Sunday, December 30, 2007

Time

While showing WhisperIII, I was asked if I find it harder to work on a boat as time goes by. Do you find yourself wanting to spend more time sailing, rather than making improvements? My initial thought was that the boat must look like crap to prompt such a question. I started thinking about all the projects that I wanted to complete on WhisperIII, and I realized that ten years have gone by in a flash! Questions about the boat brought me back through it's history. I remember talking about these projects a long time ago, and I started wondering what my excuse was for not getting these things done. I'm not talking about regular maintenance, or fixes, but things like teak care, waxing, replacement ports, etc. One reason would be money I guess. The other more acceptable reason would be time, or the lack of it. We launch our boats in May, then haul them out in September. Between that time there are weekends for sailing, or projects. There are in fact about twenty two weekends of which to accomplish some of these things. If you are married( marry a sailor!), subtract at least 3 of these weekends for visits to relatives, craft shows, friends, etc. Bad weather weekends account for about 3 to 6 depending on where you live, and the state of climate change, El Ni'no and stuff. So now you could be left with about thirteen weekends. If any of these weekends offer great sailing conditions, which you hope they do, then your project weekends dwindle even more. So why the hell would anyone buy a boat from up here? I guess you have to find those retired guys, that store their boats inside all winter. On the plus side, boats up here are cocooned, or preserved for seven months, and if the skipper is a hardy soul, can be worked on with a decent heater, and some fine spiced rum :) I remember taking a week off to paint the deck, and showing up at the marina with all the tools, brushes and paint mixing stuff in the cart. This was a great week of work in the hot sun. I loved it. I felt quite a bit of pride in getting something done to make the old girl look pretty. So I guess given enough precious time, I would get some projects done. We just need to be more efficient... as time goes by.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Got soup?

Well, it feels pretty good to have a full house for the holidays. My Indiana girl arrived friday, sick as a dog, and hoping her parents can nurse her back to health. I just know my chicken noodle soup will do the trick. Good thing she got in early, as I imagine all the flights are screwed up right now, because of the BIG storm. By the way, since when is 8-10 inches a big storm up here? I'm going to be a little short on pictures for a bit, as my laptop bit the dust. Always remember to back up everything. I found a little interface that will turn my laptops hard drive into portable drive. Good thing, as I only backed up a few folders before the Dell went all silent on me. Buy an Apple! Well, we wussed out on a party because of the weather, and the fact that #2 is pretty sick, and wants her mommy :) Yea, I know, I know, I said 8-10 inches is no big deal, but the roads look icy, and I would go heavy on the wine so Deb would be driving :o Deb and I both made soup this weekend, one for Nic's health, and the other for the party. It was a soup party we were going to. Turns out, the host only makes the soup. I didn't know, so now we have two large pots of soup. Sorry Charlie and Liz, we'll make another batch for ya. It's raining ice! Good time to think about next years boat projects, and do some planning. Ever replace the packing in a stuffing box? Good pictorial here. I was poking around on the web before the Bills game (losers) and found some fun sailing stuff. Play the docking game here. Dinghy sailing anyone? Check it out.

Monday, December 3, 2007

In the yard

After all the phone calls, the missed dates, the delays, we finally have a new boat. The marina was never called before the trucker left, so we had a mad scramble to get the boat off the truck and blocked up. The marina (Todd) did a great job, getting two boats on jack stands. He had to get the work boat out of the lift before he could get our boat in it. I finally left when it got dark Friday night. Then back again Saturday and Sunday to winterize. Hopefully I did a good job. Not knowing the boat, I was a little nervous about forgetting something. The engine wouldn't suck coolant in, so I had to get better fittings to the extra hose I stick in the bucket of anti-freeze. Finally got about 3 gallons through it. This was after I pulled the impeller :( I thought maybe they sucked some Chesapeake mud in there. I put a 100 watt light bulb in the engine room, just in case. Not sure if that does anything. I had little energy left to cover the whole boat, so I got a tarp over the cockpit, and the first nice day we get, I'll tarp the whole thing. That's a lot of tarp. I think I owe Todd an order of wings. I also owe a certain dog a kick in the ass for getting all that stink all over me. Geez did that smell. Guess that jacket goes in the dumpster. It's exciting, and kind of sad to think that this boat will be the only one we launch in the spring. WhisperIII has lot's of memories associated with her. Hopefully she'll find a good home. Hopefully soon. Very soon. I'm starting to cancel magazines, cable, phones, internet, satellite radio, selling blood, fillings, hair, sex...just kidding. I'd never sell my hair :)

