Friends and Family

This is Molly and Kalli

Jon and I had a fantastic Christmas; we went to Connecticut to visit his parents, brother, and sister's family. Christmas was at his sisters and brother-in-law who always know how to cook up a great time, and meal (Thanks Kapoo). On our way down we stopped by to see our friends Rick and Pam (we bought Kasidah from them). It was a superb time. We had lunch with them and they gave us a tour of their new Trawler boat, which is huge, compared to Kasidah. Their dearly loved dog Molly died a month after they
had brought home another Norfolk terrier pup named Kalli, it’s
odd how that kind of stuff happens. These dogs are so mellow and intelligent. Our dogs got to
meet her and go outside to play with her a little.

Jill & I playing with dogs

Jon,Rick,me and Pam

Holiday Message

As the Christmas holiday approaches, many different emotions hit people for many different reasons. Of course there was a big holiday just before this,Thanksgiving, and one soon to follow, New Years.

We believe, as do others, that these three holidays, or the Trilogy of Holidays, are put together for a reason.

1^st comes Thanksgiving. This holiday’s origin in our country gives Thanks to the Lord at the end of a harvest season. Since then we have rightfully included giving thanks for the many things in our life. So we reflex on our lives, some recognize and realize that life is good, some reflex and might see room for improvement. Some are thankful for what they have, others are thankful for what they can do to help others or have done. Some people just have a BIG meal, a paid day off from work with some good football games.

Next comes Christmas. We celebrate the birth of Jesus, Son of God. As Kings and Wise men showered him with gifts, we now exchange gifts with each other, friends and loved ones, fellow workers, and even total strangers. Our focus turns to our faith, the depths of which very from a pretty Christmas card with a picture of the Nativity Scene, to reassessment of our believes. We spend this day with family and friends. We go to great expense to travel, share time and gifts, and beliefs with family and friends. Some people just have a BIG meal, a paid day off from work with some good football games.

Finally comes New Years, where we usher in the next Year with great fanfare and remember the Year that is passing. Maybe rejoicing the things we’ve done, laughing at the things we can, mourning things that have left us. We look to the New Year and make promises to others and ourselves to better our life. Maybe we wait to do more this next year; maybe we want to do less. Some people just have a BIG meal, a paid day off from work with some good football games.

On this final and 1^st holiday of the year, maybe it’s a time to think of the other two holidays that just passed. Did we give enough thanks or have enough to be thankful for. Did we remember the real reason for Christmas?

So from our family we wish your family and all our friends a wonderful set of holidays. To Our men and Women of our armed forces, who protect our freedom, Thank you!

We hope you get some time with your families and friends to enjoy the Holidays.

Electrical Testing

So this is our new 1500 watt inverter - 75 amp charger by Xantrex and the link 1000 monitor. I brought all of the batteries from the boat home for the winter, I really wasn’t sure how many amp hours they would provide or even rated for. There are 6 golf cart batteries, with 2 wired in series and then the 3 sets tied in parallel, and of course the starting battery. I set up the system in the basement to charge the batteries, and get familiar with how it works and maybe a clearer plan for the wiring. 2 of the batteries where set under the sink near the engine, I never liked this set up for many reasons and plan on either removing them from the system, if newer batteries could be bought of bigger amp hours, or move them to the lazerette. So after the charge, and equalizing them I did a test run by connected a 17 amp load and it ran for almost 38 hours before the voltage dropped to 10.5. This told us we have about 660 amp hours in our battery configuration. Of course you should only use about 50% of this or you will kill them right a way with a short life span. We also brought down the kitchen microwave to run it off the batteries. This was a 1500 watt microwave and ran perfect off the batteries. OF COURSE there was a 125-amp load coming out of the batteries. This is a much bigger microwave than we will take with us but it was nice to see the unit maxed out. I also saw that one wire got warm and I thought it would because it was under sized. This is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. Now it’s back into the lazerette next weekend to try and fit 4 house batteries and the starting battery in there. Also I’ll start reworking the wiring, circuits and other things.

Winter has arrived

Winter came late but hit hard....

Very Busy Fall

Left side are my new cushions

Jon and I have been really active for the last month, Jon’s been pulling wire and parts out of the boat and purchasing all kinds of things…One new item was a 1500 inverter-charger and a link 1000 to go with it, lots of hoses, all different sizes and now he is looking at boat cable. I have been busy with sewing projects and getting use to sewing in general, my new 1959 singer sewing machine has been fantastic. I just finished the interior cushions and brought a couple to the boat to see how well I did. “Not bad at all”. I decided to divide the bottom cushions so that it would be easier to get to the lockers underneath, this will be a big plus.

Zippers and misquito netting are finished for the dodger, Outside flap around bimini has been replaced and I added a 12x12 window in the back so we can see wind direction and sails a little better. next will be to replace fittings on both stainless steel frames and make a large weather cover for the entire cockpit that will go over the bimini and consist of canvas and netting that will roll down so we can entertain more when weather is so-so or mosquito's are out.
One other thing I finished are the jacklines and tethers. My tether is a single straight line and Jon chose a double line with one side elastic.

We are trying to have an optimistic look on our house situation. If you don’t know our house has been on the market for a year now and it just is not moving. Nothing in this area is right now. Something that’s really amusing is that we started telling all our acquaintances that if they send anyone this way and they buy our house we will give them $2000. Cash. Now that’s all we hear in town (small town we live in) is if that’s true because they might know someone that’s interested. We would really like to sell so we can start planning next falls exit.

Well our Daughter Amy has been away in Colorado for about a month now doing some of her basic flight training for the Air force. She should be home for Christmas then off to Mississippi to live and begin the next part of flight school. She sent a few photos and said she loves everything about it so far.

Jon will be heading to the boat Saturday to bring the wheel and some batteries home for the winter. Winter has begun here and it really it hard with over50-mile hour winds the other night, which lasted 2 days. The boat cover had a few rips in it just
from being older and starting to wear, so we spent the day trying to mend them and fix what we could. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it makes it till spring. On nice thing about where
the boat is sitting is that Tim, the owner, has cameras that we can get on-line and zoom in to
watch how it fairs in a storms.

This is just some of the wiring Jon has pulled from the boat.........

Happy Halloween

To all of you out there….Happy Halloween

This weekend started out nice and warm with just a little rain. We managed to get a lot done on the boat. My projects are the sewing and interior décor….I started the interior cushion backs and removing all the buttons (80) on the exterior cushions that had started to just fall off because they had steel backs and started falling off one at a time. I also started repairing the dodger and bimini. The dodger had three zippers that needed to be replaced and a few rips. The bimini is really worn all around the outside from mildew so I will replace the 3 inch material. I am fixing them and not replacing because they still have a few years left to them and by then I should be really good at this new “job”.

