Mike and Brenda on "Velsignet"

After securing the dinghy to the dock, Mike and Brenda walked towards the house to be greeted  by the tall guy approaching us, Tim,  hu sband to Brenda’s cousin, Cathy (whom Brenda had no memory of meeting before).  Tim explained that Cathy was with Caitlin (14) and Charlie (11) as they ready for bed.  Tim then introduced us to Loyland (twin-to-Charlie). Hmmm….Loyland?   Loyland was Brenda and Cathy’s grandmother Anna’s maiden name; Grandma Torgerson was a Loyland.   And spelled the same!   Such a beautiful name for this talkative and animated and lively and smart 11-year-old girl who loves gymnastics and swimming.  Loyland: a name that affirms Cathy and Brenda’s common heritage.… let the cousin reunion begin! With plans to get together with Cathy and Tim (and get a taste for the Hampton area), we arrived in Shinnecock Bay (which is about 2/3 up the Atlantic Coast of Long Island, NY) on Friday afternoon.   Cruisi...

We're on the subway making our way from New York's Time Square to the southern downtown district.  Looking at the city map, we discuss how we'll walk a couple of blocks to get where we want to go--which won't be too far from where we can pick up the SIM1C bus back to Staten Island, Great Kills Yacht Club and "Velsignet."  We look up from the map and a friendly woman says to us, "How long are you visiting New York?  Where are you from?"  We talk.  She gets off at the next subway stop.  We ask ourselves, "Are we THAT obvious?" We've spent 3 days at Great Kills Yacht Club ("Great Kills" is a neighborhood of Staten Island; "kills" is an old Dutch word for streams or creeks of which there are many in this area). Gold Looper John Calascibetta is a member of the yacht club and was instrumental in changing the club's policies to allow Loopers to stay in its marina at a very affordable price (most places in the NYC ar...

Brenda Egan captains a 42' Sailboat and has extensive sailing experience....from Alaska to the Coastal Waters to the Bahamas and maybe even beyond.  Renee, a friend of hers, also has extensive sailing experience.  Knowing that the New Jersey ICW is noted for shoaling and shallow areas (and hearing at Cape May how a VERY experienced Looper recently got himself into a grounding pickle), when Brenda E mentioned she was thinking about going "outside" onto the Atlantic and doing an "overnight" directly to New York City, we were on board! We departed Cape May yesterday afternoon at 12:45 pm (near high tide--wanting to ride the tide out of the channel into the Atlantic).  Winds were out of the north, 6-9 mph and increased to 15 mph once we got out about 2 miles.  Later in the evening, the wind switched to the southwest and by the time we got entered New York Harbor, the wind was below 10 mph.  Per Brenda E's suggestion, Mike set a timer to remind himself to reche...

So our dear friend, Guy Falskow, calls this morning and shares with Brenda about the summer of 1954 when he spent time in Cape May.  About that time, Brenda is also communicating with her cousins Cathy (NYC), Lisa (Visiting NYC from Spokane, WA) and goddaughter, Jamie (NYC) about getting together this next week. Throughout the day, we are texting with Loopers Liz and Steve, Penny and Dave, and Deb and Marty about plans in the coming days...can we meet up again?  We email Mike's sister, Carol, who is in the midst of purchasing a lake home.  Brenda and Erica Ellis text back and forth about "Delmarva Peninsula" and Michener books. We make a call to Jordan:  Would the Stow family be going to the Finkenbinder Reunion this weekend?  We text our Colorado granddaughter for the first time on her own cell phone. Brenda and Val Wagner text back and forth about wedding plans for Val and Bob's daughter, Laura. This evening, Mike catches up with our Long Lake, MN friend Donna...

On the Delaware Bay, yes...the flies are as bad as they say.  As we cruised for 7 noneventful hours from Delaware City, DE to Cape May, NJ (The Chesapeake is a body of water with unlimited fascinating nooks and crannies to explore; The Delaware...what's it good for?), Velsignet's fly bridge was invaded by these sticky menacing biting insects that like the taste of human ankles.  Our flyswatters were constantly at work and once we were docked at Utsch's Marina (pronounced like "Dutchess" without the "D"), their remains were swept out of the fly bridge to be carried away with the wind! We arrived at Cape May, New Jersey yesterday afternoon via the Cape May Canal off of the Delaware Bay.  This Canal was dug during WWII as a place to escape from German U-boats and to avoid rounding the exposed cape into Delaware Bay.  Cape May, noted for its large number of well-maintained Victorian houses (second largest collection in the country after San Francisco) is...