Picture shows; Keeping warm out on the Lake!

More pics on Google Photos; https://photos.app.goo.gl/MGiHNWFzF3o6KvSH7

Well, here we are back in Port Whitby, Canada! We arrived here in a roundabout way; two days in New York, ten days in Rochester preparing the boat for launch, and a very cold passage across Lake Ontario!

It rained almost all the time we were in New York, we went to Times Square but ended escaping the rain in the Hard Rock Café. During a dry couple of hours we did manage to take the Staten Island ferry and got great views of Manhattan Island, albeit under dark skies!

We'd booked an Airbnb in Rochester, just a small comfortable studio, which was very handy as we worked our way through the list of tasks to complete before launching. We worked hard sanding and painting Quilcene's hull and it was nice to have somewhere to stay, shower and cook away from the boat! We had also rented a car for a week and were able to stock the cupboards with all the heavy stuff.

Slowly Quilcene began to look shipshape, and launch day came around - it's always a tense time wondering if all is watertight and functioning correctly, but it went smoothly and we were afloat once again! Next we fitted the sails ready for the trip across the Lake.

Most of the docks in Rochester are fixed as the lake is not tidal, but at present they're often under an inch under water so we had to paddle to get on the boat! The electricity supply we'd used last year is also underwater so they'd installed new shoreside posts to hook up to. The Great Lakes' water levels are at record highs after an unusually wet spring and the snow melt. It made fendering very difficult as they just floated. There is flooding all around the Lakeshore and a state of emergency has been announced for NY State counties on the lakes. Many boat owners have delayed launching as most of the marinas and docks are under water and few have functioning electric hook-ups. It was like this in 2017 and they said it was a 'once in a hundred-year occurrence'!

It's high time that serious global action is taken to combat Climate Change.

Rochester Marina did have some good points tho'; namely a bar/restaurant called Schooners where we could get a refreshing beer after a hard day's sanding and painting. One evening they had a great band playing jazz and rock classics. We even had a dance!! ....and with Kits creaky knees too!!!

We crossed the Lake to Canada on 27th May and had a calm but bitterly cold 12-hour passage! Despite the sunshine it was only 7C in the cockpit when we were out on the Lake. The water temperature was 7C too so any breeze across the water felt icy. We had thermals, fleeces, woolly hats, gloves and full weatherproofs on!

Port Whitby has floating docks secured to the bottom with chains, so the water level isn't causing too much of a problem here although some of the chains have had to be lengthened we're told. Facilities are better here, with washing machines, dryers, and lovely warm clean shower rooms.
Kit's brother Peter lives a few miles away so it's great to be able to visit him and Pat again

We removed the sails again and had the mast lifted off and laid on trestles in the yard. There were several jobs to be done; changing lights, retrieving lost halyards, rewiring and replacing the VHF radio antenna, replacing the wind instrument etc. That's been keeping Kit busy, along with fitting a much-needed new heater in the boat. The latter task was quite difficult as he was working in a confined space in the cockpit locker!
The weather is sunshine and showers but it's still quite chilly! When the wind blows from the north it's cold, and when it blows from the south across the lake it's cold! Last May here was much warmer. Roll on summer!

Our plans to head down the St Lawrence are on hold for a while as parts of the River and Seaway are hazardous to small craft because of flooding, increased flow rates and debris in the water. We're in no hurry to leave Port Whitby as we have other maintenance work that's been put off for a while so now is as good a time as any to get on with it! Then we'll take our time and stick to Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands until the water level situation improves.

No hurry - no worry!