Happy Canada Day!
Canada Day

Well, of course nothing goes smoothly when you are sailing and this little trip was no exception. Dennis and my dad left Killbear Marina on Tuesday. The weather was not great, quite cold actually, but they headed up to Regatta Bay. They stayed overnight and were able to walk around on the rocks but the nighttime temperature was only 10 degrees. They were going to heat up some hot water using the generator, but it, unfortunately, broke down after five minutes, so they just washed up and headed for bed. They did remark though, that they slept like logs. Dennis had a very quick dip the next morning – the water really woke him up!
They sailed all the way way in to Parry Sound. Apparently, the winds were excellent and they did 7 knots which is probably the fastest the boat has ever gone under sail. Once they arrived in Big Sound Marina, Dennis had to fix the generator, so they drove off to the parts store and were able to repair whatever was wrong with it.
Meanwhile, Ron Miller, of Ocean Equipment (the company that was repairing our wind meter (the one that cost $1200 and only worked for a week), contacted me and told me that he found the problem. The WSI box had completely corroded so even though the the wind meter and and the display box were able to be paired, the actual wind could not be read. So he fixed that and shipped it to our friends’ place in Kenosha. I am happy to report that Jim confirmed that the wind meter is working. For how long, we don’t know, but at present, it is working. Now, Dennis has to go up the mast again, to set it up, but that will make for good entertainment.
We spent the Wednesday night on the boat and discovered that the hot water safety valve broke, so we didn’t have any hot water. Luckily, Dennis had a spare one (who keeps a spare safety valve?) and was able to repair the tank.
The auto-pilot broke too but that was an easy fix – just a blown fuse. So, after enjoying the Canada Day fireworks in Parry Sound, we are now sitting in Regatta Bay, enjoying the sunshine and have offcially begun our trip. Tomorrow, early in the morning, we will head for Killarney. Hopefully nothing else breaks!