Preparations are underway to put the boat to bed for the winter.  I really wanted to do some more sailing but the Captain is in no mood so.....  We have taken all the sails off, the oil is changed, there are lines hung over Jennifer's fence to dry, I managed to get the dodger off and things are progressing.  We are hauling out in Sydney at a local yacht club and we have to buy our own jack stands, they will be coming in on Monday and we are hoping to get out of the water some time this week.  

We can move into our apt. on Wed. the first of the month.  Jen and Mark are putting their cabin up for sale and they are emptying it of furniture and have very generously offered us the use of it for the duration of our stay.  I am looking forward to putting up some of our art that we have acquired around the world on our walls. Mark and Barry have been out at the cabin for the past couple of days painting the outside.  Mark has been there for the past week doing some reno's before putting it on the market.  

William is in the red pants. 

Last weekend it was very busy.  William was involved in a road hockey tournament and Jen had volunteered to be the medical attendant for a morning.  William and Leeland were invited to a birthday party and Barry and I had the pleasure of taking the two of them plus a friend to a horse stable, where they got to ride around a ring and then go on a wagon ride (towed by a tractor) to a hut in the woods where they had hot dogs and cake.  The group of seven year olds were very rambunctious and when William had another party this weekend and Jen had to work, I balked at the thought of attending another party and Jen called the Mom who's child we took last week and she graciously took William!!

The boys and I have been in the pool almost everyday after school.  The weather has been quite nice, in the 20's during the day but cooling off quite a bit every night.  The hot tub is a great addition and the thought of it's warm embrace encourages me to get in the pool when the wind is cool and the air is crisp.  The trees are starting to turn and we plan to take a trip around the Cabot Trail once the colours become more consistent.  There is a big festival called Celtic Colours which goes on about this time of year and we plan to take in some activities.   We had the tail end of a hurricane come through here last week and although the boat was securely tied to the dock, it managed to get itself blown over enough to rub against the dock and now there is a very ugly gouge in our new paint job.  I will have to contact the fellow that did the painting and see if I can get some advice on how to get make a good looking repair. There are a number of repairs that need to be made on the sails including trying to fix the spinnaker that I blew out on our trip to Newfoundland.  I had it up when the winds were gusty and on one particular big gust, it just split right across the middle.  It is too old to pay someone else to repair it, there is a lot of sewing involved, and we do not want to buy a new one, so we are in the market for a used spinnaker for a 40 foot boat, if you happen to have one hanging about or know someone with one to spare. :)

Goings on in Cape Breton

Barry's brother Bruce, who is recovering from back surgery, and his Mom, Georgie.

Quite a lot has happened the last few weeks.  Barry left in late Aug. for a trip out west to visit his family.  He stopped off in Alberta to visit his brother and family and then drove out to Vancouver Island to stay with the remaining family members, his older and younger sister and his Mom.  I think a good time was had by all.  There were reports of Barry getting whipped by Bruce in every golf game they played, they managed to fit in several while completing renovations on Bruce's new home in Red Deer, AB.

Barry's younger sister Kim with the latest addition to her equine collection.

Once they reached the coast they convinced their big sister Sherran and her spouse Doug to accompany them on the course and the games were on.  As a thank you for lodgings for a week, Barry thought that a session with a golf pro was a great idea for his sister. Maybe the next time he heads out there, she will be able to beat him as well!!  Barry also managed to hook up with the crews of Tagish and Cop Out buddies from the Indonesia rally and visit with our old Yellowknife friend,Ian, who is living aboard his boat Nightide, in Van Isle Marina on Vancouver Island.

I was very disappointed not to be able to accompany him, but the reason that I did not go was because my Mom was able to fly out here and visit with her daughter, her granddaughter and her great grandchildren for a week.  We had lots of laughs while she was here, playing cards with the kids and joining them in the pool and the hot tub.  How many children do you know that are able to say they went swimming with their great grandmother!!! 

Three generations of goofy women who know how to giggle!

