Catch up

We've been really busy here, so I have a lot to talk about to bring you up to date. First, let me start with Merideann. The boys raced her in the Dry Creek race and came in 3rd. They were hoping to do better, but third place is still pretty darn good. After the race everyone got together for lunch then the trophy and flags were handed out. After that we took on the task of taking everything off Merideann, loading gear into large Rubbermaid containers, then transported these by dinghy over to the Catalina. It was a slow process which was not made any easier in the 90* heat. But we got it done and found new homes for everything from dishes & silverware to life jackets and dock lines.

In the process, we found this stashed away in a cubbyhole on the new boat:



A boat that comes with its own yarn. You've gotta love that! So we checked out every nook & cranny on the new boat and got everything stowed away.




Wednesday it was time to remove the old boat name and install the new one. We had to back the boat up a few feet for the name to be placed because the woman doing it needed to access the entire stern of the boat. When she was done, we eased the boat back into the slip. I saw that one of the lines was too tight, so I jumped off the boat onto some wooden steps that the previous owners had left and slammed my left foot into the steps. YEOWCH! I heard it crack, and so did everyone else within earshot. My little toe started to swell immediately so I packed my foot in ice. We finished tieing up the boat then went to diner, where we decided I should go to the ER because we were heading out of the country in the morning.












X-rays confirmed that I did indeed break my little toe, but the rest of my foot is ok. I was told to "use the buddy system" and tape two toes together. Ok, but this is totally going to put a damper on my weekend activities!

So bright and early Thursday morning we headed out on our maiden voyage to Leamington, Ontario, Canada. It was a hot, hazy day with not much wind, so we wound up motoring across half the lake. Here the Boo-Boo Foot takes in the sights. Nice bruise, eh?

Middle Bass Island and

Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial












Notice how calm the lake is? By the time we hit Pelee Island, the wind picked up enough that we turned the engine off, put the sails up, and sailed the rest of the way across the lake. There was an interesting ship just off the coast of Leamington. In the haze.











Five hours after we left Catawba we were docked in Leamington marina.












On Friday we got a rental car and drove in to see our favorite sports equipment dealer where Nelson loaded up on hockey gear. He needed everything but a new helmet because he outgrew every piece of equipment he owned, and 2 1/2 hours later he was decked out in new gear. I took my knitting and sat with my foot propped up, trying to keep the swelling down. By Friday Boo-Boo Foot was a lovely shade of green and I had developed a bruise on my right foot from all the limping I was doing.












That night we invited all the boaters from our marina who had sailed over that afternoon to come down for a brief ceremony to christen our new boat, Anegada. Dave read a few lines then poured champagne on the bow. Everyone cheered and then we broke out a 3 gallon drum of my famous Painkillers and partied on the dock. Over the years many people have been harmed by my secret recipe. They know this and still, they drink too much. Such is the way with sailors and rum.



On a side note, people are asking what Anegada means and why we chose the name. Anegada is one of the British Virgin Islands, located in the Caribbean. It's difficult to get to, which is proven by the large number of shipwrecks on the surrounding reef. It is an island with a pirate heritage, hence the piratey font we chose for the name. Anegada is a very special place to us, and so we chose to name our boat after it because it is our own 'island' paradise. Here's a photo of Dave and me going ashore at the Anegada Reef Hotel in 2003. We ate lobsters on the beach that night, right behind where we are standing. Good times.




Saturday night we and our sailing buddies loaded onto two tour busses and headed to a new winery for an evening of wine, diner, and dancing. Sailors know how to par-tay and we cleaned the winery out of wine. In an hour. Yes, I know! It's hard to believe, but 80 people drank a winery dry in under 60 minutes!!! It was the joke of the trip.

On Sunday we had an uneventful 5 hour trip back to our home port, then by the time we got the boat tied up and everything organized it was late and we were too tired for the 3 hour drive home, so we spent another night on the boat and headed home Monday morning. Besides the hockey gear, we did make one major score... four gigantic bottles of Canadian Ketchup!!! :-P~