June-July-August 2013:
Ready, Set, Gone
Homeless. Our house sold mid-June with
a 2 week closing. No problem, lots of
time! Next day, spoke to our friend
about running the business and over a few beers we worked out the basics and
the details followed easily. Edi and I
feel great and confident knowing Homer will be in charge. Next up, get rid of EVERYTHING that we don’t
put on boat. Check, with 2 plastic bins
in Edi’s father’s basement for storage (including a winter set of clothes each
that will hopefully be moth eaten before used!)
By late June we have moved aboard on Magic with one month to go at work!
Unemployed. July was a blur. Final projects on the boat getting done,
repair and rebuild kits ordered, parts inventory reviewed and gaps filled in,
packing, repacking, weeding out and stocking the club’s free table. The boxes, bags and bins stacked about Magic,
bow to stern, started to visibly thin out as we waded back and forth through
the cabin and the cockpit. The boat
started looking like a boat and not a storage locker and living aboard started
getting easier. Basic provisioning
next: 96 rolls of TP, hundreds of zip
lock bags (dollar store’s greatest bargain), kleenex, serviettes, etc. all
packed, organized and stowed. All
throughout, we (well, Edi especially) looked after the office and clients and
got the office ready to hand over to Homer (all old files shredded or purged,
closed out etc.) The office looked
better and more organized than ever in the last 12 years since we moved
in! Suddenly, the last client was looked
after and the final job completed (yes, finally got around to our own wills and
Powers of Attorney!) We threw a party
for well wishers (family, friends and club members all invited) to theme of ITS
5 O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE. Ship’s booze supply
finally fit into its locker!! Thanks Richard, Mike, Al, Neil, and the really
blurry guy at the end for your help on that boat job! One day, Blair called Edi at work and Homer s
assistant, Melissa, answered. Another
cause for celebration - unemployment!
Loaded for bear. Beginning
of August, Edi finishing the work carried over from July and Blair wrapping up
final details with the office and office admin details. Somehow Magic’s 79 lockers, shelves and
drawers were filling rapidly and Edi still hadn’t provisioned. $2000 later and that’s done (while USA does
have lots of stores they just aren’t quite as easily accessed when you no
longer have a car) So we won’t go hungry
starting with 6 months’ worth of staples (120 cans diced tomatos, corn, soups,
tuna, chicken, pastas, sauce mixes, 50 lbs of flour, sugar, Pringles, items the American couzins might not have -
Mac & Cheese, HP sauce, 12 cans of Tim Hortons’ coffee, 2 bottles Cdn maple
syrup from Oro.)
Edi makes great bread so she also stocked up
all the fixings for various types and for pain au chocolate (Blair’s fav.) Huge supply of prescriptions filled - a
couple necessary and many precautionary - our doctor and her staff have just
been absolutely FANTASTIC – thanks again Barb, Donna & Anna. Wow, Magic swallowed all of that up and there
were still a few areas still awaiting contents.
Final Lesson shoreside. Got home
one night and Edi suggested taking down the genny. An hour later and both sails are off. Next morning Kory asks when the mast is
coming down and that afternoon we are a power boat! 5 days to go.
One day nearing departure we were discussing plans for the day over
morning coffee before Edi left for Barrie to include lunch with Homer and
Melissa when Magic sprang her next surprise lesson - Advanced Plumbing. Well, it had to come and at least it was
before we left. Such a simple piece of
equipment when it works that you don’t think of its manual as reading
material. Well, first things first and
get it to a point where you can dismantle it.
Enough said except a working clothes peg is a wise tool for the plumbing
kit. Five hours later and the throne is refurbished, leak-free and fit for the
reigning queen and tough enough for her ship’s handyman. Thank goodness for a spare minor rebuild
kit. Note to self in maintenance log –
do maintenance on head! Last part of
job, call Jim (thanks for 24 hour delivery!) for another minor rebuild kit, a
major rebuild (with new motor – after this job I’m not getting caught with my
pants down :-) !), and 4 spare joker valves (named, I think, for the suggestion
that you should change them periodically or the joke(r) will
be on you!) However, after 6
years of faithful service, it was WAY past time to strip down the entire motor
(it is an electric Jabsco), replace all O rings, valves, lip seals, and clean
out whatever was weighing on the shredder.
Good lesson Magic, at a well-appointed time.
Final Disposals and top ups. Ship’s 2
below deck diesel tanks filled (200L), dinghy’s gas tank filled, all jerry cans
filled: diesel (4), gas (2), and water
(4), meats purchased and freezer section filled with 20 meals worth for two,
final pump-out and 130 gals fresh water .
At the Club the dock-box got moved and it and all cradle accessories got
taken to Edi’s dad for storage, all traces of us removed except for the steel
cradle to be stored deep in back.
We moved
over to the “wall” and removed all docklines
and set up 4 sets of lines a side for the locks. We strapped 2 boards between stanchions to
strap jerry cans cans onto and distribute their weight.
After 13
years our cars (the rear Sebring and Windstar van in front of it) may not have
owed us anything but the junkers still gave us $570! Much thanks to Rob and Robert at Barrie's ER
Automotive for keeping the vehicles on life-support the last couple of
years!
August 14
we slipped away at 7am – windy but we were ready to bail to Carthew Bay and
started getting electronics going. OK,
Magic threw another one at us and Otto (our third crewmate) set course abruptly
for shore - apparently he had less confidence than we in this voyage! Three hours later and Otto was
re-commissioned after we learned that 120 cans of assorted foods is best stored
A LOT further away from Otto’s fluxgate (& magnetic!) compass! We set course for the other side of Lake
Simcoe, Otto once more his agreeable self, and zig-zagged the waves to keep
them 45 degrees off the bow and then off the stern making Gamebridge by
1pm.
