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Sunday, April 1, 2012
This is Spring!
Are you or someone in your life starting to show signs of irritability, tension, and dysphoria? How about stress, anxiety, difficulty in falling asleep, headache, fatigue, mood swings and increased emotional sensitivity? Are you drawn to large bodies of water to stand motionless at its edge staring at its impenetrable barrier of ice and wishing it to its melted demised? From where did this ailment come from that brings such anguish to your soul? Why are you not immune or can seek refuge through treatment, therapy or medications?
Cause you’re a sailor and this is spring!
Cast off the lines, chuck them on a weather beaten dock,
And let us turn our faces to the wind.
Away from traffic, away from an inviolable clock
And towards a beckoning blue horizon.
And let us turn our faces to the wind.
Away from traffic, away from an inviolable clock
And towards a beckoning blue horizon.
Now pause as we point directly to the wind;
To the mast we scramble and sort rigging;
Fasten the main, crank the winch around, and then
Up she goes, bright white flowing curtain.
To the mast we scramble and sort rigging;
Fasten the main, crank the winch around, and then
Up she goes, bright white flowing curtain.
Fall off, and lean, and our vessel takes a bow,
Unfurl this massive jib, and check its balance;
Suddenly released, our sailboat surges forward and we allow
A passing wave to splinter; salt spray splatters us.
Unfurl this massive jib, and check its balance;
Suddenly released, our sailboat surges forward and we allow
A passing wave to splinter; salt spray splatters us.
Whoosh! We're really moving! watch the water rush
With bubbles dancing, darting in our wake;
We grin and listen to the gentle shush
Along the waterline from Poseidon's lake.
With bubbles dancing, darting in our wake;
We grin and listen to the gentle shush
Along the waterline from Poseidon's lake.
A rhythm takes us soon, and over the tops of little hills we tumble
To a moment's breath, and then we rise again
Upon another shining wave, another scramble,
And another dip of the rail into the ocean.
To a moment's breath, and then we rise again
Upon another shining wave, another scramble,
And another dip of the rail into the ocean.
Emboldened by rising seas and stronger gusts of wind,
We dare to seek the sailors' holy grail:
The perfect tack, the quintessential jibe,
The rush of merging minds with bodies in an ancient tale.
We dare to seek the sailors' holy grail:
The perfect tack, the quintessential jibe,
The rush of merging minds with bodies in an ancient tale.
Sunburned and tired, we finally turn downwind
And revel in the peaceful late day's calm;
Sunset spreads its cream and purple wings, and we rescind
Our pleasures to the sea and steer towards home.
- M. Halyard
And revel in the peaceful late day's calm;
Sunset spreads its cream and purple wings, and we rescind
Our pleasures to the sea and steer towards home.
- M. Halyard
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Age of Aquarius.
This evening was truly a special event for the Blue Sky Sailing Club members. It was the ending of one phase but the beginning of another. We started the evening with the hauling out of our boats and then we looked to the stars with thoughts of voyages to come. We hauled out Andante and the CL 16 in preparation for their winter hibernation. The club members were out in force to pull down the sails and fold them for storage. The lowering of the masts went smoothly with many hands on the lines. All that’s left is to give them a scrub and tuck them in for the winter. It was a bit of a sad event but with great reflections of one of the best sailing seasons in recent years. We’ll be lifting Epic out on October 7. There’s still a chance to get in a few more sails until then (check the club’s calendar).
Once it got dark, we met with members of the North Bay Astronomy Club. Dave Roscoe, Bob Chapman, and friends, showed up bringing a variety of professional and homemade astronomy observing devices. We began the evening locating the Summer Triangle and progressed to stars such as Vega, Deneb and several M Clusters.
As the sky got darker, we moved on to binary stars, horses, teapots and inverted clothes hangers (no kidding). They shared not only the scientific explanations but also some of the mythological legends associated with the constellations that we were exploring through their telescopes. We also learned about sextants and celestial navigation with a demonstration of how to make your own sextant. The evening was top off with Jupiter rising in the east with three of its moons showing in almost perfect clarity.
