Halloween Day visit to the Jamestown Settlement

It was Magnus' final day with us and with a few hours to spare we took the opportunity to visit Jamestown today. It was a beautiful drive through the Colonial Parkway National Park toward the Triangle of historic sights, Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. We only had time for one sight today. We chose Jamestown which is the first place the English settled in America in 1607 to be met by the Powhatan Indian tribe. Jamestown is also known as the place where Pocahontas and Capt. John Smith hooked up. When Liv heard that Pocahontas lived here her little ears perked right up as she remembered the story from the Disney film. Nothin' like a Disney film to provide a little American history!
Mattias drove Magnus back up to Dulles for the flight and the girls and I cleaned up the boat, did laundry and they were treated to a little Nick Jr. in the Harbor Lounge while our laundry was being done. We didn't Trick or Treat this year. The girls were aware it was Halloween but surprisingly, didn't ask to go out trick or treating. That might come to haunt us tomorrow! It can be dark at this marina and since I was alone this evening, I didn't feel comfortable venturing across the vast darkness in search of candy. Instead, I fed them each a tiny kit-kat bar and sent them to bed!
More later,
Carrie

Annapolis, MD to Solomons, MD to Deltaville, VA

Our first day of sailing started at 7:30 a.m. Mattias had moved the boat the night before because the tide was so low due to Northerly winds that the boat got stuck in the mud at the dock. He waited until high tide to move it and we left when the tide was high in the morning and we were sure to get out. All the way down the Chesapeake we had a nice west wind and going with the current for most of the day we could go at a nice clip. It was a brisk day and of course I had forgotten to pack my longjohns! The girls and I stayed warmer with blankets.

The GPS and downloaded charts were up on the computer which was strapped to the navigation desk. This has proven invaluable to have available as it makes for easy going in regards to knowing where we are and want to be and since we traveled by a couple of prohibited military zones used for training, we don't want to bump into any bombing practice sights do we? So we are off for the approximate journey of 8 hours by motor and sail to Solomons Island, MD. What do we do for that long? Well, the girls like to do their "homework" on the boat, tie knots, listen to books on CD, take an obligatory afternoon nap if you can,eat and fiddle around. And we watch the traffic that goes by. These days were a parade of boats on the same course headed South as us, some barges and container boats. The second day Solomons to Deltaville, VA., was just as successful. Mattias and Magnus got an early start and were up and out the hatch before the girls and I. I was not aware that on sailing days you really need to be up by 6 a.m. if you want to get a good start to the day. This day they were up by 5 a.m.! Cousin Magnus was at the helm much of the day (despite a cold), and was given the opportunity to assist as much as possible on his second and final day of sailing.
While he was with us, we all missed out on alot of the sailing due to poor weather, but he will have other memories on his vacation to the U.S. from Sweden. So, we arrived Deltaville at around 3:45 p.m. so settle into dock. At the end of the dock was the Godspeed Ship, a replica of the original ship from the Jamestown Settlement. She was en route to a festival up the coast and stayed at our marina for the night. We also saw a Swedish boat anchored outside the marina with a home port of Stockholm on it's stern. Mattias may try to get in contact with them by radio tomorrow and find out how their story.

More later,
Carrie

Meet Windfall!

I've purged but still dream about more storage on the boat. With it at a minimum, we use every nook and cranny possible. Below left is under the girl's beds. We've tucked some sails, car seats and luggage bags there. On the left under bed is the toilet holding tank so that takes up alot of space. All there clothes fit on the shelves above the beds. Also some "friends", purses, etc. Below right is my kitchen dishware cabinet. Our galley has an oven, range, cold storage and hot water! Stylin'!

Our berth has more storage and a full+ size bed that compacts into a nice reading sofa space. We really have three separate spaces for separation and a place to get away!

Our boat has a dedicated navigation station with radios; gps; cd player and fuses. Here is Magnus using the computer at the desk.
















This is a picture of the Bert Jabin Yacht Yard where we've been living for the past two weeks.
This is how they get the boats in and out of the water. Huge lifts. This boat must be 45+ feet long.

This is the center cabin where our dining/main living space is located. It is where our guests also sleep. To the right, we are having a seafood dinner. Fresh shrimp of the day! Under the table is a small hatch the size of a small rubbermaid container. Aside from what is in their berth, that is the girl's toy and craft box.












