New Sails

We are back in Palma. Mallorca and our new sails are finally finished and being hoisted for the first time.....It's been six weeks since we were sailing down the coast of Mallorca in a Big Wind and heard the mainsail rip in two. Since then we have been waiting as the sails were made in Italy and then customized for EcstaSea here in Palma. They are modern, membrane sails and they are truly beautiful.....

For those of you who are sailors, you know how important sails are and for those of you who are not, well, just take our word for it---it is a big deal.












Out for a sail to check the new mainsail and new genoa...

Out sailing and Willow looking up at the beautiful
sails....

And to celebrate our new sails, we had a celebratory dinner at our favorite restaurant, Forn.

It has been a challenging year weather wise with many mistral winds and storms. And to attest to this, just take a look at Old Glory.... She looks as though the "rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air",  shot right through her !!!

I used to tell Richard that i had a fantasy years ago of living in a marina, surrounded by masts. Little did I know that i would someday be living in a marina in Palma, Mallorca surrounded by masts with a 15th century Cathedral in the background. This is the picture of my backyard every morning. I didn't know to dream this big...

So now with new sails and the weather finally allowing us to leave port, we are sailing on to the Italian island of Sardinia where EcstaSea will spend the winter while we come back to Tucson home. It is always a bitter-sweet time as we begin to wind the season down. But we are ever thankful for all of it and the lessons learned this year.