Thanks to everyone for helping in getting Andante out (especially Jonathan for driving up) and many thanks to the North Bay Astronomy Club (www.gateway-to-the-universe.org/) for sharing with us the night sky and many of its wonders.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Reports of “The Flying Dutchman” has been sighted on Lake Nipissing!
Some of the readers of this Blog may have heard stories about the recent sightings of a mysterious sailing ship drifting aimlessly off the mouth of the LaVase River Lake Nipissing to never again reach a port or release its crew? Has the truth been finally been discovered in what otherwise has been considered a folklore from sailors of old? The Blue Sky Sailing Club now knows the answers to these dark questions.
The Mystery Solved!
In one of the past Blogs, it was mentioned the potential of journeying up the LaVase River LaVase River is one of the national historic waterways in Canada Canada LaVase River LaVase River
With tummies full and nerves at eased, we tried the motor (now cooled) to determine if calls for a rescue boat is warranted to get us back into our slip at the marina. The motor started fine and with the sails raised we headed back to the marina safely. The voyage would have to wait for another day.
The following day, yours truly, after finding even a newer crew (so much for trust in the Skipper) we headed out. Same plan, same destination, same determination. Winds were light again and the lee of the shore gave us a few problems. Near the mouth, we dropped sails, raised the keel, checked for weeds! and then motored into the mouth of the river. The entrance channel markers are a little confusing as there are many shoals surrounding the river’s mouth. Being the seasoned sailors that we were, a crew member was placed on the bow to scout out for shoals following the Skipper’s command (pay attention to the details of the command). With full confidence, man on the bow scouting, an old salty on the tiller, the objective of the voyage was finally being realized until that old salty noticed the tiller was getting higher in his hand. As I looked over the stern of the boat and realized that there was about only 10 inches of water over the sand bottom and getting even shallower fast. Thud! We were now beached in the middle of the mouth of the LaVase River
After lunch we tested the motor and it was not happy with us and continued to stall. We set our sails and headed back towards the marina. During our approach a few phone attempts were unsuccessfully made to locate a rescue boat so sailing into the marina without a motor was the second last option (note: skippers do not publicly share the last option as to ensure the availability of crew). Winds from the east, mouth of the busiest marina on the lake, lots of witnesses, little chance of success, the potential titles of the movie passed through our minds. We dropped the main, pulled out the paddles (in case) and sailed in just using our jib. With the winds from the east we kept close to the breakwater and prepared to tack when we reached the front of the boat houses. We made the tack but the lee of the shore took away our wind. We were drifting on whatever momentum we had left. A slight east breeze was going to push the boat on to the sharp rocks of the breakwater. After a few mighty tugs on the motor’s pull cord we were able get another 15 seconds of thrust from it’s weaken state. We came into contact of the slip with the bow at almost 90 degrees off and the crew jumped to save themselves (Skipper’s embellishment).
Are you considering visiting the historic LaVase River
Take Lakeshore Drive to Premier Road
and drive until you reach the end of it.
Take Lakeshore Drive to Premier Road
and drive until you reach the end of it.
Happy Sailing
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Nice Wind to the Islands
We were intending to go out and sail for a couple of hours, however the wind was perfect for a sail to the islands. My son John and his friend Matt were the crew. We sailed out in just over an hour and anchored for a swim and sandwich. Another perfect day. On the way back in we spotted a couple boats heading west. One boat was a trimaran. We gave a big wave.
Eagle Tracks at the Manitous
We have been itching to sail our boat somewhere, anchor it and spend the night. Thursday night was the choosen day so John and I provisioned the boat and set sail for the Manitou Islands.
