Tasks Coming to a Close

I finished mounting the KISS Wind Generator a couple of weeks ago but being in the creek, I did not get to test the system. When Gail and I took our grandsons with us to the Thousand Islands the system was tested. We had many days of 20 knot winds and in those winds the batteries were fully charged. From what we have heard and read, we can plan on 5 to 20 knot winds in the Bahamas so the wind generator should work out well for us. The winds will get to 35 knots when a cold front rolls through from the north so we should have sufficient wind!

The wind generator was the last of the major jobs I had planned for the boat this summer. The one remaining 'job' for this season is to replace our primary anchor rode (50' 5/16 chain with 150 foot line) with 200' of 5/16 G4 chain. The current primary rode will be moved to the secondary anchor. Next season I will install solar panels to compliment the wind power.

I received my certificate from the Mariner's School recently. Now that I have that I can submit my paperwork to the Coast Guard for my USCG Captain's license. So over the next three weeks I am busy filling out paperwork, drug test, taking the 'oath' at a USCG Regional Test Site which is 6 hours away, getting finger printing, getting a physical and taking a CPR/First Aid class. Pretty busy 3 weeks. It seems strange to be taking a standard American Red Cross First Aid course after being a NYS EMT for close to 20 years and teaching EMT classes for the NYS Health department. But since I am no longer a firefighter or ambulance medic, I do not have a sponsor to get my EMT updated. Can't wait to start the trip south so I can relax!

Summer is Coming to a Close!

It amazes me how fast Summer has flown by! Tell tale signs are everywhere. The leaves are starting to fall, the nights are cooler and the kids are getting ready to go back to school. In fact they start Wednesday of next week.

Many events have transpired since we arrived in mid June. We have been on two vacations and visited with many of our family and friends. It is a bitter sweet end of summer for us. We look forward to traveling again and seeing our cruising friends and visiting the Bahamas but feel somewhat sad to say good bye to everyone up North. Yet again cruising is all about compromise. You work it out to have a little of the best of both worlds.

Today we are on the boat and the only errand we did was to go by dinghy for gas for the outboard. I am actually on highspeed internet inside the boat. I'm using our external antenna and connected with about 47% strength. It's the first time all summer that we have been successful. The sky is clear today and I tried another window for exposure. It worked!

We had a wonderful two week vacation with our grandsons. They wanted to stay in every port or anchorage an extra day. Each place lent itself to a different attraction for them. In some places they could swim, some they could fish, some had a playground and some we did siteseeing. We decided we need no less than three weeks next year to fit it all in. We meaning Grandma and Papa also decided that we could handle one more, so we invited cousin Kira for next year.

The picture is of Larry and his Dad taking a dinghy ride to check out the lake. Mom and Dad were up here for a visit and we attempted to go for a sail on several occasions but the wind and waves just would not cooperate. We never did get to go for a sail but we had several good visits.

Last week we closed another door in our lives, we sold our pickup truck. When we left last year we did not have time to think about what we would do with it and we needed some place to store the few belongings we kept. After we arrived back we disposed of most of what we did store and felt it wasn't necessary to keep a large vehicle especially with the cost of fuel. We plan to replace it with a small car but haven't found the great deal yet. Time is passing quickly and it may not happen till next year. One less thing to put in storage! We have been getting around on the motorcycle in the mean time. It's time to provision the boat for the trip South and the Bahamas so we may be forced to rent a car for a few days. It won't be bad but we won't be able to do it at our leisure. We need to have complete and comprehensive lists, so nothing gets forgotten. We have been reading up on what we can and can't get in the Bahamas.

1,000 Islands, NY Trip

Time is moving fast and we have been visiting with family and friends, catching up.

Our oldest daughter Jennifer and I have had a Garage Sale but we have made out better on e-bay. Our granddaughter Kira has spent a long weekend with us. We have had Larry's brother and family on the boat for a day. We have had Kenny and Diane T. Spend a day on the boat with us. It has all been such fun! This Summer in NY has been one of those that we dream about on those long cold Winter nights. The sun has been strong and very warm even reaching 100 degrees for a day. The water in the lake has reached a comfortable swimming temperature.

Larry and I started to get restless and looking to do some sailing. After moving for nine months I thought I would just want to sit still for the three months of Summer but I was wrong. I'm glad we had planned a two week trip with our crew in the picture (Jonathan and Joseph our grandsons) to the 1,000 Islands.

We started out Tuesday of this past week August 1. Our first day was a long one 10 hours from Oak Orchard Creek to Sodus Bay. The winds were strong out of the West and we had a following sea. Our plan was to spend the night at the Sodus Bay Yacht Club but they were hosting a race the following day and no slips were available. We finally docked at Katlynn Marine. Our crew traveled very well and even slept for a time but was very anxious to get to shore and eat dinner. Eat dinner did they, like they hadn't eaten for a week. I guess the fresh air and sunshine did them good.

Wednesday we started out after breakfast about 9:30 AM. We didn't get very far when the engine alarm went off. We shut it off and Papa dropped the anchor, then cleaned out the engine strainer but it didn't work yet. He then dove over the side and cleared the weeds from the keel, they were dragging and covering the intake. It worked and we all took a swim pulled up anchor and were on our way. The winds were light this time but the waves were good size. Being a power boat without our sails made for a less than comfortable ride when your small. After lunch a nap worked well again. Our ride was short this day 5 hours and by the time we were approaching the harbor channel for Oswego the waves grew even bigger with strong winds. A front was coming in and promised some rain. In the evening we could see the lightening behind the clouds over the lake. After we went to bed the wind built and the rain came down bringing with is thunder and more lightening.

Thursday morning we were wakened by people talking outside on the dock. When we got up and went outside we noticed something funny about their sailboat. It was missing it's mast. They had been part of an overnight race during that storm. They got demasted during the night by the strong wind and rocking of the waves. They told us the boat rolled to one side then to the other and when they looked up the mast was down. It was impossible for them to bring it on board so they left it dragging beside them until daylight. The Captain shared with us that he was afraid of going aground on the shoal of rocks but the mast acted as a drogue anchor and kept them from drifting more than a half mile in a four hour time frame. They were very lucky I guess the name of their boat came true (Guardian Angel). The important part no one was injured. The weather never settled down so we stayed put for another night.

The lake was still quite active when we rose Friday morning so we took our time moving out. Our destination was short again about four hours to Henderson Harbor. The wind was strong enough to motor sail helping us to cut though the waves. Our crew spent most of their time on deck enjoying the ride with only a short nap. The fresh air does wonders. The weather predicted for the afternoon stormy weather and heavy winds which we had heavy winds for the last part of the ride. A great ride it was with the wind and waves clocking behind us which allowed us to turn off the engine. When we arrived at Henderson Harbor Yacht Club our crew was delighted with the playground and beach with swimming area, so delighted they ask to spend another night which Papa granted. We have spent most of the day today wet, what great fun.

I just wanted to let those of you who are following this site know, it give me great delight to read your comments. Please keep them coming.