Jon started cleaning the bilge and after a while decided the best way to get the smell out was to start at the top….so out came all hoses and anything else he could pull out. He has started a list of what he wants as far as electrical panel and units. He has decided to have a locker door in the aft cabin which is also part of the nav station which will house all the circuits and wire that he will need to get at. Some of the items he has asked me to look for and start to buy over the next month are- Bilge pump, wash down pump, shower sump pump, deck fitting, Inverter/charger, ham radio, windless, ss coil, heater w/ ac, panel, and lots of hoses…..Just a start to his madness ha ha.

Saturday night we went to the Little Sodus inn but some how ended up at the Pleasant Beach inn with Tim and Cheryl. Everyone was dressed for Halloween and it was a good time… Later that night the wind really picked up and it was a very noisy and cold (40 F) night on the boat. The next morning everything looked fine except the door zippers both broke. You know I looked at those a week ago and said I really should replace them. Oh well Should a- could a- would a…………

Nice Weather

This is Unreal

The weather is just astonishing for Upstate New York. Warm, sunny and even when it did decide to rain it was pleasurable. Now if the weather could be like this every year this would be the place to be. I do love it here but the winters are usually so long and very bitter with no sun for weeks.

Jon and I worked on getting the cover on this weekend, which went relatively well considering it was our first time doing it. Then we had to decide what to bring home with us this trip. We decided to just pack as much as we could and fill up next week also.

We filled the bilge with a new product that would eat away the 30 years of “god only knows what is in there stuff”, it is 100% biodegradable so we thought we would give it a try. I have decided to do my own sewing for the boat so started to bring the cushions and other things that I will attempt to either fix or replace on the boat. I will post photos as I do them (who knows maybe I will get really good and make some money at this…..)

Jon has started pulling lots of stuff off the boat so that he can get some of the tanks removed and rework the wiring at the same time, the boat will be a true mess over the winter but well worth it.

Jon and I took turns going out Sunday on an 18ft cat in the bay with Tom one of the other sailors at the marina. It was a lot of fun and great weather for it. I never realized how fast you could cruise on one of them. Thanks Tom for the great treat…..

Once again we went to Pleasant beach inn for dinner and it was great, Thanks to”H”.

Next Saturday the Little Sodus Inn is having a Halloween Party so a few of us are heading there for some amusement. Stop in and say hello if you’re in the area.

Things that make me smile.....

Haulout Day

Yes today was the day….

HAULOUT DAY……….

Very Sad for me but Jon said he was happy because he knows all the thing that he will be doing over the cold dreary winter months on Kasidah to improve her and upgrade her for our voyage.

It was very nice weather for the first part, then by early afternoon the thunder, rain and cold set in. Things seem to go very smooth and Kasidah made it to her spot on dry ground for the winter.

Leif Erikson Day

Well you all may not know it but today is National Leif Erikson Day as Proclaimed by Congress in 2002. And since we have an Ericson named after the famous pioneers of yesteryear, I'm taking today off and hauling the boat out of the water. I think Mr. Erikson and Mr. Bruce King (Ericson's designer and Architect) would back me up on this idea. Now lets all celebrate as congress would want us to.

Jon

What a great October weekend for upstate New York

What a wonderful last weekend before haul out.

Jon and I want to thank everyone who came up and sailed with us this summer, it was a wonderful time for us and to have lots of fun people to share it with was incredible….

When we arrived Thursday afternoon the bay was engulfed with fog and it made for some great pictures, later on it looked to be a great sunset so we asked our dock neighbors for next year if they would like to go out for a sunset sail, not much wind but a to die for sunset. This whole weekend was wonderful and warm. All the friends and guest aboard had a lot to do with it furthermore.

Saturday morning Scott, Lora and Anthony sailed for a few hours in very light wind but nice. On Saturday afternoon Bud and Marcia came up from Tully and sailed all afternoon and ended with some very heavy rain at the end of the sail but with the warm air it was fine (this happened to them before). While we were out sailing we were alongside another sailing vessel from our marina and they started tacking around very fast which made us take note and try to figure out what they were up to, a couple minutes later as he picked up his original course next to us he said that they had to do a dog overboard drill!

We woke up Sunday to 20 plus winds and some nice swells so before taking Kasidah’s sails down and rigging Jon, Scott and Robert took a morning sail. I went to the channel to take some photos and to see how she moved from a land view. What a wonderful treat to see just how nice she takes on the waves and plows thru cresting waves.

That afternoon we took down the sails and some of the rigging.

So Now I would Say It’s Over……..At least the best part………..

Rick and Pam previous owners of Kasidah

This is Rick, Pam and Molly. They are the previous owners of Kasidah. They decided to buy this beautiful trawler and maybe do the Great Loop in the near future (we hope they stop by if we are still on Ontario lake at that point). We just heard from them and they are having a great time on the water off the coast of Connecticut. Jon and I can thank them for the wonderful job they did on keeping Kasidah so beautiful and making our job easier. It’s always nice to meet and keep in touch with people you meet along the way in life. You should look the meaning of their boats name up! Kallipygos

It's still not over.....

This is Ken and Joyce getting their boat ready to be hauled out next weekend (very sad when this happens). We had a great weekend and can’t believe that it is still this warm out and the sailing is excellent…. “Yes” we should have started to get the boat ready yesterday also but Jon looked at the weather for next weekend and twisted my arm and begged to stay in for one more weekend of great weather and sailing. I thought long and hard (2 seconds) and said yes-not a problem. When this happens I am always afraid of what might happen. You now how the New York weather is, one day 80 and sunny and the next snowing like there’s no tomorrow. Well all I can say is you only live once and if you worry about everything life will have no meaning……Cheers to all.

Saturday evening we went by boat to Pleasant Beach Inn (PBI) for dinner with Jeremy and Amy, as usual dinner was fantastic. The clams and crab dip were the top pick of the night.

Sunday we went sailing thinking it was the last time this year, came back to dock and then decided to do one more weekend. That night we got everything ready to go home and Jon went to drop off a CD of Sim to Scott who’s a DJ in Rochester (great guy, perfect job for him) he was headed out for work and wanted to hear some more of their music. We ended up seeing his girlfriend and Robert, he's one of the guys that work at the marina, they wanted to go out with us for a sunset sail. Great night for it and hopefully we can get Scott out next weekend he will definitely love it because he hang glides and loves the tranquility you find in it just like sailing. We ended up leaving the boat late but that’s all well worth it in the end……..

Its not over till its OVER......

Jon and I had a fun time at the Sim Redmond show on the 20th in Syracuse. They always make for a great time (well for Jon not to dance to them the whole night would be unheard of).
We went to the boat on Friday the 21st and I worked on making full screens for the companionway, because of all the little bugs that seem to find their way onto our boat. I also brought my sewing machine home so I could sew two new zippers for the canvas winter cover that had broke back in the spring when we removed it (that seems so long ago)…..Jon repaired a few minor things, changed some lights to LEDs and he hung a small mahogany shelf we built to go under the medicine cabinet.