This is Mattias on Windfall!

Annapolis- False Hopes

I guess I learned my lesson about preplanning with sailboats. Today we woke up and expected to take off early, we tuned into the Marine Forecast and learned the winds were up to 35 knots. That combined with a cooler morning would make for a potentially miserable sail, not so much for our fearless captain, but the crew of two young girls, the wife and unsuspecting Swedish cousin. We instead enjoyed a morning on the boat (a nap by Carrie) and then a long walk to a delicious Chinese lunch. Thanks Magnus!
We hope for better luck tomorrow but I will not post any promises from now on.

Carrie

More Pictures....

Liv and Hanna are taking a sunny rest at the Reflecting Pool outside the Capitol.
Outside the Capitol Liv found this Osage Orange Tree with funky fruit looking like a warped broccoli.


The blondies are Shannon and Matt's Corina and Raleigh.

Final Night in Annapolis!

Saturday
For real, this is our final night in Annapolis! The rain stopped late in the morning and the sun came out to create another balmy day. The seas should be relatively calm for our first sail tomorrow on the Chesapeake Bay. After four days of solid rain, our boat was pretty damp feeling so Mattias and Magnus opened all the hatches, removed the bedding for the wash and tipped up the cushions to dry out. It felt much better in the boat this afternoon and after laundering the bedding and other clothes we are in tip top shape below deck!

I met Shannon for coffee at Starbucks in Bowie MD, halfway between her home in Silver Spring, MD and our boat in Annapolis. This was our final meeting until who knows when? We are hoping for a reunion perhaps in Utah or Southern Italy sometime in the future! I tried not to linger to long saying goodbye... It's probably better that way and with good friends you know that you will see them again but was wonderful to spend time with Shannon and family in any case.

After coffee and reflection on friendships, I arrived back in Annapolis and took the girls for a much needed walk. We needed to stock up the boat grab steaks for dinner in the evening so we walked many blocks to the grocery store and back. I did the laundry at the laundromat today and the guys and young girls cleaned and hung out back at the boat.
Mattias returned the van at the car rental place and we continued to stow and/or purge everything that didn't have a home. The girls and I created Halloween crafts and "decorated" the interior to surprise Mattias when he returned.

Dinner was steak on the grill (we have a nice gas grill hooked up on the boat), asparagus and salad. Mattias and cousin, Magnus are listening to the marine forecast drinking a Glenmorangie Whisky. Conditions are changing to be 1+foot waves with 15-20 knots wind. Might be bumpy tomorrow so I'll try out the bio-bands that Erik our realtor gave us before travel for motion sickness prevention. We have a long day ahead so I best make the beds and hit the hay.

Carrie

Still in Annapolis

Friday
We have been held up in Annapolis due to poor weather conditions. It has been raining non-stop since Wednesday, our original date of departure. We expect to be leaving now on Sunday when the weather is expected to take a better turn. We'll have to put in a long first day of sailing and hope to get to Solomons Island, MD.
In the meantime we've taken a couple more trips to D.C. to get in more sightseeing. On Wednesday we contacted Adam, in Senator Amy Klobuchar's office at the Capitol. He arranged for us a nice tour of the Capitol with Diana, the Intern.

We walked the bowels of the building; saw some beautiful interiors and took the Capitol subway. We sat in on the Senate Chambers but missed some action packed sessions that day. We saw Trent Lott in the Chambers and just as I told Mattias I was hoping to see Nancy Pelosi or Hilary Clinton, there Nancy walked right by us on the way to her Speaker of the House chambers. She was followed by several body guards. After the Capitol, we went to the White House and snapped some photos of the grounds.

