This summer will provide many opportunities for cruisers to visit new and old favorite destinations. There are several cruises planned; you can find them listed on the OPCYC 2012 Activities Calendar. One of the longest and most far-reaching cruises is the one planned by Michael and Eileen Turner and their felines on Cat’s Paws. This cruise is available for all our members and friends, either in parts or for the whole cruise. We will start out with the cruise that is already on the calendar to head up the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore. This is a sketch of the plan:

• Depart Hampton Roads en masse on June 12 along with the OPSAIL fleet and the OPCYC cruise to Baltimore
• Stop at yacht clubs and marinas and anchorages as we head up the Bay
• Each boat can travel as far north as they have time or desire
• The OPCYC fleet will be in contact with each other and plan where and when to stop; somewhat like a Skippers’ Choice cruise
• Cruise through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal from west to east, perhaps stopping in a marina in the canal
• Stop in Lewes DE or Cape May NJ
• Cruise along the Atlantic coast up to Staten Island, likely Richmond County YC
• Pass by Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the tip of Manhattan Island and up through the East River and Hell Gate to Long Island
  Sound
• Stop at anchorages and YCs along the NY and Connecticut shores, such as Mystic Seaport on the CT shore and Teddy Roosevelt’s
  home on the north shore of Long Island
• Enjoy a stay in Newport RI, perhaps at the Naval War College marina
• Maybe go up Narragansett Bay to Bristol RI, home of the Herreshoff and America’s Cup museums
• Head across Buzzard’s Bay to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Woods’ Hole and all the way through the Cape Cod Canal into Cape Cod Bay and P’town (Provincetown on the charts)
• Cross westerly towards Boston
• Come down the Mass shore, visiting Dartmouth, Bedford, Fairhaven, and many historic and colorful villages
• Maybe stop at Block Island
• Meander back through LI Sound, stopping at places we missed on the way up, or favorites we want to revisit
• Once back at the bottom of Manhattan, head back to Staten Island again before heading back down the Atlantic coast and home.