After just over six rewarding years in Querétaro, it is time to return – to water, friends, winter (¿?), opera, theater, libraries and more. By the end of March Claudia and I will be living in a house in Annapolis, MD. A house with more space than the one in Mexico – and the expectation of more visitors than materialized in Querétaro. Just across the Severn River bridge, opposite the Naval Academy, walking distance from St John’s College. AND just over an hour drive from BluHaven Piers, home of Brujo. Stay tuned.

For the second summer, Kieran is in L.A. interning in the film business. This time with a very cool company that does worldwide distribution deals. 18 August he heads for Querétaro.

Training to be a proper mogul

Meanwhile, Conor is doing the Berklee College of Music’s Summer Performance Program in Boston. until 13 August. Then to Querétaro where Jane will join him from Dublin.

Arrived Brunswick after non-stop 50 hours at sea, mainly in the Gulf Stream, some 40 miles offshore. Maximum 24 run was 201 nm.

The splendid bridge entering Brunswick. Could be a Norman Foster?

another view of

elegance in reinforced concrete

So on 15 June we anchored just before this bridge expecting a peaceful night with 100 ft of chain out. Grilled chicken, wine and cigars and to bed. And then perhaps the most terrifying experience of my life. Certainly in the top three. At 02:30 l we were hit by a storm coming from the land (East) whose winds were over 60 knots (70 mph, 115 km/hr) while at anchor. The boat was on its side with the wind, the boat that weighs 15 tons, my computer flew under a bed and anything loose was flying around. In the sink there was a half filled glass of red wine. After the storm we cleaned red wine off the ceiling. The bimini (a cover outside against the sun) was partly ripped back and very strong canvas belts used to keep the dinghy tight, vanished. What to do? Let more chain out? Not in 60 kts. We just huddled in the main cabin, watching the storm on NOAA radar display. We knew that our anchor had dragged about 100 yards. But then it was holding, with 100 feet of chain. Not really enough but then it held.

Then as the worst of the storm moved out to sea and wind speed dropped to 45, 40 we opened the companionway to .examine outside damage. Not all that bad considering….by 4:30 we had enough whiskies to overcome the adrenalin and were able to go back to bed.

I asked my crewmates, is it time to take up bowling instead of sailing?

Day 5 aboard SV Orion, a Catalina 470 belonging to a friend from BluHaven Piers in Maryland, which is where he is headed after wintering on a mooring in Key West.

Orion at mooring Key West pre-departure

southernmost funky resto in US

Watch them telltales, helmsman

Breakfast bloody mary to start the day

Blue Heaven egg source

Key West houseboats. Vulnerable?

The mainsail had to go for repairs at Marathon Key...

In the Gulf Stream: It's a battle every moment..

crew 12 June

Sunset at 14 mile bridge in the Keys

Joe M's photo of sunset at 14 Mile Bridge

With repaired main back in the boom, skipper Jim gives final tweak

Sky Poodle 11 June Rodriguez Key

SV Orion, a Catalina 470

June 12 still in Hawk’s Channel, soon berthing at Ocean Reef for a party and overnight. Then to the Gulf Stream…

We dry oneself. We use Tom of Maine's unscented..

Translation upon request

A gathering (pack?) in Dolores Almedo Diego R museum gardens. Cortes was presented with a passel of these for his BBQ.

THIS WILL MAKE YOUR DAY IF NOTHING ELSE WILL, THE

Strandbeest, a quiet beast

Yes,  Conor was meant to join us. But the dreaded Celtic Tummy bug struck him down en route to the airport. I arrived in Paris from QRO on Christmas morning, grey and cold as it was to remain for two weeks. What does one expect, beach weather? Kieran on the 27th. And greco-roman statuary at the Louvre, dinner with les Egles, en forme and before leaving Paris on the 8th a grand plateau des huitres chez Rafael – the farewell banquet to rue de la Roquette. End of era (read epoch?) one of those life course changes that comes once in 20 years, dieu mecrci.

Highlight from three days in Amsterdam was the stunning exhibition on Alexander the Great at the Hermitage Amsterdam

¿Who is defunct? and what’s Hinglish?

To view My Letter click http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b5f05e22-8bbc-11df-ab4d-00144feab49a.html

To view a duh reply click : http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4c36bf84-9130-11df-b297-00144feab49a.html

My Reply (waiting to be accepted for publication)

Sir,
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After consulting with Euphrosyne Doxiadis, I hasten to respond to Mr. Wilson’s question (Letters, July 10) as to who might have painted the National Gallery’s Samson and Delilah. One must first point out that no one in the early 16th century painted it. Rubens lived from 1577 to 1640. More important is the fact that people who reproduce great masters do not, as a rule, sign their works. Most likely the painting in the National Gallery was done by a team of 3 or 4 different hands, which may be seen from the different neo-impressionist styles in this painting, viz. the brush strokes in Delilah’s head and in the statue of Venus and Cupid in the background, which constitute a terminus post quem, which is to say that neo-impressionism dates from the early 20th century and therefore the painting cannot date from before this time. We do know of two works by two Rubens contemporaries that did reproduce his Samson and Delilah, a painting by Frans Francken of the room in which the S & D first hung showing the painting, and a print by Jacob Matham of the original painting in Nicholas Rockox collection. The National Gallery’s S&D is missing some of Samson’s toes, which were in the original.
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A likely provenance of the NG’s painting is that it was not a deliberate forgery (which would have produced a better job) but rather a student exercise at reproducing a lost masterpiece. If the NG would only follow the example of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh museum and submit the painting to the latest scientific computerized brushstroke analysis derived from Artificial Intelligence algorithms this matter could be resolved once and for all. Again, do consult www.afterrubens.org.
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Yours sincerely,
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Niels de Terra