The guys did some preparatory work on the rigging before appetizers, a shower and heading over to Alex’s on the Water for a pre-dinner cocktail. The marble on the bar was hot from the day’s sun and we sat listening to the entertainer strum his acoustic guitar and sing some oldies we all recognized. The local sports bar just up the street was our dinner destination.
As we arrived back at our boat, the occupants of the Beneteau next to us were arriving from a day of ‘back to school’ shopping. They were a family from Kingston who had aspirations of doing the same trip that we had just completed and were full of questions. We invited them aboard to see what our vessel had to offer in terms of livability and chat some more about our experiences ‘Livin’ the Dream’.
They were leaving at 3:00am to head back to Kingston in order to beat the fishing fleet out of the marina. They warned us about the morning activity and apologized in advance for any disruption of our sleep their departure might cause. None of us heard them leave. The arrival of the fishermen was another story altogether. Calling to each other like it was mid-day and having loud conversations as they walked from their vehicles to their boats, oblivious of any other patrons of the marina who may not want to wake up when it was still dark outside. One in particular, proudly yelled to a friend that he had woken his whole family at 4:00am when leaving. Now he had woken me at 4:15am…thanks for nothing!
We intended to rise early because the marina staff had indicated that they would be ready to start on our boat at 7:30am. I guess that was just their way of insuring that we were ready by 8:00am, when they actually intended to start. We were ready by 7:15am and waited ¾ of an hour for them to take us. While we waited, I made a nice hearty Italian stew of chicken and sausage with onions, carrots, mushrooms, red wine and San Marzano tomatoes…and of course, lots of garlic! With any luck, we’ll be eating that underway on our Lake Ontario crossing.
Bernie is a master. He and his wife Laurie are an amazing team. We moved across to the crane and he positioned the boat. Despite the wind, which of course was up, they replaced the mast without the slightest bit of stress, totally unruffled. He scaled the arch to secure a sling and then attached a line further up the mast and tied the two to support the mast as it was lifted off the supports. He directed the guys to hold, push, maneuver while he guided the foot of the mast to a small cart on the ground and then swung it around so that the shrouds were appropriately positioned and then lifted it and put it in the hole with Ken waiting below to deal with the wires and shout direction about where the masthead needed to move so that he could guide it into its keel resting place.