The final soccer tournament of the summer (or jamboree as it is referred to in Cape Breton) took place on the Sat. while Mom was here and it was a beautiful day.  We sat in the sun and watched as the kids raced around after the ball, the favourite activity while they were sitting on the sidelines was catching grasshoppers!  One day Mark came home from the cabin near the New Brunswick border with a bucket full of Concord grapes.  The next day Mom and I picked them all off the stems, crushed them, then boiled them up to make jelly,  I had added the pectin to the juice for a double batch when I read the instructions saying that you are not supposed to double the recipes, oh oh; the question that runs through your mind is, "Will it set???"  It did and the jelly is delicious. 

A full sized replica of one of the first hydrofoils.

We headed out to Baddeck the next day and immersed ourselves in the life of Alexander Graham Bell, he had a summer home there.  He is known as the inventor of the telephone but was involved in so much more.  He had a think tank that designed and flew airplanes that set flight distance records.  The Silver Dart, a plane he was involved with developing, took part in the first flight in Canada, off the ice in the Bra d'Or Lakes.

 The same group invented hydrofoils and he also developed the precursor to the gramophone.  There was a time line of his life and it included the signicant scientific happenings while he was alive, The Origin of Species was written, the Wright brothers took to the air, and he was a contemporary of Marconi, it must have been a fascinating time to be alive. 

Barry arrived back on Thursday night and Jennifer was off to a conference in Halifax.  She said there was a spare bed and we were welcome to it if we wanted.  We drove the four hours down on Friday morning and spent the afternoon at Pier 21, the spot where millions of immigrants first landed in Canada. 

The typical baggage of a Canadian Immigrant.

 Barry's Mom was sent to Canada as a teenager when London was evacuated in World War II   and she first set foot in our country when she stepped off the ship at Pier 21 in Halifax.  The exhibits were interesting enough but the most fascinating part for me was during the guided tour when the Parks Canada employee was telling the immigrant's stories.  There was a photo of an old woman with her 3 or 4 year old grandson and they never knew who it was until one day a middle aged man visited the museum and said, hey that was me!   That evening we attended the Atlantic Film Festival and saw the premier of a film made in Nova Scotia.  The director and producer spoke about the film before it began and the whole row in front of us was taken up by member of the crew.  It was a pretty good movie, but listening to the group as they oohed and aahed over their names in the credits really enhance our experience.  

This week I am working for Jennifer as her secretary in her office in New Waterford.  I went in for a couple of hours before my Mom arrived and was shown what to do.  The reality of working in a busy doctors office is quite different than just observing.  I floundered around yesterday feeling mostly quite useless, struggling to figure out the software.  Today, Jen worked in the Emergency Room so there were no patients to cope with and by the end of the day I was beginning to get the hang of what I was supposed to do.  Just before I left I noticed in one chart I had posted the same lab result three times because I could not find where it went the first two times I did it, being unsure of how to get rid of the two superfluous copies I just left them there feeling sure in my heart of hearts  that having three copies was in many ways far superior to having none!

I have the feeling that some sailing therapy will be needed by the end of the week. 

First Day of School for the Stonehouse Boys 2014

The boys waiting for the bus, Leeland striking a pose!

It was the big day today, the first day of school for William and Leeland, William is going into Grade 2 and Leeland is going into Primary or what was Kindergarten in my day.  They have been going to bed as if they have had school all week and waking up early to get them used school hours.  William was up and awake and ready to go about 15 minutes early.  Leeland had issues with what he was given for breakfast and had to be cajoled into getting ready.  I mentioned that if he didn't eat up and get dressed his big brother may go off on the bus without him and that seemed to strike a chord and breakfast was consumed and school clothes were decided upon and off they went.  Leeland's backpack was very heavy and by the time they had waited 10 minutes for the bus he was stumbling around with his over sized burden.  He decided it was okay to take his backpack off and put it on the ground until the bus came.  

After the bus arrived and departed Jen and I hopped in the car and went to school to catch their arrival. William was the first one of the bus. 

Leeland was immediately relieved his backpack as he stepped off, by the bus monitor, a very astute woman.  

William found his buddies and in typical seven year old fashion when they were asked to line up for a picture, horseplay broke out, what a bunch of goofs. It must be great to have a group of friends to hang out with.

Leeland,with his monster backpack, at his desk.

