Leamington weekend

Once a year we sail all the way across our Great Lake to visit our favorite Canadian city, Leamington, Ontario and this was the perfect weekend for it. The skies were clear, the wind was strong, and the temperature was hot but not too humid.

While driving to the boat Dave and I noticed how lush and green everything is. The crops seem to be doing especially well this year, probably because of all the rain we've had.

Ohio cornfield
When we got to the boat Dave noticed these.

duck eggs under the dock
Mama mallard
She didn't lay her eggs in a very good location and a few of them have rolled away. I don't know if she's sitting on the same two day after day so I'm not sure if any will hatch. I hope she has at least one keeper.

Friday morning the sailors left in stages, the 6 smaller boats first then the remaining 3 boats an hour later. Our friends John & Cindy stayed with us the whole way there.

Sailing with John & Cindy nearby
Fishermen on the lake

Sailing past the green can
I worked on cupcake hat #3
The little black boat marks our location
Just as we hit Peele Island, the black flies attacked and boy, do they bite! I swatted so many of them that I literally wore out my fly swatter. Chunks of it were breaking off. Then the bees came. We had to be careful what we touched and where we walked or sat for fear of getting stung. But for some reason they ignored the grapes we had in the cockpit and zeroed in on the yellow sail ties.

The bees LOVED this yellow sail tie!
Leamington is a fun place to visit. We've been going there for years. One of our first stops is always the hockey store and this year Dave bought two sticks, one for himself and one for Nelson (who broke his well-used one but still scored a goal this same weekend) and of course, hit the A&P to stock up on the superior Canadian Heinz ketchup. We grilled dinner at the marina a couple nights and had a fabulous dinner at Mephisto's Grill in Kingsville (Their vegetable curry is outstanding!).

Marina wildlife reflected in a hull
On the side of the Heinz plant in Leamington
Tiny car!
Sig & Hiram ponder if the handpainted yarn I bought at A Stitch In Time would make good fishing line.
On Sunday several boats wanted to head back to Ohio but there was a storm front over the lake so the wind was excessive and the waves were high.

When the sky looks like this, it's best not to leave the safety of the harbor
Six of our boats decided to leave anyway; a few heading to a marina on the north side of Pelee and two heading back to Ohio. They all had a rough ride. Here's what the wind looked like later that day. I was standing on the deck of our boat when I shot this and the movement is mostly from the wind trying to blow me down.


A very windy day in Leamington Marina

The remaining three boats left early Monday morning and we had a beautiful sail back.

The ferry to Pelee Island, the Jiimaan
We had great wind & a fast sail to Put-In-Bay, Ohio where we used the video phone to check in to US customs. We ate lunch then sailed the rest of the way back to our home port, spent an hour or so securing the dock lines, loading up our gear, and packing the car, then left for home. 5 hours to sail back plus another 3 to drive home...


Trains make the trip take even longer

Monday was a l-o-n-g day.