What do sailors do in November?

This is a difficult time for most sailors. Our boats are out of the water, sitting on the hard, and the weather is turning colder. Most of the leaves are off the trees, and we are waiting for the first snowfall of the season. The Buffalo snow belt already has been hit by Lake Effect snow, and the south-eastern area of Lake Ontario has also tasted it's first lake effect snow.

I am a fair-weather-friend. I would rather sit in the nice warm house then to venture outdoors in the cold damp breeze. I wore my winter coat and gloves yesterday just to take our dog Ernie for a short walk. I know what is ahead of us, and I'm not liking it. We try to get away to the south for a short break from the winter every year, but this year the economy is heavy on my mind. I have seen my 401K lose 1/3 of it's value, so just like many Americans, I feel I cannot afford a winter vacation this year.

So, I sit here at my trusty computer, working on website designs. I have just released a new version of the Lake Ontario Hunter Sailing Association website at www.lohsa.com, and it looks pretty good (in my opinion). I am almost finished with my son Jay's photography website at www.photopalmer.com and only waiting for new images to publish the new version. I am also working on a new website for the Genesee Yacht Club at www.geneseeyc.org. The present one is old and tired. The new one is exciting; easy to open and easy to find what you are looking for. I hope to get it up within a week or two.

All three websites are being developed using Microsoft Expression Web, which has replaced my old and not supported Microsoft FrontPage 2003. The learning curve is steep, but I am getting the grasp of the essentials. I wish I had a mentor here in Rochester to turn to with my many questions. Being self-taught, I have a DVD collection for learning Expression Web, and I have gone through 2/3 of it. But everything doesn't stick like it used to, and I find myself having to go over sections that I have already visited; again and again.

I would love to see a users group for Microsoft Expression Web in town. It would be a plus for everybody. I have a fellow Harris retired co-worker that is just beginning his Expression Web adventure. We meet about once a month with other ex-Harris guys at lunch, and talk about everything under the sun. Maybe this could be the start of a web designer group.

Anyway, I have really drifted off course on a sailing blog. But winter is coming, and what could be a better way to spend my non-sailing days. Stay warm my friends.

Sailing season is not over

Wednesday was a great day for a sail!  Winds out of the south-west at 10 to 15 knots and little wave action.  Ruth had to help my son with his photography business, so I had the afternoon to myself.  I decided to finally carry through with a promise I had made to take one of our friends from GYC out for a day-sail.

Ed is a sailor with no boat, having sold his sailboat after knee surgery, and having a difficult time sailing single-handed.  Now he relies on his friends to take him out to enjoy his passion.  This was the first time I have taken Ed out sailing, and he was like a kid at the wheel.  We beat into the wind for the first half of the trip, heading towards a couple other sailboats off in the distance.

Once we were close to them, Ed suggested that we come about and have a race.  It really wasn't much of a race with the other boat flying only a jib and us with main and jib up.  The speed of Water Colors reached 7.2 knots at one point, about the best my Hunter 33.5 can do.

We reached the Rochester Harbor piers and decided to take the sails down before entering the channel.  It was that point that I began to wonder about bringing the boat into her slip.  Ruth is always at the helm when leaving and returning to our dock.  I am the one on deck managing the dock lines.  Now I needed to bring the boat in, only the second time this year, with Ed volunteering to grab the one dock line I have set up at the piling, and then throw it over the winch to stop the boat.  I came in nice and slow, and Ed worked the line like an old pro.  Once we were stopped, I stepped off to the dock and set the bow lines.

Like I said, it was a great day for a sail, and a great day to be with an old friend.  He said that I am on his "A" list now, and he feels safe sailing with me again.

September 1st...Already!

Are you ready for the sailing season to end? I know that I'm not.

We received the annual paperwork from Shumway Marine asking for a haul-out date. Last year I hauled around October 1st. I think that I wanted to be on land a little early so that I could get a coat of Poli Glow on the hull and get to the bright work that I put off all summer.

Do I try to cover the boat this year? Every year that I try to cover, it doesn't last the winter. Too much snow and wind either collapse the cover or break the framing. One year I had to replace one stanchion and have two others repaired when the wind blew my cover and wooden frame over.

This year I think that we need a little more time on the lake. The water levels are high so that I don't have to worry about getting stuck at my slip (I hope). I can't believe that we didn't visit Sodus Bay this year. God forbid we miss a chance to dock at the yacht club and have the waves beat us to death. They sure could use a break-wall there.

Yesterday we had eight boats rafted up for a short time on Lake Ontario just east of the Summerville Pier. The waves from the power boats knocked the hell out of us, and we were forced to break the raft after an hour or so. Many of us met at the club afterwards to enjoy a nice cookout.

Hey... If you are reading this and want to add your comments... Please do! It should be an easy thing to do by just clicking on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. Please give it a try if only to say hello.

