Vacation plans

Planning out vacation time in advance is a spring time thing and this year as luck would have it my time off falls on two of the three big holidays this year. May 24 weekend and Canada day. I will be working the weekend of labour day but will have the weekdays off after which still works for me, as anytime out is good time. 

May 24 is a three day weekend and I am going to be heading to Leek island this year which is located on the thousand islands area for the first night and then heading to navy bay for day two with a side trip to Kingston to see family for dinner. Day three is back to the marina for a dinner BBQ party and then waking up having coffee and breakfast, followed with a good cleanup inside and then a wash down of the entire boat. Back to house for dinner and getting ready for work the next day. 

Canada day is going to be great this year as I am planning to do a night sail to Toronto for the fire works. We'll be on the hook at Toronto island and then heading back home over the next three days for a total of five days. Well that's the plan but time will tell and it could also just be a great reach to Main Duck Island and just veg out for a few days walk around the island, check out the light house and maybe bury another geocache.
 A windward day to ram island is another favorite as well. 
Kerr bay another great hangout usually a few boats there BBQing and swimming as is Stella bay. 
I guess were lucky to have a few great choices right by our home port that are a easy day sail and also offer good protection. Rounding Amherst Island is another great but long days sail, maybe Wolfe Island will be on the list this year as an weekend adventure.One thing for sure is i'm planning to put some serious mileage under the keel this year.

Commissioning the boat will be a full weekend for sure and that happens the week prior to launch weekend. 
Some of the upgrades this year include standing rigging finished, all small stays are done and waiting to be installed, Last year the main side stays back stay and fore stay rigging was done with the install of the furler.
Mast work this summer will include a complete re-wiring and new VHF antenna and cable, Mast head light, wind vane, wind speed added as well. spreader lights have been upgraded and just need to be installed as does the steaming light.
I found these red and white individual LED lights and will be placing them inside the cabin area, galley, head, wet locker, fore peak and quarter berth. Outside in the cockpit will have two installed both by the sole at opposite ends to light up for foot traffic at night. two of each will be placed into the tube of the dodger and pointing down to give full illumination of the cockpit when required. 
Combing boxes are to be marked off and installed this season glassed in and then a kiwi grip finish over the whole deck and cockpit.
Every year I just keep adding to the list of things to do on the boat and almost as fast strike them off the list.
Galley is getting propane piped to the stove so that will reduce the small one pound tanks on board to a big 20lb tank mounted on the stern with a splitter to the new Magna rail mount.

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.