The first San Juan Islands Montgomery Rendezvous finished up last weekend and we had a great trip. All the Montgomery models were represented with Mark and Roberta Dvorscak in their immaculate older model M23 Faith, Fred and Lilly Shelly with their brand new M23 Sea Cutter on her shakedown cruise, Charless and Marjorie Fowlkes in their M15 Vagabond, Randy Graves in his M15 Dinky Boat, Jon Martin in his M15, and my M17 Tullamore. Also attending was former M23 owner Dick Lane in his Nonsuch 28 Swoose. Dick and Ann Lang showed up for the weekend rally but were unable to bring their M17 Sweet Pea. The timing for the trip worked out great. The weather was mixed, with some sun, some rain, some wind, and some calms, but the biggest advantage was beating the crowds. We were able to get dock space together every night in areas where you would be hard pressed to find a spot to drop a hook during peak season. We did anchor out one night by choice and were rewarded with a beautiful sunset. Our itinerary worked out just as planned, with time spent at Blakely Island Marina, Spencer Spit on Lopez Island, Blind Bay on Shaw Island, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Stuart Island Marine State Park, and we even made it up to Sucia Island, the crown jewel of the whole island chain. But maybe the best part of the whole trip was the people. This was a terrific group to sail with and we had a great time getting to know each other. We shared several meals, explored the islands together, and as this was the first time there for most of us, shared the awe and wonder of this beautiful cruising ground. No wonder people all over the world know of the San Juan Islands. The sailing itself was sporadic, seemingly with wind either dead on the nose or shifting all over the compass with periods of calm mixed in, but with enough sailing each day so you didn't feel like you were just motoring through the islands. Probably about a 50/50 mix, which is pretty normal there. It was a real treat to be able to see the M23's side by side. Identical hulls, but very different rigs and cabins. Unfortunately, Sea Cutter wasn't completely rigged yet, and had to sail under main and jury rigged sprit sail only, so she couldn't really show her stuff, but "Thank you" to Fred and Lilly for coming all the way up from Arizona even though they weren't completely ready. At Friday Harbor, we met up with Scott Grometer (M15) who showed us his Flika and even went up Sea Cutters mast to free up the jammed roller furler. It was a unanimous decision among the group that we definitely have to do this again. So, be on the lookout for next years trip and don't miss it. It just doesn't get any better than this; sailing the San Juans with fellow Montgomeries! Larry Yake M17 #200 Tullamore "In a power boat you get there faster. In a sailboat, you're already there."