It was i

I am always on the lookout for unusual gifts on our travels.  When we were in New York we went to the Museum of Natural History and there was a gift shop by the dinosaur exhibit.  I pondered about what I should get and who I should buy it for.  I was drawn to a book of origami, it was called dinogami.  The paper was coloured so when you followed the very intricate directions you would end up with a wonderful looking dinosaur.  There was an explanation with every creature which explained where it had been found and what it's characteristics were.  I could not resist, although Barry was rolling his eyes, it was my Natural History purchase. 

                

The next process I had to go through was, who should I give it to.  Hmm,  there was Cassidy and Eli, my grandchildren, aged 15 and 13, maybe they might enjoy it.  Then there was our very crafty daughter, Jennifer, who is very artistic, and we were going to visit her so, perhaps she and I could enjoy it together.  She took to it like a duck to water, we took on our 9 day holiday on the boat and she spent many happy hours folding away.  I tried one and had to resort to asking her to interpret the instructions in order to finish it.  Her boys, William, 7 and Leeland, 5, took to requesting that she fold their favourites, and they were competing to see how many each had. 

The other day when we were out at the beach we collected some driftwood and Jennifer wanted to make some dino-mobiles.  I had my doubts that we would ever get around to it, but yesterday and today was had some quality mother and daughter time balancing little dinosaurs with fishing line off the end of a stick.  It was great fun and now each of the boys has a lovely reminder of the summer holiday on Cat'-Paw IV hanging from the light in their bedroom. 

                                      
P.S. Photographing them was quite a challenge, thanks to Angela and Jen who held up the backdrop to give you an idea what they looked like.

Staying the winter

Barry has finally come around to my way of thinking and we will be staying the winter in Nova Scotia.  We have an unfurnished one bedroom apartment lined up, possession to be the first of October.  We purchased a vehicle a couple of days ago, so now it is official.  Mark, Jen's partner, is great at buying and selling used machines so he and Barry searched around and came up with a 2006 Honda Civic.  It seems to be in pretty good shape and Mark says we should be able to get our money out of it when we leave.  It is a five speed and it has an absolutely huge trunk and I love the colour.

Barry has been running around the last two days trying to line up insurance and plates for it.  Apparently the insurance company was never informed that we sold the X-Trail and so they think we owe them additional insurance on it, and we have to pay it off before they will insure us for this car.  It will take a few days but I am sure all the paper work will come through.  It is a little frustrating to have the vehicle sitting there and be unable to use it. 

The long term plan at the moment is to circumnavigate Newfoundland next year and then head back to the Caribbean next fall.  We would then sail across the Atlantic to Europe in the spring of 2016, but as you know a sailor's plans are written in sand at low tide!!

A Different Kind of Sailing

Mark bought a used trailor last week and it just happened to have a small sailboat, a sand shark, on top of it.  We got home from the Bra d'Or Lakes last Saturday and Jen was itching to take her new toy out for a spin.  We hitched it up to the truck and drove the 3 km to a pebble beach on the North Arm of Sydney Harbour and rigged it up.  The set up was pretty straight forward but we hasd to take the mast down because we had forgot to rig the jib halyard!!

Jen and I suited up, the wind was perfect for learning a new sailboats quirks, gentle but steady.  We tacked and jibed, ran with the wind and then tried what every dinghy sailor must know how to do, tip and then right the boat.   The tipping went okay, then I explained to Jennifer what my understanding was on the technique on getting it back upright.  I had seen lots of kids climb on the dagger board and then the boat would just tip back up.  Well it wasn't quite that easy.  Jen climbed up on the dagger board and then hauled on the edge of the boat, no go. She actually had to stand on the very end of it and I levered myself up until I caught the front edge of the he boat and over she came.  Getting back in was easy for Jen but my older body did not think that it should have to preform such shenanigans and Jen had to add an assist by hauling on my life jacket before I was able to get back in, how embarrassing.  We managed to get it back to shore without damage and derigged it and off we returned home.  

Sunday we were at it again.  We made some changes to how we rigged it after doing some research on the internet. We flew across the bay on a slightly stronger wind having to hike out when the gusts hit. Jen then decide that she wanted to try it herself.  Her first object was to see if she could right the boat on her own. Over she went and after a bit of a struggle the boat was upright and again and she was off.  She dumped a couple of more times and then the boat was completely upside down.  This was way more difficult to correct because the sails were still attached to the mast and the drag on them as you try and right it is considerable.

