It never ceases to amaze me how far we have advanced the art of staying in touch. Or is art the proper noun to apply, to what surely to some must seem something like black magic? I mean here I am sitting in my cockpit, snugly tied to the guest wharf at the Crescent Yacht Club in Chaumont Bay, NY, typing a post for the blog. The scene couldn’t be more idyllic, there is a full moon rising over the bay, a couple of candles are burning in their lantern fixtures, soft country music playing on the stereo and Pat is busy below making a cup of tea to help us digest a wonderful meal. As I wait, I haul out the IBM and start to reflect on the events of the weekend.
Blogging I’m finding is very therapeutic, it is a sort of free association of ideas, emotions and perceptions that are a product of the moment, it’s no wonder they use the technique for treating certain types of mental illness. Sometime they are wine mellowed ramblings, and at other times they are poignant insights into current events of the here and now. Whatever they are, the fact that I can sit here in complete comfort, only an off button away from being totally isolated, and share my thoughts with whomever is within a TCP/IP throw, is truly a miracle.
So Pat and I have survived our first week out as fulltime cruisers! Last Tuesday, 8/12, we just had to get off the dock and head out, otherwise, the load of impending boat projects would have held us back for a day…maybe two,,, maybe more…We have had the usual bits of Lake Ontario cruising, you know lots of motoring, and farther a field, but familiar ports like Cobourg, Rochester, Oswego etc. But after Oswego, we started into some newer territory, which I guess was part of the purpose of going cruising in the first place!
This past weekend has been one of extremes in terms of the places we have visited. It was our first time to Sackets Harbor and to Chaumont Bay. For the sailor these two locations are the antithesis of each other. Sort of like the difference between a power boat and a sailboat,. Sackets is flashy, in your face and all about style, in a contrived Disneyesque sort of way. It does have a certain esthetic that some will find appealing but the charms are not for the faint of wallet. Chaumont, only a stones throw away is simpler, but no less elegant and exudes the kind of warmth that begs for a second date.
Chaumont Bay has to one of the best kept secrets on Lake Ontario. It is an easy day sail from Oswego, Wapoos or Kingston. It combines the best of Adolphus Reach with the interesting features of Georgian Bay. The wind is steady in the mid teens and the water according to the locals in almost always flat by virtue of the excellent protection from all point of the compass. For a real treat you should plan to visit Crescent Yacht Club at the tip of the bay. The club is one of the oldest in the US and is operated by a highly motivated membership. The fact that were mgreeted on the dock by Peter H, and Tom, B the Commodore and Vice Commodore respectively, just capped off the experience. If you want some quiet downtime to sail, race, or just drop the hook in a quiet cove, Chaumont is definitely a must do.
Monday was as close to blue water sailing as you can get, without getting salty. There was a small craft wind warning out when we departed CYC, but we figured that a mere 20-25 knots of wind would be child’s play for Threepenny Opera. What a play it was! As we rounded the Point Peninsula mark, we fell off onto a broad reach with a reef in the main and several rolls taken up on the genny. The result was a screaming sleigh ride of 8-9 knots as we headed up towards Cape Vincent. Apart from the corkscrew effect of sliding off the building 4-6 foot waves, the sailing was the stuff they write books about. One sad note, I have a 44lb Bruce clone anchor, that is sitting in ~400 of water, but it'll take single malt to tell the story. At least the Yellow Perch at the Thousand Islands Inn in Clayton made it worthwhile.
Tuesday was about playing tourist, as you can see from the pictures of Boldt Castle. It’s worth the trip to see how much a mere $2.5 million could buy in 1900….and this was just his summer house!
For all of us who are used to sailing in Lake Ontario, we are spoiled by the wonderful information provided to us by the good folks from the “Ports” book. I know about all the disclaimers, but there are two kinds of sailors, those who admit to using the pictures in the Ports book to navigate into harbours, despite the warnings, and those who won’t admit to doing it, but do it anyway. I am posting this from Brockville Yacht Club, just prior to our departure for our first set of St. Lawrence Seaway locks at Iroquois Falls. The locks don’t scare me nearly as much as the fact that we are running out of Ports book pages. By this time tomorrow, we are going to be in completely uncharted waters so to speak, so I am expecting the next week to be veeery interesting!!
Wish us luck!
Addison
Blogging I’m finding is very therapeutic, it is a sort of free association of ideas, emotions and perceptions that are a product of the moment, it’s no wonder they use the technique for treating certain types of mental illness. Sometime they are wine mellowed ramblings, and at other times they are poignant insights into current events of the here and now. Whatever they are, the fact that I can sit here in complete comfort, only an off button away from being totally isolated, and share my thoughts with whomever is within a TCP/IP throw, is truly a miracle.
