The cure for everything is salt water; sweat, tears and the sea. - Isak Denesen
Some of you have been asking what happened to the blog recording our adventure. And a lot of you have asked if I am going to continue it this year.
The adventure continues.
Last spring it ended abruptly, I will admit. However it wasn't planned that way. Everyone is busy, so our lives may not necessarily be the exception. Nevertheless the summer of 2013 passed so swiftly, at home in St Catharines, that we hardly knew there was a summer at all. We did a move into our home there and a major renovation which ate up practically every waking hour.
After we put Chances on 'the hard" in Ft Pierce in Riverview Marina last spring, our lives went into overdrive.
Even though we bought our condo here in Stuart furnished, it still had two bedrooms which had to be furnished completely new. The carpet had to be steam cleaned and the woodwork, cupboards and shelving required passing the white glove test. In Chrissie's opinion, no condo worth its salt should exist without proper interior decoration. Off to Home Outfitters, Home Sense and such, where there were new rugs, pictures, and "knick-knacks" to be purchased and arranged. The dishwasher and microwave didn't live up to their expectations, so they died from misuse. Replace.
All of this with trying to ensure Chances made it through the summer without disintegrating, and back then, working on a short timeline to head back to native soil, everything became a whirlwind of activity.
From our last blog in May, you know that we arrived in Ft Pierce on April 20th , which means it is starting to get hot, - very hot -,in Florida. However, Chances had to be put to bed for the summer. Anything that was susceptible to mould or rot in the high humidity had to be removed and stored off the boat. I decided since we were on solid ground, it would be a good time to get some things done before the fall launch. Not much had to be fixed, but things that were annoying while under way last winter made up at least a page of "TO DO's". There was a water leak coming from the area by where water enters the exhaust manifold pipe. I removed all the insulation around it and sure enough, the weld had broken. So after a lot of muscle and skinned knuckles it parted from the engine block where it had resided for 17 years. Also, de-masted to find out why the cables and halyards were banging away inside the mast whenever there was a heavy swell - usually in the middle of the night. I have a lot of small but necessary jobs before heading back out to sea.
Well, here we are back in Stuart on November 5th - after a cruise to the Caribbean with our good friends, Alan and Leslie,- with a launch objective of November 18th.
To be sure this would be a good work day, this morning I checked the Weather Channel before driving up to Ft Pierce. With a straight face the weather lady said now that the humidity finally is clearing out, it was starting to feel like fall was on its way. Today though would be mainly sunny with a few clouds and a 10% chance of showers. Then to prove that fall was definitely on its way she said the temperature would only be 79 F !! As it turns out, she was as wrong as if she worked at Environment Canada. There were no clouds but the actual temperature today was 85 degrees F. I have to give her some credit though; there was no humidity. In our experience, fall is definitely is not in the air. Later today I spoke to the lady who looks after the general affairs of the condo corporation who is from "up north" in Connecticut and she agrees, these people have no clue about how we live in northern climes. Imagine having to suffer through 8 to 10 days this winter when the temperature might go down into the forties overnight and you may have to wear a light jacket during the day.
Last spring I had covered Chances with some inexpensive tarps to kind of shade the boat and cover the dinghy which I had deflated and laid face down on the deck. I have posted a picture in which you can see the plastic tarps completely disintegrated from the UV rays or.... maybe the plastic melted. After they were removed we had to sweep the deck as most all was left were dust pans full of strands of plastic. We did what we could for a few hours but had to leave before we were cooked alive. There was no humidity, but also no breeze and no shelter in a yard completely surrounded by boats larger than us. The yard is humming with activity as all the cruisers are arriving, freshening up their boats and launching. Everyone wants to talk about where they have been and where they are headed this year
And now some important news. A lot of you have been asking what ever happened to Leroy the cat who journeyed with us down the ICW through some very adverse conditions. Leroy has experienced some healthy adventures, shared only by a few of the luckiest cats in their lifetime. He stood watch coming down the Erie canal, laid around New York City, suffered a storm at sea coming down the New Jersey coast, fell in love with the Chesapeake area but most of all he, like us thrilled at the journey though the Dismal Swamp canal. That was his favorite, I'm sure. He loved to sit up under the dodger and watch the jungle-like forest so close on both sides glide by. He had wild eyed experiences as well, such as living through the arrival of Hurricane Sandy at the end of two anchors, the frosty nights through South Carolina although he slept in comfort under his blanket tent. But the trip for Leroy ended when we arrived here in Stuart at Christmas time. This is a pet free condo village so knowing that in advance, we decided Leroy would live better back in Canada. We boarded him for the winter and spring at our daughter's home in Woodbridge, then to a pet hotel until we got back home. The lady who owns the place fell in love with him and adopted him permanently. He lives in a perfect retirement home, hopefully with the memories of a great adventure. We still miss him though mainly because of his "purrfect" personality.
This year I have planned on doing a lot of solo sailing as Chrissie has "swallowed the anchor". I knew it would eventually happen as she is not as comfortable on the sea as she is on terra firma. She has adapted well to condo living with her pool and all the conveniences within arm's reach. However since I have a few years of wandering left and a sea worthy boat to do it in, there are lots of islands over the horizon to explore. I will look for mates to help whenever I can find them but am comfortable setting out on my own. After launch I am waiting for the decision of a couple of other captains; George and Jackie on Heritage, and Mike Benson on Soulstice II, to arrive here in the St Lucie inlet. From there I will find out which information and waypoints they plan to put in their Chartplotters and will "buddy boat" with them. The official cruising rules dictate I have to leave the USA with Chances for a minimum of 15 days before I can re-enter and get a new permit to cruise the waters of the USA. The closest other country is the Bahamas so it makes sense to head back across the Gulf Stream. So the plan is to finish the few jobs on the boat, continue to look for crew, launch, and head out to the Abacos, east of Grand Bahama Island
That may change. I will let you know in the next installment.