Both girls have acquired ear infections now and Liv's eardrum has perforated so we they are both on meds since going to Urgent Care clinics on two consecutive nights. I'm learning that the Blue Cross Blue Shield computers somehow/suspiciously, always go down when I ask pertinent questions about our new plan and going to doctors in another state than MN....
Today the girls and Magnus and I drove into D.C. again and went to the Museum of Natural History. We stayed some hours there and miraculously, made it back to Annapolis no problem with driving!
Still waiting for Mattias to assist me with loading pictures onto this blog. Thanks for your patience. He's on the phone now helping his new Yugoslav/Canadian friends with boat questions. They just purchased a boat and will be taking the same trip down the ICW as us.
Me, I will hit the hay early listening to the raindrops on the boat...
More later,
Carrie

Last days in DC/Annapolis

It's been a couple of days since writing. Happy to announce that we have a digital camera and with Mattias' help, will get some photos up soon.
Sunday
We spent a lovely Sunday in DC touring the monuments and beautiful gardens and green spaces on the way. It was a sunny, 75+ day and we packed up the kids and Burley and off we went for some monumental walking! We made it from the Capitol to the Washington Monument and only overlooked the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Memorial from afar as we ran out of time.
The builders were packing up from a Solar Decathalon on the Mall outside the Smithsonian Museums--modular homes built green. We walked outside the homes and saw some peat moss blocks for insulation as example. Mattias and I are into the Modular homes anyway and picked up some design tips for our next project!
Stopped for lunch--4 hotdogs; 4 bags of chips and 6 drinks for $34.50! Next time, I'll boil up the dogs and throw some in the thermos for a fraction of the cost!
Really appreciated the Burley purchased from a friend, Tracey, at our garage sale. It came to use today. Hanna conked out in the Burley and Liv ran and did her tricks beside us as we trekked up and down. She was exhausted at the end!
We were out of time before heading to Shannon and Matt's home for a bbq. More fun for the girls and us as Shannon served some special Mango Margaritas (a recipe that she's been perfecting) and Matt grilled up some yummy burgers.

Monday
Monday was a hang around Annapolis day. I took the girls and myself to get flu shots. We went to the library for Spanish and English reading and computer games. I caught up on some magazines...then off to the park for the girls to play. Annapolis has more girls at their parks per capita in comparison to Mpls, which has more boys in my estimation. The girls made some new friends as usual and had fun. Mattias was working on the boat some more and loading charts into the computer. He "found" a govt. chart program that hooked up to the GPS can be downloaded for free. Scarily enough, we were able to pinpoint to the exact dock where Windfall is at the moment. That's how accurate the program is! He is working with cables and wiring and getting it all rigged for action. All very James Bond like.
Stopped at the grocery store to do some provisioning for our trip South. Our galley is stocked to the gills now and I will have to remember all that we have since it is not always easy to access the food. I figure with 5 persons aboard, we'll go thru it pretty quickly. Days of dining out are over as we will be traveling now. I do enjoy to whip up gourmet meals in the galley. Tonight we'll grill some Turkey Fillets on the gas grill; some powdered mashed potatoes and fresh broccoli and we have a meal!
Mattias' cousin Magnus is on his way from Sweden now. He'll join us for a week while we get going South before he heads to North Dakota where he did an International Exchange on a farm a couple of years ago. We leave Annapolis on Wednesday (tomorrow).
I am cleaning the bilge space under our "Master Bedroom" now while all are away, waiting for it to dry before covering up with the beds again--our berth is smelling like diesel and since we need more storage space, this might help us out.
More later,
Carrie

Final preparations and fun with Raleigh, Corina, Shannon and Matt:

I picked up the hatches today from Maritime Plastics in Annapolis. They look like new and probably at half the price of new ones. Windfall is looking better and better. I also fixed the last deck plug today. Our good friends Shannon and Matt with daughters Corina and Raleigh stopped by mid-morning with some cinnemon buns. Picked up some coffee and chatted for a while. We all packed into the rented momobile and had a great time in old downtown Annapolis. Great company, good lunch (and ice cream) and some fun at the park for the four girls.

Windfall

Here is a bit of information about Windfall. She is a 1984 Storebro Royal 33 built by Storebro Bruk AB in Storebro, Sweden. She is built on a 1/2 ton IOR hull designed by Dick Carter. The interior is classic Storebro (lots of nice mahogany) and she is built to a very high standard. Windfall has been in Lake Superior for almost all of her life and is mechanically in very good shape. I think that she will be as good as new with a bit of TLC and elbow grease (and yes some updates and fixes). She is perhaps a bit small for long term cruising for a familly of four, but she does provide two separate quarters and suits our current and intended future use perfect.

I will add some additional pictures, but this is an older picture taken by Al (the prior owner).

Mattias

The Search for Starbucks...

