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Hi Everyone!   We know, we know... it's been a long time... we've had a very hectic and crazy summer!  You can imagine what living and working together in a 50 foot space that sailed across 14,000 miles of water for over a year without a break can do to a person... let alone a couple!  Once we hit land in June we took a much needed shore leave to re-charge our batteries and visit family and friends that we hadn't seen in so long.  By July we were back to work going full steam ahead again, and August turned out to be our best month yet!  Now, in September, we have already completed the first 800+ miles of our return trip to the Caribbean for our upcoming winter season, and have been docked in downtown Toronto for the past couple of weeks.  We've been here doing daysails out of Marina Quay on Queen's Quay West and really enjoying the local area.  Somehow we managed to get into a marina right downtown in the harbourfront area with a beautiful park situated right beside our boat!  We are right on the boardwalk beside the Music Garden Park and it is beautiful...  Ashley, our miniature Daschund has been absolutely loving it here... so much grass and trees to explore, and other dogs to rub noses with!  We are actually right across the dock from the beautiful 200ft tallship, the Empire Sandy... she's a monster and makes us feel very small by comparison!   The Empire Sandy Setting Sail in Light Winds on Lake Ontario   We've really enjoyed being right on the boardwalk and have spent most of our time just working on the boat and chatting with passersby who are always curious about what we do, while giving out tons of brochures and promo-DVD's.  We've had very good response having done several daysails around Toronto Harbor already, and are thinking of spending some more time here next spring to open up our corporate charters even more.    Walking the Music Garden Boardwalk beside our Slip   Pathway in the Music Garden   We had a great season in Georgian Bay, it is just so beautiful up there it's hard to describe... it will be nice to get back to the Caribbean, but the two places are so unique and different that I think we'll always feel privileged to return to Georgian Bay for our summers chartering.  Of course it's always great being close to family as well so we can spend time with Brenden and Justin (Rick's boys), and Madison (Terri's daughter), and all our other family and friends that are nearby.        Terri & Rick at the Scarborough Bluffs, and Justin & Brenden under the CN Tower   Toronto Skyline at Dusk   We're feeling very fortunate this year in that we are heading to the Caribbean almost fully booked... that's a big change from last year at this time and gives us a great season to look forward to while knowing we'll still get a couple of good holidays back home with our kids.  We even have a couple of substitute captains that are working with us this year while we're home on our holidays, it doesn't get much better than that!  Peter & Carolyn Watkins will be joining us again this year after a very successful season with us last winter with their 'Share-the-Sail' adventures.  Some of you may remember hearing Peter's name before as he was one of my first offshore instructors and also a major inspiration in starting this business.  It has been a privilege to work with him and Carolyn, we always have great fun together!   Peter & Carolyn with 'Sophisticated Lady' in a secluded Georgian Bay anchorage     This year we'll also be joined by Frank Baron from Adventure Sailing Plus, and he will be offering 'Share-the-Sail' adventures aboard 'Sophisticated Lady' this winter as well.  Frank is a very experienced captain whom I have know for several years now, and is incredibly easy to get along with.  You may remember hearing Franks name before as well since he sailed South last year aboard his own sailboat called 'Dauphin'.  We sailed most of the return trip from Bermuda with 'Dauphin' last season and completed our year-long epic voyage together by arriving at our home dock at exactly the same time... it was a very cool day!   Frank onboard 'Sophisticated Lady' during our recent Great Lakes Cruise   This year promises to be one of our most exciting years ever!  We've signed up with the Caribbean 1500 Cruising Rally again which will depart from Hampton, Virginia on November 6th, and will be heading offshore to our island paradise in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands!  Last year we went in the company of over 50 boats... the people we met were fantastic, we made many new friendships that will last a lifetime and we can't wait to see what this year brings!  If you weren't on our mailing list last year, you can read all about our adventures on our Ships Log on the website, you can find them at:  www.WindInMySails.com/ShipsLog/index.htm .  If you remember the adventures we had on our Great Lakes Cruise last year, apparently they were quite entertaining as they are now being published by Gam Magazine here in Canada.  They started printing them in May this year, starting with our first log entry when we left the dock on September 12th.  