On Sunday the wind had picked up so Jon took the headsail off and put on the Yankee clipper sail (storm sail) to try out, Tim came out sailing with us and of course the wind died down so the sail was very inadequate and made for a slow rocky ride. When we got back to the dock Jon ran right up to the car and pulled the other headsail out and said “that ones going home”

We ended up staying till Monday because it was going to be in the 80s and 10 or so knots so we decided to go to Sodus and have a fun leisurely trip. We ended up sailing the spinnaker and made great time at over 6 knots the whole way there. Sodus this time of year is very quiet (I suppose all the marinas and bays are). We went to Katlynns marina to fuel up and pick a couple bulbs up. While there we met this couple that really liked our boat (who doesn’t) so we showed them the inside and after talking to them we realized that they owned a boat that we really liked sitting at the dock the last time we were there but they were not on the boat that day. They brought us to their boat, which was a 38 Kadey Krogen cutter and only 86 of these were made, and we got to see the inside. This boat is beautiful inside and out, lots of wood just like Kasidah and there was tons of storage (something I could use more of). They said they had done a lot of the work to it in the past ten years getting it ready to go south but when they finally finished most of it they could not see bringing it into the harsh salty environment and so they just use it as a daysailor and have a RV which they go to Florida with in the winter and have a smaller sailboat down there to sail a little.

The day ended with a wonderful sunset as we came back into little Sodus bay and docked Kasidah for the night.

Kingston to Waupoos Ont. Canada

This was a great trip that started out like this….. We woke up at 4am Friday the 14th as expected, About 15 knots out of the south. Our plan was to get to Kingston before late afternoon when the winds would pick up to 35 to40 knots. We left dock and had a very hard time to find the channel out of Fair Haven in the pitch dark even with night vision goggles. After getting out the channel and put sails out and were cruising very nicely I went to bed(sorry to say but I do admit it). I woke up at around 7 to take over for a few hours and man the wind had picked up to between 20 and 25 knots. It was great to see Kasidah going around 6.5 knot with the wind some what behind us we would surf the waves half the time. The swells were over 8 to 10 ft and I always have a hard time looking at them when they are right next to us but it was definitely a fun ride and Kasidah loved it. When we reached some of the shoals and Islands near Canada we started to watch our maps and note all the shoals. At that point I was pointing out different shoals in the distance, which really seemed to be off a little so I asked Jon which island was over to the starboard side of us that had a boat in front of it, as we started looking at it closer Jon said I think the island is moving with the boat……This was our first experience with Extra large barges in tow. The tow (island) was at least a half-mile behind. WOW.
We finally came to the St Lawrence and could see Kingston in front of us. The wind had just started to pick up to 25 then 30 and as we were taking sails down to go into the bay to dock we clocked 38 knots. We called the Confederation basin Marina to let them know we were heading in, and would you know it was the one time we would really like some help docking, they said they had no hands to help dock. Well we went in the basin and Jon said, we have one shot at this lets go, and that was it…we did it…….Kasidah gracefully slammed up against the dock squishing her huge fenders because of the 35 to 40 knots of wind on her port side and that’s were she sat the night. (We love this boat).
Kingston was a wonderful city to visit. It is right on the shoreline of the lake with lots of things to see and do. We had our pooches so did not do much with out them but the city is very dog friendly. The large park right at the edge of the marina has lots of room for them to walk and if you take a stroll into town some of the stores put dog dishes out for them. On Saturday there is a farmers market right in front of City Hall with some unbelievable fresh produce.
We left Kingston on Sunday and headed for Waupoos, which is in the Prince Edward Bay area of Canada. We ended up at the Waupoos Marina which is a place that seems to have gotten lost in time. The people there said that after Labor Day it is just about empty and that the season is pretty much is over. Our thought was the season is in its prime. This place was so quiet and beautiful. We woke to one of the most peaceful nights on the boat and to a wonderful sunrise. On Monday we walked to the Waupoos Winery, which was about 1-½ miles down the main road (the dogs had to stay on the boat). At the winery we had lunch and did some wine tasting than back to the boat.
Tuesday we woke early to start the trip back to the USA. The wind was right on our nose the whole way home which took about 10 hours, which was the same amount of time it took to get up to Kingston. We did end up crossing in the shipping lanes with some huge ships that we really kept a good eye on; Jon tried to contact them to see if our radar reflector worked but they never responded.

Trip to Chaumont

Great weekend to go north, We ended up in Henderson Harbor the first night at West View Marina and meet up with Len who owns a sailing school there. He is a great guy and if you want some lessons around here talk to him. When we left Jon notice the engine was not pushing enough water out so we went back to dock and sure enough the strainer was packed with weeds.
Saturday we headed up to Chaumont Bay and went to Long Point State Park. The weeds here were so dreadful that we almost turned around, but Amy and Jeremy were meeting us here for the night so we decided to go for it. Jeff and Cathy came in on their 31 ft Catalina S/V Otium to meet us and talk about their summer long journey, the weeds were so horrific they decided to not stay. Later that night some other sailors from Fair Haven- Dave and Janice anchored in the bay on their 40 ft Morgan S/V Mojo and stopped by in their dingy to say hi.
Sunday all of us went sailing in the bay with a pleasant wind and had a nice lunch, then we dropped Amy and Jeremy back off at the park and headed for Stony Island –Dutch Johns Bay to meet up with Cathy and Jeff and anchor for the night.
Monday we woke up to a very rocky boat as the wind had shifted and was blowing right in the bay. Even the dingy ride to shore for the dogs was a little of a challenge. We decided to pull anchor and get out right away so not to deal with the swells and waves rocking the boat. We were trying to decide to go to Canada or to start heading back to Fair Haven with the wind once again right on our nose, then Jon got sick and just did not feel good so we decided to go back to Henderson Harbor and do some hiking and leave in the morning. The forecast out had a small craft warning and the waves had already built to 5 or so feet and at one point I read 25 knots as a gust came by, so this was fine. The docking at Henderson was one of the worse dockings we have ever had and Kasidah got all turned around fortunately no scratches. We had a great walk down to the yacht club and blue was so pooped that I had to carry her half the way back to the boat.
Tuesday we woke to a very calm morning and had to motor sail most of the way home with the wind directly following us we wished then that we had left on Monday with lots of wind instead (oh well).
The weekend was wonderful and as usual with every boat you own, we had some breakdowns. The water foot pump some how managed to get a hole in it and was leaking all over the floor, the inverter smoked Monday morning and an air pressure knob on the engine water strainer intake snapped off. Our Baltic dingy worked out great this weekend all we need is a bigger motor for it.

Amy and Jeremy's wedding photos

The Wedding was great. Laura Lillie took some wonderful photo's for them. If you would like to see the photos click on title above (Amy and Jeremy's wedding photos) to go to her site and click on Proofs then on Amy and Jeremy then password is mickeymouse. enjoy.

