Sailing in 2012


Winters are just too darn long. Yes it was a mild winter with very little snow but still winter.
 No trip south this year made it seem even longer.

Once again I re-varnished the rudder and tiller. I also applied cetol to the new swing keel winch board
built by our personal carpenter.  (thanks George)   Sometimes I wonder if stainless and fiberglass might look just fine.  (AKA the Mulholland solution)









                           Our escape to the Toronto boat was made alone this year as all of our sailing friends where busy with life.   



The first mate and I spent more money than we usually do. Fenders, mast head\deck light and other small parts and oh yes  you guessed it more shoes........

In the early Spring we also made a trip to Port Credit and visited our favorite stores. ( Mason's, Genco and HMP ) We picked up a wind indicator, VHF antennae and an anchor light. We had to order a new main halyard block as no one had it in stock.

The First Mate has complained about raising the main sail for a couple of seasons now. I finally discovered that the main halyard block was worn. I really should have noticed this earlier.

I also bought a new Garmin GPS  and a Canadian topographic map which shows Wildwood Lake on it. No way we will get lost now. It is actually a replacement for our old knot meter which has finally quit. It shows speed. max speed and logged distance as well as the map functions.

With the knot meter and the depth sounder replaced I now have two through hull fittings that can be removed. But what to do with the holes?

I was very busy in the early spring installing all these new parts. In fact I ran out of time and had to launch without refreshing the bottom paint. ( Must do that next Spring. )







We launched on Sunday May 5th.***** Lets get the season started.******  First sail was on May the 8th.






After the boat was home in 2011 I found a small kayak for sale on Kijiji. The First Mate was interested in trying one since Juan seems to enjoy his so much at the Club. 

This gave her something to do while I was busy working on the docks or fishing. We dragged it all over the lake.  It tows very easily.

We raced again and again no wins. We finished 5th in June and 2nd in July.  We always enjoy the challenge and learn more each time. We really enjoyed dicing with Chelsea and her crew aboard Trinket.

On the 14th of June we where sitting around the fire about 10 PM. We both saw a fire ball (large meteor) travel from one end of the lake to the other. It disappeared over the dam. It was green and white in colour, very large, very low and very bright. Did not hear any sound from it. I'm sure I will never see another one. 

NASA photo

It was reported in the media. Many people saw it. I found one YouTube video. It is under Sea Sprite links.

Canada Day we managed to up our Flag count up to 10 large flags. This made Sea Sprite sail a bit sluggish but we still had a fun day on the water.














Many of our friends joined in the flag flap this year.















And wouldn't you know a raft up and swim broke out.

Thinking of adding one of these to help deal with the odd stink boat. It just might fit in the anchor locker. The half million dollar price tag may be a bit steep though.
























We missed the August race because we where in Halifax to visit our son. We had a great time and even managed a day in Lunenburg.
                                 

We arrived just in time to see the end of a sailboat race.
 They where a bit larger than ours.

We finally got to see Bluenose II. She was in dry dock and would be relaunched within weeks.

The Farley Mowat was also in Lunenburg. This ship has an interesting history with the Sea Shepherd Society. (see Wikipedia)

We also spotted the Spirit of Canada.










                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                            After our day in Lunenburg we toured  HMCS Iroquois with our son.

We had a few guests this summer. Some just couldn't wait to get off the boat.

We decided to combine our two favorite hobbies this year. We and many of our friends  were pleased with the results.

We attended the Port Credit in the water boat show with some of our sailing friends in late August. Gord helped us pick up several bargains. Always take a Scot when haggling over prices.

Upper Thames had to lower the lake early this year to do some "planned" dam maintenance. It would have been nice to know this when we bought our pass for the "planned" full season. We had to start pulling boats in mid August. Upper Thames had to close the lake to all boats at the end of  August. 

We had our last sail on August 25th and pulled the boat on August 28th. The lack of water and notice made it difficult for some to remove their boats.

Even with the shortened season the log book shows we managed to sail a total of 40 days. We visited the Club more than this but could not sail everyday.

 We sailed 288 nautical miles up and down the lake and we reached a maximum speed of 6.5 knots. (this is according to the GPS)

Aerial  picture of  Long Point

With the extra summer weeks we  had with no boat in the water the First Mate and I had time to make our decision to leave Wildwood.( at least temporarily ) 

This was a difficult decision as we have made many great friends at the Club and have enjoyed the racing, dinners and even the Peanut Gallery. (which we joined in from time to time) 

We have been exploring the idea of  taking Sea Sprite to Long Point Bay on Lake Erie. I spent a lot of time there when I was younger. My grandfather always had a boat on the Bay. When our son was young I have to admit we also owned a stink boat which we used on the Bay a lot. We spent many afternoons at Pottahawk  swimming eating and fishing. After a lot of looking around and many different thoughts we have decided to move Sea Sprite to Rowan Bluffs for the 2013 season. 

Sea Sprite should be at one of the docks on the left.

We hope this will extend our season next year.We also look forward to spending nights anchored out on the Bay and sailing from Port to Port. I should also be able to do a little more serious fishing with  all the weeds and sand bars.