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The wait is over

She has arrived!
After some confusing moments, it was pretty exciting to see the old girl rolling down the hill at Oak Park. Todd says "Geezzuz H, that's a big F$%ing boat! Um, looked smaller in the water. The delivery was a surprise today, as I was told in the morning that the boat was still in Maryland, because they had a hard time getting the permits to travel in NY. OK, so I chilled out about the boat today figuring maybe friday, or monday. My cell phone rings, and it's a Maryland number. This guy with a pretty good southern accent says "Hey there Paul, this here's Ken, and I've got yer boat on my truck. I'm in Syracuse and I can't reach anybody at that marina of yours" Holy Shit! I call the marina and nobody's home. Turns out the truckers office forgot to call the marina and tell them it's coming. Short version - the trucker is sleeping over in the marina lot, after I bought him dinner at skippers, until tomorrow, when "we" off load the big girl. Figures. Someday, one day, things will eventually go as planned. So tomorrow the travel lift will break, or not start. Stay tuned.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Still Waiting.....

Well, we are still waiting for delivery of the Morgan. She's still in Annapolis on the hard waiting for the trucker to finish his turkey. Hopefully by next Wednesday or so we'll see it in the yard. Figures I get called for jury duty, and may not get to supervise the unload. I get called for duty all the time! Once I served for a month on grand jury. They tried to get me last year, but I saved the old request, and I got out of it. Seems every four years I get a card in the mail. Always save the request, or make a copy. Cold out. All the leaves I had left on the yard, are now buried under inches of snow. Hopefully the snow will stay until March, because I hate raking leaves. I was considering going kayaking this weekend. I guess as long as no one will see me in a wet suit, I might give it a try. This is what we have to look forward to. Chunks of "bergy bits" bobbing around on the icy waters of Lake Ontario. Bet I could get a good kayak photo op in the ice field. Got a full house this weekend. Life is good :)
We go from this...
To this... :(

Sunday, November 11, 2007

It's ours!

Boy, did we do it now. Looks like we're eating a lot of spaghetti for a while. We are now the proud owners of a "previously enjoyed" Catalina/Morgan 44. She's a big boat, but it's our future home. Check it out. So this will be the fist center cockpit boat we have sailed on. We did a sea trial on this tub in the Chessy, and we found the view from the cockpit to be about the same as the boat we have now. I will just have to remember that I have another 20 feet behind me when I turn into the slip. I think I have just entered the world of slow. WhisperIII was oh so fast, and now I'll be lucky to pass a Beneteau! Sorry TreBoni :) I'll blame it all on Deb, who gets claustrophobic if she has to sleep in a tube. I once slept in a large dry bag, so no problem for me. No I wasn't drunk, just damn cold. Another story for another time. If Deb can't sleep in this aft cabin, then.....I get to stretch out in a queen all to my self :) Deb, there's always the cockpit! We're getting her by truck this week, unless it falls off or something. I can't wait to see where they put this thing at the marina. I'm hoping for a day off to see the truck arrive. Maybe some champagne would be in order? Oh crap, I've got to cover another boat!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

