Maiden voyage

Mark from Beetle, Inc spent most of Tuesday afternoon patiently checking me out on the boat. He's sailed a beetle for 30 years. Here he's wondering if I'll make it through the first week.

Loading the Beetle

I arrived in Newport around noon on Monday with a new boat trailer in tow. I'd barely been in town 5 minutes when a lady rear-ended me at a stop sign. No damage to the trailer, but it put a sizable gash in her hood. I towed the Beetle Monday night to Fisherman's Memorial State Park where Narragansett Bay empties into the sound.

Per Peterson of IYRS handing over the keys to the Beetle

It's a beautiful boat. Spent Monday afternoon at IYRS finalizing the paperwork and loading the Beetle. I received some nice comments at the boat ramp on its first sail the following day.

Raise the speed limit and you could thin it out a bit

Near Wareham, MA. It didn't occur to me while planning the trip that I'd be pulling a heat wave across the country with me. Camping out seemed like a great idea until everything in the truck started sticking to me. Last night I camped in a Best Western.

I'm amongst my people

Cape Cod KOA campground near Plymouth, MA

It'll Do

Newport, RI

I dropped by the IYRS campus in Newport on my way to overnighting in Plymouth, MA. My boat's the blue one in the middle. A few blemishes to buff out before I pick it up tomorrow morning. I like the shark motif.

Follow Your Dream

Ellensburg, WA

I happened to stop in Ellensburg to recruit crew for my trip. This gentleman elbowed his way to the front of the line when I asked for a show of hands of who wanted to go to sea in a 12' boat with me. He's following his dream.

I'm hoping a suitable name for the boat will appear as a revelation somewhere along the trip. Toad's Express, yup that's got cache.