Vicki
2012/07/16, Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club

We are down to the final hours, rearranging the boat, last load of laundry and groceries, returning the rental car. I can't believe after all this time, that here we are. I must admit to more than one butterfly in my stomach. Paul is very calming, he just keeps working the steps and if I follow his lead, I feel better.

I would like to thank the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club, especially the ladies in the kitchen, for taking such good care of us, we could't have done these final steps without your care and laughter. Thanks to Leo for the use of his key. Thanks to Dan for driving us and the use of his Costco membership for provisioning. Thank you to Craig and Mary Carol for the great dinner of so many types of protein, it will carry us through for the first couple of days, and for picking us up at the rental car.

I will be posting blogs and adding to the map. We will not be able to add pictures or to read comments. But we will be taking pictures to share later. And please do add comments, we love reading them and will catch up in Ireland. The weather here couldn't have been nicer, sunny in the day and cooling down in the evening. Hopefully that will follow us for a while!

Comments [16]

Vicki
2012/07/14, RNYC

Paul kept saying that Gibbs, his son and our fourth crew member, would arrive at 4:00 on Saturday. Friday at 6 we get a phone call from him "Where are we?" He had arrived at the airport and taken a taxi in St. John's to find our sailboat. Luckily I heard the phone and we had a rental car. Half an hour later I was picking him up and brought him to the boat. Paul was confused.

If it is normal to see Al with a tool in his hand, Gibbs said it was normal to see him with a coffee mug in his hand. Actually the guys are preparing for a day of work on the boat, final details. I have to sew a strap to go around our back that attaches to a bar in front of the stove. That way you can have two hands to cook with, at least that is the idea. And then on to the grocery store to stock up on supplies. Weather is looking good for a Monday afternoon departure.

Comments [7]

Vicki
2012/07/13, RNYC

I am sitting in the clubhouse of the yacht club. The view across the bay is wonderful, two big islands, high cliffs and a big oil tanker. They anchor in this bay because it is out of the worst of the Atlantic but close to the Grand Banks. Oil has replaced cod as the major product of the Grand Banks. The tanker is waiting for it's turn to go out to the oil rig and pick-up it's load of oil.

Al, one of our crew mates arrived, Paul picked him up from the airport around 2:30 in the morning so we had a sleep-in this morning. We then, of course, put him to work up the mast. Being a guest on our boat does not come free!

Tomorrow Gibbs, Paul's son, joines us. Starting Monday, we wait for the weather window and then we are off. Have I mentioned that the music we generally hear around these parts is country?

Comments [4]

Vicki
2012/07/12, Long Pond

I knew there was a reason I packed shorts! Finally we can wear them.

Yesterday we spent most of the day going around the north end of Avalon Peninsula and down to the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club. There are no facilities for pleasure craft in the St. John's harbor (diesel, water, showers and laundry). And again we had sunshine, no fog or rain. It was a glorious sail and we were close to the shoreline so we could see the terrain. This area has incredibly steep hills, not much of a plateau at the top, and then almost a sheer drop on the other side. We were within a ¼ nautical mile from shore and the depth was still 450 feet.

I can' believe how helpful and friendly people are. Someone drive Paul to the car rental and then went with me to Costco. I used his membership to stock up - great place to prepare for a crossing. The weather is still holding sunny and warm. I am actually beginning to look forward to the crossing.

Comments [0]

Vicki
2012/07/10

We have finally arrived at St. John's. We had fog everywhere on the south coast of Newfoundland about two weeks. Once we turned the corner at Cape Race to head north on the east coast the fog cleared and we had a beautiful blue sky. Lots of birds, even saw some puffins. Now all we have to do is finaly preparations for the crossing, pick up crew members from the airport and we are ready to head across.

Comments [6]

vicki
2012/07/07, Little St. Lawrence Harbor

Surprise! We are still in Little St. Lawrence Harbor. The weather didn't turn out as planned, so we took the safe option and stayed put. We are definitely now on the Atlantic Ocean and feel a need to be safe. The two days at anchor have been productive. I finished the 990 knots, the 660 webbing into the line and the drogue is now complete. Paul did get the solenoid switch to work for propane so we don't have to go out back to open the tank every time we want to cook. Plus he worked on the hinges for the cockpit compartments to make them safer in case of a boarding wave and made the companionway hatch more secure. So we are getting ready for the big crossing. We are hoping to leave today, if so we should be in St. John's by Monday. Wish us luck!

Comments [0]