Trent-Severn Waterway.
This
waterway is wonderful and varied from top to bottom. We transited the upper four locks from Lake
Simcoe trough Port Severn onto Georgian Bay several years ago. This was our first time seeing the waterway
through to Lake Ontario. Lake Simcoe to
Buckhorn, Buckhorn to Burliegh's Falls, Stoney Lake to Peterborough, the
Onatobee River, the Trent River and finally the Bay of Quinte are all
discernibly different segments from rocky shield to rolling meadow and lazy
meandering turns. While we have a
destination in mind for December, the journey itself is wonderfully
entertaining. Boat jobs were shelved and
we immersed ourselves in the journey. We
met up with Brian and Susan, Blair’s brother and his wife, at Buckhorn one
afternoon at their trailer at Six Foot Bay.
Edi’s dad, Joseph, and his girlfriend Diane
arrived at Buckhorn and with Brian’s help vehicle arrangements were made and
Joseph and Diane joined us from Buckhorn to Burliegh’s Falls. On to Peterborough and through the big lock
#21, it really is awesome.
We made it into Peterborough and looked for an
anchorage and settled by the fountain which lights up at night. Dinghy down, we did a little shopping and
went out for dinner. The next day we
moved on to Lock 19, still in Peterborough, slipping in after 6pm. Two boaters came over to introduce themselves
and letting us know the washroom keys were tucked under the recycle bins, a
nice way to start the conversations. One
couple, from Newmarket, have a 30’ Doral and will be towing it to Fort Myers in
December, intending to transit Lake Okachobee and on to Bahamas. He lent us a hand and waiving off thanks the next morning and reminded me to repay him
with a beer in in the Bahamas. The other
couple, Judy and Gerald from Bay of Quinte region, are cruising on a pontoon
boat new this year, their first boat in 7 years. We will just about see their home leaving CFB Trenton YC and passing under the Skybridge.
Gerald, who has MS for the last 10 years, uses a
wheelchair so the pontoon boat is fantastic.
Judy handles the lines and items shoreside while Gerald stays on the
boat and minds it. A full enclosure
makes it an all-weather platform for their six weeks or so adventures on the
Trent-Severn and Rideau canal this season (so far!). Great people with a great CanDo
attitude.
Pushing on we saw more examples of people doing
whatever it takes to get on the water and have an adventure, the fellow on the
paddle board taking our vote for the KISS prize.
Later that day we caught up to Steve kayaking from
Buckhorn on to Trenton area (or wherever
he needs to finish his trip.) He has
backpacking gear tucked into the nose of the kayak and camps evenings. Steve was running close to our speed so he
is about a 30HP kayaker! We had him over
for dinner and unbeknownst to us he walked 50 minutes round trip to pick up a
six-pack of Campbellford micro brewed beer to bring over.
Nice man, great
beer, entertaining conversation. We were
very touched by his gesture and generosity of spirit.
Getting into Frankfort we met up with Pete & Kathy,
new friends to us but old friends of several common friends. Nice to be a part of the cruiser community;
benefits of membership: friends
everywhere that you just haven’t met yet!
Pete gave me a lift to gas station to fill up some diesel and we enjoyed
dinner boatside at lock 6, Frankford.
The Trent-Severn Waterway has been a wonderful ride, top to bottom, Lower down, there was evidence of the difficulties the Waterway has been experiencing. However, Lockmaster Randy, runs his Locks 6-5-4 as a consummate professional, his love of the waterway, service to the boaters and his dedicated care of his locks very evident.
Pete joined us for the ride from Lock 6 into CFB Trenton YC. George and Mary, part of the net, are off cruising
but report they have ensured we’ll be looked after (thanks R&B, P&K for
that intro.) Approaching Lock 3, we saw a sailboat with no mast and a very disreputable looking man at the helm Larry Webb, of course, who shouted greetings relayed from Bill Chalk (both members of the community to which we are seeking full membership.)
Existing the TS waterway south of Lock 1, out through
Trenton, we heard a horn and Edi looked and saw a man waving – so she waved back
and got back to coiling lines. A second
later she jumped up and said "Hey, that's Tata" – and it was and Joseph and Diane had driven down
and were seeing us heading out around to CFB Trenton. They joined us for the afternoon and P&K
said come all of you whenever you are able to our house. Frankly, Edi and I have
been seriously thinking “why leave Canada, just cruise up and down the
Trent-Severn and be treated like visiting Royalty!” These wonderful folks are easing our
preparations for crossing Lake Ontario and doing everything possible to help us
out. We promise we will pay this
kindness forward to other boaters, cruisers and travelers.
Kind of Magic now pumped-out, watered up, and safely in a guest slip right at the end and pointed for the channel, I am now, at Tim’s for a coffee while Edi, Joseph
and Diane do a little shopping, banking a final provisioning, I am posting this
report. I have googled directions to Pete & Kathy's, booked travellers insurance for our time through the USA, caught up on kindofmagic@rocketmail .com emails and had a freshly brewed Tim's coffee.
We intend to run out to the Bay
of Quinte and head for Pinyer’s Cove as there is a weather window for Saturday
and Sunday. Saturday will be spent getting out to the staging point and early
Sunday morning – 4am – we will push out for Oswego provided the weather
holds. We will post position reports on
shiptrak.org ve0bg call sign until our next internet connection. While it is possible to post blogs by ssb, my
attempt to post this was unsuccessful but I will keep trying.
Hugs and kisses to Gracie, Charlie, Thomas, Hannah,
Meagan & Amy your auntie and uncle miss you already.