1800 mile long weekend

Back To Annapolis We went back to the sailing capitol for a survey and sea trial of our future floating home. Things look good. Some work to be done, but nothing major. I've got five years to get her ready. So here we go! Should be interesting from here on out. Anybody want to buy a Hunter 34?? You can see from the picture that we are sailing the Chesapeake, and we look pretty focused. Deb had her turn at the wheel, and we were all helping her dodge crab pots! Between the pots and freighters, this place is pretty crowded. Back to West Lafayette, Indiana From Annapolis we trekked west to Purdue University to see my baby girl. We watched the boilers put away Iowa, then watched the students put away my beer at the tailgate. I managed to make a few disappear myself :) At Purdue they have this tradition called Breakfast Club, where the bars open to students at 6am on gameday, and most of the students are in costume. It is amazing what costumes you see in the morning. Sometimes they come to the game in costume. We saw Moses parting the student section with his staff, and starting a wave going in both directions around the stadium. Pretty funny. My daughter and friends getting smurfy at breakfast club.
Makes you want to go back......only if I could be sailing smurf. Well back to Webster NY, after 1800 miles of fun on the nations highways. I really need some sleep.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Back to Annapolis

We're back in the sailing capital. We'll take another look see at the 44 foot bathtub, and imagine us on it. This could be a really big mistake, or the first step of the semi-retirement years. I'm hoping for the later. Happy Anniversary to us! Number Twenty Six. Time flies.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Annapolis Boat Show

The Annapolis boat show was great. Hot, sunny, and damn humid. The tents were steaming, but the boats were gleaming. We went on one 60 plus yacht, and we were told to be careful, not to take the backpack, and to not sit down on anything. Why? Because somebody bought it. Geez. Imagine walking through a multi million dollar yacht and saying, "I'll take it!", and actually mean it. We made the usual stops at O'Briens, The Federal House, and some others, and ventured outside the town for a bite. The Crab Cakes were great, and the beer was cold. We drank more this trip, than last, because we took a cab into town from the hotel. This was a great idea, as we didn't have to park at the stadium, and get on a bus. We got dropped off right at the show, and were able to have a few without worrying about DWI on the way back, plus I got to make interesting conversation with the Pakistani cab driver. I would have to say the best boat at the show is the Gozzard family of yachts. Beautiful woodwork, and a mighty fine layout. We met the owners too. Nice people. Overall, it was a great show. Not too crowded, and the weather was great. We met some interesting people, including one of our fav authors, Suzanne Giesemann, who signed a copy of a new book. The most important thing we did was possibly finding the boat we're going to sail away on. Not a new one at the show, but a used one at a local marina. Could this be the one? Stay tuned....

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Friday, September 28, 2007

The Last Sail

Another week goes by, and you can now see the trees changing color up here. WhisperIII is still floating, but we've had our last sail. We went out for about 5 miles off the bluffs in a stiff breeze, and some lumpy seas. It sure was sweet to come slicing into the channel on the way back, then reaching off to the end of the bay. Why is the last sail always one of the best?
Sunday we unload the boat, and de-rig. Amazing what you can stuff into a 34 foot boat.
A lot of people are talking about how expensive boating is up here. We pay a good buck for the slips we have, for only about 6 months out of the year. Worth it? I think so. For me, it's one of the few pleasures in life. It's an escape. People who know me, know I'm pretty grumpy in the winter. I would ski, if it wasn't so friggin cold. Let's face it, if everything you do has a dollar value put on it, then you're going to be pretty miserable. TGIF Boilermakers vs The Fighting Irish this weekend. BOILER UP!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Happy Friday!

Well, this is the last of the 80 degree breeze, and I'm going to enjoy it with an ice cold Molson Canadian. Ahhh Canada, Ahhhh Molson. Breath it in, tomorrow it's in the 60's and raining. Crap. Not a problem though, because it's big ten football baby! Got calls from my babies today, having a cold one, and got the wifey nearby. Life is good. Now if I can just get her to cook dinner. :) My hot babes

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

New York gang at Skipper's

Well we had dinner a few weeks ago at Skipper's Landing, and had a great time. It was good to see everyone again. I forgot the camera though, so I included an old shot of some Island time we all shared. OK it's missing some people, but I needed a boat shot. Somebody has to stop me from rambling on about things. A few beers, and some scotch and I repeat the same old stories. Geez, I'm turning into my Dad. Sorry Dad! ( in case you bought a PC, and are now surfing the blogs). Next time I tell the captain training story, will somebody please tell me to shut the f#$ up! Frank, you do it. We'll have to find another destination for dinner, now that the boating season is coming to an end. :( Should be out of the water some time near the end of the month. Hopefully I'm over my pyromaniac period, and we can spend one more night on the boat. College football is in full swing, and Purdue plays saturday at noon on espn2. Boiler UP! Too bad about Meeeechigan. No championship for you! Ha Ha Ha Now if we can just get the Buckeyes to tank, life would be sweet. Rumor has it that we can now post videos. Not just youtube crap, but our own crap. Our crossing the lake this year. Check it out.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Daysailing and Hiking

