September 22
Work is going at full tilt at Morris Yachts boatyard, and we are preparing to leave in early October to meet friends and family in Freeport, Maine, where Seth’s parents live for most of the year. We have had fun as well as work here in Maine, going to the steel drum band dances and having tasty dinners at Ellen’s parents’ house in Deer Isle, Maine, but the weather is getting cold, and it’s time to move south. We will continue working on the boat in Freeport, and also provision her for most of the journey. The crew’s collective parents have generously contributed to Heretic’s stores: canned and dried food, pots and pans, towels and bedsheets.
The crew for Heretic’s first few legs is complete: Ellen Massey is Seth’s new girlfriend, whom he met in July and who has helped with the outfitting since then. She grew up sailing and has spent several summers teaching sailing, and is very much looking forward to sailing offshore. She currently attends Yale as an undergraduate, so will be taking a year’s leave of absence to cross the Pacific. Nate Moore is Seth’s distant cousin and has helped with the outfitting this summer as well. He is eager to be sailing, but will miss his girlfriend Jenn, whom he leaves behind in Colorado. John Rupp is Seth’s fraternity brother from St. Lawrence University, where they went to college. He has some sailing experience and has been a big help to Seth in the outfitting from the very beginning in April.
Our route down the East Coast will involve stopping at New London, CT where Seth’s sister attends Connecticut College, Oyster Bay, NY, where we hope to meet up with Larry Glenn, Heretic’s former owner, and then the Chesapeake Bay, where Nate knows some people in Rock Hall, MD.
