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Category Archives: Waiting for summer…

Home Again

29 Aug

So, after eight weeks of traveling, we made it back safely home. We went from Quebec City to Souris, Prince Edward Island. The boat is on land now for the winter and waiting for next summer when we will tour Nova Scotia.
We had lots of fun and learned a lot about ocean sailing. Seeing whales, seals and dolphins was very exciting and visiting all the small towns, harbors and villages was very interesting. If you ever get a chance to see the Gaspé, les Îles de la Madelaine and Prince Edward Island, you won’t be disappointed!
Here are my favourite pictures of the trip.

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Posted by on August 29, 2013 in Waiting for summer...

 

Good-bye Killbear Marina…

24 May

Killbear Marina

After many, many years and three boats, we are finally leaving Killbear Marina. Our boat, the Split Crow, is being launched by Will and Ed Reichenbacher for the last time this morning. Dennis is planning on bringing the boat to Bob’s Point today and we will keep it there until June 29th. That’s when I finish work and we can start our summer vacation and the beginning of our trip out to the East coast.

Staying at Killbear Marina has been great for a number of reasons. First of all, it is located on Georgian Bay, near the outskirts, so we don’t have to motor for two hours to get out of the Big Sound area in Parry Sound. There are many great places near Killbear to sail and to anchor. For example, Regatta Bay, one of our favourite anchorages, is just around the corner.

Killbear is also a full service marina and probably the best place in the Parry Sound area to launch big boats. The marina has a travel lift, grocery store, restaurant and a marine supply store so we can always get what we need without having to drive the 40 minutes into Parry Sound.

We have stayed at Killbear for many years, since we first moved to Parry Sound in 1997 when we had Hetarae.  The owners of the marina are Will and Ed Reichenbacher – two brothers who have taken over the operation of the marina from their father Deiter, who started the marina many years ago. Will and his wife Wendy, have two girls and Ed and his wife Sharon have a boy and girl. The kids all attended Nobel School where I taught for many years. Our son Nick has also worked at Killbear since he was 15 being a dock boy and general helper in the summers.

So, although we are happy to get going on our next adventure, we are sad to leave to leave the marina. However, it is time to get going on our adventure and I am counting the days until school is done!

After many, many years and three boats, we are finally leaving Killbear Marina. Our boat, the Split Crow, is being launched by Will and Ed Reichenbacher for the last time this morning. Dennis is planning on bringing the boat to Bob’s Point today and we will keep it there until June 29th. That’s when I finish work and we can start our summer vacation and the beginning of our trip out to the East coast.

 
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Posted by on May 24, 2012 in Everything Else!, Sailing in Georgian Bay, Waiting for summer...

 

Uncovering The Split Crow – Happy Easter!

08 Apr

Check out the trees in the background - early spring, so it will be a while before the boat is launched.

So, the weather has been quite cooperative this spring and yesterday, Dennis drove out to the boat to uncover it. I rode my bike out (42 km) and managed to arrive just as he was finishing so that was very good timing on my part! The only thing I had to do was help fold up the tarps, so that was great!

We aren’t actually putting the boat in the water until the May long weekend. It is way in the back of the yard at Killbear Marina, so it will be one of the last to go in the water. We’re in no rush though, since we really can’t go anywhere until June 29th when I am finished work.

The boat is in good shape – there’s not much to buy except for some cockpit cushions and I emailed HunterOwners.com regarding those, so hopefully we’ll get them in the next few weeks. We have to order a split cable for shore power – for the air conditioning. I know that sounds spoiled but we will be in southern Ontario for most of the summer where the temperature is often in the upper 30s for days on end – not to mention the humidity! So, if nothing else, at least we’ll be comfortable at night as we will be spending most of our time at marinas. Next summer will be totally different since we’ll be on the St. Lawrence (we hope to get as far as Quebec City this summer) and apparently it is often cold and foggy on the Gaspe.

Anyway, things are progressing as planned and we are looking forward to summer. I did check the Nexus wind instrument and it is actually working still! That’s a sign that things are looking up!