She managed but then once she tried to sail she was constantly tipping.  I could see she was being slowly but surely being taken out to sea on the tide so I swam out to help her.  The reason it kept tipping was because it was full of water.  It must have all come in when it was upside down.  We managed to get the mast on the surface and I went and took the sails down, up righting it was easier and we slowly sailed it to shore and then walked it back to the trailer.  Barry had gone to get some supper so Jen and I pushed and shoved the trailer until it was out of the water.  We propped it on a abandoned plastic beach chair and the water came pouring out.  It was amazing how much was in the boat.  After some much needed nourishment Jen tried again although the wind had dropped.  She managed to sail it on her own and was satisfied that she would be able to handle the craft on her own.  She is going to have so much fun with it, all it needs now is a name.  

We have just returned to Sydney after a week's vacation with our daughter Jennifer and her two boys, William, 7, and Leeland, 5. The holiday was not a success in the boys' eyes after the first day.  We tacked out of Sydney Harbour and out into the open ocean for a twelve mile stretch before entering the Bra d'Or Lakes.  It was a great ride if you were a seasoned sailor but for two little boys who did not have their sea legs it was a trial.  They were both green about the gills and lost their lunches on several occasions.  Their Mom was also suffering from mal de mer and tried to sleep it off down below.  She managed to hang on to her cookies and it was a tried and grumpy crew as we tied up in Kelly's Cove about seven hours after starting out.  

The crew rebelled at the idea of moving on the next day fearing a recurrence of their maladies so we stayed put and played baseball and tried out the new fishing rods.  We were flabbergasted to see another boat registered in Victoria BC pull into the dock.  We hailed them once we got ashore and they were from the Bluewater Cruising Club, fleet of 2011, and had brought the boat through the Panama Canal and up to NS.  We talked about mutual acquaintances and pointed out some great anchorages in Nfld. for them (they were headed there) when we met for sun downers.

 Leeland was fishing off the boat and when he handed his rod off to Grandpa for some remedial hook repairs the rod was dropped.  Mommy to the rescue, she donned Grannie's wetsuit and gear and in she went.  She was in the water for about 20 minutes scouring the bottom.  There was limited visibility and she had to get quite near the bottom in order to see anything,  the 6 to 8 meter depth was a challenge but she claimed to be enjoying herself, a true Canadian. 

SUCCESS

She found the rod on her next to last sweep and there was one very happy little boy on board. Jennifer spotted the hook on the bottom and that led to the rod, yippee!!

We moved down the channel the next day and found a great spot for a terrific camp fire; wieners and marshmallows were the order of the day.  Jennifer convinced the boys that the water was warm and in they went. 

 

Leeland was having a great time trying to ride on Mom's shoulders, meanwhile Jen is struggling to stay up and we could hear her strange strangled giggling coming out of the snorkel.  

William is great in the water and after seeing a starfish, a whole bunch of crab shells with Mom, he kicked his way to shore for his towel and got warm by the roaring fire. 

Keeping two young children entertained on a 39 foot boat was a bit of a challenge but we managed.  Grandpa is getting a lesson on the how to play one of the kids' favourite games on the ipod, while the Dinorgami kit I bought in New York was a hit with Jen and the kids.  The kit came with paper with designs on it and after many intricate folds a dinosaur was produced. One day we collected drift wood and a dinorgami mobile is going to be produced as a reminder of the trip. Grannie came up with the idea of making the boys names out of letter flags and after much cutting and hand sewing, their names and ages in flags were flown off the starboard spreader.  We taught the boys the time honoured card games of Go Fish and War and that as well as Scrabble and twenty questions were standard fair for the evening hours.  

No trip to Nova Scotia is complete without a picture of a lighthouse.  We stopped in Baddeck for ice cream, a few groceries and a playground hunting trip one day.  Jen and I went to Kidston Island just 200 meters across the water from Baddeck and went on the nature trail around the island.  We saw a young eagle on our travels and well as lots of interesting flowers, ferns and trees.  

Our next stop was Washabuck Bay.  It was only about 5 nm from Baddeck and the wind was behind us. Our genoa pulled us down the bay and thankfully there was no recurrence of the mal de mer.  It was a beautiful day so I suggested that swinging into the water off the end of the boom was something everyone might enjoy.  Grandpa, being the stick in the mud that he is said "why can't they just jump in off the boat?"  If the possibility of swinging off the boom exists why would you settle for merely jumping in, that was my thought!!

