Casting off and Underway

9/20/09 Sunday at Waterford, NY town dock
Well! This is a long overdue post.
Arline's computer has been acting up latley so we havn't been keeping you guys up dated :'(. Well here is a long over view of notes that we have been taking over the last week.

Plases take a look at all of our photos we have been taking. Leave us Comments!
Enjoy
~Libbys

9/07/09 Monday

Leaving

After our week long shake down cruise and a list of things to do on the boat, it’s Monday night after the long labor day weekend; leaving is with in sight.

We had a quick repair job done on the stern of the boat that we had been planning on pretty much since we built the boat but had been putting it off until our latest cruise left us with no options. Clint, from Water Craft, did the repair and structural additions. We think the boat had been hit in the stern and someone's bad quick fix proved to be the weak point.

Man these guys can do glass work like champs! From now on if we need a tow using the stern as my pull point! Thanks Clint for doing the work so quick and great.

We had a busy weekend with a party here at the marina, great weather, many friends, and the fact that plans are going well for our departure (Which should be soon).

We saw our interview in “Living Aboard”, and have our copy! It's so calming right now, Arline and I are the only ones in the Marina, its dead calm, full moon rising over the stern of the boat. We’re so happy for many reasons: Jill is off to a great last semester at school with lots to look forward to while Amy and Jeremy are together in their new home in Dover now that she is done with some final training (I hope they showed her the Vulcan Death Grip). So I’m thinking “I want some cranking tunes man!” hahaha, but really, life couldn't get any better than this!

We’re sad that no one else is here to enjoy this wonderful evening. Many people have been bidding us fair well on our voyage, like they’ll never see us again! So it’s starting to be quite a roller coaster ride of emotions. The funny thing is that its just like any other end of boating season that we say goodbye! We wouldn’t see each other all winter, maybe see them on a random passing, but other than that we wouldn't see them untill next spring anyways. Since we are planning on being back here at the marina next spring the only difference is that we arn't leaving our boat. In the near future we will be even closer (geographicly) to my mom and dad and Amy and Jeremy. We are already planning on times to go visit them!

I have to admit that I’m very afraid it could all go bad. I’m afraid of a little bad becuase there is so much good in our journey thus far. There’s so many things to do on the boat and on land, I’m afraid we won’t even be ready next Monday, Tuesday Wednesday or even Thursday. But we’re going, and we’ll figure it out on our way, and if not, “We’ll just pull in some place and ask!”



9/13/09 Sunday

Ready To Go

Well the mast is down and on the boat; most things are packed on the boat and only a few things are left to do. Everything is starting wind down, but we were lucky that both Amy and Jill came to visit over the weekend. Amy and Jeremy came to pick up their Subaru to take it to Dover. They could only stay a short visit before heading back home, they were also shopping for a new dog on the way home and had to be back on Sunday. Jill and Ryan crossed their paths for about 5 minutes. Ryan is Jill’s new boyfriend but they had known each other all through school in Tully. This was, howver, our first time meeting him. It was nice to see the two of them together, having fun and enjoying the day with us.
Thanks Jill!

Many people have been coming by and saying fairwell. They come bearing gifts of: wine, cards, lotto tickets (we lost), wool socks, we can’t say thank you enough to all of you for thinking and caring about us. It really means alot to us as we make our way out!

It is a short 2 – 3 hour trip from Fair Haven to Oswego, where the canal begins. It would be nothing if we were sailing it, but with the mast on the deck we’re mindful of the weather that Lake Ontario can throw at us since the boat would be more like a cork on the water and be very rolley. Dick and Ann, on Grey Hound, have returned from a long trip to Canada, we’ve listened to the weather together and they tell us “Just Leave. We’ll bring you anything that comes UPS, to your next port of call. Just Leave on the morning calm!” However, Arline is the safety officer on board and all things must pass her for final inspection. Of course I would never try to move this boat in anything that would hurt it or anybody on board, I'm just stating the obvious...

Earlier today (Sunday) as I was re-working stuff on the mast and just getting ready to go, I was listening to some of my favorite music from “The Sim Redmond Band” and his solo CD “Wishing Well” The whole CD is a love theme. But you MUST listen to track 10 “Solitude in You”, the words of this song, today, really struck a cord with me as I think about what Arline and I are about to do. Where we are about to go and what it is that we will face. Here are a few words from that song;


“Let’s not stop till we get to the top,
Look around; See what we’ve found,
It might not be the here next time we come,
We might be older before it’s all over,
We better follow our hearts back to the start;
We better find what’s true
Don’t you know that’s what love can do,
I find my solitude in you,
I find my solitude in you,”

Thanks Sim for bringing to us.

Simredmondband.com



9/14/09 Monday

Well, the weather said for Tuesday and Wednesday that it would be 20 knots from the north. However, Monday morning had winds at 10 knts from the south turning west by late morning, so we packed it all in and left Monday as planned! We cut the lines a little later than we would have liked, but got out just before 10 AM. Dick and Ann helped cast us off and saw us through the channel. WE WERE OFF!!

Once out on Lake Ontario, we saw that the winds had already shifted west and were blowing about 10 -15 with some white caps. The waves were still rolling in from the north which was making the boat really move around. Arline was a wreck and I was a little bit nerves about the mast, so I threw the boat into some big waves and swells to see if the mast was going to move. If I was going to turn back I wanted to turn back in the 1st mile, not after 5 miles. Well the mast didn’t move and we made Oswego in about 2 hours. There, we topped off our fuel and happened so see a couple of other sailboats waiting to un-step their mast. They said there is now a 2 day wait for them to be done. So, we handed out Fair Point Marina Flyers for next year.

Sorry Jerry, we’re going to have a busy spring and fall, we couldn't help it....
Tim: I’m going to need more flyers when you come to visit!!

