Waupoos

A few months ago I flew past this coastline in a matter of minutes. Monday we sailed 8:30 to 3:30, moving at a much slower pace.

Tacking at 6 knots per hour at a heel of 20 degrees, one of the winches flew over the side, winking at us from the water. Unfortunately we lost sight of it when we turned the boat around to scoop it up with a net. Hopefully another sailor will glance the bright yellow handle and salvage the treasure. That leaves us with two (non-floating) winches on board.

We anchor among 20 boats just off Waupoos Island, and stay for three nights.

Many are flying the BPYC burgee, and we spend time with Commodore Mike B; Kaarina and Mike P; Bob C; and Caroline, Dick and Maureen.

Great eats! Our first night, Kaarina brought some treats: Prince Edward County artisinal cheeses and a Waupoos winery merlot.  The second evening Kaarina and Mike hosted a boat party and Caro brought pizza – the first pizza I’ve ever eaten on a boat, made on a boat. It was absolutely delicious and made me wish for an onboard oven of my own.

Swimming in the cool, clean water was refreshing. Every day we took the plunge. The water felt extremely soft.

One day we even managed to make it to shore. A trip to use the showers, do some yoga, pick up some ice, buy some artisan cheese at the Blue Moose cafe.

In the evenings, the sky was bursting with stars. I kept peering up, hoping to see a Perseid meteor streak by. There were a few distant travelers but no stardust tails. Monday night, we watched unexpected fireworks over the water, lit from shore. Wednesday night there was a severe thunderstorm in the distance, over Belleville. Sheet lightning and lightning bolts erupting less than 5 seconds apart for well over an hour. I watched on deck, midnight approaching, dozing off between the thunder claps.

Hay Bay

(Sunday August 4) After five hours sailing we dropped anchor here in Hay Bay. Going through our ship's log, past visits are noted when we sheltered from a storm in 2008, and again in 2009.

As dusk fell, the fish started jumping and splashing and a pair of osprey and a solitary Great Blue Heron perched along the shore.

We lit a few citronella candles but the mosquitoes got so thick we sheltered inside the cabin for the next few hours. When I poked my head out later the lake was so still, stars were reflected on its surface. It seemed even the darkest corners held pinpricks of light.

 I called Rob up and we searched for Perseids meteors. Within ten minutes we saw three, one seeming extremely large and dragging trails of stardust. A wake in the night sky. Incredibly magical!

We stayed on deck for some time after, hoping to see a repeat, but no luck.

For the rest of the week, we kept searching the night sky and although we saw several more shooting stars, nothing came quite as close.

Close calls

Sailed from Cobourg to Belleville on Saturday, another ten hours on the water. Mostly clear skies, but strong winds.

For the most part, sailing trips bring carefree days, but we had more than a couple of close calls that day.

At one point Rob went to drop the main and I insisted he tie himself to the mast because the boat was tossing like a bronco at the rodeo. The waves were almost two meters high and the boom was swinging like crazy. I'm not sure whether I inhaled the whole time I was at the helm, trying to steady the boat into the wind. I think our next boat will have furling on the main!

When we finally reached the Murray Canal it was a great break from the bluster, but along the way we managed to catch a small island of weeds. Rob ended up diving to set us free from the tangle. There is a much stronger current than you'd think, and when he rose to surface, he met the dinghy bottom and then came up for air between the lines, gasping for breath.

Both times I felt time slow and called on angels and ancestors to keep him safe. Happily, no disasters.

Drama aside, it was a great day on the water. At one point the white caps looked like gulls following in our wake. Later, we saw a flock of five Trumpeter swans bopping in the waves. Dazzle on the lake like dancing diamonds.

The scenery en route changes from open water, to marsh, to canal, to bay. It's very pretty to watch how the shore connects to water. Unlike the trip from Toronto to Cobourg, a lot more houses and cottages dot the landscape. I imagine what it would be like, to look out their window, and watch the sailboats gliding by, blue water, blue sky.

Yondering wandering... and wondering

Are there people who can plan their sailing holidays? By 'plan', I mean that they book off the time, but they also set their direction and itinerary and stick to it. They actually follow the plans they've laid.

Rob and I definitely don't fall into that category. Our work-a-day lives are scheduled enough, thank-you-very-much.

We loaded up Yondering on Wednesday night for our summer holiday and when we woke up Thursday morning still weren't sure if we would be heading across the lake to Wilson New York, traveling east to Waupoos, or cruising west. We would go where the wind would take us. A romantic enough notion.

Yet, when it seemed the South Shore would prevail we changed our minds. We've gone there the last 3 years.

So in the morning I signed out of the club with the destination 'west ?'

Once through the gap, though, we promptly set our sails and committed to the east.

So here we are, tied to a slip in Cobourg.

It was a pretty good sail, we only needed to turn the motor on for about four of the ten hours. I read and dozed and woke and read and napped and stood at the helm and snacked and read and looked at the water and watched the Toronto skyline slowly disappear in the distance.

I could feel my tension evaporating. Maybe it contributed to the storm clouds overhead. Friday morning, listening to the weather on marine radio, days and days are forecast with "Cloudy. 40% chance of rain. Thunder showers." Again we were changing our minds about whether to stay in Cobourg another night or head out.

Stay.

And it is a good thing, because the thunder showers have started. We're snugged in here with a plan to head out at 5:30  tomorrow morning, traveling toward the sunrise. 

Today we will pedal our bikes in between raindrops, maybe watch some DVDs, and if and when it clears up, hang out on the beach or just wander.

A relaxing holiday weather or not.

Wonder and wander with Yondering.

Red sunscreen

July 27 - Fall colours are already beginning to show, with the occasional red leaf dotting the garden.

This article from Harvard talks about some fairly recent discoveries about chemicals at play. It's not always photosynthesis at work, sometimes it is the plant protecting itself from intense bursts of light followed by cool temperatures. Sounds a bit like the what we've been experiencing lately.

Weather-wise, it has been a strange summer, with floods, and heat-waves followed by chilly days.