Post Cruise

Sail #4:  10/06/12 - 12.2 nm, 5 kts/h, 2:27 elapsed time

It's always fun hosting people on the boat, particularly folks who have never been on a sail boat.  It's fun to watch how their level of relaxation increases as they get over the initial "fear of the healing".  A work colleague was thinking about getting into sailing and had looked at a couple of boats for sail at BHYC.  I had planned o Gerald out one another day after a field day at Cape John, but my motor was acting up (turned out to be a simple idle adjustment).

We had a nice day to show of sailing to newbies.  Turns out the they loved sailing, but weren't quite ready to buy their own boat.  The Post Family seemed to have fun.

Gerald takes the tiller under the watchful eye of Skipper Gee,  daughter Rayanne and  Admiral-in-waitin' Yvonne

Sailing to "The Great Beyond" - Dalhousie REM Cruise

Sail #4: 02/06/12 - Dalhousie REM Cruise, 6.8 nm, 5 kph, 1:23:57

I'm pushing an elephant up the stairs
I'm tossing up punch lines that were never there

A group of Allison's classmates from the Resource and Environmental Management (REM) Program at Dalhousie camped out for the weekend. We weren't about to let an uncooperative tide schedule deter us from getting them out on the Bay for a short sail on Saturday evening.

The BHYC Spring (Blackfly) Meeting and BBQ was earlier than day, so getting out in extremely low afternoon tides and almost non-existent winds wasn't an option. The winds did pick up in the early evening however and the REM'ers were keen to get out. Daniel and Allison handled crew duties with Judy and I. With 5 Dal folks we had a boatload (9 in total) - thank goodness for the large cockpit and 3 hardy soles that served as "railmeat", as Judy affectionately called them.

After our guests (and a few of the crew) got over the initial nervousness we settled in for a nice, albeit, chilly evening sail. The group seemed to enjoy themselves, altho that might have been the beer talking! We cut the cruise short and headed back to the cottage for a campfire. The Skipper and Admiral from Between the Sheets joined us for a few rounds of the game "What's Yours Like" which provided more than a few laughs.

Great day with some great young future leaders. The world is going to be in good hands, that I'm sure about (unless of course the rest of us totally mess it up in the meantime).

Classic Day

Sail #3:  27/05/12, Bay Head Cruise - 17.9 nm, 5 kph, 3:18:19 elapsed time

Sunny, warm, nice steady wind...a real classic sailing day.  Cruised up into Bay Head at a steady 6+ knots.  We were joined by Prospector, Gaila, Ever After, Fly-Bye-Wire, Abigale,  and  From Away.

Full main with the reefed headsail.

Daniel took the helm for most of the trip while I puttered and fetched refreshments.  Allison and Robert's first trip of the year and both did a great job of running the main and jib sheets.

From Away thought their engine was on fire, but it turned out to be a false alarm.  It did provide a bit of excitement for awhile, altho we were in Bay Head while all that was going on so we weren't much help.

Ready, Set, Launch....

Sail #1:  20/05/12 Shakedown Cruise - 13.4 nm, average speed 4 kph, 3:02:22 elapsed time
Sail #2:  21/05/12 Victoria Day - 12.9 nm, average speed 5 kph, 2:49.02 elapsed time

The annual migration to the Northumberland Strait again ended in success on Victoria Day Weekend, Canada's official start to summer.  What a perfect weekend for launching the boat and getting it back together.

The bottom was preped and painted on Friday and it came out great.  I thinned the bottom paint which made a huge difference to how it went on.  Given that it was a very warm, breezy day, the extra thinner likely improved the drying.  One final cleaning inside and Exploits was ready for the water, but not before a quick trip back to Truro to celebrate Norwegian Independence Day with the neighours.

Annual migration of a Redwing 30

The weather was perfect on Saturday and the launch went very well with the exception of stripping the backstay turnbuckle and bolt.  Fortunately, the spar from one of the boats that came in last fall was not scheduled to go back on until next weekend so I lifted a turnbuckle and bolt to reattach the backstay.  We got the main and headsails back on and once the dodger and sailcovers were one, we were ready to go.

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, altho it was cool in the shade of the sail.  We had a fantastic sail across the Bay to Malagash, back to Jollimore's Reef and back to port.  I got a bit of chill and a lot of sunburn!

We inherited the neighbours old stairs to the beach, so Monday morning started with a "stair raising".

It was gusting quite strong and Environment Canada was forecasting a small craft warning later in the day.  The crew came over the night before so I was eager to take them out, particularly since the temperatures were hitting the high 20's C.  Judy hung back to do sit.

We had a very rough start.  Eventually we reefed the main, furled the headsail down to a working jib and were off.  We hit 7.3 knots per hour on the chartplotter which I think is the fastest we've ever gone.  It was manageable altho the wind hit gusts of 32 knots.  We were joined by our dockmates Fly-Bye-Wire, our new BHYC neighbours, From Away, in their customized NorthStar and Prospector.  Between the Sheets had left earlier in the day and headed to Cape John.  Unfortunately they didn't get back in port before low tide and had to anchor in the channel until after 9pm that evening.  Rumour has it, they ran aground twice coming in the marina that night!

Exploits handled the wind beautifully and despite the initial excitement, it was a pleasant sail.

I was really pleased when one of the crew looked in the head at my holding tank project and didn't notice the changes!  Seems my work was befitting a 42 year old boat and looked like it always belonged there.

Head Reno

In preparation for 3 weeks in the Bras d'Or Lakes, Cape Breton, this sailing season, our major boat project this year was the installation of head waste storage tank with pumpout capacity.

The Bras d'Or Lakes are considered by many to be among the Top 10 sailing destinations in the world.  The 450-square-mile Bras d'Or Lakes are the premier destination for cruising yachts in eastern Canada.  With literally hundreds of anchorages, friendly people and deep, well-marked water, the Bras d'Or Lakes are an excellent choice to get away from it all.

Since Exploits was only equipped with overboard discharge, illegal within the 3 mile limit, we were long overdue for a more "sanitary set up".  Fitting a waste holding tank in the tight confines of a Redwing proved to be a challenge.  In the end, we went with a 15 gallon Sealand horizontal tank with a Jabsco macerator pump configured for both overboard discharge and on deck pumpout.

With the tank installed our attention now turns to annual brightwork and bottom painting.  We're hoping to be in the water by the official start to the Canadian summer, next weekend's Victoria Day weekend.

Rough cut for the tank.

Tank placement

Finished enclosure

Plumbing

Spring Has Sprung: 2012

Unusually warm temperatures this weekend meant there was lots of activity in the BHYC boatyard.  The "Bros" with Steve and Doug's help got all the docks in place on Saturday.  Jude and I opened the cottage, which has to the earliest we ever opened it.

Sunday was another beautiful day and perfect for sanding the bottom.  We used a water based bottom paint last season which didn't seem to work as well as I had hoped.  Sanding bottom paint is not my favorite job.  I wore a mask but ended up with water based flecks in my eyes which caused some real pain.  It was nice to get it done.

Reinstalled the batteries and took the final measurements for a waste holding tank.  Seems like the only option is to install the tank behind the head.  I ordered a Sealand vertical tank which should be here in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I have lots to keep me busy!

Spring Ahead! Sailing season's an hour closer!

We finally found the crew from our last race!