Newport, Rhode Island 41°28.8N, 71°19.5W

We've had an excellent weather window, pretty much sunny weather, but more importantly, a consistent NE flow. The prevailing breeze around these parts is a SW, thus to get back from Maine requires a slog into the wind, tacking, tacking, tacking, and slow progress. So we've seized it, and since the last update in Provincetown, we surged across Cape Cod Bay to the Cape Cod Canal (SMASHING two French boats in a race across the bay - we believe they were skippered by Alain Marfart and Dominique Prieur respectively due simply to their slow speed and inability to cover their tracks), and then ran down Buzzard's Bay to one of my favourite places around these parts: Woods Hole, and the little nook across the channel, Hadley's Harbor.

I've also wanted to go to Woods Hole with Max since the first time I sailed there a few years ago with my Dad. Woods Hole is home of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, one of the foremost centers of its kind in the world, and a key base for NOAA; a US government body that provides both our weather reports and our charts. They do a great job of both. In fact, NOAA just put all of the US paper charts on line in digital format - so they can drive your chart plotter - for free. That's cool. In any case, I knew, as a marine biologist, that Max would love it.

We also pulled off a move that Dad and I perfected: the Wood's Hole Channel Slingshot (WHCS). You see, Woods Hole sits between two huge sounds, Vineyard Sound on one side and Buzzard's Bay on the other. The tidal flow that rips through the gap, trying to empty one sound into the other, creates a twisty, turney, angry flow of water like a giant crazed river. It can reach 6 knots, and it shoots you sideways and wrongways with ease, and builds up standing waves; even in a decent sized boat it's a handful. It is also two channels, with a mess of rocks between.

But you want to cross it because on one side you have Woods Hole, with its Institute, research vessels to geek at, bars and freshly-shucked oysters. On the other is Naushon Island, with a primo anchorage and wonderful protected pond for staying the night. This of course means leaving the Mother Ship by dinghy and blasting across the mad river, bouncing, flying, slithering and squirming through the morass (and a little praying). We bring a VHF radio, cell phone, some warmer clothes....sounds over the top, but if we lost the engine half way across we'd next be seen in the Azores.

But we made it with ease, and a cold Sam Adams tastes all the better when you've bet your life on it, and you're still a bit jittery. The way back is much easier. I suspect the is due solely to the same Sam's medicinal effects.

Today we left, lateish, and set course for Newport. Another 40nm sees us in what feels like my old stomping ground. It's warmer, we have a great anchorage, and the water is 20.5 Celsius. Oh giddy-up!

As usual the sailing hardware is incredible. We're moored next to a big ketch. As Max noted, its mizzen boom is as long as our whole boat. I guess it's a touch under 300'. But who would want it: painting the bottom would take Greg and I a year.

The New York Yacht Club just fired its gun marking official sunset, and time to take in flags. Scared the bajeezes out of me as it always does.

Both of us are thinking about the next steps: the longer passages to Bermuda and to the Caribbean. We have a lot of work to do. Today I've been talking to riggers (very busy), water maker installers (very busy), and sailmakers (oh, so busy). But we've just sailed from Portland Maine to Newport in four days. We loved it, and most importantly, I reckon, we feel ready to set off on some longer passages. Bermuda should be about 5 days non-stop. The the Carib, perhaps 12. We're looking forward to that.

However, I'm not psychologically ready for the 3000 mile, 3 week, trip from the Galapagos to the Marquesas. As Kady calculated - compassing her fingers along her wall atlas - that's like leaving Portland and sailing to Panama non-stop. Oh heavens.

[photo is of Max as we arrive in Newport]