After talking for sometime we pushed off with our mast on deck and made Fulton for the night. Schyler and Laurie came to see us, Mitch and Jackie came, and Mark from last year came too. Some of us went to dinner and had a great night. Thanks guys you’re the best.

But of course we couldn’t have cast off without our new dear friends at Fair Point Marina, ALL OF YOU!!! Jerry’s help and friendship was like having a new family member. Fair Point Marina was indeed the right place for us to prepare Kasidah for this trip and life. We can’t thank everyone enough who came to see what the hell we were doing this weekend, or offer a meal, drink, campfire with guitar and Somores. Tim you have created a very special place and we will miss it till we come back. We will tell everybody about it. Does that make it a business write off?


9/15/09 Tuesday

We cast of from Fulton about 10am and had nothing but smooth motoring we will be docked in Brewerton this evening. Dick and Ann brought us our AT&T air card and Defender order. But more important that that they brought us Pizza and Wings from Twin Trees, (Nothing but but best from our friends)
Thanks.
We stopped at ESS-KAY boat yard to say hi and buy a few things for our to do list. They have a great store there with lots of well organized parts. I found parts for the spreader lights and a couple of other small items needed. Make it a point to stop and say hi to Kim.


9/16/09 Wednesday

Today was a long day with a lot of strange things that happened. We got up early to cross Oneida Lake which was a 3 hour trip. A retired couple from “Tom Cat” a 36 ft trawler, helped push us off the wall. We sat with them the night before at the dock in Brewerton and talked before Dick and Ann came. The lake was a bit foggy and beautiful; picking our way across was easy. We made Sylvan Beach and spotted a small boat with kids that we had been told about. The couple, in their late 20’s, Adrienne and Sara who have a 5 year old and a 5 week old. They are on their way to Florida for a year, or more, of cruising with no real destination in mind. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of them. Then “Tom Cat” pulled in and we helped them tie off. As they got off they said “We didn’t know we had been parting with celebrities last night!” They had read the article about us in “Living Aboard” on the way across the lake.
We set off to the east and Locked though with the young couple and one other sailboat that came up fast in back of us. The next lock was only a mile away so we locked again with them at E-21. This was the last lock that we would lift in. As we are rising above the wall of the lock I could see some construction going on. There was a work lift b loaded onto a truck and, as I’m looking I thought that be funny if it was our old next door neighbor from Tully, WELL IT WAS!! Checked with the binoculars to make sure and yeah, that’s Lonnie. We let the other boats go by and docked. I ran over and talked to Lonnie. We couldn’t believe the chances of meeting up with him! He came over and looked at the boat real quick, and this is where it gets weird. He told us of a friend and neighbor that passed had just passed away yesterday, he had lost a long battle with cancer. This is what we talk about when we say things happen for a reason.

We stopped for the night at Lock 20, and Jon and Marguerite, from Fair Point Marina, came with dinner of Jambalaya, she also had brought some extra for us. (it lasted till Friday Lunch)

Thanks it was great! Jon brought me a case of Utica Club (The first beer sold after Prohibition was over)


9/16/09 Thursday

We stopped at Little Falls today, which really needs to do something about there town dock, or maybe we just missed it. It’s just another small town that looks like everyone left. Arline got her hair cut and we picked up a few groceries. We arrived at Lock 17 about 4:15. The lock are open till 5:00 and this one we found out is open till 5:30. Well this guy showed his true State Worker mode. “Well if you where one minute later I wasn’t going to let you through!”
Thank you and have a nice day too.
So we stayed overnight at Lock 16, Mindenville. Nobody was there and the boat worked great. Batteries are charged from the long motor and are giving us power to do anything we want. We walked on a nice paved bike trail that must have just been finished. There’s a map and this thing goes across nearly the whole damn $tate, most of it is next to the Canal.

9/17/09 Friday
Morning today was quite calm and a heavy fog had set in when we woke up. We had to wait till almost 9:00 before we could get under way. Arline was at the wheel all day except in and out of the Locks. I worked on the “To do list" Which is currently: Spreader lights, 12 volt outlet, and longer cord on the dingy pump. I also tried to get Arline’s computer to work, no go. This is why the Blog hasn’t been updated recently. The wind was blowing pretty steady at the end of the day making the locks a bit tricky. We stopped at Lock 9 which had on the map a park symbol, NO PARK just a concrete wall that looked like the air force had been target practicing on it. This is where we meet Peter and Bill on G’ Day. Bill use to be a computer guy and was talked into working on Arline’s computer. Still no go.

We had to pull over and let this guy go. He was in the raw water strainer for the engine. hahaha







9/18/09 Saturday

We got off the wall and through the lock at 8:15. We only had 2 Locks to go both about an hour of motoring apart, we did this with Peter and Bill. Then we came to the Waterford Flight, a set of 5 Locks that are each a 35 ft drop and all of them are only minutes apart. So you are really working your way down the side of a mountain. It’s a really busy location with lots of on-lookers. It took 2 ½ hours to go through these 5 locks. The State decided that to save money they would use less Lock Masters, and makes one guy work 5 gates. So you’d lock through #6 and the same guy would drive in a state car down to 5 and get that ready. It was awesome. (sarcasim) I think it might be easier to get read of the one guy leaning on the shovel, or the supervisor watching the workers, or maybe the manager watching the supervisor....

DON”T get me started,….oh wait I don’t care, I don’t have a job.

So we are sitting at the wall in Waterford, just before the Hudson. Tom Cat is here, Peter and Bill, and tomorrow Adrienne and Sara will be here. They have a fuel leak and want me to look at it. Monday we will head down the Hudson for Castleton where we will put the boats back together. From there we have no plans but south.