Thats's my story and I'm stickin to it

So here I sit broken hearted, paid my dime and only farted...

This summer has not gone as I had hoped, actually it seemed that on almost every weekend I was called into work for a half day or it was raining.
Some where between the rainbow and the pot of gold I found a few moments to get out and do some sailing.
So what happened, well here is a sorta breakdown on where my weekends went
I work for myself, as a sort of consultant in the building trades. I do thermal imaging also called thermography, InfraRed, IR Imaging and along this line it is closely tied to Building condition assessments for commercial and residential clients. A home inspector, commercial building inspector that can also do mould and air quality inspections along with a few other things all geared to the purchase, sale and maintenance of buildings.
One of my clients seemed to like his retired week open and always wanted to meet up and go over his issues on Sundays. Being self employed means that other times my week would not be full but finding more work was the other half of my full time job career and networking was done to keep the appearance of working.

This is my excuse as to why during the week I was unable to get out and sail during the day. Half way through the season and I have five nights onboard and 15 day sails, some what paltry compared to last season of 22 nights onboard 12 of which were straight while we toured the 1000 islands.
This year we did a 5 day trip to Algonquin Park with friends at a site where there was 22 of us on one site.
I also started canning and putting up preserves, started a garden for veggies ( 100ft x 40ft ) and this also required more attention than previously thought. Spending weekends weeding and tending a garden, hauling water to keep said garden green during our drought and now picking veggies and canning them for the winter. With this drought there is a shortage of fresh veggies and the cost will be noted during the winter months, so I am fortunate to have somehow had the foresight to be prepared.
A prepper you say, hmmm well as a young adult I did lots of camping, hiking, worked in remote areas so having a pack sack in the back of my truck has always been a fact. Whats inside a mystery but maybe more on that in another post.

bljones picture taken from his blog profile
and used without his knowledge 

On a good note a fella I met a few years back when I bought my boat from Port Dover has a blog which is gaining recognition in leaps and bounds link here http://docksixchronicles.blogspot.ca/  has been asked to write for a local print so a BIG CONGRATS goes to bljones.
I met Brian through a sail forum and then as I was sea trialing my boat realized that as I was looking over my new to me boat I was standing in the stomping grounds of the Dock six chronicles, the break-wall gave it away. I called him up and he showed up with Timmies on a chilly morning and a friendship started.
All I can say is you will not meet a finer person who will go the added mile to help you out. If you happen upon the Port Dover Marina look him up and have a well served sundowner and a conversation that will forge a tie to him and his blog.

The beginning ...

Suntack on hard April 12 2011

 Some background of where we are today, I found our Grampian 26 in an ad and drove out to Port Dover, ON to have a look at her. The day I arrived it was blowing 10 - 15 knots with gusts to 20. This was going to make for really good sea trials and get a good feel for the boat. I meet the Previous Owner (PO) and we chat for a minute or so and he is telling me it's to windy for his liking and wants to postpone for another day.
Another day, did he somehow forget I just drove 7 hours to get here.

It's all good I say, I'll single hand the sea trial then no biggy.
We drive over to the office and arrange the lift to drop her in and grab a few items that will be needed for the trial and as well for the sail back to Picton, ON. We begin getting the boat ready, installing and setting the main sail, then putting on the working jib. Fill the tank with high test gas, toss in some water in the tank, throw some water in the holding tank and flush a 5 gallon pail through the head. Spin the sea cocks back and forth tug on the hoses's to make sure there fastened tight and start looking for water in the bilge.

Launch time

The lift shows up and the fella says to me " You have an hour max or we wont be able to get you back on the hard. You will be stuck in the water for the night.

Curiously I ask why,, Well theres a big storm coming in and it may be too windy then to move you. Fair enough sounds as good a reason as any and I tell the fella No Probs be back in an hour so he starts to pick her up and trek across the marina to the launch dock.

Trekking across the marina

We get picked up, moved to the launch dock and dropped into the water, once in I say to the operator hold it there for a minute I have to check her for leaks before we drop the slings. A quick look shows no water yet so lets loose the slings and get started. The PO is with me and we board her together and make our way to the transient docking area where I can start to get ready to head out and drop the PO with lines to wait for me.

Hugh on the tiller, it was his last time at the helm.

Wind is easy 20 knots and I motor down the fairway to the entrance markers, and start raising sail, first the jib, then the main sail, shut down the outboard start trimming sails. Instantly we start healing and the sails filled with a good blow she feels like she just hole shotted out of the entrance and we were off, waves were 4 feet and getting bigger, wind was picking up sooner then expected and she was really starting to blow, a tack and winching were moving along and heading out to do a trial. Trial it was, I was now getting over powered by the wind and could feel it just a blowing right at me, so another tack and were heading in on a nice beam reach riding in the now 6 foot waves and just surfing fast stern raising high and that roll down the wave busting through the waves as it wiped by me. Great ride in she handled like a heavy weather boat should and reformed as I had hoped.

Back at the launch and she is picked up and dropped on the cradle.

I paid for her over our coffee at the local timmies and shook hands with Hugh, said my fair well and would call him next week when I come back to take her home.