Final Week of Sailing August 17-21

Monday afternoon we cast off the lines close to 2 p.m. and motorsailed in 3-5 knots of wind to Newport to set ourselves up for the final week of Laser sailing lessons with minimal commuting -- the 5-minute dinghy ride is far more pleasurable than the hour-long drive from Barrington (times 4 for the to and fros, meaning four hours on the road a day versus 20 minutes on the water every day). We settled into the Newport scene in time for a hand of Canasta, shrimp Caesar salad and a mellow evening overall.

For the last week of sailing, the sailors have a few fun activities. On Tuesday, they raced against the 420s on a long course taking them all across the bay here -- from

Rose Island to Conanicut Island to the Castle Hill area and back down to the Newport Bridge before returning back to Brenton Cove. While this morning's wind conditions were nonexistent -- glassy calm and the afternoon rainy, the kids stayed mostly ashore with the exception of a brief afternoon race in the rain. Bodhi came home hungry and so we all happily dug into some appetizers at 4 p.m. followed by an early dinner of Pa-sta, a mix of penne pasta, broccoli, olive oil lots of garlic and parmesan cheese, salt and pepper - a recipe made up by our Pa, which he first introduced me to before a 10K road race about 15 years ago. I can't say life aboard Puffling is particularly active, but I have indulged in a few gorgeous trots around Brenton Point this summer.

Izzie is becoming more of a crew member each day. She now tries to be the first to jump off Puffling when we are tying up to the pontoon here, which usually means she hops off right where the the crew holding the lines would like to be and then barks at us as if she is trying to give direction. She is also finding her own forms of communication. While Dan and I were reading on this rainy afternoon, Izzie barked in the companionway and I obligingly lifted her into the cockpit. About 5 minutes later, we heard her barking. When I popped up on deck to see what the excitement was about, she was already perched on the dinghy seat, in the rain, having made the courageous three foot drop into the tender by herself, ready for a business trip to shore. She has grown into a snuggler, and her warm presence next to mine for some reading this afternoon was a treasure.

oxo Pufflings