Yes, folks, yet ANOTHER option for sailing your Montgomery next summer! I'm planning on a two week cruise along the Maine coast in the area approximately from Rockland to Mount Desert Island late next summer, leaving home Saturday August 27th, returning home Sunday September 11th, and am hereby inviting anyone who would like to join in the fun. This is some of the finest cruising to be had, in the opinion of many, and the area has a lot of pretty well sheltered water with a couple of more open stretches with a few miles to cross. The largest waves I encountered on my last trip were only about 3' in 25 kts of wind on Penobscot Bay one day, except for the night I sailed out into the Gulf of Maine, offshore, something we needn't do unless we want to. Most of the time it was pretty calm with waves less than 1'. One day there was a big front that came through where it was quite windy (50 kts) but I had several days notice that it was coming and spent that day in a cozy little anchorage quite safe and secure. I've added a web page (at the expense of my Tartan pics) with some pics of charts of the area to fuel your imagination. Also, the story of my '02 trip is still up with lots of pics of the area. At this point, the itinerary is pretty open and as with the Chesapeake Bay Cruises there is a great deal of flexibility as to where we launch and sail. If we have a foul weather day, we can spend it on the hook if we wish. I've chosen late summer because the incidence of fog seems to be the lowest at that time, and the anchorages should have a bit more room in them than in July or early August. Last time, I had absolutely *fabulous* weather, with only one day fogged in. Perhaps on this trip we could raft up one evening or find a good spot on an island for a pot-luck or "shore dinner" with corn-on-the-cob, lobster, mussels, cole slaw, etc. Expect to see a variety of sea life including probably porpoises, starfish, mussels (which can be collected free from the more remote islands for delicious eating), lots of sea birds, and a whole bunch of gorgeous boats. Most, if not all, nights will be spent at anchor or perhaps on a mooring. The tides are high so docks are few and far between and in many harbors are only intended for dinghy tie-up. The generally acknowledged definitive guide to this area is Taft and Rindlaub's "A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast". There is another, smaller book by the same folks that is intended for trailer sailors. I intend to purchase that for comparison. I expect it covers information about ramps and perhaps omits some info about some of the more "offshore" destinations; we'll see. If you aren't interested in sailing for the whole time, there are TONS of shore side attractions including Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island to make the trip worthwhile. If you think you would like to cruise this wonderful coast, please e-mail me directly at htmills@bright.net and I'll add your name to off-list mailings. So far, before this formal announcement, there appear to be three 17's and a 15 interested, including Busca. Tod Mills M17 #408 BuscaBrisas