Dog Days of Summer

August 24th-26th
We babysat Maya this weekend so decided not to do much sailing. Maya gets sick very easily. Dramamine was a good thing to have on the boat and because we had to do some driving on Saturday to bring Jill’s college stuff to her at Suny Brockport, without it Maya would have been sick all the way there and back to the boat.
The weekend was very hot and sticky (just the way I like it).
We ended up doing a few repair jobs on the boat a little sewing and some partying.
Next week we plan on a long trip to Sackets harbor and maybe Canada.

Some Wedding photos

Diane took some wedding photos and I have entered then in my pacasa photo album. You can get to them in pacasa by going into any of the photos on the left.

The Boyz go Sailing

Jon decided to take our future (This Saturday) son-in law sailing Wednesday the 15th and one of the groomsmen. The wind was blowing over 30 most of the day and made for a roller coaster of a ride. They say they had a great time and that all my ginger cookies are gone….. It sounds like they may have been sick once or twice but didn’t want to give in.
Jon was saying that no one else was out on the lake and on the radio there were a few pan-pans and a mayday. (I think I would have thought twice if I was out three days before my wedding with my future Father-in law)…..
When they arrived back at the dock one of the guys that works at the marina told Jon thye looked good when he could see them between the swells….
Morley was away in Canada for the last week and Jon could see him returning through the channel as they were leaving. Now that must have been one heck of a ride across the lake in his small (I think 23ft) sailboat with no motor. “What a sailor”.

Sodus Bay quicky

We went to the boat on Thursday and did some minor repairs. Jon found the water pump leaking so semi fixed it till we get back with a gasket.
We had the guy from Red Creek come and look at the work to be done to Kasidah over the winter and to give us some ideas. His thought is to remove some of the fiberglass at the aft sides of the stern and do some repair work to some cracks she has, then put some reinforcement plates in it so we can use that to put the davits on the back. He also looked at the sole to be redone in wood and to put some new gelcoat in the cockpit. If this takes place over the winter Kasidah will be brought to his shop which is about 20 minute from Fair Haven. If it ends up being in the late spring Tim has graciously offered the storage barn in the marina to do the work.
Saturday was a wonderful day and we sailed about 13 miles west to Sodus Bay and stopped in at Katlyns Marina in search of the gasket for the water pump but had no luck.
YES WE FINNALLY MADE IT TO ANOTHER PORT….. The bay was very congested with many different boats enjoying the great weather.
Back in our bay we pumped the dink (Sarah-Blue) up and rowed around the marina late in the day with the dogs (they always seem to like this part). Brian and Karen King stopped by to drop off the maps and info that we let them borrow when Brian went to pick his new boat “an Erinson 32” up in Long Island Sound a couple weeks ago.
Sunday our long time friends Vic and Diane came to visit and we went sailing, the wind was very light and Vic was at the helm complaining of no wind and that it was boring (He is a power boater). After about an hour flying the spinnaker the wind started to pick up and then was blowing about 15 knots, so we started to pull in the chute when a line and block broke loose. Nothing bad but we called that one just about in time. The rest of the sail was perfect with some great wind.
Late that day we went to Pleasant Beach Hotel in the bay for a bite to eat. Very nice place and the food was superb. The dogs are just starting to get use to us leaving them in the boat but they still howl a couple times as we leave, inside is always so much cooler than on top and they seem to settle down quick..

We Won't Tell Anyone "ROGER"

Nice weekend on the boat, we had a pleasant steady wind on Friday and went sailing with Jill then anchored in the bay at the State Park for a nice swim and to enjoy being on the hook for a bit. The weatherman as always was saying chance of storms so we didn’t go to far, and yes we did get one heck of a storm.
Saturday our friends came in from Cazenovia NY and we all went sailing for the day (not much wind) Nelsen captained most of the day and we all had a grand day. The weather was hot and sticky so we dropped anchor at the end of day and went swimming again. These are some wonderful people so no matter what the weather we would have had a blast.
Sunday we asked Roger our dock neighbor with a powerboat to go sailing with us. Some of the other powerboats on the dock joked about not going because he would go to the dark side. We told Roger we wouldn’t tell any of his friends he went sailing……NO ONE…. We think he had a lot of fun.
This weekend we finished insulating the frig, cleaning the bilge more which meant having to clean the filter several times while doing this. it clogged up quite a bit. We also went to a town called Red Creek (near the boat) to talk to a guy about doing some of the fiberglass, woodwork and the davit system we want. He is planning on come up next week along with the guys we us for new sails. This sounds like a number weekend.
One other thing before I close this note. We are waiting on a dock next to the one we had when we got to Fair Point so that they can dredge it because we were touching bottom. Well we notice a huge 40 ft Catalina with a 13.8 beam come in this weekend and are told this will be our new dock neighbors. This should be real interesting pulling into the dock since we are the two biggest beamed boats at the marina (I’ll let you know how this goes).

Fair Point Marina's Party and a great weekend.

Once again Tim and Cheryl pulled off a grand party for all of us. (Thank you). They had oodles of food, drinks and entertainment, and of course a great sunset.
The weekend was spent on small repairs and finding a leak in the forward cabin.
Bud and Marcia came up from Tully to visit and have fun with us at the party.

Can work be play?

I started to think about all the work we have ahead of us and for a very short moment it seemed to be very overwhelming (the reefer, floor, wood work, finding the leaks, putting in the new gadgets ect…) then I sat back (glass of wine in hand) and realized that there has been this type of work our entire lives and that the boat work was going to be the type of work we really enjoy, what we have waited for, the type that when a project is done you really get gratification from it. You look at it and are actually proud of what you’ve accomplished. With this in mind I feel much better and the list just got bigger!!

Stormy Weather

Well we are having a great time at the Marina with all the great people there and sailing has been very nice with some calm days and some wonderful breezy days. We had a great time at the Fair Point Marina Daiquiri Party (Thanks to Tim and Cheryl). Jon was in Heaven because they let him play Sim Redmond all night, he danced and jumped up and down till the end……
Our friends Hattie, Peir , son Gunner and his best friend came up for a long afternoon and sailed then we had dinner and caught up on small talk. It was a nice night.
OK, I have to tell everyone out there that so far we have tried to get to a far off place to stay for the weekend and so far for one reason or another have not completed this. Jon thinks its some kind of jinks on us and we won’t ever leave. On the Fourth we planned on going to Henderson Harbor and stay a couple of nights. We knew the weather was iffy up there until midday so we planned on getting in around 5 and be in back of it. Well that did not work at all….The storm slowed down and as we stayed to the bottom edge of it and headed for the backend it just creped up on us and we could tell that if we waited any longer we would have to go in after dark. The area has a lot of shoals and because we have not been there before we decided to turn around and with heads down go back once again to Fair Haven. The storm also decided to change its course a little and now was right on our tail. We had been checking radar on our phone and knew which way it was suppose to go but when it was right at our back door I had Jon check it again and wouldn’t you know the phone service does not work that far out….(ITS RADAR Time).
We checked with the radio and sure enough it was heading a little more our way and they where now issuing marine warnings. So we prepared the boat for weather and took in some sail. The dogs went in the aft bunk that I had made a cloth screen with snaps just for this reason. They seemed to be fine with it and we had lots of sleeping bags in there for cushion in cause they got thrown around. It was a little scary at first, not know what it would bring but after the first blow of over 35 knots it seemed to steady out at about 25 and with lots of swells close together and wave action we headed 3 ½ hour back to-yes- Fair Haven.
The Fourth of July and weekend was great up there with lots of fireworks and some good wind for sailing (no where special). I told Jon we need to go out sailing with no plans and just not come back HA HA.
We took out the Frig and ordered the new one. It is a super cool with the option of air cool or seawater. We will try to go up this week some time to install it. Jon is looking at a different location for it on the boat. I will be there to take pictures.
We also added a few little misc. items to the boat but nothing major.