Today is Friday, a sightseeing day planned in D.C. We set out after cleaning up the breakfast mess. Hit the Beltway (endless road that surrounds D.C.) to get to our destination. The highways here are very long--you can see for miles but you can't see homes, stores, gas stations, Starbucks, Best Buy or whatever you are looking for. You need to have a trusted friend tell you what is off each exit--if there is an exit, as they come few and far between I think.
We arrive in D.C. using the little map from the "Unofficial Guide to the Mid-Atlantic with Kids". It is helpful. After driving past the Capital, Bureau of Engraving, Department of Interiors (nice that D.C. has something design related! (a Sophie Kinsella if you know who she is, observation) and many other official buildings, we found what we were looking for--the National Air and Space Museum, but no parking.... So...circle the blocks up and down, up and down and around again. Liv announces, "I have to go potty", then Hanna chimes in, "I have to go potty too", soon it sounds good to Mattias and I...circle some more. Okay, Mattias says, I'll drop you guys off at the museum and meet you...he rounds the corner, past the parked tour buses, and voila!!, a magical parking spot appears out of no where. Right on the corner. Meant for us--really!
So we spent some nice hours touring the museum. Saw firsthand Astronaut gear from the various space missions; the experimental rhesus monkey taxidermied and put into his original space gear finery; airplanes and uniforms from WWII; rocks and the Rover from Mars but no Martians; a nice IMAX film on flight and some things from the American History museum like Dorothy's ruby red slippers; Scarecrow's costume; and Seinfeld's puffy shirt. Much more but Fun!
We went thru Georgetown on our way out then Liv announced those famous five words, "I have to go potty". So we began our search of somewhere to stop. After some desparate minutes and some encouragement, found nothing else than a trusty Starbucks across the street, only we had to park some three blocks away in order the snare the parking spot. Grabbed that one and whew! We made it!
So we hit the road again and take a National parkway part way home and it is early enough to go for dinner somewhere. We decide to use the guidebook again and try Buddy's Crabs on historic Main St. in Annapolis. There are dozens of options but the book said it was loud and good for kids. We give it a try but leave early has Liv has this nagging cough, cough, cough and is not feeling well. The food was okay, not great anyway so we didn't miss out too much. Get home, give Liv a steam shower, meds and a movie and off they go to bed.
The winds are picking up now and it is raining outside. Our hatches will be back tomorrow so the plastic sheeting covering the openings are making a racket. It is still very humid and we have the fan running--hot water in the boat but no a/c!
Our second french press is broken (same as the first one) and inevitably, we will be in search for Starbucks tomorrow morning.
More later,
Carrie

Annapolis-Thursday, Day 4

We are on our 4th day in Annapolis. Today was fixing day for Windfall (Mattias doing most) which gave the girls and I an opportunity to spend time with Shannon and her girls. We missed our alarm and woke up to Shannon calling by cell phone wondering where we are?! No, we were late in leaving, and another 45 minutes stuck in traffic in Annapolis while trying to get out of town. There was a bus being towed away and blocking a lane so that was the problem. Since I don't know the alternate routes I was out of luck stuck. So we got to Silver Spring to pick up the friends and went off to the National Zoo in D.C. Turns out Shannon lives only a few miles away from the Zoo and we drove a very scenic parkway to get there. The creek was very dry due to drought but it was beautiful all the same. At the Zoo, we enjoyed seeing some "new" animals to us Minnesotans--and esp. in the Asian exibits. There were the Giant Panda Bears on loan from China along with their interesting story in a museum setting; and then the Sloth family of bears. They call them piggy back bears since Mom can get the baby on her back for a quick get away. We also saw the zoo keeper feeding the huge hippo. That was a sight! The four girls enjoyed their day once again and my two "passed out" in the car on the way home. I got mixed up on direction only twice but it didn't delay me too much in getting back to Annapolis.

We arrived to the boat to find Mattias finishing up an oil change down below deck and a guy hoisting himself up the mast to install a stay for the halyard. On one of our first sails while still in Wisconsin, we let out the halyard and it was spinning and got a little tangled, if that's how you describe it so it was a good thing to intall.

