Trip to leamington was a blast- wind right off the starboard bow and up to 20MPH, we averaged over 6 knots until we slowed down to motor in, and hit 8.1 once. Thought about reefing, but really didn't need to, the boat handled it great. Leamington was a really nice municipal marina, and nice people working there. Only thing was the no bbq rule, so went out for dinner. Found a nice place, over by the ferry dock, and watched the young guys cruise back and forth with their cars and trucks (some thing never change!!).
Walked 2 miles to get to Timmy's Sunday AM (1 way!!) and they didn't have butter tarts, bear claws, apple fritters, nothing...WHat the hell is my home country coming to? Their coffee is ok, but not worth that walk without pastries!!

Sitting in the rain isn't so bad- the last two days were fantastic sailing and wiped us out, so this is ok for the rest. BUT..it is getting a little old now after 6 hours!!
Funky little marina- no one was here last night or today, but showers are open and power is on, so all is good.
Took off this morning for Colchester to get out of the river (the current is tough and its shallow!) but the thunder clouds came rolling in, so made it a grand total of about 3 miles!! Whatever..is what it is...
Grilled chicken tenderloins for a salad last night and burgers today, I think MAGMA is the best thing ever on a boat!!
You can go over to Amerstburg by ferry, but not doing that in the rain, so here we sit..at least we have Wi-Fi.

A week and a half before we launch- now if Mother Nature would play along- that would help. Deck paint is done, kiwi grip is on (except for a square foot or so in the cockpit- too bad the gallon wasn't a gallon and a pint!), stantions are mounted, front lifelines on, two coats of varnish on the comings. Time to put the stern rail back on and have to reseal the windows (again!!- buytl tape is not thick enough for this wavy sided boat!).
The rudder is out, and while looking for the bushing that was somewhere in the boat, I lost my mind tripping over stuff and we stripped everything out of her yesterday. Need to get organized!! On a positive note- I found the bushing! Need to get it back in, and we'll lift the rudder in on launch day.
Looks so much better now, I guess we have to see how the kiwi-grip holds up, but its crazy easy to put on- we would highly recommend it.
So todays list is reseal the windows, reinstall stern rail, one more coat of varnish, glue in rudder bushing, etc.,etc.
Still don't have my furler and stays, its starting to worry me a bit, I at least need the stays here on launch day. I'll call Sailcare again tomorrow.
If we every see the sun again here, this is what it looks like going down from the marina!!

Whow, what a winter....finally time to get to work on Genevieve without freezing to death!! We got all the deck hardware pulled off last week and started with the epoxy filling yesterday. Back today to finish with putty and sanding and get ready for her new deck paint and no-skid.
We decided to use kiwi grip for the no-skid, so we'll see how that goes, everything we have read raves about it. This will be a big transformation for her this spring- the sails are at sailcare, a roller furler is on the way along with new fore and back stays. I got a killer deal on hardware from Garhuear at the Toronto boat show, so new traveler, genoa blocks, topping lift setup and main sheet are all going on, along with the new paint (hopefully it will finally cover the coal dust that just keeps leaking out of the gel coat) and rub rail. Oh and reseal the windows, and the deck hardware and new dual line/ center gate stations... hardly anything to do.....yikes.............
The inside of the boat is on the back burner this spring, and Sue is not impressed, but she'll appreciate the way it will perform now ( I hope..). And it will look better from the outside!! And it will be way safer for everyone, with stations that you might have a chance of not ripping off in your hands if needed and the roller furler keeping me off the fore deck. I kind of like the waves coming over my knees when I'm up there wrestling with a sail, but Sue does not have my sense of humor about it!
OK, time to get moving, and I'll try to remember to get some pictures today.

Fall is coming fast..yuk....Sitting on the couch watching it rain this morning, while wishing it was July again! Why do the days move faster now, as I get older? This sucks..
Genevieve went through her paces the last couple weeks, we had family come from Ontario and rented a house on Kelly's island for the weekend, and I thought I would sail her up for the weekend, and we could all go out sailing. Except, the wind/waves did not cooperate at all. Got there Ok, then waves coming right out of the south west Saturday, so that would not have been fun for anyone. NP, it will make for a good trip back home Sunday..
Opps...Woke up to 20 knot winds out of the NE and that makes Lake Erie very angry!!!
Not bad until we cleared the lee of the island and then it was no good. Eight footers right off the port front quarter. I had Lavelle with me and thought if I kill him and myself, Sue and Melissa will be pissed!! Headed for Sandusky and got the boat stashed at Cedar Point marina (aka- give me all your money marina).
Last weekend Sue and I got a drive up there on Sat from Lavelle and Mel and we went to the boat show they have every fall and looked at things we will never be able to afford. Devin got his first touch of boat life!! We stayed over until Sunday then sailed her home. Cedar point has one crazy thing- all the shore power is 50 Amp, so you need to buy an adapter (at crazy amusement park prices)..you can rent one, but of course I had already bought one...
BTW..they don't stay on the shore power cable without the locking ring installed, they will fall off and go directly to the bottom of the lake; just saying...
Hmm...where is this water coming from on the floor of the head? Perhaps from the corroded clamp on a fitting for the fresh water tank that has filled up the forward blige....So a small repair/cobbling and some pumping out once we got back to Lorain and then we could get back home. Oh well, at least it cleaned the hull nicely....
Going to be an expensive winter I'm thinking.......

The last two weekends were great- last weekend was our 24th wedding anniversary and we took it off work, so decided to sail to the islands. Left Sat for Kelly's Island, and it was great wind- ran 6 knots or better the whole way. Stayed at Searay Marina- ok place, but a little dis-organized for as busy as it is on a summer weekend. Left the next morning for a short trip over to South Bass Island (Put in Bay). It's quiet there on Sundays!! Travelled around both islands on golf carts, and saw some cool stuff we hadn't before. Actually we decided to rent a cottage on Kelly's in a couple weeks for a family get together.
Ahh yes, and boat stuff- 12 V stuff starting dieing for no reason- radios, lights, nav lights, etc. Finally figured out the main ground buss bar feed had come loose.
Yesterday went with a couple friends for a trip to Vermillion for lunch (HA HA- more like dinner)- good sail down- bad on the way back- wind and waves right on our nose. Had a rough time getting the foresail down- I see roller furling in our future!! I know Sue always worries when I am up on the foredeck and it's rough, and honestly, its not all that fun!!
Found a new switch on Genevieve- it's to shut off the shore power and is in the very back of the starboard cockpit locker. Didn't know it was there, and apparently, when things shift in the locker, it can get shut off!! Well, it was an easy fix, and no wiring involved! Duh....