True Ericson

This is Patrick from Montreal; we kidnapped him from his future power boater in-laws on Saturday. They were sitting on the dock and we asked if anyone wanted to sail and his hand went up so fast I swear it was on a spring. The wind was 18 to 20 knots out of the west-northwest and was perfect. We all had a great time crashing through the wonderful waves. Kasidah loves the wind.
We have our dingy and it seem to be pretty nice so far. We could not decide on what to get for cruising so decided to go with an off brand inflatable with an air floor for now, till we decide. It was only 600 dollars so for the time this is our dink. It is a 9,5 PVC Air floor made by Baltik boats. We figure when we finally decide we will just sell this one and make some of the money back. (I will let everyone know how it performs after a few times out)
Well Jon is getting antsy about buying new items for Kasidah however things we hoped would need replacing before leaving to cruise are having to be done now instead. That’s fine- the order of replacing and adding are just a little different now. This weekend the compressor for the frig went so till we can replace the whole unit I have an Ice box again,….. Just a little more of that ice to buy.

Father's Day weekend 07

What a great weekend. We have been doing work-yes work- all along on Kasidah, and loving every minute of it. Jon worked on cutting a larger hole in the middle of the bilge so we can see down it a little better. He wants to change the hose and add a new bilge pump ASAP. We added a fan to the frig and insulated the whole thing. Finished all the cetol on the wood and most of the chalking. I made a net for the aft bunk so when we are in a storm (hopefully never) the pups have a safe haven, Fixed leaks in forward cabin and added some shelves to the lockers. Jon took staysail lines off and will be purchasing new ones this week. Our dinghy should be here tomorrow so hopefully we will do some outside cleaning. On Saturday we had our friends Bud, Marcia and Eric out for a great all day sail. We got to fly the spinnaker for the first time. It was a blast. It came in a sock and is much easier than Agapee’s was to hoist. This sail has some wonderful colors on it.
Saturday night our friends Captain Cathy and her husband Jeff came in for the night with Otium (their Sailboat). They are cruising the Great lakes this summer and we were one of their stops going across Ontario.
Sunday One of the guys at the Marina (Morley) came out sailing with us late in the day. The wind was a little light but it was still nice. His future plans are to do a lot of cruising so we hope we see him out there. Monday was my birthday and we lounged around in the morning and then the wind picked up around 11AM and we went sailing all afternoon. It was the best day for sailing this year.

Nice First Sail

This was great, our friends Schyler and Laure came up this Memorial day and went sailing with us. Schyler who knows a hell of a lot more than us about sailing(owns The Sailboat Shop) came out and gave us some wonderful pointers on the boat and Laure Lillie who is a Professional Photographer From Skaneateles (She loves to travel ) took some photos for us. The sun was shining and we had a nice breeze, we headed north out of the bay and as we got farther away from shore you would have thought we were headed for Alaska, it was very chilly but we had a wonderful day sailing and a great time with friends.

Now having Kasidah here we are starting the projects. We figure we put about 100 hours on the engine and at this point we found lots of things that need to be repaired or things that failed on the way (if you own a boat you know what we mean and we are just stating these thing not complaining in anyway). Jon has removed the holding tank and had to have it repaired which the shop told Jon to buy another one by next season. The engine pick up tube was so clogged that when the engine stopped running on the water and he started narrowing what the problem was down he could just barely blow through it. We changed the bathroom fixture and shower hose and replaced gaskets on kitchen sink. We are in the process of finding some leaks in the front berth(this might be hard). Changed rug on floor but might change again when upholstery is done because I don’t thing they will match. Knot meter stopped working some where in New York city, Jon took a cold dip this weekend to see if it was jammed but it was moving freely so we will need to replace that. Autopilot had a bad wire inside the unit but Jon took it apart and fixed it. Jon pulled lots of wire out and wanted to figure it all out to start working on putting new stuff in(Electricians do that kind of stuff). Put netting up and screens on gates for the dogs safety (actually for Jons tools that seem to slip out of his hands). Tightened cable for steering, polished brass clocks (Jon is very proud of these). Replaced hose to tank. Still trying to find a problem with the check valve on the hot water tank, it comes and goes so this will be a hard one. Ect….
Next projects unless something else comes up is, Cetol on wood, caulk and clean any old stuff up from the fiberglass. Shelves under head sink and aft locker. Clean and wax outside of boat as soon as dinghy decides to meet Kasidah….

Long Island to Lake Ontario

I Know Jon has put in his short version
of some of the same stuff on the Hudson but this is from beginnig to end from my point of view.