We finally got Gary and Deb to visit us on the water, instead of the dock. I think I've convinced Debbie that Gary needs a sailboat, but poor Gary's going to have to work some OT to get the boat she wants! It must have been the Titanic moment on the bow that convinced her ;) We did some hiking and wine tasting over the weekend. Chimney bluffs was a tiring hike, and I really am not going to stand on the edge of the bluff any more. When we got below, and looked up, I only saw grassroots under the ledge we were standing on! Yikes. If you ever get the chance to hike the bluffs, do it. Beautiful scenery. We stopped at the Thorpe Vineyard http://www.thorpevineyard.com/ for some wine tasting, and some good stories from the server. We bought a few bottles, and will be back. Why we waited so long to go there, I don't know. Kelly bonded with us again, and hiked the bluffs. She needs to re-examine her choice of footware.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Sweaty Indiana

I just love that ten hour drive to Indy! It really does suck, but it's worth it when I get to see my baby girl! It was great to see Nic again. She hasn't changed much, which is good. Purdue life has not corrupted her that much. Though bubble water does not seem to be the problem it used to be. I think I lost ten pounds this trip, by sweating all over West Lafayette. I bet I smelled great. Wish we could have spent more time with the roomies parents, but that will have to wait for gameday. Mmmm, I can taste the chicken soup already. WAIT....I'm a vegetarian...damn it. Nicole, ask Sarah's mom if she can make minestrone instead :) Had a good time at Scotty's. The beer was fine and tasty. I even brought a little Molson to share with those midwesterners. We moved everything across the street. Not as easy as it sounds. Three shirts later, and we got it all done. Nic seemed to be done with us at that point, so we went back north with sad faces. We really miss the Snirk around here. See you in October. Game Day. Boiler up Baby!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

It's been a lovely cruise

Yes Jimmy it was. We had a great time on our cruise this year. Seen some new places, like Oak Orchard and Picton. We met some nice people, and some interesting ones. We'll always remember the Mermaid of Picton, and the "happy" sailors in the baby blue boat that almost turned our cruise into a week in the yard for repairs. Close call guys, hope you made it back safely. We'll remember the biting flies, freighters, and lack of wind that make crossings so wonderful. I now know that Deb hates inflatable boats, after seeing her in action in Oak Orchard, and Little Sodus Bay. Deb did find it fun to hold that stern torch proudly though! Surprise fireworks, sundowners in the cockpit, quiet anchorages, eeking out the last knot of a dieing wind. Most of all, Deb and I got to spend some time together, and get away from it all for two weeks.

Some people say, it doesn't make sense Moving so slowly at such great expense Sailing's not cheap, on that I agree The boat costs money but the wind is free

That's life on a boat Not a place for just ordinary folk It's a special breed that feel the need To live their lives afloat That's life on a boat, when I'm bored It's the perfect antidote I'm living it up and never giving up Life on a boat

Not sure where we're going next year. Talk again of heading west to Toronto, which we've never sailed to. Should do it at least once. The islands are calling though, so I think 2 years from now we'll be back up there, with the 1st stop in Kingston. :)

