Stargazing

This summer didn't go as planned. Normally we spend our time cruising aboard our sailboat. We've been traversing our way around America's Great Loop for four years.

The summer of 2020 has been like no other. We've spent months in Connecticut and Rhode Island working on our sailboat, an Alberg 35 named Mystic. We'd planned to launch her in April and head for the Erie Canal. Instead, we began the refit of our beloved second home after finding her damaged by water that entered over winter. Our cruising season turned into a summer of hard work.

As we complete our projects and prepare to return home to Minnesota, we are wistful about all that we've missed out on. Due to Covid, friends are less than eager to congregate. The few gatherings we had have been wonderful; different, with Covid distancing, but uplifting to see the beloved friends we are blessed with.

We've spent a ton of time on our boat this summer just not on the water. She sits on jack stands in a gravel yard just outside the office at Frank Hall Boatyard. The yard workers know us well. We are there every day working on Mystic. When we look back on this summer, our first thoughts may be of the work we did but will quickly move to the memorable times we spent aboard Mystic stargazing. Twenty-Twenty brought some cool action in outer space. First there was the Neowise Comet. We drove to Avondale and made a comfy spot on the bow of Mystic, a comfy spot to gaze at the sky. Folks all around the country were getting fabulous photos of the comet. It took us a while to spot it with the use of binoculars.

Photo by NASA.gov

nasa.gov how-to-see-comet-neowise

Photo by Bob King, Duluth, MN

Also in the sky this week, the Perseid meteor shower passed over. Once again, we packed some snacks and headed out to the boatyard to wait. This time we made our comfy spot in the cockpit where the sky was darker. Dave mentioned how weird it is to be on board while the boat doesn't move. We laid there for a couple hours, gazing at the stars that seemed to multiply as the night sky darkened. We listened to the marina sounds, inhaled the salty air and relaxed into the arms of Mystic. Perseus was expected to produce 50 meteors an hour. We only saw two, but that didn't matter at all. It felt good to enjoy boat life again.

Photo by Pittsburgh Post Gazette