Well all is well in Fair Haven, New York. We made it to the Marina on May 18th around 5:00. I am putting some photos up of New York City and the Beginning of the Hudson River and will add more this week some time. This was a blast for both Jon and I. It is one of those adventures that will last a lifetime. We left April 27th from Norwalk Ct. “Long Island Sound” at 5:00 in the morning, the weather was perfect with the sun on our port side and not even a ripple to be seen anywhere in the sound. This was the most perfect sunrise you could ask for. We made it just to the east side of New York City around 2:00 pm and decided to do some exploring and a little sailing, then we anchored in Manhasset bay for the night so we could catch the incoming tide through Hells Gate the next morning. New York City was great we ended up there on a record-breaking day of 83 degrees (on the water was a little chilly but the warmest of the whole trip). When we rounded Manhattan there she was!!! “The Statue of Liberty” wow this is something everyone should see. What a wonderful feeling of pride. If you get a chance go even just for this.
We headed up the Hudson and decided to find a drop off point for Rick so His Wife Pam could come and pick him up. We decided on Half Moon Bay Marina, which was just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge. The fee for dockage overnight was $90.00 and that was half price because it was early in the season “WOW’. The next morning Jon and I left around 9:00 and had a good time checking out all the buildings, boat yards and wildlife on the river. We went past West Point Academy, which is a spectacular piece of architecture, the Building facing the water appears to have been built right in the rock.. Beside a little cold and one period of rain the trip up to Roger’s Point boating club was nice and relaxing, we where going to get Diesel and look for a good anchorage. They told us we could Dock for $40.00 so we took them up on it. The Bar tender could not get the pumps to work so we thought maybe we would have to find some the next day, we ask if they had Wi-fi but he thought it was a type of fuel. By the end of the night we ended up with fuel and we did get Internet excess. They all were very nice and helpful there.
We got up bright and early the next morning in hopes to reach Troy by dark. This part of the trip the river narrows in quite a bit, and you have to watch your depth a little more and when those HUGE tankers pass you by it is definitely intimidating…(at least for me). We made it to Castleton Boat Club late afternoon and had time to walk around and arrange for the boat to stay there for a week because the Erie Canal was still not open.. Our good friend Schyler came up and helped unstep the mast and then off we went leaving Kasidah for a week while we checked on how everything was doing back home.
We headed back down on May 3rd to start our trip on the Erie canal Friday morning. We had found out the canal was now open. The first lock is the Federal lock in Troy. I was very nervous but excited at the same time. The Lock master was great he helped us throught and explained things to us and let us know what to expect at the other locks.(He also told us that if the other lock masters were not helpful just to call him and he would take care of them. That made me feel better) The next set of locks is referred to as the Waterford Flight! It is a remarkable engineering marvel, this gateway to the Erie Canal combines a series of five locks, where boats are lifted and lowered the greatest height in the shortest distance of any canal in the world. WOW! When you are in a lock you either grab onto a rope that they have on the walls or you take one of your lines and wrap it around a pipe that is hanging up and down on the wall, one person in the front of the boat and another in the back. Some of the locks went real smooth and others were a little tricky. This time of year locks are only open from 7 am to 5 pm so the day can end a little short if the next lock is closed. Our first overnight stop was at the Schenectady Yacht club. Nice open facility and the dogs could get out and really run around. Meet a family there that I think the husband and wife had way too much to drink but the parents were very nice and we talk to them for quite awhile. We made it out at just after 8 in the morning and traveled almost till 6 pm to St. Johnsville Municipal Marina. This place was at a wall and one other large boat came to dock with us that night. We walked to a store that was just a short distance over a bridge and got to see a little of the small town. The next morning I made sure we were up and going just before 7, it was a cold one the deck had some frost on it, which made walking very interesting. Everything was going to plan and we thought we might make Oneida Lake that night. NOT A CHANCE. At lock number 18 the lockmaster said that they had a problem with not enough depth at marker number 551 and to stay far over to the right when approaching it. So when we got close to it we started to stay to the right side of the channel and Jon said it did not look right and he was going to head to the other side but the time he was in the center of the channel we hit bottom but good. We figure there was about 3 ft of water under us and we draw 6 feet, over the right side there was about 22 feet. The water is very brown so you cannot see a change in the color so that was not of any help. We ended up calling the lockmaster ho in return got one of the New York tug to pull us off. Well this meant one more night on the canal (which was fine with me). We ended up staying on the east side of lock number 21. This was a nice and quiet lock wall to spend the night. The dogs and I took a long walk on the trail next to the canal and to our surprise some friend (Schyler and Laure) were traveling in the area and ended up having dinner with us.
We got up bright and early to a great warm sunny morning and headed out to Oneida Lake crossed over and went to Ess-Kay Yards to leave Kasidah once again for a week while waiting for the Oswego canal to open and the following weekend our Daughter was graduating from Syracuse University so we knew this was a good break in the trip.
May 17th we came back and picked Kasidah up and finish the final leg of our trip. The Oswego canal was very pretty and of course the weather was much nicer. Now we would be going down in all the locks instead of up as we did at the beginning of the Erie. In One of the locks there was a died fish floating between the boat and lock wall and on top was a snake just coiled up sitting there, Jon made sure that guy was not hitching a ride on our boat. We came out on Lake Ontario at Oswego New York and stayed at the town dock but it was way to noisy and rough so we tucked in at Oswego Marina where the mast was to be stepped first thing in the morning any how. They were very friendly and helpful there. The next morning our mast was stepped with no problems and as we started put on sails and cleaning up a wall of fog moved in, so we took our time getting ready as we were just about finish the fog started to lift so we figured was a good sign. We headed out and headed west to Kasidahs new home under sail…..yes finally we were sailing her. It was sunny but freezing cold on the lake, it took about 3 hours to get over to Fair Haven but we did go off course to get a little sailing in. The Fair Point Marina is a wonderful place everyone is so nice there I keep wondering whats up…. We are so glad we found a place like this for our summer and wish them lots of luck. If you are near there you should come in and check them out and say Hello to us….J

Up the Hudson

Well this is it, we are all the way up the Hudson river to Castleton-on Hudson, NY. Where the mast will come down. It was a long and enjoyable trip. We have put some photos in and will write more later about our trip. So please look at photos for now.

We cast off from the previous owners deck Near Stamford, CT., at 5:00 am on Monday April 23 to be with a high tide, which was the only way to leave his little bay. We motored on a very calm day toward New York City. We couldn't believe it we were on our way. The sun came up behind up as a ball of fire and feed the day with such warmth that NYC had a record high this day of 70 something. We arrived at City Island 2 hours early and thought about doing the east river on this day, but after a quick look at the Eldridge book of tides we knew we couldn't do it with out being stuck in the middle of New York Harbor at dusk and now where to go.

We motored around City island looking at different places that we might moor for the night, and then the wind picked up. I thought it would be a good idea to do some sailing for two reasons:

1-Arline had never been on the boat with the sails up. She had worked her tail off in making the boat look great and added her little touches of home to the boat (teddy bears), she really needed to feel what the boat was going to be like under sail.

2-The previous owner Rick was with us and could show us some pointers about any question we might have on the boat.

So we sailed at the entrance to the Throgsneck Bridge and sailed up into Manhasette Bay where we found nobody. We sailed around a bit and had all the sails out, it was a thing of beauty. The boat is everything we taught it would be. We set anchor, took a nap, did some small chores to the boat, had dinner and crashed.

We weighed anchor to be under way by 8:30 to be with an ebbing tide though the East River and Hell Gate. Again it was nice and sunny, yet just a bit cool from the water. we made the Throgsneck Bridge, Hell gate; which was a piece of cake. We could see where the Harlem river and the East river come together and could feel it on the rudder and wheel but it was very minimal because we timed it just right. We went by the UN Building. Under the Brooklyn Bridge and there was the Statue of Liberty. WOW. We had been planning this for about 6 months and how do you stop the time to let it all last just a bite longer. We noticed the wind had picked up and the water was as brown as a Fridays' mudslide drink. We turned North and we were on the Hudson. The city of Manhattan was very impressive. Rick makes frequent business trips to the city and pointed out all the sites the whole way. We couldn't help ourselves from searching for where the WTC and towers should have been and found some feelings that are just way too hard to put into words. As we made our way north the wind came on our port beam and was just screaming for motor sailing. We pulled the Genny out and our hull speed jumped up to just over 7 knots over ground. Oh this is funny, in the East river the impeller that drives our speed indicator must have picked up some debris as it stopped working. I hope it's only a bag or something, there was LOTS of crap in the river and we were always on the look out for more crap. So we only had our GPS chart plotter for SOG (Speed Over Ground). We were motor sailing along nicely, healed over to about 15 degrees,...and then the motor stopped. Oh Crap! After a little thinking I realized the engine had been sucking air since the pick up tube in the tank was on the up hill side while healed like we were. So we pulled some sail in to flatten us, ran down stairs to turn "The Filter Boss" on to bleed the system and the engine fired right up. Arline was very impressed as was I. "The Filter Boss" was a new member of our Family. Thanks KTI Systems. Check them out at http://www.ktisystems.com/ .

