Final Thoughts

Well, we had a great time. Four days in Spain, 12 days on the Royal Clipper and four days in Rome - what's not to like? We expected great service and great food on the Clipper and we got it. But, we also expected more sailing but we were more like a motorboat than a sailing vessel. Also unexpected was the 70 mph winds with 25 foot waves for a full day but the ship handled the weather safely although with a lot of rolling. Being driven through Rome to the airport at over 100 mph was something I would not want to repeat! Still, it all was a grand adventure and lots of fun.

As for the future, we plan on a cruise to Long Island Sound starting the end of June for six weeks, returning by August 15 to get ready for our grand cruise down the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) on Fleetwing to Florida for the winter. We have a dock reserved in Key West for the month of February. I will be writing blogs for both cruises so you'll be able to follow them right here.

I have to work on Fleetwing, our 42 foot Beneteau 423, to get it ready for launch later this month. I'm adding a Class B AIS transponder so I'll be visible on other ships' AIS detectors and an isolation transformer to save my zincs when in a marina, lots to do! So long until the end of June.