These last couple weeks since my return from California have been marked by the departures of several dear new friends. Conundrum left for St. Martin last night (or more precisely, very very early this morning) with Van and my dear Eddie, Twig & Bonnie’s Heron is gone to Antigua, Paul & Sonya’s Event Horizon is somewhere south (I think, and sometime soon to be north), and Eilean Donan is already hauled out, her owners gone to new jobs in the States. Small Scott is leaving New Moon this afternoon, after a brief yet timely trip down.

This is the time of year I most dislike. It’s getting hotter by the day, people are leaving, and even worse, I’m forcing myself to turn down offer after offer to sail in Antigua Classics and/or deliver boats north. The timing of the California trip was poor, but I so desperately needed to get off this rock for awhile! Unfortunately, It really shot me in the foot, so to speak; as it’s now too late to seriously consider launching Centaurea for a northward escape of my own before summer shuts me in. Also, work has backed up since I left, and it’s almost impossible to justify another “vacation” so soon.

Still, I’m full of renewed vigor, and every week sees me making signifigant forward progress on Centaurea. I’m feeling less process-oriented and increasingly goal-oriented. In short, I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, not brightly, but at least clearly enough to be able to see that it’s not another train coming at me. If, as planned, the boat is passably ready for action by mid-summer, I see a trip to… Michigan. Michigan? Yup, Michigan. Eddie has a summer gig up there, and I’ll be dying to see her again.