Hooked On Sailing

Overcoming a long period of landlubberlyness.

Photo by Sue

Photo by Sue

Today, a long beat in gusty, shifting winds to Gray Point (Murray and Elaine’s), then a slide downhill along the shore all the way back to the marina. Of course, this after a morning of chores (limited I must admit) of digging some in the defunct garden and then chopping up and removing two dead balsams interfering with the Feng shui along the Lane.

Noisy surf all last night caused by a NE wind. Chilly.
Then today, bright and cool with the wind backing from NE to N to NW to W to SW.

Perfect Use for a Billhook

Delightful tool from the 16th century.

Used here to strip the fungalized bark off the balsam that is serving as a clothes pole. From dead tree to an object d’art?

In other news, today’s sail was an example of timing so good it would be impossible to plan. We got the boat out, motored to Fraser Beach, did some MOB practice—and then the wind came up, giving us a good hour of lively sailing.

Traditional braunschweiger, onion, with mustard on a Triscuit hors d’oeuvre on the Pinebox deck as the day wound down.

Man Overboard Drill…

… in advance of a pleasant sail up the east side of the bay.

Prior to departure we re-tied the trampolines, stretching them tighter, with less sag. But then as we were heading out of the harbor, one of the lines I had secured came loose, causing Mimi, who was sitting on a tramp, to go for a swim. Mea culpa, but good practice, with the only loss being Mimi’s favorite hat and one hearing aid. Good sport as always, Mimi dried off, climbed aboard, and said, “okay, shove off.”

Mimi’s Fairy Castle…

…aka old stump.

Late afternoon sit at the Zen spot, with a view towards the village and marina.

And last night’s cooking during the power outage—after the propane problem got figured out. (Nice to have a backup.)

Power out for about 6 hours, from 5 to 11 p.m.. But we did get a good amount of rain.

Hors d’oeuvres this evening on the Pinebox deck!

Thor’s Hammer

Heavy rumbles still rolling around the bay, even as the front has passed. Or is that the Manitou reminding us of who’s in charge? Power out, of course, as is standard with any respectable storm. Will we be cooking on the griddle? Pinebox is getting the full Manitoulin experience in just two days.

Ride today, on my old bike, to the marina and back. Fun. Reminiscent of years past. Even made it up the big hill, though I do miss my ebike.

And, below, a shot of the new revetment between the marina and the church.

Rollers In The Bay

About midnight…

…a rustling in the trees and then the sound of surf, building to the roar of waves breaking on rocks. Bay has been a maelstrom ever since. Cool, with a little rain, which feels good after all the heat.
No thought of swimming, however, since our swim cushion raft dragged it’s heavy anchor all the way to the Pinebox beach.
Mimi is baking brownies to warm the house.

Glacial Erratics…

…no, not us—the boulders below.

And even farther below…

Made and brought here by ice about 10,000 years ago, and then rearranged by ice last winter.

Weather not much good for sailing, but perfect for swimming. We are looking forward to a little variation on the theme of sunny, hot, humid, and still.

On To Mindemoya…

…to drop off a water sample, and pick up a few groceries. Afternoon Windride and swim. Settling in.

As I dropped off our sample at 11:30 a.m. I was informed that samples are now accepted only between 1 and 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. The lady was kind enough to accept my sample anyway, an hour and a half too early.

Another wildlife mystery…who made these? Could it be Tamia?

Over The Bounding Main

The Windrider is in and rigged and looking good.

Photo by Sue

Photo by Sue

Of course, neither outboard would start, though each was winterized by Berry boats, though of course that was two (or three) years ago. (I suppose that if you sit neglected for such a long time the get up and go, goes.) As a result, today’s sail was powered by paddle and wind, which is more fun.

The mast-raising a-frame gin-pole made by Bob Habes’ friend worked perfectly. Easy up and (presumably) easy down. So easy, in fact, that even one person could do it, though it was good to have Wolf helping as we learned. The device is now loaned to Wolf and Patrick as an inducement to the their WR17 in the water.

Moonrise

Waiting for a full moon to rise over the bay, about 8:30 local time.

The moon was late, and then less than resplendent. Too much haze on the horizon.

So, a photo from last night will have to do.

In other news, here are a few shots of the griddle finally back in action.

Thyme, oregano, sage, and basil—all home grown…the basil from Whitewater and everything else from the overgrown Kagawong driveway bed.

Red Sky At Morning…

…better go swimming.

Too warm for anything resembling work. We did go to Gore Bay to retrieve a block-and-tackle from Heliotrope, which will be needed to operate the new Windrider mast stepping device given to us by Habes’ friend Terry. Along the way we stopped at Burt farm (adding several items to the cooler), and then quick trips through Steel Hardware and Valumart.

The Gore Bay Friday farmer’s market is no more. (Killed by Kagawong?) But, Purvis Fishery is still vending from their truck, now parked back in the mid-town parking lot—so whitefish on the menu tonight (likely caught in Mudge Bay).

In other news, Split Rail Brewery seems to be doing a land-office business, right off Heliotrope’s pulpit. And the new chocolate factory, next door (where Mark’s partner works) seems to be thriving. (We bought another Bean to Bar.) Although the marina seems to be quite busy, Ken says that CYC is hanging on by a thread without American customers.

And, to get to the block-and-tackle out of Heliotrope, we had to joust our way through another wasp nest!
Give wasps a year and they’ll take…over.

Dump Day

First chance to tote garbage in many moons, and delightful as ever. On the plus side, Dennis is still the proprietor.

Sue did more beach cleanup and visited Murray and Elaine, while I wrastled with equipment, and took a nap. At this point, almost all mechanical and electronic devices are more or less working.

Kagawong Discovered

Wednesday is market day, and oh my. More people than on a busy day in Minocqua. Kagawong has been gentrified, and is very much on the map. Falls at capacity, too.

Photo does not do justice to the size of the crowd. We had to snap it on the go as there was no place to park.

Photo does not do justice to the size of the crowd. We had to snap it on the go as there was no place to park.

But all is quiet on Serendipity.

Today’s big project was the Windrider. After work (mostly Sue) we went for a water walk, which is what old people are supposed to do. From our truncated pier we head out to chest depth and then walk along the boulders over to Tyson’s, and then back home along the newly renovated trail. Beats power washing.

Sunny, hot, humid, and calm. As we were water walking we saw Lollipop out for a sail.

Shoreline Cleanup

Work ‘till you drip, swim ‘till you’re cool. Then repeat as necessary.

Calm and quiet morning. Actually, very quiet—no sound whatsoever, which takes some getting used to.

Our remodeled water’s edge. High water and moving ice have given us a new look. I rather like it.

Nothing like an early morning paddle and row, as long as it is followed by a swim.

Two tanks of chainsaw gas to chop away from the pump house to Tyson’s, mostly the new lot. Skeletal cedars leaning away from land, and numerous ninebark killed by the high water, making for an unsightly and very tangled mess. While I did the sawing, Sue did the dragging, which is ever so much harder.