We have had gorgeous weather here so far but expect some rain tonight and tomorrow. Mattias removed the hatches for replacement and they won't arrive till Saturday. A nice plastic sheeting is covering now and hopefully will keep out the rain this evening.

My family has gone on some mission now and this will give me a chance to pick up the boat. Mattias promised me some out of this world seafood from a nearby restaurant so perhaps tonight we'll get the chance to sample the East Coast delicacies!

We haven't acquired a digital camera yet but will try to get one soon. Shannon emailed some photos which with the help of my techie husband, will try to install.

More later,
Carrie

We're in Annapolis

The last two days have been spent catching up on rest, organizing the boat and seeing friends. Yesterday we saw my old friend Shannon from our days in a gang of single people and neighbors in the Lakes area of Minneapolis. Shannon lives here in Silver Springs with her husband, Matt and their two daughters, Corina and Raleigh. We spent Tuesday with Shannon and the girls catching up at their house and then out for lunch and play ground time in Silver Springs. So nice to see her again as it was at her wedding that I saw her last! The girls mixed nicely together and it is a great time to see Shannon in action as a mom.
Today Mattias tackled removing the hatches for replacement and collecting other parts for repairs tomorrow. I worked on removing more unnecessary items from the boat and packed into boxes for an additional shipment to Sweden. I have one more box left and am inspired to fill that up too! (not sure what to get rid of though...)
Mattias and the girls walked around the marina which is also a working shipyard. Huge sailing boats are in the water and yard sparkling clean. It is a neat and tidy place. It is very quiet here as we are almost at the tail end of the season. Kind of nice as we are getting settled.
This afternoon we took a drive to the P.O. to mail the packages and look for a Radio Shack or similar store. We took a wrong turn and ended up driving past the United States Naval Academy. Quite impressive on the banks of the River Severn. The cadets were out in the sports field where competing builds spirit I guess.
The girls weren't thrilled with my salad nicoise lunch so we stopped at Rocco's Pizza on the way home. They enjoyed watching Rocco tossing the dough.
Home now and trying to get the girls down for an unsuccessful early night- We are joining Shannon and girls for a trip to the National Zoo in D.C. tomorrow.
More later,
Carrie

Leaving "Home"

Our final day in Minnesota was yesterday, Sunday, Oct. 14th. We were up early and got right to work. There was much to do and I personally put off alot until d-day. It was nice to have family and friends come over because they left with car loads full of what we left behind as were were living in the house until this day. Boy it adds up and I don't want to have that full of a house again!! (I say that now...) Every bag (and we had 8 of them) was stuffed to the gills and what small treasures we found in empty drawers, on shelves etc. got stuffed at the last minute. While we were packing and picking up, Liv and Hanna went to friend's Mary and Corina's house for some playtime, lunch and Halloween decorating. So grateful to Roger and Karla for taking both girls! Last minute goodbyes to my sister and neighbors and off we go! I would have been okay except for Mattias who uttered "goodbye house" as we were sitting in the driveway ready to go. Okay-there went the tears!! That lasted until we rounded West 41st St. onto Wooddale and then I regained my composure.

In true form, we were running late--and thankfully for the friendly folks at Sun Country, we were able to sneak to the front of the security line. Saw Shelly (Ollie's mom from DFC) who was taking our same flight to D.C. for a meeting she was attending. She was there when we should have been--early! But we made it in the nick of time and off we went. I enjoyed a Chardonnay on flight with my yummy cheeseburger/cookie combo. (was that really hamburger?). After landing, renting a minivan and driving, we got to the boat in Annapolis after 10 p.m. We unpacked some of the 8 bags and left the rest in the van. Toddled off to bed for the most part. I was working on a Paul Auster book started the last time I was on the boat; Mattias was using the wireless connection.

Today is now Monday. A beautiful 70 degree day. Liv commented that everyone is wearing longsleeves. We're in shorts and t-shirts. We are having a lazy day as the exhaustion from all we accomplished lately has set in. Late breakfast of good pot of coffee, cereal, milk and fresh bread; drive to search for play area with girls; a stop at post office to purchase boxes to mail off more packages of belongings to Sweden (eight bags was one bag per person too much!) found a nature park right next to the Marina for a fall "clue seeking" hike with Liv and Hanna while Mattias caught up on work phone calls; pasta and lunch on boat; kids on deck enjoying the sunshine; tracing leaves and playing with acorns found. I made a nice pot of coffee for Mattias and myself. We will get a game plan together for our stay in Annapolis. We will book a flight for Mattias' cousin who will stay with us on the boat when he arrives next week. Some bills are due tomorrow that I'll have to tackle as well. So that means I'll have to sign off now.

