Winter has really just begun, but we left for some sun! We took a Caribbean cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas, starting in Puerto Rico, with stops in BVI, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Guadeloupe and Barbados. In St. Kitts, we took the Rail & Sail tour, which makes almost a complete circumnavigation of the island. I would have liked a little less rail and a little more sail. In St. Maarten, we came across Voyageur 10-10 which was hauled while Ken and Carol returned to Canada for the holidays.
The first weekend of haul out started pretty slowly. There were lots of boats hauling out at QCYC for the first time, so it sometimes took a while to get the boat positioned well in its cradle. One little oops, where thankfully nothing major damaged, delayed us even further. Just couldn't seem to get much momentum going. We had been so excited to see Prime Interest on the board early on the first day, but the boat which was slotted to come out just ahead of us was one of those which needed to modify their cradle. Oh well. We got hauled pretty early on the second weekend, and had lots of time to wash the boat. The next day we got the cover on and the engine winterized, so the big jobs are all taken care of.
We were lucky to have great guests visit us this weekend. On Friday evening, Saul and Angela came to the club, and after a drink aboard, we enjoyed the Corn & Weenie Roast and watched the pigs being prepared for Saturday's Pig Roast. Patrice and Steve came on Saturday, and we went out to enjoy the Air Show of the CNE. When we returned, we enjoyed a great spread which Patrice provided - baguette, salami, cheese, olives and tomatoes!
On Sunday, Joanne and Keith came with their children Kayla, Fiona and Liam. Since they arrived just after the tender left the city, I asked Ed to come to the city side to pick us up - first time single-handing! We again enjoyed the Air Show, and as we motored back, I was sitting up at the bow with the kids. Ed turned to head into the waves created by a power boat, and the four of us got drenched as a wave came over the bow. Great fun.
Ed and I were hoping to have some guests aboard this weekend, but as that didn't work out, were were just planning to go out for a day sail. Since the weather forecast was excellent for both Saturday and Sunday, we made a last minute decision to head over to Bronte. Along the way, I called Andrew, and we were glad that he and Deb could join us for dinner. Later, we dropped by Blue Wing and enjoyed a visit with Ian and Shauna. We saw what appeared to be a stuffed dog on a dock when we entered Bronte Outer Harbour Marina - strange. It turns out that these decoys are effective at discouraging Canada geese from taking over the docks.
We had some friends aboard today for a wonderful sailing day. I know Susan and Michael from the curling club, and it turns out that Susan also works at Scotiabank. Derek & Hayley, also from the curling club, were able to join us. After our sail, as we were enjoying a refreshment in the cockpit, we saw both Allure and Silver Fox II set out on their adventures, and joined in tooting our horn to send them safely on their way. Tapas left the following day, and we are now following each boat's blog, as they make their way south.
Winter has really just begun, but we left for some sun! We took a Caribbean cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas, starting in Puerto Rico, with stops in BVI, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Guadeloupe and Barbados. In St. Kitts, we took the Rail & Sail tour, which makes almost a complete circumnavigation of the island. I would have liked a little less rail and a little more sail. In St. Maarten, we came across Voyageur 10-10 which was hauled while Ken and Carol returned to Canada for the holidays.
The first weekend of haul out started pretty slowly. There were lots of boats hauling out at QCYC for the first time, so it sometimes took a while to get the boat positioned well in its cradle. One little oops, where thankfully nothing major damaged, delayed us even further. Just couldn't seem to get much momentum going. We had been so excited to see Prime Interest on the board early on the first day, but the boat which was slotted to come out just ahead of us was one of those which needed to modify their cradle. Oh well. We got hauled pretty early on the second weekend, and had lots of time to wash the boat. The next day we got the cover on and the engine winterized, so the big jobs are all taken care of.
We had some friends aboard today for a wonderful sailing day. I know Susan and Michael from the curling club, and it turns out that Susan also works at Scotiabank. Derek & Hayley, also from the curling club, were able to join us. After our sail, as we were enjoying a refreshment in the cockpit, we saw both Allure and Silver Fox II set out on their adventures, and joined in tooting our horn to send them safely on their way. Tapas left the following day, and we are now following each boat's blog, as they make their way south. 