Cape Hope Springs Eternal
Position: 34°21’25″S 18°28’26″E The nagging feeling that life is too damn short had hung over our heads for weeks. “We have a month before our flight back to the States. What are we going to do?” Carol asked. “I can …
Buggered in Büdelsdorf
Position: 54°18’45.7″N 9°40’03.4″E On Aleta we believe in redundancy. Let me say that again, on Aleta we believe in redundancy. One method of doing something always deserves a second one. As a sailboat we use sails for propulsion whenever we …
Southbound Through Denmark
Position: 57°21’23.5”N 11°58’32.4”E Despite Delta Airlines’ best efforts we arrived back in Gothenburg to find Aleta right where we had left her within an hour of our expected arrival time. A little last-minute running around and bill paying, and we …
My Uncle, the Sailing Rocket Scientist
Afterword My uncle Hugh, Captain Bear, completed his earthly voyage yesterday, August 3, 2024. He passed quickly and quietly with his loved ones nearby. For as long as we have been on Aleta he was our shore-based support, managing our …
Northern Italy and the Dolomites
Position: 46°38’54.1″N 11°36’09.2″E Careening down a mountain road in our rental car, we reflected on the charming oddities of Italy. You see, our car was on top of a flatbed tow truck and held in place by a couple of …
Charles Robert (Bob) Kemble
Private Kemble As soon as he was old enough, Bob Kemble began working in his family’s greenhouses that stretched out behind their home. His parents’ floral business demanded constant attention. In the cold, dark winters of 1930s Iowa, Bob and …
For the Last Time – Chamonix!
Position: 45°54’58.9″N 6°51’19.9″E Saturday Pulling up outside our turn of this century chalet flanked by steep mountains on either side of Chamonix’s narrow valley, we were glad that we had driven. Our house guests, a motley amalgam of relatives, friends …
Emma and Jarno’s (Second) Wedding
Position: 45°56’00.1″N 6°55’03.0″E As weddings go this was a doozey! Mountains are not the first thing I think of in the summer. I think of beaches. Beaches like Corporation Beach on Cape Cod that stretches out in a long arc …
We Found Chamonix!
Position: 46°34’12.7″N 8°25’02.9″E Here are a few highlights of our trip out of Germany, through Austria, and into Switzerland and France prior to our arrival in Chamonix. If you have never taken this journey by road, you are in for …