More later,
Carrie

Minnesota to Sweden Planning

We didn't realize how much time and effort this move would really take until now but Mattias and I are used to working under pressure and are pretty good and getting it all done! We've researched this sailing trip which originally was going to take us from the Great Lakes to the Mediterranean but now we are limiting it from the Great Lakes to the East Coast of the U.S. Regardless, most folks take three years to plan out a trip like this we've found from the sailing chat boards. We're more like 5-6 months and most of that was prep work to the boat (our Storebro Royal 33'), and for getting the house ready to be sold. All that other stuff went by the wayside until end of August thru mid-Oct. and that's including Mattias' 3 week sailing and travel trip to Sweden and our annual summer trip to Sweden! We are a few days away from leaving on the jet plane and there are still more details to wrap. What went right? Well, biggest hurdle which turned out to be little was that our family house sold in a day! That took pressure off and knowing the new owners will close in a couple of weeks is great news to us. The belongings have been packed and the container has arrived in Sweden. There are a few paper details to deal with in regards to the container (Swedes have more sailboats per capita in the world, but don't know what to do with goods considering the owners will be living on their boat for the next few months and don't have a permanent address yet). Mattias has a unique job lined up in Sweden which he will plug away at some now and full speed in January. I am applying for Permanent Residency status in Sweden, which we found, requires Fed Ex-ing paperwork to Sweden and back to the U.S. We found the Swedish tax office doesn't have us registered as a married couple! Yikes! Paper, paper, paper. Since I won't be able to enter the country until I've had our interview and are approved by the Swedish Consulate--this is a big deal. I don't want to be waving to Mattias and the girls from Denmark! It has been tricky to locate information here when most of the files were sent to Sweden. Again they sit in that big container! So, our new Jeep owner will have his car title mailed to him! (luckily, a trusting friend). What's left? Deciding what final paperwork travels and what gets shredded; child parties at school; farewell lunches and dinners with friends and family; doing laundry and packing up the "one bag per person" for the boat. A few more crazy days of details and then we can settle into our airplane to meet Windfall in Annapolis! More later, Carrie

Ashland to Annapolis - Planes, Trains, Trucks, Boats and Automobiles

Windfall is now in Annapolis, Maryland, but I thought I would give you an update on how we got here from Ashland, Wisconsin. We took the advice of the pros on the sailnet forum and hustled out of Lake Superior. Carrie, I and the girls had some great sailing from Ashland, WI to Black River Harbor. The harbor was very low on water and we also managed to come in the middle of a fishing contest. However, after some checking around, a few kind UP'ers made room on the outside and also offered us a nice (very fresh) trout dinner. We were the only sailboat in sight, but the power-boaters took pity! Next stop was Ontanagon (40 miles later) which was a much less pleasant experience with 15 to 20 knots wind from the west and unpleasant Lake Superior waves which made for a bumpy ride and did Carrie in. The marina in Ontanagon was closed to us because of a lack of water in the entrance to the marina, but this time Tom on the house boat in the harbor took pity and let us tie up next to him. We need 5.5 feet of water and Tom had measured only 5 feet in the entrance that same day. With assistance from Al and JoDell (Windfall's prior owner), Carrie and the kids headed back to the Twin Cities on Labor Day, while Al an I took the boat to Houghton in the Keweenaw Waterway (off course a nice and calm ride with no wind nor any waves).

Al and I left Windfall in Houghton for 10 days and then we returned for a great but windy sail to Marquette. Magnus, my long time friend and sailing buddy from Sweden met up in Marquette. Magnus, Al and I then sailed from Marquette through Sault Saint Marie to Detour Village. Magnus and I dropped off Al in SSM on the US side which I am sure was bittersweet for him. We had a beautiful overnight to SSM with good wind. The only excitement was a lot of water in the bilge in the middle of the night. Later found a hose that was cracked and needed replacement. Normally the through hull is over the water line, but healed over not so. My approach in Detour Village was more of an attack than an organized approach. Tricky 25 knot wind in the side and dark did not help, but I am glad we were pretty much alone in the marina.

