[Public-List] Un-Misery Trip...

[Martin Privette]

Very nice article, Gord. Felt like I was there! Refreshing, thanks...

On Oct 23, 2017 10:20 AM, "Gordon Laco via Public-List" <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> Hello Gang,
>
>
>
> SURPRISE had a wonderful pleasure cruise last weekend... the weather here
> on the Upper Great Lakes is continuing summer-like, so my wife and I
> decided to go sailing.
>
>
>
> We packed things up Friday afternoon and set sail in a dead calm (which
> means motoring) around Midland Point to Penetanguishene Harbour, where we
> dropped anchor in the old naval anchorage at the Discovery Harbour historic
> site (still can’t get used to that name... it was the RN’s Upper Lakes
> dockyard establishment, something in me thinks that’s what it should be
> called despite public surveys...)
>
>
>
> Had a nice supper under slowly emerging stars, as the constellations
> revealed themselves one by one (Thanks, Gord Downie).
>
>
>
> Got underway motoring again in a very light SW zephyr to rendezvous with
> friends in their Shark class yacht SCORCHER off Watson’s Point.  Yes, we do
> communicate with some people who sail those verminous things that infest
> our B Fleet starts during Wednesday night races.
>
>
>
> What followed was a repeat of the Misery Trip, but in delightfully mild
> conditions.  Dropped the hook again at Bone Island, and deigned to allow
> the Shark to raft up to us.  We took turns rowing our dinghy around the
> cove... saw turtles, a fat beaver, and something large that disturbed a lot
> of water as it swam away when we surprised it (giant fish, big snapping
> turtle?)
>
>
>
> Had a merry feast, followed by rum and aquavit sampling after.  Terrific
> stars again, slept with the hatches open.
>
>
>
> Sunday morning, cast off SCORCHER after she’d hoisted her mainsail, then
> recovered our anchor (ah, no mud, no weeds, perfect) and glided out of the
> anchorage under sail.  Acknowledged the approving comments from a couple of
> fellows in motorboats of the type we call ‘power hogs’ rafted to each
> other.  My wife commented that it was good we exchanged pleasant greetings
> with them after the hard thoughts expressed the night before... they’d run
> their generators for a long time, and held a conversation to each other
> with voices raised over the diesel throbs about how one of them was going
> to cheat a soon-to-be ex-wife by fabricating a fraudulent sale of the boat
> for a very low price...  We didn’t soften our opinion of those guys, but it
> was nicer to have a pleasanter punctuation to the episode than daydreaming
> about sinking them.
>
>
>
> The wind was south, and pleasantly warm as we close reached out of
> Musquash Channel past Sugar Island again, then Ship Island with its elusive
> green pin, then we bore away for Minnicognashene’s Z shaped channel.
> Passed the spot where earlier this summer we saw a large pike apparently
> unable to dive and floundering on the surface.... until it produced a big
> ‘burp’ of air and finally drove purposefully into the depths.  Read later
> that sometimes those fish accidentally gulp air when in pursuit, and have
> difficulty expelling it.  Well, we were glad to learn it wasn’t likely
> injured, and imagined it thinking ‘damn, isn’t it just my luck that this
> would happen when someone was here to see it...’
>
>
>
> So away reaching to windward of Gull Rock, to leeward of Penetang and
> Hotchkiss Rocks, and into Minnicog.  The wind was building but hanging
> south, making the jog up to the exit channel directly to windward, just as
> when Pim and I scourged through short tacking a few days ago.
>
>
>
> As we approached the turn to windward Caroline said to me ‘don’t we have
> to run the blower for a while before starting the engine?’    I just nodded
> and kept watching the jib’s luff.  She sighed, and said with resignation
> ‘so we’re not starting the engine’. And pushed up her sleeves in
> preparation for what was coming.
>
>
>
> We cut inside the first buoy very close, gaining every inch to windward
> possible.  Three boat lengths later we tacked, holding our breath about
> pushing outside the indicated channel... and so on till we were up and out
> of the narrows.  How many tacks?  I forget.    One difference between this
> time and last time with Pim, was that there was enough south in the 20
> knots of wind that we had to short tack out through the narrow exit channel
> as well as up through the approach to it...
>
>
>
> As we caught our breath close reaching out into Severn Sound, I said to
> Caroline ‘good work sweetheart, if we can wiggle the boat through that
> under sail in this wind, we can wiggle her through anything.   She nodded
> and said ‘but we wouldn’t have to, because we look after the engine
> properly, right?’
>
>
>
> Girls are so practical.
>
>
>
> So away toward home, taking long tacks port and starboard, past Gin Rocks,
> the pin off Beausoliel Island we call the ‘Mud Stick’ because it marks a
> long clay bank that brings 3’ of water nearly a mile out into the Sound.
> Remembered again the day years ago in the Folkboat we’d spent a good part
> of an afternoon hauling a larger fibreglass sloop off the bank, then got
> stuck ourselves while recovering our three anchors...and the guy took off
> and left us there...
>
>
>
> Considered reefing the main as we found we were dipping the rail but
> hesitated, which was a good thing because the air began softening right
> away.  We laughed about adjusting the old sailors adage that goes ‘the time
> to reef is when it first occurs to you’ into ‘the time to reef is after the
> second time it occurs to you because the first time may be too soon...’.
>
>
>
> After a slash into Midland Bay past Snake Island, we furled up and motored
> in, making a pit stop at the marine next door to the club to get a pump out
> and refuel so the boat will be ready for next weekend’s ‘Other Misery
> Trip’.     While the cute blond chicky in white shorts was doing our pump
> out, I made my usual joke while watching debris flow up the hose through
> the clear section... ‘oh there goes yesterday’s lunch, that was good, ah
> there goes last night’s supper, pork chops, yum’.   I thought I was
> hilarious but she was as inscrutable as Melania Trump, behind her
> sunglasses.
>
>
>
> So, next weekend, the Other Misery Trip, then haul out and the end of 2017
> Sailing... too soon... too soon.
>
>
>
> Gord
>
> #426 Surprise
>
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