So Pat and I have survived our first week out as fulltime cruisers! Last Tuesday, 8/12, we just had to get off the dock and head out, otherwise, the load of impending boat projects would have held us back for a day…maybe two,,, maybe more…We have had the usual bits of Lake Ontario cruising, you know lots of motoring, and farther a field, but familiar ports like Cobourg, Rochester, Oswego etc. But after Oswego, we started into some newer territory, which I guess was part of the purpose of going cruising in the first place!
This past weekend has been one of extremes in terms of the places we have visited. It was our first time to Sackets Harbor and to Chaumont Bay. For the sailor these two locations are the antithesis of each other. Sort of like the difference between a power boat and a sailboat,. Sackets is flashy, in your face and all about style, in a contrived Disneyesque sort of way. It does have a certain esthetic that some will find appealing but the charms are not for the faint of wallet. Chaumont, only a stones throw away is simpler, but no less elegant and exudes the kind of warmth that begs for a second date.
Chaumont Bay has to one of the best kept secrets on Lake Ontario. It is an easy day sail from Oswego, Wapoos or Kingston. It combines the best of Adolphus Reach with the interesting features of Georgian Bay. The wind is steady in the mid teens and the water according to the locals in almost always flat by virtue of the excellent protection from all point of the compass. For a real treat you should plan to visit Crescent Yacht Club at the tip of the bay. The club is one of the oldest in the US and is operated by a highly motivated membership. The fact that were mgreeted on the dock by Peter H, and Tom, B the Commodore and Vice Commodore respectively, just capped off the experience. If you want some quiet downtime to sail, race, or just drop the hook in a quiet cove, Chaumont is definitely a must do.
Monday was as close to blue water sailing as you can get, without getting salty. There was a small craft wind warning out when we departed CYC, but we figured that a mere 20-25 knots of wind would be child’s play for Threepenny Opera. What a play it was! As we rounded the Point Peninsula mark, we fell off onto a broad reach with a reef in the main and several rolls taken up on the genny. The result was a screaming sleigh ride of 8-9 knots as we headed up towards Cape Vincent. Apart from the corkscrew effect of sliding off the building 4-6 foot waves, the sailing was the stuff they write books about. One sad note, I have a 44lb Bruce clone anchor, that is sitting in ~400 of water, but it'll take single malt to tell the story. At least the Yellow Perch at the Thousand Islands Inn in Clayton made it worthwhile.
Tuesday was about playing tourist, as you can see from the pictures of Boldt Castle. It’s worth the trip to see how much a mere $2.5 million could buy in 1900….and this was just his summer house!
For all of us who are used to sailing in Lake Ontario, we are spoiled by the wonderful information provided to us by the good folks from the “Ports” book. I know about all the disclaimers, but there are two kinds of sailors, those who admit to using the pictures in the Ports book to navigate into harbours, despite the warnings, and those who won’t admit to doing it, but do it anyway. I am posting this from Brockville Yacht Club, just prior to our departure for our first set of St. Lawrence Seaway locks at Iroquois Falls. The locks don’t scare me nearly as much as the fact that we are running out of Ports book pages. By this time tomorrow, we are going to be in completely uncharted waters so to speak, so I am expecting the next week to be veeery interesting!!
Wish us luck!
Addison
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| Week 1 PCYC-Brock |
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5 comments:
Ok how did you loose the anchor? How much rode and chain went with it.
What does the bitter end of a line mean.
That was the problem.. no rode. I was too cheap to buy extra rode, so I had the anchor chocked off with no rode attached. During the sail to Cape Vincent, the corkscrewing motion worked the chock pin loose, and out it bounced.
The bitter end is the lazy end of a a line, at the farthest point from the load.
That was the problem.. no rode. I was too cheap to buy extra rode, so I had the anchor chocked off with no rode attached. During the sail to Cape Vincent, the corkscrewing motion worked the chock pin loose, and out it bounced.
The bitter end is the lazy end of a a line, at the farthest point from the load.
Did it leave a nice battle scar on the bow on its way down?
In retrospect - think of the damage that could have been caused if you did have chain and rode on the bruce with the bitter end properly secured.
That would have been quite the ride if it hit bottom and caught as you were trucking along at 9knts. That would give "Bow Down" a new definition.
No scars. In fact it was a non-event because all we heard was a noise from the bow and then we went back to hanging on to the coamings.
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