From the Sound to the Tree Tops

Ally's First Sale!

What a fantastic weekend on the North Shore.  We started early (on Friday) to celebrate Allison's first sail aboard Exploits.  The conditions promised to be great.  The tides were extremely low, which meant we had to stay out for 6 - 7 hours.  What a shame!  Robert Bazeley, a Townie from Newfoundland joined us.  He seemed to enjoy it, or maybe it was just being with Allison that had him smiling all afternoon.

Jude packed us lots of food even though she couldn't join us, so we weren't going to starve.  We dined while we cruised out past Malagash Point, across in front of Saddle Island and off towards Wallace.  The winds kept us out in the Strait for most of the afternoon.

Allison and Robert headed down below for a couple of games of crib and some demon rum.  At 6 pm we turned and headed into Amet Sound.  I turned on the autohelm, called Jude, who arrived at the cottage and did a cruise by while enjoying the last of many cocktails!

We officially became members of the Barrachois Harbour Yacht Club ( http://www.angelfire.com/ns/BarrachoisYachtClub/) on Saturday.  Very nice people and a very relaxed atmosphere.  Sort of like a kitchen party on the water!  Our first official event is next Saturday, which kicks off with a Summer Solstice Pursuit Race, followed by the Blackfly Barbeque.  I've never been in any race on land or the water, so it will be another "first".

Right after the meeting, Jude and I, Ally and Robert, and Mark and Alison got out on Exploits.  Tam Flemming had just launched his new boat "Ask For", so there were crouds of people to watch us leave.  The winds were excellent and we cruised out behind Meltemi, a pesky C&C 25 which I think is going to give us trouble this race season.  The GPS had us at 7 knots per hour for a good part of the trip.  The boat performed wonderfully and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  We got back in before the tide dropped and headed off to Malagash for a 60th birthday celebration.

We went from the water to the trees on Sunday.   Mark had given Judy a trip to TreeGO in Moncton so we headed up there early Sunday morning for a 10:30 start time.  It was a lot more challenging than I expected, but everyone had a blast.  Jude finished the entire course with the young guys.  Amazing!