I had decided earlier that instead of going through Lake Huron and Lake Erie, we would take the boat through the Trent-Severn Waterway. So, Magnus and I headed through the North Channel to Gore Bay with plenty of wind increasing from about 10 knots to about 35 knots during the day. We were however mostly protected from the waves. We had a remarkable but lonely day on the Great Lakes and Windfall is showing what she can do in harder weather. We have noticed that she likes a bit of pressure to get her down on her "bulge". Being an older IOR 3/4 ton design (by Dick Carter) she is a bit narrow in the waterline. She also has a rather narrow stern. However, once she heals over a bit, she is very solid. We blow out the first reef line and new lines are on the list of things to be fixed. Good thing we had enough wind so that the second reef worked just fine. We saw only our second sailboat on the water since leaving the Marquette bay as we entered the marina in Gore Bay. The chartplotter and the charts that Magnus was trying out on the laptop was superb in entering both the marina in Detour Village and in Gore Bay in the dark. It was the first time I have used one and it made life a lot simpler in the dark. My approach in Gore Bay was perhaps one notch better, but Magnus amazing agility also helped (not sure how he got traction with his toes on the dock after that jump!).

From Gore Bay we took a shorter day to Little Current (what a treat) where we filled up on diesel and then continued on to Killarney. Killarney was also a great experience, though I would have been fine without the run-in with a local viper. Happened while on the phone with my realtor who got an earful of expletives! I am just glad it was not one of the rattlers they apparently have up here and also that I was completely ignored as he slithered away.

We left Killarney before dawn and crossed Georgian Bay under power and sail to arrive in Midland, Ontario, just before dark. The crossing was uneventful in very light winds and a warming sun but we had a nice day on board and it was nice to be completely out of sight of land. Both Magnus and I are starting to appreciate the size and the power of the Great Lakes. One thing is clearly different from where we grew up sailing - it is very far from port to port. If you run into trouble, you need to be able to deal with it on your own.

Having spent the night in one marina (cannot remember the name for the moment) we crossed the bay in Midland and settled in at Doral Marina who had a do-it-yourself mast crane. Doral Marine ended up being a tremendous resource (will come back to that). We unstepped the mast and loaded it on deck and headed up towards the entrance of the Trent Sever Waterway. We where a bit disconcerted about the comments in relation to our draft (5.5), but ignorance is truly bliss.

We got through the meandering path up towards the first lock in Port Severn just fine until we came to the bridge about 100 yards before the lock. The marked channel was perhaps one boat length wide and we had a 2 to 2.5 knots meeting current. We hit bottom three times under the bridge in the marked channel (once pretty hard), but there was not much to do but to head upstream because of the narrow channel and the current). Windfall has a very deep rudder and turning around was not a practical option. We did get through but with some seriously chattered nerves.

I should note that I had called the appropriate Canadian park service office twice to confirm that I could go through the canal. Unfortunately, the six foot controlling depth had become something between 5 and 5.5 feet by the time we got to the second lock. We decided to turn around and head back to Midland. On the way I worked the phones and with the help of Doral Marina located Andrews Trucking who had an opening to ship the boat a few days later. We agreed on Annapolis as an appropriate destination (and also a good starting point for the family trip down the East Coast). With expert help from the folks at Doral Marine in Midland and Steve (our driver from Andrews Trucking) we got it all organized in two days. With a bit of luck we also squeezed in just ahead of the Annapolis boat show and got a spot at Bert Jabin's Yacht Yard (another great group of professionals).

It ended up being more difficult to get two wayward Swedes out of Midland than Windfall, but our driver Steve came to the rescue. Magnus and I have now had the chance to see upstate New York, rural Pennsylvania and Maryland from the commanding viewpoint of a semi truck. Windfall, me and Magnus arrived safely and quickly to Annapolis where we again made Windfall into a sailboat and made a few repairs (we broke a few minor items on the way through Lake Superior's and the North Channel).

I flew back to Minneapolis via Sweden and we are returning to Windfall after having wrapped up the last things in the Twin Cities.

Until the next time,

Mattias

First post!

Time for the going away party. Annapolis next!