A great time was had by all three generations and we all swung in off the boom!!! That afternoon we took the dinghy around the bay and spotted eagles, king fishers, blue herons, Canadian geese and Bonaparte gulls on our sortie.  The next day it was time to head back home so we tacked back up the bay timing our arrival at the end of the channel to take advantage of the outgoing tide.  We motored the last bit into Kelly's Cove in a virtual white out as rain engulfed us.  It let up later on and we got off the boat and went to explore an old gypsum mine.  We made a valiant attempt to play Pooh sticks at a bridge on the way but there was too little water in the stream to carry even the smallest stick to the other side.  Today we got underway at 0500 to catch the out going tide once again and arrived back in Sydney five and a half hours later.  The boys took some medication before we left and spent most of the time fast asleep on the cabin sole, blissfully unaware of any motion.  

I would say that other than the first day the outing was an unqualified success, I am so glad we were able to have family aboard and share these great memories with them. 

Sailor Jen, our Winch Wench, Helmsman, and Mom Extraordinaire!

St. John’s, Newfoundland

St. John's harbour from the top of Signal Hill. 

We made it, Bob had been to the Rock twice before but had never had a chance to get to the capital so he said that the third time was a charm and sure enough it was.  We had two days to sailing in 100 m visibility to get to Argentia, our kicking off point for our trip to the capital; thank goodness for our new radar, it got us there safe and sound. 

Argentia was a big U.S. airforce base in the 1970’s.  Today it is where the ferry from Cape Breton lands so they have a lovely new terminal there where we were able to have showers.  There was no place to tie up so we dropped anchor just outside of the spot where the fishing boats are docked.  We had no plans to stay for the night we were just trying to arrange transportation to St. John’s.  It was a trial, thank goodness for Bob, he was relentless, phoning numerous car rentals outfits who didn’t have a clue where we were.  Then he and Barry went ashore and he quizzed the locals in the ferry terminal and came up with several possibilities. One fellow apparently may have a car he could rent us, it was Sunday of the Aug. long weekend and there was no ferry therefore no buses, so the only other possibility was a taxi.  

We ended up riding the hour and a half into St. John’s with Gordon the taxi driver who didn’t have very many top teeth and that accompanied by his thick Nfld. accent made him almost incomprehensible.  But it worked he took us first to the most easterly point in North America, Cape Spear.  It was a gorgeous spot with a lighthouse, and gun batteries from World War II. 

As I sat on this big long gun once again posing for a picture, I thought finally a Canadian gun.  Much to my disappointment when I read the plaque commemorating the gun I found it was a U. S. gun that was given to Canada as part of a munitions exchange.  Perhaps it is not in the stars for me to pose with a Canadian cannon this voyage!!!

Entrance to the harbour and in the distance Cape Spear.

Our next stop was Signal Hill where Marconi received the first long distance telegraph.  It is an impressive spot with much history.  The hill has a great position overlooking the mouth of the St. John’s Harbour.  The English and the French fought over this spot back in the day and it was also used to signal messages from ships to merchants down in the town.  There was a noon cannon there but it did not seem to be active at this point.  Formerly there was a hospital on the hill and those stricken with tuberculosis, diphtheria and cholera were quarantined far away from the general population.  The Cabot Tower was built after Marconi proved that long distance communications was possible and it was used as a communications centre for trans Atlantic ships and the Nfld fishing fleet. 

We had lunch and then headed to the grocery store for a load before deadheading back to the boat. Gordon, the taxi driver, was full of news about the Placentia Bridge. 

It was stuck, half raised and there was no going in or out of that harbour and he would have to drive and extra 30 km on his way home after dropping us off.  We had read in the cruising guide we have that if you went in that harbour you might not be able to get out because of the unreliable bridge.  We were very happy that we had tried Argentia and feel that in calm conditions the spot we left the boat was acceptable. 

My brother in full beard and Gordon the Nfld. taxi driver.

He regaled me on the way home with stories of smuggling girls into the Yanks commissary in the trunk of his car back in the 70’s when he was still raising a ruckus.  His stories of near misses with moose on the highway were rather hair raising as well. 