 
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Posted by on April 8, 2012 in Waiting for summer...

 

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What We Do In The Winter – Bowls and Bags

19 Feb

Click the picture to go to Bowls and Bags

Well, the sailing season in northern Ontario is pretty short. The boat is sometimes launched on the May long weekend and if we do actually go sailing, we just about freeze to death even if it is warm on land! The boat is also hauled out in September, so our sailing season starts in mid June and continues on to July and August, so it is a pretty short season. Of course I have to work from September to June, so that kind of puts a damper on sailing too. However, in a couple of years, I get to retire and then we can do whatever we want. And what we’ve been doing lately in the off season is making stuff. Dennis has discovered that turning wooden bowls is a lot of fun. He’s made quite a few and has also sold several of them too! I have been making bags – purses, tote bags, computer bags. This is a lot of fun too and we hope to sell these hand-crafted things at local craft fairs (once we make enough of them). So, we now have another website called Bowls and Bags. This is where we fill feature all of our things that we make in the winter when we are not sailing around. So, take a look at Bowls and Bags!

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2012 in Everything Else!, Waiting for summer...

 

April 2011 – Uncovering Split Crow

10 Apr

Uncovering Split Crow - April 2011

We have had a very long winter – unusually cold temperatures. Finally, on April 8th, Dennis went out to the marina and uncovered the Split Crow. He spend all day taking the tarps off, putting up the canvas and generally getting things ready. Of course, it was a beautiful day, so he didn’t mind at all. He spend a good part of yesterday (April 9th) getting the boat back in order too. He put the interior back together and completed a bunch of tasks that needed doing inside.

Dennis also spent a lot of time cleaning deck of the boat. He polished and cleaned and made it look great!

Dennis cleaned the sliding hatch

He took the sliding hatch apart (this has the solar panel on it) and cleaned up ten years of disgusting dirt.

I arrived just in time – he was all done! All I did was take a few pictures and then give him instructions as to what I wanted done before we go away for the summer. This year, we really don’t have many major projects but I do want a switch installed near the shower that runs the sump pump. We have a very high quality pump (it’s the third replacement so we bought a good one) but it is very noisy and the switch to turn it on and off is way over near the nav station, so I have to turn the switch on, then run over to the shower and as soon as I’ve done the shower, the noise of the pump just about drives me off the deep end, so before I even towel myself off, I have to run back to the switch while I’m dripping wet and turn it off. So, Dennis is going to put another switch right outside the shower.

Another thing I would like is a good place to store the fresh fruit and vegetables. Last year, I kept them in a bin under the bed in the forward cabin and I may have to do that again, but I would prefer an alternate storage container. If there are any other Hunter 420 Passage owners out there who have figured this out, please let me know. I am open to suggestions!

There are a few other little things that need to be done, but basically, we are waiting for the ice to melt from the bay so that we can launch the boat! Hopefully before the May long weekend but we’ll see – spring is a couple of weeks behind this year.

 
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Posted by on April 10, 2011 in Everything Else!, Our Boat - 420 Hunter Passage, Waiting for summer...

 

The Table

06 Mar

We are going to the boat tomorrow to figure what to do with the table. The current table is too big. So, I bought a piece of styrofoam and we’re going to use it as our prototype. We’ll see how it goes!

 
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Posted by on March 6, 2010 in Waiting for summer...

 

Posting from my phone

07 Feb

Well, this may be an interesting way to write on the blog. As long as we get cell service, this could be quite fun although my posts may be considerably shorter.
More updates coming – I’ll be able to write about the anchor chain next week. Very exciting

 
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Posted by on February 7, 2010 in Waiting for summer...

 

February Boating

07 Feb

I can’t say that I would enjoy living aboard the Split Crow in February – not where we live! It is was a balmy -17 C this morning and has improved to -9 at high noon. It is sunny though, so I guess I will go skiing instead!

Spring is coming – we are getting more daylight hours but still have a long way to go before pulling the tarp off the boat. Oh well, c’est la vie!

 
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Posted by on February 7, 2010 in Waiting for summer...