[Public-List] temporary holding tank

[Gordon Laco via Public-List]

Makes sense, but ....

Years ago Caroline and I set out across Lake Ontario in my wooden Folkboat.
I¹d cooked up a romantic weekend in Niagara... Dinner, a play at the Shaw
Theatre, drinks afterward... A walk in the moonlight... Etc.

Part of my plot for the weekend was to introduce Caroline to the adventure
of overnight passages, so I told her we¹d leave Toronto after supper, then
sail down the moon path to Niagara, arriving some time before dawn.  After a
refreshing snooze, we¹d spend the afternoon seeing the sights before our
dinner reservations.

Here¹s how things turned out ­ and this story does get to the temporary
holding tank topic.

We departed Toronto with a favourable forecast, reaching smartly southwards.
However, a couple of hours out we had two reefs in the main, our smallest
jib and the boat was plunging under every third wave or so.  The mainsheet
block broke, a jib lead pulled out and we had to keep pumping the bilge to
keep the water below the floorboards.  Since the foredeck was underwater
half the time, the forward ends of the bunks were sodden.  Caroline was a
good sport; she said Œjust tell me what to do, and I¹ll do it¹.  Good girl,
brave girl.

We got to Niagara, tied up at the old Gillingham¹s Marina (naturally
referred to as Gilligan¹s) and turned in for the planned morning snooze.
Unfortunately, once the sun came up the temperature shot up and our sodden
cabin turned into a stifling steam bath.  At about mid-day I just had to get
out, and took a walk in the blazing sun down the docks.  I met a cheerful
young man in a light brown shirt with dark brown shorts and matching brown
socks clutching a clip board.  He was from the Ministry of the Environment
and was doing Œcomplimentary¹ head installation inspections.    Holy Crap,
thought I ­ the poop police!   He was starting at the far end of the row of
boats and had a way to go before getting to Touch Wood, so I thought.
Being an authentic wooden Folkboat, our head was a bucket ­ we¹d be a dream
come true for a ticket writer.  I strolled back to our boat as quickly as I
could without raising suspicion and woke Caroline to appraise her of the
approaching danger.   A peek out the hatch revealed the Poop Police fellow
was making fast progress toward us;  there was no time for her to dress and
still be able to get away before he saw our boat was inhabited.   We shut
the hatches and cowered down hoping he¹d think nobody was home.  That peek
at the inspector was enough to confirm we were in trouble.  When I first saw
him he was bright and cheerful, just the sort I might be able to reason
with;  but at the second look he was sweaty and clearly angry.  We later
learned that he was meeting with derision at every boat and his mood (and
willingness to overlook transgressions) had completely evaporated.

We heard his footsteps come onto our jetty.... And then....... pass us by.
Phew.

The rest of the weekend was wonderful.

Gord #426 Surprise

PS  Touch Wood carried two buckets;  a red one and a blue one.  One was the
head, the other was the utility bucket for dishes, etc.    Yes, it was
common for visitors to forget which was which....as I write this, I can¹t
remember.


On 30/04/15 2:39 PM, "gordon white" <gewhite at crosslink.net> wrote:

>       Well, my experience on the Bay is (1) in 57 years I've never had anyone
> stop me and inspect my system, though I have been stopped and inspected for
> flares. (Live across the Piankatank River from the  Gwynn's Island USCG
> station)
>  
>  (2) I have understood that a porta-pottie was acceptable and that if the
> thru-hull was sealed with an electrical tie or the handle to the Y-valve was
> removed you were legal. How about small runabouts with no head?
>  
>      Nearest  pump-out to me is at least 12 or more miles in a place I almost
> never go and only one of the pump-out stations in this end of the county
> actually works. Works for me to haul the honey-pot up to the house and dump it
> in the septic system. I am not likely to go into Canadian waters except in a
> charter.
>  
>      My ethic is to keep the Bay clean, but jumping through unreasonable hoops
> for the green police, when I am keeping it clean is more than I can manage.
>  
>   - Gordon White
>  
>      
>