To the top!

I've had lots of trips up masts this spring, since I have a climbing harness, and have fun doing it.  Generally the trip up is quick - just to remove the mast crane strap from the mast, when it is attached above the spreaders.  This trip, though, was to attach the topping lift on Sea Sharp's mast - a Nonsuch, with an unstayed mast.  It was my first time to the top of a mast, and this one was quite wobbly.  I managed the job without dropping any of the bits, and enjoyed a great view.

Sailpast 2013

Sailpast 2013 fell on our 28th wedding anniversary!  It was a breezy day, and our first sail of the season.  We headed out a little early, and zipped around the harbour under (our new) headsail alone, making 6.5 knots.  We rolled up some sail, and were still making over 5 knots, so when it was actually time to 'sail' past, we rolled up the sail and motored past.  We joined a group on the tennis courts for snacks, since none of our immediate boat neighbors were around, then enjoyed the Commodore's Punch Bowl before dinner.

Getting ready for another season

This is that great time of year - the start of sailing season on Lake Ontario.  The boat was launched on April 14, and we took advantage of the warm weather this weekend to step the mast.  All that's left now is to hoist the sails, including the new #2 headsail we had made at North Sail over the winter.   Sailpast is in a couple of weeks, and we're starting to plan our summer cruise and booking sailing dates with friends.  Club members are slowly returning from wherever they hauled their boats, and we look forward to catching up after the winter.  We're awaiting the return of some QCYC cruisers who spent the winter in the Bahamas, and can't wait to hear the stories they didn't include in their blogs.  We're watching the weather and planning a few boat jobs to take care of over the summer.  This is that great time of year.    

A little break from winter

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. 

Haul Out 2012

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.