Savannah and her Dad took a Daddy Daughter trip to Texas in June for the Sunfish North American Championships. They trailered 2 boats, along with friend and Coach Tom Whitehurst with boats in tow.

We had originally planned to take the RV’s but with the triple digit heat indexes and no power for the RV, we thought maybe the dogs would suffer. So Mom (me) stayed home and tended to some projects and took care of the 4 legged family members. Was the first time I’ve spent away from BOTH my husband and daughter at the same time. I stayed busy and took on a front yard massive landscaping project!

Savannah did very well in the Jr. North Americans.. she took first overall girl and first Jr. (14 and under). She then sailed in the open N/A’s competing against several countries and around 68 competitors including her coach and her Dad. On the first day she was tied for 5^th overall! She ended up in a solid 23 at the end of the week. Very impressive!

Just as impressive is when my husband Jim agreed to take over as Regatta Chairman for the United States Optimist Dinghy Association (USODA) National Championships back in January. He had a great team, tons of volunteers and the entire venue, everything from food trucks, sailing vendors, and endless details with over 300 junior sailors, plus “opti parents”, coaches, inclement weather, and so many mind blowing details. An 8 day event with 3 days of Team Race Championship, 1 day Girls Championship and 4 days of the National Championship. The Pensacola Yacht Club nailed it and the event was hugely successful! Jim remained calm, cool and collected and I’m so proud.

Savannah raced in the regatta, even though she had not been practicing much in this boat. She is the team captain for the PYC Jr. Yacht Club Team Racing team. After 3 days competing with her team against 26 other teams, she then sailed in the all girls championships and came in 14^th out of 82 sailors. She went on to sail the 4 days of fleet racing where she just missed the gold fleet but rocked the silver with a 7^th overall, 2^nd girl and 2^nd red fleet. Several races were run with big winds which she loved!

Post summer sailing regattas, Savannah took a big breath, and had a ton of fun hanging with her friends, fishing, cooking, sleep overs, and just being a kid!

During one of Jim’s PR trips, Savannah and I went to paddle the Cold Water Creek in Milton, FL, and had a blast. If you have not checked out Adventures Unlimited, put it on your bucket list! It’s been a very muggy and HOT summer, so the 73 degree water was very refreshing! They offer shuttles, zip lining, canoes, tubes, camping and the Cold water Creek is just gorgeous, it’s an absolute must do.

Another weekday adventure found Savannah and I playing a bit on the Hobie Wave for fun, when we suddenly found our selves in the eye of a wicked storm. We road it out and sealed a solid memory of it too! Checked and rechecked the weather before leaving PYC for home, but it’s been a weird summer for storms popping up. This one nailed us good and made for some great post storm laughs and stories!

We had several friends visit and that was a blast! Some great paddling friends and an old High School buddy and his son. Grandma also made it out this summer. Took my girlfriends sailing and caught up on a ton of laughs with them. John my HS buddy and his son took my family and neighbors bow fishing, with fish fry’s to follow and a day on the water goofing off! Grandma bought TWO paddle boards during her stay, she’s hooked. These were some highlights for sure spending time with these great people and doing fun things together.

The summer also consisted of a full moon paddle with the PBYC and a fun Sunday morning paddle with a good group of awesome paddlers! I continued to give weekly paddle lessons and clinic through out the summer including a couple of weeks at the PYC for the summer jr. sailing camp and water activities. I’m thrilled so many of all ages are embracing the this amazing sport of Stand Up Paddling. Still by far the best all around fitness you can do for your body AND mind.

We enjoyed the Blue Angels airshow with a ton of friends and sailing on Sea Grape. We also enjoyed a successful season of J80 racing with Savannah as our Skipper. Summer was a success!

Well I think that about sums it up. We are gearing up for the 8^th grade and will begin early Sept. We also are about to start a new life chapter…. a big and exciting one!

Stay tuned….:)