Day 335, Year 6: Finally . . .
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011
Weather: Heavy Rain Overnight; Overcast Today, Temp in Low 70’s
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Finally . . . I have started writing what might eventually be wrapped into a book about the Voyage of Windbird. It was my hope to begin writing as soon as we got home, but somehow all of the days since June 23 have been filled with activity. But today, when I took Mark to shore so he could drive to work, I came back to Windbird and started pounding the keys. There is so much I want to share with other cruisers or people who hope to become cruisers, but I started by writing two “articles” for friends who are leaving soon on their trek around the world. Heather and Jon Turgeon lived aboard their boat, Evergreen, in Shipyard Quarters in Charlestown. When we moved in during the summer of 2003, Heather and Jon welcomed us. We are old enough to be their parents, but in a live aboard community, age is not important. Heather and Jon have spent a few seasons cruising in the Caribbean and are now ready to head on around the world. They emailed a couple of days ago saying they would be heading down this way soon on their way to the Caribbean and on to the South Pacific. I wrote back telling them that we have so much information that we would like to share with them before they leave, and that then gave me the incentive to start writing down all of the things I want to tell them. My first two “chapters” are about provisioning and trip planning. Once I started writing, I realized just how much information I have already committed to print. I was able to go back and copy logs detailing our experiences from our first year. And I also went back into my files and found detailed notes on what sights to see on which islands. Much of the writing has already been done. I just need to go back and pull out the most important pieces.

If it is not raining tomorrow, I might go with Heather and Jed across Buzzard’s Bay to the New Bedford Working Waterfront Festival. If, however, it is rainy, I will stay home and continue writing. I was on a roll today and it would feel good to just keep on writing. But on the other hand, I don’t want to stop enjoying today just to write about yesterday. I have to keep experiencing and seafood and waterfront festivals seem to be the thing to do here in the fall. I’ve never been to the waterfront in New Bedford and that would be an interesting experience all by itself. So the weather will determine tomorrow’s activity.