The trip from Kingston to New Baltimore was beautiful and easy: 34 miles that took about 4.5 hours. The sky was partly cloudy, hinting at rain to come, and the tidal current was helping us out with an additional knot of speed. We said goodby to our new friends in Kingston (George and Robin, Peter, Steve, George, and the two Patricks) and to the Catskills that loomed in the northwestern distance.

We came to Donovan’s Shady Harbor Marina to attend the pig roast on Sunday. Along the way, we encountered the largest group of “Loopers” we had seen so far. One of them, on the 29 foot “Texas True” earned his platinum flag for completing the loop for a second time. His first trip around was in a 17 foot Boston Whaler Montauk that he took on the Down East loop (around Maine and Gaspe, up the St. Lawrence) as well as the Great Loop!

These guys, the “Meat Chickens”, played on Saturday night before dinner. They were an amazing Bluegrass band that did not shy away from old standards, mixing genres, and Irish standards. Very good times!

The local bishop came and blessed the fleet and each individual boat! In Latin!