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Sodus Bay, NY

We're back! We left Kingston on a moderately windy day, hoping for a favorable wind. After sneaking around the shoals that dot Kingston, we turned toward home. Damn, if the wind wasn't right on the nose again. We set the sails the best we could, and let Otto do the steering again. We put on Sirius Radio Margaritaville, and sang tunes for hours. Of course it takes about 11 of those hours to get home, so we grew tired of singing after a few. I did get to hear my favorite Lovin Spoonful song "Jug Band Music". All was fine....until the wind started to die, then ... ATTACK OF THE FLIES! They came without warning and they swarmed all over us. First they would just sit on you, then after a while they would bite. My god I hate those things. Deb and I went to the bow of the boat to get into some wind. Deb was sitting down and using a dock line like camel jockey, just swinging it back and forth, keeping them away. This went on for hours. Why do we do this again! The bastards followed us all the way to the slip, where a couple from Toronto was laughing at us swatting and swearing. We crashed after a quick dinner, then dinner Friday at Waypoints, and drinks with Bo and Toni aboard TreBoni, for a few laughs before bed. Daughter Kelly stopped out for a day of sailing and anchoring out on Saturday. Dinner was an adventure. We anchored out in the bay, and took the zodiac over to the east side for dinner at skippers. It looked like rain to me, but Deb assured me that it was just Pauly Paranoia taking hold. Off we went to Skippers Landing. Deb hates the Zodiac by the way. Too flexy for her. Anyway dinner took way too long to arrive, and it was getting darker by the minute. We finally woofed our food and scrambled to get back. They do not have a dinghy dock there, so we tied up to a rusty barge, and climbed up and down to the zodiac. Deb kind of fell in at this point and off we went. Everyone was watching us from the deck, wondering if those people just jumped off the deck into the water. We brought along lights, just in case. Problem is they weren't mounted anywhere yet. I need to add that to my list. I had the ladies hold the lights in place, while I fired up the outboard, and off we went. Damn thing was slow as hell, and I thought we were choked with weeds, but then Kelly looked at me like something really bad happened. She said she couldn't pull in the bow line. Combine that with the engine slowly dieing and, OH NO! Not in the Prop!! Engine in neutral, pull hard on the line....weeds. The biggest clump of green shit ever, and it was hanging on the bow line. I was dragging half the marinas weeds with me. All this was in pitch black by the way, with power boats zooming around. Deb just sat there frozen, holding the white stern light in the air like the statue of liberty. Kelly was all over the place with the other light. Imagine what the other boaters saw. We shed the weeds, and got up on plane, and flew like a rocket back to our boat at anchor. No rain. Beautiful night after all. All that's left to do now is pack up and say goodbye to our good old boat. I'll probably go through 3 shirts trying to pack up all this crap. Tomorrow, after a day of work...damn it, I'll post the highlights of the trip. Ooh goody, you say. Later.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Kingston Ontario Canada

Oh yea, nothing like a pint of Dragons Breath Real Ale to welcome a sailor to port. Of course hookers would be good, but they're in Belleville. The Kingston Brew Pub just isn't the same without Kate and Frank. We had a good time though, and a good meal. Tough to feed a couple of veg heads, but they managed. Deb had a few pints of whitetail herself, well maybe more than a few. Not too many American sailors here. In fact, we were the only US flagged sailboat here for a while. No docking adventures this time either, as the kids were out in force to help us park it. We had some French Canadians around us at the dock. They like to talk until late at night. Good thing I can't understand them, as it became background noise after a while. I heard one guy say "haaw haaw haaw", just like Powerful Pierre in the Huckleberry Hound cartoons. I laughed myself to sleep. The city hasn't changed too much, although there are some new condo towers to spoil the waterfront. We managed to get the bikes out and tour the area. Who knew there was a University? Nice campus, and surrounding housing. Looks like all the bars are in town though. We went to Wooden Heads for dinner. All the table help were models. Well they could have been. Not that I was staring. Love ya Deb. They have a nice patio. I would have taken a picture, but it would have looked like I was snapping a photo of a model waitress. We went to a museum, a maritime museum. Cool for me, bad for Deb. She forgot her glasses. I said I would read for her, but she declined. I would have made shit up anyway. "And that ship sank to the bottom of Ontario, with a load of stray cats, for the Chinese restaurants in Toronto". We toured a coast guard cutter, that was listing to one side. We found the reason for the list. They were having a weight watchers meeting in the galley on the port side. No, making shit up again. Actually it was leaking badly. You can rent a cabin on board for the night, as it is a bed and breakfast. You first. The weather report is not looking too good for the weekend, and we need good weather to cross the lake, so looks like Thursday is the day. G'day Eh.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Fresh Towel Sunday!