We left the North Bay marina (A) at about 6:30 pm and headed out to the Manitou Islands (B). The distance is about 8.5 km. There was no wind so we motored out in about 50 minutes. We picked a spot and backed in to about 7 feet of water and dropped the anchor. We set it nicely and had no problems throughout the night. There was one motor boat nearby--also anchored for the evening.
We had been working on some sort of tarp system for the boat to protect us from sun and rain so we took the opportunity to set it up see how it looked. Seemed to work fine. We prepared dinner on the boat's origo stove and I was happy that everything worked well. We timed the water boiling at 7 minutes--not bad and the stove gave off little or no fumes and the meal was prepared easily. That night we read our books and looked out at the beautiful full moon. For a mast light we attached a prezil head lamp--worked perfect. The boat swung easily around the anchor throughout the night as the wind shifted and a cool breeze flowed in threw the forward hatch and out the screen at the hatch. John was out and slept till 10:30 the next morning. I was a bit restless and spent some time up on deck in the early morning watching the moon and stars. The moon went down at 4:20 am.
I was up at 8:30 and watched two eagles on the nearby beach. The male was perched on a limb, while the female stayed on the ground. At one point a raccoon chased the female, only to be chased away himself the the male eagle who swooped down protecting his mate.
Once John was up, we had a breakfast of bacon and eggs and jumped in the water for a swim to the beach. We walked along and explored looking for the eagle's nest. No luck. But we did find eagle tracks on the beach. Too cool. I remember the distinct three for-claws and the one rear talon. Just over 24 hours later I was holding eagle claws in my hands while participating in a native teaching ceremony at Project Dare--all very cool. We finished our exploring and swam back to the boat, hauled in the anchor and set out for North Bay. On the way home we turned on the auto pilot and sat up on the bow of the boat in the shade and enjoyed the ride home.
A great first experience sleeping on the boat away from the marina.
We left the North Bay marina (A) at about 6:30 pm and headed out to the Manitou Islands (B). The distance is about 8.5 km. There was no wind so we motored out in about 50 minutes. We picked a spot and backed in to about 7 feet of water and dropped the anchor. We set it nicely and had no problems throughout the night. There was one motor boat nearby--also anchored for the evening.
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| The full moon illuminates the water. |
We had been working on some sort of tarp system for the boat to protect us from sun and rain so we took the opportunity to set it up see how it looked. Seemed to work fine. We prepared dinner on the boat's origo stove and I was happy that everything worked well. We timed the water boiling at 7 minutes--not bad and the stove gave off little or no fumes and the meal was prepared easily. That night we read our books and looked out at the beautiful full moon. For a mast light we attached a prezil head lamp--worked perfect. The boat swung easily around the anchor throughout the night as the wind shifted and a cool breeze flowed in threw the forward hatch and out the screen at the hatch. John was out and slept till 10:30 the next morning. I was a bit restless and spent some time up on deck in the early morning watching the moon and stars. The moon went down at 4:20 am.
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| View from the forward hatch. The camera flash has illuminated the picutre, but the moonlight was bright enough for our own eyes to see the deck and beach in the distance. |
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| The First Mate sound asleep. |
I was up at 8:30 and watched two eagles on the nearby beach. The male was perched on a limb, while the female stayed on the ground. At one point a raccoon chased the female, only to be chased away himself the the male eagle who swooped down protecting his mate.
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| Both eagles are on the right of the tree. The male, half way up, and the female on the ground. |
Once John was up, we had a breakfast of bacon and eggs and jumped in the water for a swim to the beach. We walked along and explored looking for the eagle's nest. No luck. But we did find eagle tracks on the beach. Too cool. I remember the distinct three for-claws and the one rear talon. Just over 24 hours later I was holding eagle claws in my hands while participating in a native teaching ceremony at Project Dare--all very cool. We finished our exploring and swam back to the boat, hauled in the anchor and set out for North Bay. On the way home we turned on the auto pilot and sat up on the bow of the boat in the shade and enjoyed the ride home.