Well we made it up to the Tappenze Bridge and pulled into the Half Moon Bay Yacth Club and went for my first docking with our new boat. No problems, the big rudder on the back makes the boat very easy to handle. Pam came for dinner, and Rick and Pam left the boat,.....to us. (Thanks for all your help guys)

The next morning we met some guys in a steel 37 ft custom pilot house boat "My Thyme"? We left about 8:30 and went for my first "with the new boat" backing out of a dock. Arline and I talked about everything that could go wrong, and what we would do. Well I hope I get a crowd watching someday when it goes as perfect as this did. So We where on the river all by ourselves. So we motored all day past West Point, World End, narrow spot were it looks like the river ends, but goes around a corner. We met and where passed by a few barges and tugs. So cool, we were out there and taking shifts, loving it. We had Rogers Point and took on fuel. We asked the guys ar the bar if they had WiFi,... "What the hell kind of fuel is that?" No it's computer connection,..." Oh you know Paul had his computer thing in here and does something with it, is that what he's doing,...FiWi,. cool we are with it." Thanks for every thing guys.

We got under way at 6 am on thursday and again motored all day taking shifts and made Castelton-On Hudson by 3:30. We checked in and did things around the boat, and talked with other people waiting for the canal to open.

Our good friend Schlyer, owner of The Sail Boat Shop in Skaneateles NY came up Saturaday afternoon to help us unstep the mast and build a craddle for the mast. Well Saturday was clean up day at the Castleton Yacht Club. Everybody was raking, cleaning, painting and putting docks in. We were some of the first transiants for the season. We moved Kasidah into position to pick the mast and I swear there was about 30 people starting to gather at the club house. Just watching and waiting. Well 2 minutes into the pick and they all disappeared. Schlyer had the perfect balance point on the mast Arline had the up and down on the crane working. Perfect as perfect could be. After dinner we had drinks at the bar with some of the clud members and they said they get some really good shows there with mast disasters. Well we are now just waiting for the NY Canal to open. More Later, thanks for stopping by and sharing interest in our story.

Jon

Kasidah Unwrapped

What the heck is up with this weather……….Well over the weekend we managed to get a lot of work done on the boat. Rick and Pam helped us with a lot of it. “Thanks guys”….We finished the FilterBoss, painting some lockers, fitting new propane tank in locker with new wood, took canvas off Kasidah, put new valve on for head and hoses, cleaned water tanks and cleaned down below deck. When we left the boat on Sunday they were braising for the northeaster to hit with flooding and high winds, we left when it was getting very windy and raining very hard. When we got home in Tully, New York we were welcomed with about a foot and a half of heavy snow. Lots of tree limbs down and down right miserable. Needless to say last week I picked up all the fallen branches and raked stones out of the yard…. well looks like that will be done again this year. I WILL NOT MISS THIS WEATHER…

"Now thats a treat"

Now this is pretty funny. While working on our boat in Connecticut, Pam went shopping with her dog Molly (Wonderful “small” dog). She stopped and picked up a foot long sub with all the fixins and put it in the back seat. She made one more stop and when she came back to the car Molly had decided that the sub was hers and ate the whole thing, well she did leave a little lettuce. Man that sub was bigger than her. Thank goodness Molly is fine. However she must have called to our house and told Sara and Blue because when we got home the next day and started unpacking they found my leftover turkey sandwich and ate it all, it was no where near as much as Molly ate…..way to go Molly…….

The "Boss" is in

Jon’s weekend at the boat was very productive. Jon and Rick managed to install the FilterBoss and before leaving was able to run the engine, he was very pleased with how smooth it was to install it and really likes the unit. If you would like any info about it just email him and he will be glad to answer any questions you have.
Next weekend we plan on changing the propane tanks and securing them in their locker better. This was part of the surveyor’s suggestion and the insurance company wants compliance. We will be taking off cover and changing some fittings and getting her ready for the trip. One other thing I may start is the netting on the lifelines for the dog (and all those tools that seem to go overboard).

Passed the Ham......

Well Jon and I have been really busy lately trying to get the boat ready and all the things that go with running a business. We went and took our Ham test last night (The Technical part) and both of us passed it with no problem. I thought that was it for studying for a while but the instructor suggested taking the next part right away (The General), which would give us a wider band use. So I might just do it since it will be fresh in my head. It was not that bad of a test. We bought the books and did some home studying on our own for a month with lots of memorization and figuring out some math questions. Then all you had to do is pass a 35-question test (no morse code).

The FilterBoss

One of the first things Jon and I agreed on was that we would put out the cash and buy our new boat the Filter Boss. One of the worst things for me is to be at the helm on a wonderful day or down right miserable day (which for Jon this would still be a great day- on the boat) and have the engine quit and find a clogged filter, which then you have to deal with it. We felt that was the most important issue with a boat. Our engine has very few miles on it and most problems with diesel engines end up being fuel, fuel, or fuel. The Previous owner Rick (Boat is still at his dock) was kind enough to take the old Diesel feul out for us and clean the inside out, this way we can install the FilterBoss and start with a clean tank all at the same time. Here is a photo of the dirty fuel.
Jon went down to Connecticut for the weekend to install it and get some other things done on the boat (Very cold weekend there-about 45 degrees).
We are looking right now at bringing the boat up to New York right around the 23rd or so this month.

Key West

We took a mini trip (four days) to Key West with Amy and Jeremy; we had some great weather and fun times. We wanted to check out the tenders at the dock to see how the different brands hold up to the elements. Boy- do they take a beaten. I think we are going to look at a Mercury tender; they seem to do well in the sun and salt water. Friday we are going to Connecticut to do the final paper work on Kasidah and Jon will start some boat work, we plan on going to the marine store Defender which is in Waterford CT they should have lots of marine goodies for us to look at.
Amy tried one of Jon’s favorite foods “Raw Oysters” and she thought she liked them until the next day…that will be one food she will never eat again I am sure…. One sunset was unbelievable, and of course with all the sailboats we felt right at home.

