I'm on my way back to 'Nereida' after a one-week diversion to New England for an enjoyable time meeting up with 'ham' radio friends made during my circumnavigations.

From 2011 on, I'd frequently chatted to Rick (WA1RKT), in New Hampshire, and on my last way around, from February 2013 onward, I made contact with John (W1QS), Brad (W1RQ), 'Woody' (WW1WW) and Alan (K1ALL), so it was great to meet them face to face!

Rick and Janet took me for a drive around Lake Winnipesaukee (largest lake in their home state of New Hampshire), passing through typical, lovely, wooded New England countryside, with mainly wood-clad homes everywhere.  Unlike England, from where I'd just flown into New York, trees weren't quite showing any new leaves yet and, over my second night with them, the temperature plummeted and overnight snow glistened the next morning.  Photos show Rick's snowy patio, with some of his several aerials, and his 'radio shack' from where he often chatted to me when in the S.Atlantic and S.Pacific Oceans

On Tuesday, we had a highly sociable dinner date.  (Photo shows (L-R): Brad, Alan, Rick and Woody.)

On Wednesday I was taken to Freeport (where I found some useful small items for 'Nereida' at L.L.Bean!) to meet with John and be driven on to his old farmhouse in Maine, where he & Marcia keep several lovely horses - a lot of work!

We had a fascinating, but all-too-short, visit to the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath where the ultra-modern lines of the newest U.S.Navy frigate(?), being finished in the Naval Yard close by the Museum, were noted as being very 'weird-looking' and totally 'un-boat-like'!  I heard it was designed to be like the Stealth fighter - almost invisible to radar.

We also had a very interesting tour around the Lyman Morse yard in Thomaston with its very comprehensive facilities.    Stanley Paris's 'Kiwi Spirit' and her construction and equipment details gave us plenty to discuss with our knowledgeable host, Drew Lyman (son of Cabot).

The snow lay around in New England all that week, with temperatures well down.  All too soon, I was on my way back to a very mild New York, with its very helpful bus drivers, from where I flew on to Hermosillo (Mexico) via Phoenix, where I was to be greeted by friends Bill & Michaela, who were to drive me down to San Carlos.

I'd had a busy few weeks back in England, trying to catch up with friends, family and paperwork, in between organising items to bring back for 'Nereida' and attending two Dinners.    One was at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, a short walk from a famous store (!), where I was presented with the Royal Cruising Club's 'Seamanship Medal'
             

Postscript

I regret to say that due to an unfortunate accident early on Monday, on my way to see 'Nereida' in dry storage here in San Carlos, I broke my collar-bone.   So I'll be rather restricted in my work efforts for a few weeks, although the yard will be doing some good jobs for me in the meantime - mainly preparing the boat underwater surface ready for applying Coppercoat, applying Propspeed and making a hard top (dodger) over the companionway to replace the present canvas awning.  Fortunately, of the many jobs waiting for me, several are small ones, so I should be able to get those done, once I'm feeling a bit better.   The police and ambulance service here in San Carlos were highly efficient and I was soon being X-rayed & seen by a good doctor.   I'm now being well looked after by kind Bill & Michaela.

25th March 2014

A typical Devon cream tea - with thick clotted cream, raisin scones and fruity strawberry jam!
                                               

A few more photos from my stay in New York at the impressive New York Y.C., where I received the C.C.A.'s Blue Water Medal on 7th March.  Photos (by CCA's Dan Nerney) give a good view of the famous N.Y.Y.C Model Room, its walls covered with half-models of boats dating from around 1840 onward, as well as scale models of the pairs of America's Cup yachts from its beginning to recently.
       
             
Here's a link to my CBS interview on 5th March in New York
The next day was beautifully sunny and I enjoyed Central Park, where the snow was rapidly melting....
                   
followed by a visit to the New York Metropolitan Art Museum to see, among many other interesting items, a performance by some North American Indian dancers and some beautiful bronzes of cowboys and indians in action (photos: Carol Ross):
                   

The week after my flight to London, I drove down to Devon.   I spent several days with friends, one evening giving a presentation to Salcombe Y.C. and one day enjoying a lovely walk through the countryside in Spring sunshine.    Devon is full of tiny narrow lanes, winding around the hilly countryside between deep banks, and the wild violets and primroses were all fully out, along with occasional cowslips and lots of daffodils. It's full of old buildings and sturdy stone walls & gate-posts, many about five hundred years old:
     

The walk was to Slapton Ley and started from Stokenham.  It was in an area taken over by US troops in WWII to practise for the Normandy landings - but 749 were killed in a major disaster when German boats caught them one night, virtually unprotected as the troop-carriers were offshore practising.  It took Kevin Small, a local, many years to uncover the truth - along with recovering one of the many Sherman tanks that still lie on the seabed.  It's still not known where the US soldiers' & sailors' bodies were buried - in a field, I was told, somewhere near to Slapton Sands which they used because that coast is similar to the Normandy beaches used for the landings.  All the local families had been evacuated from their homes in the entire area of our walk to make way for the troops - a major upheaval for them, in already difficult times.

View W over Slapton Ley, looking over to Start Point in the distance and the beach (Slapton Sands) on the left.  The tank is beside Slapton  Ley.