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I was in Guelph on the weekend racing our Snipe with Sarah at GLBC.  The racing was great.  Short course windward leeward, twice around.  Each race took about 15 minutes, with a three minute countdown for each race.   The series was 12 races over 2 days.

We’ve done a few regattas together, and this was our best yet.  It was hard sailing, with gusty shifty winds, but our boat handling and speed felt pretty good, and we had good communication and teamwork.  Much better than our bumbling and fumbling from a couple of years ago.  We’re not quite in the top tier, but not far off the pace.  The Snipe is a fun boat.  Easy to sail and forgiving but very tweakable and reasonably athletic.

The Canadian Championship is in Wiarton in four weeks.  I’m going to get Escapade up there by then, and we’re going to race in that regatta as well. 

I’m back at Lower Brewer’s.  Haven’t gone very far… It’s lovely through here.

Samantha and Sarah joined me for a couple of days and we made it up to Jones Falls, then turned around.  Poked all the way into Dog Lake. 

I’m tackling a few maintenance items this week, then racing Snipe this weekend.  Will be back underway next week with my motorcycle on deck, heading back to Kingston and towards Lake Huron.

I’ve completed another Loop, and have been compiling some stats and approximate costs. This covers about 13 months, from leaving Toronto in early May last year until arriving back in Lake Ontario last week.

Distance traveled: 8,171 miles / 13,150 km

Engine hours: 1,215

Fuel: 6,424 l / 1,697 gal  $10,800

Insurance:  $1,600

Charts: $400

Dockage/lockage/customs fees: $2,100

Maintenance/repairs: $1,600

Transportation to/from boat: $600

New outboard: $4,500

Total:CDN$21,600

The boat performed well.  The biggest failure was losing the bow thruster in the Bahamas.  That’s still unresolved.  Apart from that I replaced the macerator pump and an impeller after failure, and had some frustrations/glitches with my MFD.  No other noteworthy issues.

I haven’t hauled the boat in almost two years, but the bottom is clean and I’ve managed to avoid major underwater damage. 

Major stops included Wiarton, Chicago and Memphis.  The boat was stopped in each of those places for a few weeks. Apart from that I was mostly on the move. 

Incidents/accidents: I have two new significant scars on the topsides, one from a bad docking attempt on a concrete pier in Collins Bay, and one from hitting a channel marker in Florida while briefly away from the helm.  Both on me.  I’ve bumped hard bottom two or three times, but don’t believe I’ve done any damage. 

Update June 11:  I’ve had the thruster motor rebuilt, $1,700.  Add that to the total.

From Stuart FL to Brewerton NY

Distance: 2,132 miles

Engine hours: 294

Fuel: 468 gal

That’s about 4.5 mpg, 1.6 gph, 7.3 mph avg

There are really two segments to this trip – the waterways where I went slow @ 5-6 mpg and the open water segment between Norfolk and NYC where I booted it @ 2-3 mpg.  It’s nice to have both capabilities.

I’ve stopped tracking furnace consumption, but that’s included, as is occasional generator use. 

I meant to write along the Erie Canal, but didn’t have much to say.  I’ve done the trip a couple of times before.

I left Waterford on opening day Friday.  The first lock was at 0800 and I was in the fourth fleet of about 11 boats leaving at 1100.  For the first two days we traveled largely as a group, with a lock every few miles.

I was a little concerned about boat handling as I’m operating without thrusters.  I was unable to resuscitate the bow thruster.  But the weather was fair and I had no issues.  I was always second into the locks and able to do a midship tie on a fixed cable, or a ladder where there was no cable.  This worked very well for me.

Wednesday afternoon I arrived in Oswego to a flat lake, and headed out.  Anchored next to Galloo Island and arrived in Kingston Wednesday, then up the Rideau Canal to Lower Brewer’s Lock.

I’m now back on the boat after a few days ashore with family.  It was nice to get back to Canada and off the boat.

Going through my pics, this one has a story

As the water was being lowered I was standing amidships holding on to the ladder, or a line fed through a rung.  Pretty relaxed generally, but only a couple of feet between the cabin side and the dock wall.

All was fine, and we were down maybe ten feet when I unexpectedly came face to face with a big frog sitting on a ladder rung.  I was so startled I let out a big shriek that startled everyone in the lock!

I’m glad it had the sense to stay put. 

Not much else of note, except an interesting modern day sailor spotted in Confederation Basin. 

I’m tied up at the town dock in Waterford.  It was a relaxed trip up the river, and fun to travel almost all the way with a tail current by timing the tides.

The NY canal system is scheduled to open on Friday, and I’m here until then.  My original plan was to go through Lake Champlain, but I’ve decided to take the more direct route through the Erie Canal to Oswego.  It’ll put me in Ontario faster and saves having to round up crew for the Seaway and Chambly locks.

It’s nice to stop for a few days.  As usual I have things to do aboard.  My bow thruster stopped working in the Bahamas, and I could use it for the next couple of weeks of locking.  And the outside needs a good wash down.  Get all that salt off.

I realize it’s been a week since I last posted.  I haven’t had much to say. 

I spent five days roaming the CT coast and rivers.  Went up the Connecticut River to Hartford, then followed the shoreline back towards NYC.

Yesterday I had a fun day exploring around Mamaroneck and City Island.  I was planning to stay there, but the tides were right in the afternoon for a passage through NYC so I pressed on.  Turned right at the Harlem River and went through that way to the Hudson.  I stayed just below the Tappan Zee bridge last night.

Today I traveled with the inbound current up to Poughkeepsie.  I’m here until noon tomorrow when I catch the next inbound tide.

It’s quite beautiful through here.  I’m looking forward to heading north from Albany through the Champlain Canal and Lake Champlain.  That’ll be new territory for me.

I’m tied up for the night on the town dock in Norwich, at the head of the Thames River.  Nice spot.  People fishing and hanging out in the park.  Had some good Indian takeout for dinner.

A lot of the lower section of the river is devoted to submarines.  There’s a big base as well as a builder.  I knew it was around here somewhere.

Tomorrow I leave with the tide, heading down to the shore and hopping south to the Connecticut River. 

I’m anchored here for a bit.  Nice trip across from Long Island.  I was ashore this afternoon wandering around town and tomorrow will visit the Seaport Museum.  I was here over 40 years ago in the winter time.  Looking forward to visiting again.

I love poking around this time of year.  The best anchorages are open, and most local boats are still under wraps.

I’m anchored here, sheltered from the east wind.  Tomorrow I’ll head over to the Connecticut side.  I’d like to stop in Mystic for a day or two.

Yesterday I stopped in Shinnecook Bay, and this morning came through the Shinnecook Canal, and around the north side of Shelter Island.

I’m sure things will look quite different around here in a month.  Right now it’s pretty quiet.