Sim Redmond Band-Great Show

Last night we went to see The Sim Redmond Band at the Bull & Bear Pub in Syracuse. The show was great and lots of fun people to talk to all night. If you have not heard their music you can listen to a sample on the band's site. This is the type of music that anyone will enjoy and its great cruising music when you just want to chill or feel good about life. They have 6 CDs out and its all written by Sim and the other band members.... They do shows all over the US and Japan. Jon and I stayed till the end, boy the older you get the harder it is to stay up that late or maybe its just because we work hard at "Living Each Day Like its Our First" Oh yah,..This is from Sims song Pink Guitar.

Please Click on the "Sim Redmond Band-Great Show" heading to go to the Pink Guitar sample music to enjoy, and you'll understand why we love them and their music.

Thanks you SRB for keeping us as young as we feel.

Ham License Anyone !

Well we decided to go ahead and study for our Ham license (ARRL) so when we are really far offshore we may have a better chance of reaching someone farther away if we need too, that includes e-mails, plus the weather is really crappy here and this makes for a good way to spend our time waiting for the weather to get better. Boy its been awhile since I had to study for a test or memorize technical things, so it took a bit to get in the groove, on the other hand Jon had no problem and since his field is electrical he had learned a lot of the basics years ago in trade school so most of it is a refresher course for him. He has been helping me with the basic fundamentals of electricity, which really helped since that part of the practice test I got everything right (thanks to Jon). We figure the Ham course this winter and next winter we will take an EMT course (this will certainly help us with the winter blues).

Kasidah's Home for the Summer

Just received word that the Marina we will be docked at this summer has changed hands. The old name was “The Boat House Marina” the new name is “Fair Point Marina”. The new owners sound very nice and enthused about owning the marina and resort. We can’t wait to meet them and wish them lots of luck. The Marina is on the south shore of Ontario Lake in Fair Haven, New York. The marina has a great location on the point of a small bay. The marina is on the bay side so there is shelter, and on the other side is a very nice beach looking out over beautiful Ontario Lake and a small campground resort which is part of the marina. We fell in love with it when we first went up there seven years ago looking for a place for our pervious sailboat “Agapee”, but decides to go to Skaneateles lake instead but knew we would want to be there some day. Lat: 43:20:41N (43.3448)
Lon: 76:42:41W (-76.7113)

Spring is just around the corner

Well spring will be here soon and it will be time to bring Kasidah home. We have lots of things to arrange ahead of time. One thing was to decide on an insurance that would be a good choice for this year and also for heading down the coast and on, so we decided on the Agent IMIS the Boat insurance is with Markel. They are very friendly at IMIS and after talking to others that have insurance with them we are confident this is a good choice.

Syracuse, New York- Boat Show

Well, this was a very disappointing show to say the least. We went to look for a new dingy, windless and anything else that we could use for our refit, we even had cash for a deposit on that one item that we had to have (money was burning a whole in our pockets).
First of all we ended up having a snowstorm and pretty much only people with 4-wheel drive were out. Besides us there were maybe a dozen people there all night, I am not kidding. There were three large building with marine items, unfortunately almost all of it was new power boats and docks, There were a few new sailboats but we have a sailboat…..No Dingies, no windlasses, no davits, no filter systems….. In all three building there was only four booths that had merchandise that you could buy on the spot like clothing, maps, boat hooks ect… So we ended up buying Jon new Foul weather gear since he really needed some and we had the money. We ended up buying him an offshore Gul Jacket, bibs and neoprene gloves. We purchased them from The Sailboat Shop booth www.ShopTheSailboatShop.com . They are really good friends of ours and always are willing to help with anything we need for sailing. So needless to say we did not get any hands on knowledge of equipment there.

Dingy matters

We have been doing a lot of research on dingys and boy is this hard.... I think we are having more of a problem deciding what dingy to choice than we did on the boat herself. We will be purchasing the filter boss for the fuel right away then a windless, new dingy and motor and then a davit unit. The Syracuse boat show is this week so we will be going to it and maybe getting some more good ideas.

Toronto Boat Show 1/19-07

We went to the Toronto Boat Show this past weekend. Wow!!!! This show had everything. We spent two days there but could have spent two more. We found lots of info on all kinds of goodies to refit our new boat. Some of the first things we will be replacing or adding is: diesel fuel filter-polishing system. We really liked the looks of the Filter Boss. Other items on our list are a windless and a new dinghy (not to sure on these but did get to see many different bands).

While we were at the show we met another person who just purchased an Ericson 36C, since there were only about 59 of these boats made…. WHAT WOULD THE ODDS OF THAT BE? Now we have someone else on the same lake to exchange notes with.

"Kasidah"

This is the start of our new life with our new boat "Kasidah"

My husband Jon and I have always dreamed about the day that we could just get up and leave all those everyday “things” and sail away. When we began dreaming this we thought that it would be easy to plan, we had it in our heads of how to get by, make the money, buy the boat and get out there on our own adventure. But as we began planning we realized that our children were still in high school (6 ½ years ago), we still had a house and a business that would need to be taken care of. As we were planning we decided that the best time to begin our adventure would be when our youngest daughter graduated high school and went to college. That day has passed and so has the day that our dream began to materialize.

From now until the day we enter the ocean is a countdown of hopefully two years.

It wasn’t more than 6 months ago that we found the boat of our dream. A 36c Ericson located in southern Connecticut, she is in wonderful condition thanks to her great previous owners Rick & Pam.We live near Ontario lake and the first chapter of our book is to bring the boat up through the sound around New York city, up the Hudson and across the Erie canal to dock it on Ontario lake while we prepare her for the big blue ocean.

I guess the prologue to our adventure would be the fact that we have prepared the rest of our surroundings to deal with the fact that we are moving onto a boat. Our house is on the market and will hopefully be sold by the coming fall. Our business is going to be taken over by a well-trusted employee so there are no worries incase we don’t come back. HAHAH. Our animals have been reduced because of old age:( . We still have two terriers we will bring on the boat with us, as they are our beloved companions. Our two daughters are well settled in there college atmosphere, the oldest about to graduate college and enter the air force; our youngest is just starting her second semester of her first year. We also managed to part with our older sailboat, a 27 Eriscion. She was a great boat that we had almost 7 wonderful years that gave us high hopes and great experiences. She was sold just after we found our new boat, to someone we know will take good care of her in her old age.

Now comes the part of our two-year countdown.

We decided two years because that would be an average time of how long it would take to get her ready for the high seas. She is not ocean ready right now and needs some refitting. Most of the work we will be able to do ourselves because our old boat taught us a lot on fixing and restoring. Jon use to work in a boat yard on engines in his youth. Currently our business that we own and run is an electrical company so he should have no problem taking care of most problems we run into.

In two years we hope to begin our adventure, back out on our lovely sea going vessel. We plan to travel the east coast down to Florida and anywhere else that the wind takes us.

(This may change but this is our course for now and we hope to keep everyone posted on how our book is coming along.)

As Bob Bitchin would say “ Don’t Dream your Life,… Live Your Dream”.

Ps Look forward to refitting and chapter one of our adventures.