What a happy day it is. It's fresh towel Sunday! Now I can smell better than my camel. We had a good time in Picton Ontario. Had a great meal (eventually) at the Peppercorn. The town is kind of Mayberry like, with one main st that has all the shops and restaurants. Too hilly to explore on bikes. We were next to the "Mermaid of Picton". This was the name I gave the woman next to us, after she fell off her boat. We saw her in Kingston, and she likes the name. We sailed from Picton to Prinyers cove for an evening at anchor. Why is it when I pick a spot, someone drops in right next to me? Just like in a movie theater. This guy got between us and another couple from Rochester, and dropped it. "Looks like a quiet evening", he said. Well, nice jinx. The weather kicked in with some rain and wind and I layed there the whole time thinking about how close he was. Pretty relaxing night, having to gopher out the hatch every time a gust hits. I looked like a vampire in the morning. Red sky at night, sailors delight? Another day done, and off to Kingston next. I can taste the dragons breath ale already. We will explore Kingston town, and report back later.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Picton, Ontario Canada

We left Cobourg on a hazy morning with light winds, heading for the Murray Canal and the Bay of Quinte. We let Otto do his thing and before we knew it we were about to head into the Presquille Bay, with many boats behind us. We got the bridge master to open as we got there, and even tipped him. They hold out a cup on a pole, and as you pass you put the toll in. Before I talk about Belleville, I’d like you all to know how close I came to hitting a brand new sailboat. We went to dock, and the number they assigned us was taken by another boat! I had already turned to go into the slip, when Deb started shouting that it was taken. I went to turn around but it was too tight and the boat going too slow. I had to slam it into full reverse, and anyone who’s ever driven a sailboat knows that they do not want to stop once they get going. I missed the stern by about inches. Deb said it looked like the guys eyes were going to pop out of his head. I backed up, and pulled into the slip next to where we were assigned. Amazing how many folks came out to help, that weren’t there before!

Belleville was a bit rainy, but cleared up in time for every meal. Thursday was wet and dark, but most of the rain came at night. Dinner at the Boathouse was good and Paulo’s was great. We went to Paulo’s twice, mostly because we didn’t know were else to go, but this time we took the bikes. Much faster going home, especially after a few beers J. While in Belleville we took the bike path along the river. Seemed pretty uneventful, until we rode behind the strip club. First let me say to Belleville. “What the hell were you thinking having a strip club next to a bike path for families?” Anyhow, not being under age or offended at all by naked ladies, I naturally looked over to “check it out”. Low and behold some lovelies were out behind the place having a smoke! One in pink panties and bra, the other in a lace nighty. I stared so long they waved. I waved back, then almost lost control of the bike. My thrill for the evening. Belleville is kind of strange. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but maybe I don’t want to. Know what I mean?

We had unexpected fireworks across the river from the back of the boat Friday night. Best we’ve seen in a while. No one in the marina knew what the occasion was. Someone just felt like spending thousands on fireworks I guess. A “hey” goes out to Bonne-Elaine. Nice guitar and voice, but glad you cooled it on the Bongos. I never did get the e-mail address. I’m putting more fenders out, in case you show up.

We left Saturday on a beautiful day. We made it through the “narrows”, then turned south down Long Reach, where we unfurled the headsail and killed the diesel. We sailed down until the Picton entrance, and eventually found a home at the Tip of the Bay marina. Looking forward to a cold one at a nice patio bar. Lot of rednecks here in powerboats. I don’t think they like my yuppie cargo shorts and docksiders. Where the hell am I, at a NASCAR race? Oh wait, they’re from Belleville. Dee Dee Dee.

