Well the fleet is hauled, cleaned and stored for winter. Cath and I spent three days on kimosabi, hauling, winterizing, cleaning and waxing and touching up the bottom paint to prep her for February launch in Port Charlotte, FL.
Actually September was the best month of all, weatherwise. Did a 5 day cruise over Labor Day with a group of good sailing friends. Great weather...
We got to try out our new Code 0. nice...
One day we took a 20 mile bike ride on an old railroad siding. 
Here are kimosabi and Noor at the Escanaba Municipal Marina. We were quite an attraction as we were told by a number of people "gee... never seen a boat like that before"...
Cocktail hour and Les and Barb at the dock.
The 4th of July has come and gone. Finally spent a couple of nights on kimosabi this weekend. First time since September... The Ginny displaying her colors at home prior to heading up to Fish Creek.
The tourists have returned to the Peninsula.
Had a great sail back from Menominee, MI yesterday. Our max speed was 15 knots. Here's Noor sailing along side.
It was a l..o..n..g winter and it has been a slow warm up this spring on the Door County Peninsula. But the fleet is finally in and the toys are ready....
After three years use, kimosabi received a fresh coat of Micron Extra on her bottom. While it is no racing bottom paint, it works well for both salt and fresh water and holds up well.
On Sept. 15 the crews of Noor and kimosabi took a late summer mini-cruise. The first night was spent at the Peninsula State Park dock on Horseshoe Island. We had the place to ourselves...
We then sailed over to Cedar River, MI. I was a windy broad reach so we dropped the main and still cruised at 8-10 knots. We hadn't been in that harbor for 20 years. The entrance is now dredged and a 1st class marina has been built. We found cocktails at the Lighthouse Pub. The only game in town...
Prior to the cocktail hour we took a river cruise up the Cedar River in the afternoon. Didn't see any gators......
The next day we had a quiet spinnaker ride to Menominee, MI. After dinner at the new Irish Pub near the marina we returned to the boats with the moon and Menominee River Entrance light in the background.
The end of July we took a ten day cruise across Lake Michigan. The first day we sailed from Fish Creek to Washington Island with two other FBoats. Here a "flotilla" of 3 31' FBoats is at anchor in Peterson Bay, Washington Island. The boats are Noor, owned by Barb and Les Raduenz, an beautiful F9A, owned by its builders from Minnesota and kimosabi.
Here Cath sits by some artwork along the Traverse City River Walk.
Bob Seger's new ride at the dock after the Port Huron Mac.
The ride was on "Wooton", a Rogers 46 owned by a gentleman from Chicago, and it was interesting. She had just finished the Port Huron Mac also, taking 1st in Section.
Along for the ride was Captain Larry Burris and Rich Baker, a first class mate.
This boat is an all carbon racing rocket. See: http://www.bangthecorner.com/news/read/5126
Bob Perry also recently reviewed the boat. See: http://www.sailingonline.com/perry_rodgers46.html
Going to weather on "Wooton"gave new meaning to the term "beating" for me. With its flat bottom, while sailing or motoring into 2-3 seas, it was like being inside a timpani while someone was playing it... Boom...Boom...Boom
The helm was so responsive one could drive the boat standing backwards......
The Rogers 46 has a bulb keel drawing 9'6", a plumb bow and a VERY flat bottom., making her a downwind flyer. 
When we got to Chicago we learned that the boat's berth at Belmont Harbor was an exciting place over the weekend. Two power boats docked one finger away caught fire and sank.
Here the dock is being repaired and the photo of the Pacific Seacraft on the same pier as "Wooton" shows fire damage to one side.Check out her sailing in light air below!!
Good thing we used two halyards as one 12 year old snatch block sheave disintegrated while the mast was being raised. Big load to get the 42.5 foot stick back in its proper position. the boat is now back in commission and ready to go. We plan on taking it to our mooring in Fish Creek this weekend.
...a non-stop 11 hour thunderstorm with wind, rain, fog and more lightning than any of us had seen in our lives.
We (Admiral Cathie and Les Raduenz, also an F-31 owner that did the Abacos with us, and I) got to the island about 7:30 AM to find all outside land and cell phones were put out by the storm. After meeting the owner and him treating us to breakfast, we all took a 2 hour nap about 9:30 am, not knowing when we would get off the island as we couldn't make contact with our pilot...
I woke up at 11:30, stumbled up into the cockpit and what do you know, up walks Jack Culley Sr., the Corporate CEO and part-time pilot. The ride home was quick....
but the crew was the best...
June 2 was a great day for our first sail back home with good friends. Started out with shifty light air out of the southwest with the temperature finally warm enough to enjoy. We sailed out of Sturgeon Bay into Green Bay with the screecher and "Otto" driving at 60 degrees apparent wind with Zephyrs on the water. Was great sailing sometimes faster than the true wind speed.
When we owned an F-27, because some idiot put the launch ramp on the wrong side of a bridge where we lived, I had to raise and lower the mast on our F-27 with the boat in the water, but the F-31 mast is a little more intimidating... Anyway we did it this morning, no problem using the genoa sheets tied to the screecher and spinnaker halyards. 
When I pulled the board I discovered it appeared we must have hit an uncharted dock crib from the 1800's as there were wood splinters stuck in the foam. The damage was actually minor and not as bad as the zoomed in photo makes it appear...The dock cribs were made by stacking timbers to form a box similar to the walls of a log cabin and then filling them with large rock. The docks were then built of wood and placed on top of these supports. That explains why we "touched" while sailing in supposed 9 ' of water. Anyway, it was an easy fix, filling the missing corner with #407 Filler/Fairing. I'll sand, laminate two layers of 4oz cloth, fair and paint tomorrow... 
The additions for the cruise that worked included the new electronics, especially the S1 Tillerpilot. Forget the solar showers. Get a 1 gallon garden sprayer, paint it black. It works well in the head or back of the boat and wastes no water.
The two 65 watt Kyocera solar panels proved more than enough power to run the electronics, refrigeration, lights, Sirius Radio and Stereo (which are power pigs) and the 160 watt inverter for charging various battery-powered stuff including the laptop.
While not US Coast Guard approved , the two solar yard lights on the capshrouds made us easy to spot at night.