That was very cool for us, we had enough fun living them, let alone writing them... now it's cool to know that so many people will get to read about our adventures!   Upon our arrival in the BVI's this year, we have a special trophy awaiting us... a brand new trade license!!  We want to put out a very special thank-you to those of you that offered us references and recommendations for our application last winter, we were so excited to be awarded a trade license after so much work, you just can't imagine... we just became the newest charter company in the Caribbean!!  That will bode very well for our future in the Caribbean, we now have so many opportunities and possibilities opening up to us it will be interesting to see what develops over this next year!   We're planning on leaving Toronto in a week or so and beginning the voyage South.  We'll start by crossing Lake Ontario over to Oswego, New York where we'll take down our mast in preparation for heading down the Erie Canal System to the Hudson River.  Once we put our mast back up at Castleton Boat Club on the Hudson, we'll sail down the Hudson River to New York City where we will again anchor behind the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor and wait for a good weather window to head offshore to Hampton, Virginia right at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.  That is where we'll again meet up with the Caribbean 1500 Rally and spend a week or so preparing 'Sophisticated Lady' for the rigors of open ocean passage making.   The Caribbean 1500 Rally Flag That All The Participating Boats Fly   All the Rally Boats Silently Waiting the Night Before Last Years Departure   'Sophisticated Lady' Under Full Sail Heading to Sea at the Start of Last Years Caribbean 1500 Rally   One of the Monster Waves Awaiting Us Mid-Atlantic   On a final note, as many of you are aware, we always donate a portion of our efforts to fund-raising campaigns for charities that we like to support.  Last year we were a major sponsor of the Crystal Classic fundraiser in support of the new Cancer Care Center at the Royal Victoria Hospital in our hometown of Barrie, Ontario.  We helped local charities by raising over $7000 last year, and this year we're sponsoring an organization that I've always believed in and hoped that one day we would be able to assist.  We were lucky enough to make all our wishes come true with our epic voyage last year... this year it's time to help make someone else's wish come true!     This year we have offered our cruise South as a Sail-A-Thon to The Children's Wish Foundation ("Children's Wish").  The Foundation grants wishes to children coping with high risk, life-threatening illnesses. I can't think of a more deserving charity than that.  We are going to try and help by attempting to rally our entire boating community, family, and friends to help us just this once in supporting a more than worthwhile cause.  You can help us accomplish this by sponsoring us in this event and offering to support our efforts by pledging either a fixed dollar amount to the cause upon completion of our journey, or you can also pledge so many cents or dollars per mile.  Our potential distance traveled to our destination in the Caribbean from our current location in Toronto is approximately 2,500 miles and we expect to arrive on or around November 14th.  If you could help us just this once, you could help us really make a difference to these children.  You can pledge your support simply by responding now to this email, or early in October you will be able to log onto our website where you will find a link to the Children's Wish website.  The link will direct you to make an on-line donation in support of Wind In My Sails Sail-A-Thon for Children's Wish event. Tax receipts can be issued for those eligible for donations of $10.00 or more upon request to the Foundation.  We'll be launching our campaign this Sunday (October 1st) with a special Wind In My Sails Cruise for Wishes.  There will be several families in attendance that are part of the program and we'll be taking them and their children out for an afternoon cruise of Toronto Harbour.  Your support would be greatly appreciated as we try to help this very important institution.  If you know of any groups or individuals that may consider supporting our efforts, please feel free to forward this email to them, or put them in contact with us directly.  Anyone who is not already on our mailing list and would like to sign up for our email log updates, or sign up a friend, can now do so directly from our home page at www.WindInMySails.com by entering your/their email addresses in the small submission form at the bottom of the page. As usual, we thank you all for your emails, it's always great hearing from everyone... sorry for the lack of communication lately but we're getting on track for our fast approaching busy winter season and guaranteed you'll hear more from us as we begin the next major step of this years adventure!  Feel free to email us and we'll look forward to hearing from you soon!   Cheers, Rick & Terri 'Sophisticated Lady' Previous               Log 60               Next