Our Cruise South: The Final Word

Well it looks as though I'm not going to be writing a summary for this blog - a cruising trip recap so to speak. A year has passed and I still haven't followed through on my intention to wrap everything up - to come up with all kinds of numbers as I've seen other bloggers do, like: how many times did we soft ground, how many nights did we anchor, etc. and so on. On the other hand, in the year since we've been back, Bob and I have put together a presentation for our club and I have written an article for our club magazine so we've done our share of looking back and summarizing. It's occurred to me that I could transfer some of that work here to the blog: I'm going to post the lists Bob compiled for our presentation as well as the text of the article that I wrote. That should do it!

Bob's List: Preparing Sea Change for Cruising to the Bahamas

Additions for Protection Against Salt Water

• VC 17 stripped off; Interprotect and Micron CSC put on
• Traditional stuffing box replaced with P.S.S. dripless
• Galvanic Isolator
• Lanacote spray for stainless
• Spare zincs

Safety, Navigation and Sailing

• CP&S Squadron Piloting Course and St. John's First Aid
• Added jack lines and refreshed First Aid kit
• LED masthead light (strobe light option)
• Raymarine C80 Chart Plotter and 2 kw radar
• Navionics Platinum chips; paper charts and guide books
• 90 ft. chain / 2nd rode and chain / Fortress and Bubble anchors
• Carbon fiber whisker pole and mast mount
• Tow Bow US membership

Communication

• Unlocked cell phone, US and Bahamas SIM cards
• Sirius Radio
• Computer
• Spot Messenger

Comfort and Convenience 

• Espar heater
• Full enclosure
• New coastal off shore foulies
• Long underwear, socks, toques, gloves
• Honda 2000 generator
• Freedom 10 inverter/charger
• Additional GR. 27 Surrette house battery
• Hatch screens and extra No Seeum small sized netting

Tools, Spare Parts and Transport

• Built on-deck mast cradle
• Stowaway inflatable boat fenders
• Bulbs, oil filters, belts, tool kit, drill
• 9.9 Four Stroke engine, hard bottom dinghy and davits
• Balmar 100 Amp ALT, regulator and isolator
• Sea Gull in-line water filter
• Rebuild kits: head, bilge pumps, fresh water pump, impellers

In the Galley (in addition to the usual provisions)

• Small containers of spices
• Baking supplies
• Mixing bowls, cookware: muffin tins, loaf pans, cookie sheet
• Pressure Cooker
• Cook books: The Cruising Chef / Michael Greenwald, One Pot Wonders: James Barber's Recipes for Land and Sea, Cooking Under Pressure / Lorna J. Sass

Additions, Replacements and Repairs Along the Way

• Starter engine solenoid
• Under bunk plastic grate for moisture control
• Extra zincs and hull cleaning
• Fresh water pressure switch
• New macerator and repair kit
• Repaired 2 electric bilge pumps
• WiFi signal booster, antenna and mount
• New dinghy lock (old one salt corroded)
• Repaired leak in the anchor locker
• Exchanged starting battery
• Changed oil every 25 days
• Replaced engine impeller
• Subscription to Chris Parker's Weather Service
• Single side band receiver
•  

Summing It All Up: Cruising to the Bahamas: A First Experience

Coming Home

Welcome back at the club.

Thank you to members of the CSS and others from the club who gave us such a nice welcome back to our dock and to those who planned and came to the gathering on the south island. Bob and I very much appreciated the warm welcome and we are happy to be back among you.

Thank you also to the many people who have told me that they've been reading and enjoying the blog. I've certainly enjoyed writing it.

The last few days of our trip became a re-immersion into the life we left behind. The sun came out on Friday and stayed throughout the weekend as we returned to the Lake Ontario version of our life on the water.

On Friday, when the Mursells joined us at Youngstown, Mary greeted us wearing an "Eleuthera - Not for Everyone" t-shirt. We all find the t-shirt comment hysterically funny - it's a kind of in-joke referring back to the days we spent together trapped by weather and tied up to a crumbling wall at Hatchet Bay (Eleuthera). We had dinner that night with the Mursells and told stories of our travel adventures and misadventures. Looking back, even our mishaps have become the stuff of tales we laugh about. Whatever else the challenges were, they were part of a unique experience that we can't believe we've had.

Race to Youngstown Awards

On Saturday members of the Cruising Squadron arrived from across the lake and tied up or rafted with us along the wall at the Youngstown Yacht club. It was great to reconnect with everyone and to laugh together while Terry did his always fresh stand up comedy while handing out beer mugs for real and fantastical achievements.

We had an easy motor sail back across the lake to the club where we were greeted by friends standing at the dock. Shortly after, we joined others who came for a picnic table gathering to have a glass of wine and say hello. How very nice that was.

We are fully at home now - wondering what to do first. There's the laundry, the first grocery shopping, the jungle in the garden, the pool to open, the boat to unload, the appointments to keep, the piles of mail to attend to, the phone calls to make. It might help if we weren't intent on getting everything attended to all at once. What - you have no sympathy? You say, "What are you complaining about after your 9 month great escape?" I agree. In truth, we are enjoying getting our house in order and we are glad to be at home and back near our friends and family.

After we settled down, I'll do one more posting - a sort of looking back and summing up. Until then - thanks for reading!

Sunset at Youngstown

From Wilson to Youngstown

Yesterday morning Bob woke me at 5:30. He wanted to get going and sail all the way to Wilson - some 54 nautical miles from Rochester. We were on the water by 6:30. When I took the water/sky picture at 10:30, it looked as though the sun was going to fight its way through the clouds but no such luck. Instead the clouds thickened until the lake and sky were an unrelieved grey as far as we could see. Was it because the water was flat and the wind light, that hundreds of flies decided to catch a ride on the boat? On the lake, there are days with flies and days without - some days they are in a biting mood and some days they just land on everything and sit stupidly or fly about and bump into your face. Yesterday they weren't biting, rather they were so lethargic that they didn't move - even to escape death. There were crushed flies on the cockpit sole where we had walked on them, and more on the cushions as we sat down unawares on top of them. It was disgusting. After our dreary day of motoring, when we finally tied up at Wilson's Tuscarora Yacht, Bob couldn't get the hose out fast enough to clean away all traces of our fly graveyard.

It's nice to be in familiar waters entering harbours where you know the shallow spots and where to find the visitors' dock at the yacht clubs. Since transient cruisers aren't expected so early in the season, we weren't able to raise anyone on the VHF at either the Sodus Bay or Tuscarora Yacht club - but there's always someone puttering on their boat who finds a spot for us and tells us how to sign in for the night.

Today we motored to Youngstown - just 2 hours from Wilson. We'll spend the day having a look around and tonight we'll have a reunion with Bill and Mary Mursell. They'll sail Vectis across the river from the Niagara Yacht Club where they keep her and we'll do some catching up over dinner tonight. We last saw the Mursells in Fort Pierce, Florida while they were still on Southern Vectis.

Tomorrow those participating in the RCYC Cruising Squadron Youngstown Race will arrive and raft up where we are now - on the wall at the Youngstown Yacht Club - and we'll be there to greet them. It will be fun to see everyone after what seems the very long time that we've been away.

We've been to the Youngtown Yacht Club several times but only for the night. Today we took the time to tour Fort Niagara. This is taken inside "The Castle", the oldest building in the Fort.

Lake Ontario at the entrance to the Niagara River - taken from the North Redoubt (a mini fort) at Fort Niagara.