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| View from the stern showing the distance we swam to the beach. A great morning workout. |
A great first experience sleeping on the boat away from the marina.
Monday Night Group Sail Double Hitter with a Home Run
Well, you've couldn't have asked for better evening.
The Club met at the marina at 6:00 pm and piled into our boats. Wind was out of the NE at 5 - 7 knots and we covered about 20 km before the first part of the evening was over. Between Nibissing High School and Sunset Point we were able to cover all points of sail and played a little Cat & Mouse chase between the boats. A golden red to purple sunset saluted us as we headed back in to the marina. The temperature was perfect. We had a short break at the marina dropping off crew and picking up new crew and back out we went at about 9:30 pm. There was a light breeze so we set the genoa and sailed to the south towards Deep Water Point. Our goal was to see the last of the Perseid Meteor Shower and we weren't disappointed. They were so fast that there was a lot of "Did you see that" on the boat. The shower was passed its peak but we weren't disappointed. We saw a few satellites of which one was large enough to just to make out its panel wings (four tight points of light). The stars grew brighter and more numerous as the dusk slowly faded. It was interesting to reflect that these were the same stars we were looking at that the Norse Explorers used to find North America (Canada's first non-aboriginals on the east coast). At just past 10:30 pm, out of WSW, a very bright point of light quickly rose and traveled almost directly overhead us (60 degrees) and headed to the NE. It was the International Space Station (verified on the puter back home).
We also had fun determining the flashing navigation markers and sharing stories about past sailing adventures on the lake. "Did I tell you the one about the shoal that got in the way? No, seriously, the sneaky bugger must had moved!". As the Air Canada Jazz flew into the Bay on its last flight and a waning gibbous moon rose from the SE, we turned north and motored back to the marina. It was the quietest docking we ever experienced (note to self: should of check the gas level before we left eh?).
Friday, August 12, 2011
A Quiet Trip to Callander Bay.
We sailed out to Callander Bay Manitou Islands ) somewhere within Callander Bay and then sail back to North Bay LaVase River (a famous historical waterway and one of our proposed future adventures) or to motor down to Callander Bay Smith Island
Along the way we passed the Main Channel Lighthouse and had to give way to the Chief Commanda on one of its evening cruise (we recommend it).
We made a bit of short cut on the west side of Morrison Island Grand Trunk Island Smith Island Lake Nipissing but still allowed a breeze from it. The bottom of the bay was clay and with aquatic plants (not great swimming). We made sure that our anchor was well set in case Mother Nature decided to throw a few dices at us (a past experience lesson). At this time of year, there were few biting insects but lots of beautiful blue damsel flies who frequented our boat. A chardonnay 2009 (Ontario
We arose from our beds at 7:30 am had a wonderful breakfast of local eggs with smoked Thornloe cheddar and home made hashed browns with local onion. We pulled anchor at 9:50 (August 7) with overcast skies and light winds from the east. We motored from our anchorage to the eastern opening of the main channel that leads from Callander Bay into Lake Nipissing and then we set our sails. We sailed out to the furthest starboard buoy (green) and then started tacking north back to the North Bay Marina. In keeping with Lake Nipissing ’s tradition (wait fifteen minutes it will change) we had N to NE winds 10 to 17 knots. To avoid the off shore effect (east winds off the eastern shore) we ended up half way to the Manitou Islands (from North Bay) then started to tack back. Once we were off the shore of the St Joseph Mother House, we could then point directly to the marina (note: there are some several deadheads along this shore, so please keep an eye out). We arrived at the North Bay Marina at 12:50 and had our lunch (green salad and kohlrabi salad again with Farmer’s Market cinnamon buns) in the Marina
This was a simple overnight cruise with great scenery and we recomend it highly.
Happy Sailing :)
This was a simple overnight cruise with great scenery and we recomend it highly.
Happy Sailing :)
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