Was ready for a beer at the Bah Hahba Hahba Bah, but it’s now the Funky Carp. We were looking for the carp in Belleville, but found it here. You wouldn’t think a restaurant would move 30 miles down stream, but hey, it’s here. Time for a beer.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Cobourg, Canada

Great to be back in Cobourg. The Oasis is still cranking out good meals and service, and MacGregors has ice cold Moosehead on tap. We strolled the streets by bike this time. Amazing nobody fell, though I have a huge bubble in my tire that makes the ride a bit bumpy. Feels like a horse. Bet it looks stupid. Walked around the marina, looking cool, checking out the boats, chics, then Deb tells me my fly was open. It's tough getting old. The weather has been great so far, but I think we're going to get a little gloomy for the next few days. Most of it looks to be in the states though, and sparing Canada for the moment. Hopefully we'll follow the sun. Belleville is the next stop on the trip. Not sure about this town, though last time we were there on a Sunday, and we know the Canadians roll up the sidewalks on Sundays. Hopefully we'll make it through Presquille bay ok, as this can get harry in bad weather. Last time it was nerve wracking as it is really shallow, and unforgiving for anyone who strays off course. That's all for now. Later I'll tell about me almost hitting a brand new sailboat! Ahh, I had it covered. :)

The Crossing

Well, just like I said, No wind, but Sun. Otto Pilot took us all the way over. Deb must have got in about 15 hrs of sleep for the day. Deb read a book with her eyes shut, and I puttered around all afternoon while we slipped through the oily looking water. I spotted some rather large fish feeding on the surface, with it's fin out of the water. Shark! Not quite, but I wonder what fish it was. Good thing somebody stayed awake, because the eastbound traffic was brutal. They could use a light at this intersection. All in all it was pretty uneventful, which is good. The weather for Cobourg looks good, but it may get a little wet going to Belleville in a day or two.

Oak Orchard, NY

We made it. What a crappy day to be on the water. It's days like this that you ask yourself "Why do we do this?". But it was worth it. Oak Orchard is a very peaceful place to be. Scenic, quiet, and very friendly. We went up the creek with the dinghy until the clouds started to roll in, then figured it was time for dinner. We definately have to kayak this creek, as it meanders quite a distance. We missed Knots Berry farm, as it was getting late, but we managed to get a blueberry Rohrbachs for dinner, so I guess that makes up for it. We had dinner at the Black North Inn. Was good, but filling. Quite the crowd there. A mix of sailors and bubbas, bikers. Doesn't seem like a good mix, but it was fine. Deb likes travel by dinghy. I was told not to publish the pictures of her sprawled out in the dinghy, so I won't. for now. We're off to Cobourg Canada for the 35 mile crossing. Looks like no wind and Sun. I think Otto will be driving.

Rochester, NY

We Left Sodus Bay, NY for Rochester, NY and had the wind right on the nose as usual. What is it about going to Rochester? It's always gloomy. Well, things perked up when we met our friends we hadn't seen all summer. We had dinner and beers at Schooners, then back to the boat for a few more. It was good to see almost all of the gang. Not having much luck posting picures. Probably being blocked. We're heading off to Cobourg next. Looks like a windless day. As long as the sun shines. :)

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Sodus Bay, NY for the 4th

We spent the week of the 4th of July on the boat, at Oak Park Marina Resort. We did some much needed boat work, some naps, lot's of reading, and some fine dining. Life on a boat can be soooo relaxing. It was really hard to become a dirt dweller again after the week ended. The fireworks in Sodus were great. We had not seen them in many years, so it was pretty cool. We anchored at Thorntons and stayed all night, until our daughter called and warned of some ugly stuff she saw on radar. It's good to have your own weather girl. We managed to mini cruise over to Little Sodus Bay and the town of Fairhaven. We anchored there and had an ok meal at the Pleasant Beach Hotel. I liked the summer ale, but Deb will never "fruit the beer". Deb had a bad dinghy ride, as we left just as a squall came through. We had to turn back, and wait it out. Turned out to be a pleasant evening, and I even slept while at anchor. Almost crapped my drawers bringing that anchor up though. Next boat has the biggest windlass I can find! The picture shows WhisperIII at anchor under the branch. It's the middle of the three. This was the view from the Pleasant Beach Hotel. Except for lightning almost killing us, it was a pretty quiet week. I'll add that story in the next post. We have to get ready for the big two week cruise!