaled room as John, Gert and I plan to be riding the balcony a lot as too much excitement/crowds is not necessarily what any of us want. The cabin has a wet bar which I will stock well for cocktail hour. I figure some gambling, a bit of sun sounds about right for 7 days.

And, one final thing, the official name for the newest dog is Gizmo - thanks to niece Monya's great interpretation. Gizmo is doing fine and brings us much joy (if not JB, the cat). She's taken over JB's position in my lap during the evenings. Cats don't have much of a sense of humor.