Sorry for the delay in posting to this Blog. I truly hope to keep it up
going forward. You will ALSO note that the new Predict Wind tracker
allows me to do short daily posts while underway!

Preparing the boat to leave it for the Canadian summer at home was not
an easy task. It took 2 ½ weeks preparation at the downtown marina in
Papeete and then we motored around the airport (literally) to Marina
Taina for another 2 weeks where we would leave Hedonism. Preparations
included removing the sails to store in the cabin, service the engine,
generator and other systems, and pack the refrigerator with everything
we could including flour, rice and anything that might spoil over time.
We left the fridge “on” at 6.5C for the time we were off the boat; that
would run (and did) off the solar. The freezer was emptied and shut
down. We arranged for a “guardian” to come and check on the boat weekly
during our absence.

Then we were off to Thunder Bay via French Bee’s A350 to San Francisco
and then to Thunder Bay via air Canada’s Red Eye flight through Toronto.
That was a long day! We arrived and settled in quickly except there was
still this white stuff around!

The summer went by quickly. Visiting the Sheldon, Payton and Atari a
lot, helping Ryan and Crystal build a new “pole barn”, camping with the
grandkids, and going to the fair to name a few. I also did some flying
during the summer including a week flying out of Sudbury, our old home.
I got in a quick visit to North Bay while there to drop off some of
Shawnda’s things to her mom from the storage unit and visit the
cemetery. It was short because I needed to fly up to Timmins that
evening to do a charter to Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay) the next day. I
hadn’t been in Iqaluit since about 2000 when I ferried Mathias’ Mu-2
back from Germany. We left Timmins early in the morning and had to stop
in Moosonee for the customer then a fuel stop in Kuujjuarapik (don’t
hurt yourself) (used to be Great Whale) and then on to Iqaluit.
Southbound we stopped again in Kuujjuarapik for fuel and then on to
Timmins and then Sudbury. 2900 nm in one day. Not bad considering we did
3960 nm in Hedonism but it took a little longer; 29 days.

The summer was fun. We put the trailer in the same park as before,
“Happy Land” in Kakabeka (SP?) Falls. The grandkids visited and swam in
the pool and stayed overnight. Earlier in the season I was in the
trailer when a storm blew through. A “downburst” hit the park and many
trees were uprooted including one that fell on the trailer awning.
Insurance came through but a couple with their retirement motor home
next to me were not so lucky. They were not hurt the motor home ended up
being a write off!

On the camping side, Laurie and I took the grandkids camping out near
North Lights Lake for a few days. We boated, fished and spent a lot of
time on the beach.

I took the opportunity one week to “jump seat” over to Calgary to visit
Shawnda for a couple of days. It was her busy season but none the less,
we had a good visit. I got to see her again at the end of September when
I flew out to drive her Jeep back to Thunder Bay.

And, before we knew it, summer was over. We flew back to Papeete from
Ottawa again via San Francisco. This time however we booked a couple of
nights in SFO so we could provision, pick up some boat parts that I had
waiting for me at a UPS Store and look around. Even took an hour
“cruise” in San Francisco Bay, right by Alcatraz prison.

We arrived back at the boat after the all night flight on French Bee.
All as good except “someone” decided to move our boat in our absence.
Not a problem except they allowed the stern to hit the concrete dock and
damaged the stern. The marina would not own up to it and said it was the
wind…Well, we had been warned about the possibility of north winds and
had Hedonism tied 8 feet off the dock; too far for a normal boarding
ladder. But the damage is done. We did a temporary repair for now but it
will require attention the next time we haul.

So, we unpacked and started putting the boat back together and install
our new Water Maker…..That is another story….