We pulled anchor and left for Cape Breton as soon as we had packed away the groceries and added fuel.  It is going to be an upwind slog that neither Barry or I are particularly looking forward to. 

St. Pierre and Miquelon

I don’t know about you but as a Canadian kid growing up in the 60’s we were required to take Canadian history and geography.  The islands that are located about 25 km off the coast of Newfoundland that belong to France always seemed rather mysterious and exotic.  We visited them last week and both Barry and I looked at each other and said “I never thought we would ever visit St. Pierre and Miquelon”. 

We set out from the coast of Nfld, intending to land in St. Pierre, the more populated and developed island.  The wind was capricious, blowing in our faces, making it necessary to tack back and forth to make any progress.  My brother is onboard for a sailing holiday so we indulged his wishes and gamely tried to make some headway.  When it was Barry’s shift later in the afternoon and we still had 10 miles to go he exercised the Captain’s prerogative and started the motor.  St. Pierre was still 30nm away so we pulled into the much larger but more rural island of Miquelon.  The harbour is very narrow and there was quite a wind blowing by this time so we dropped anchor just outside it’s mouth.  It was exposed to prevailing winds and we spent two very rolly nights. 

Once ashore the next morning we checked into France and then we went exploring.  The French seem to have kept their hands on islands in various parts of the world, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Reunion, Martinique, etc, etc.  It must be a colonial throwback thing, why would they want to have a base in the St. Lawrence in this day and age?? But I digress; we found a very small spread out town, based on a windswept flat plain which had wonderful soil.  In almost every backyard there was a beautiful garden with lots of potato plants that were thriving, we also spotted carrots, beets, spinach, zucchini, lettuce and onions, and my mouth was watering! Barry tried out his French on some pre teen kids that were hanging about the main square and was able to effectively communicate with them.  We bought some postcards at the post office and then caused great consternation as we tried to pay for them with Canadian money.  Fifteen minutes later, after several phone calls and many calculations we received some Euros in return and posted our cards. The wind was still on our nose so we stayed an extra day and I completed some much needed cleaning in the galley. 

 

St. Pierre was a surprise; after visiting the very small Nfld outports for almost 2 weeks, the bustling town of 4,000 was a bit of a culture shock.  There was a very large grocery store, a wonderful sailing school, which offered showers, free laundry, and wifi when you paid for a mooring buoy, and a plethora of shops. Bob headed ashore the next morning and managed to procure some wonderful croissants and we munched on them as we sipped our café aux laits, how very Continental of us!

 The fog rolled in and out of town, clothing the brightly painted buildings in misty curtains.  Many of the buildings were attached to one another, having a common wall but the height could be different and the roofs different pitches.  We wandered about the streets heading up hill until we had a great view of the town and the very protected harbour. The local museum was on the agenda for the afternoon and there we learned a bit of the history of the islands. 

The French and the English fought over them continuously throughout the 18^th century, at one time the hardy islanders were all deported and there was a wonderful celebration once they were allowed to return.  The islands played a vital part in rum running during the prohibition years.  The U.S, was not allowed to make liquor or import it and Canada could manufacture it but they were not allowed to export it to the US.  There were no restrictions on the French so a huge trade in the demon rum soon became a part of St. Pierre’s story.  There were pictures of boatloads of crates of liquor being unloaded at the pier.  Here it was transferred to smaller, quicker vessels and smuggled into the US.  The young fellow looking after the museum showed us furniture that had been made on St. Pierre that used the lumber from the rum boxes for drawers in a buffet and hutch for the dining room. Bob and I realized that time was passing when we recognized a wringer washer quite like the one my Mom used to use back in the early 60’s, we are aging!

A new twist on the cannon pictures, one with my brother in it!!

I wish we had more time to explore these French islands but we needed to keep moving in order to achieve our goal of visiting the capital of Newfoundland.

This is what St. Pierre looks like in the winter, brutal!!

We have finished our Nfld trip and are heading back to Sydney. We made it by sailing to Argentia on the west coast of the Avalon Peninsula. Then we took a taxi to St. John's. We stood on the most eastern point in North America. A visit Signal Hill was also on agenda. Pics and more details when we get back to Cape Breton.