Also... If you would like to have your story or pictures show up on the website, drop me a line at webmaster@lakeontariosailing.com.

Cheers and have a good Labor Day!
Ken Palmer

EPA Discharge Permit Requirement for Recreational Boats

CONGRESS RESTORES 35-YEAR EXEMPTION FOR RECREATIONAL BOATS FROM PROPOSED EPA PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS

NO NEW PERMIT FOR BOATS REQUIRED

ALEXANDRIA, VA, July 22, 2008 - In a remarkable display of bipartisan support for recreational boating, both the House and Senate today passed S. 2766, "The Clean Boating Act of 2008" which will permanently restore a long-standing exemption for recreational boats from permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act. The legislation now goes to the White House for the President's signature.

Go to Boat U.S. for the full story by clicking this line.

Did I Say Rain?

The daily forecast calls for rain. I am beginning to trust the weatherman now since it does rain every day. We must be stuck in some significant weather pattern.

We arrived at Bluffers Park Yacht Club yesterday after an uneventful motoring trip. The only reason I raised my main was to dry it out from the day before.

Not too long after we arrived, we heard the thunder and watched as a storm rolled in (images above). Last night around 11 PM there was a another terrific thunder storm. The bluffs must amplify the thunder because it was really loud.

There is the usual wildlife here like geese, swans, etc. but we thought we spotted a couple minks yesterday across the water behind our boat. I was so interested in watching that I forgot to get the camera out. Darn!

Yesterday's perfect storm

We left Cobourg around 9 AM. The winds were too light to sail, so we started motoring. The morning was partly cloudy with no indication of rain. Ahead of us were a couple other sailboats motoring west, and we finally caught up to the Catalina. We ran a parallel course when the wind came up a bit. I looked over to to Catalina, and he was raising the main and unfurling the jib.

He started sailing, slower than motoring, but sailing. We unfurled our jib to test the wind, and started motor-sailing over 6 knots. Not to be out done, we raised our main also and shut the engine down. Ah, the sound of quiet.

We sailed for about 10 minutes, then I looked at the sky over the shore. It was an ugly gray and black, and you could see the rain falling on shore. Ruth then heard some thunder, so we decided to stat the engine (sails still up) and motor-sail south, away from the storm. We left the Catalina, and when the clouds stated heading south also, I saw that the Catalina also turned south.

Then the wind and rain hit the Catalina, and another boat that had been sailing east. Their sails started flogging as they tried to recover. It took only a few minutes before the storm hit us. I managed to furl in the jib, but the main was still up and it is a pain to take down. It had to be done though, so with PFD on, I climbed onto the deck holding on for dear life as Ruth continued motoring south, away from shore. I got the sail down, lashing it to the boom with a couple straps.
Poor Ernie was just shaking, so Ruth took him below to get him settled and get my rain jacket. I was soaked head to foot with the rain coming horizontally into the covered cockpit. The winds were gusting way over 20 knots, but I couldn't really see the gauge because my glasses were all wet. I had to turn to the north-west into the rain and waves to keep the rain out of my face. Visibility was very limited and I had to keep a sharp lookout because I knew there were two other boats out there somewhere.

Finally, the storm blasted though and I could see a sliver of light on the western horizon. Just after it stopped raining, the Coast Guard announced the storm. Too little too late for us, but perhaps helping the poor soles racing the Lake Ontario 300. They have had rain every day I'm sure. I never did catch sight of the two sailboats that were there when we entered this storm. We motor-sailed to Whitby Yacht Club, arriving wet and cold.

The folks at Whitby are great. They found us a nice slip for the night next to a Hunter 410. Our Hunter 33.5 looks like a toy boat next to theirs. The owners arrived later and we had a very nice chat. Ernie even met another snoodle from down the dock. This was a 6-year old female that didn't join in with Ernie's barking. I think she took on more of the poodle mix where Ernie has more schnauzer in him.

No picture today. I'm really falling behind on my picture taking. Just a couple days to the Hunter Rendezvous at Port Credit Yacht Club. It will be nice seeing our old friends there.

Mixed bag of weather

Sailing is not all about wind and waves. All of that water has to come from somewhere... the past few days have been from the sky. Rain, rain, and more rain. The weathermen are still predicting rain every day this week.

We sailed and/or motored from the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club in Belleville to the CFB Trenton Yacht Club in Trenton. The next morning we headed out towards Lake Ontario through the Murray Canal. It was a nice trip, but the bridge-master wanted boats bunched up as much as possible which delayed us about half an hour waited for two other sailboats behind us to catch up.

There was a sailboat in front of us that said things on the radio like "Tell me when you are opening and I am coming through without stopping". Yikes! The bridge-master told him "If the bridge doesn't open, you WILL stop... Bud". This is the same sail-boater motoring towards the bridge at a reported 9 knots. My boat was going 5.5 knots. I guess he had a super-charged engine in that blue boat.

We motored and sailed a bit for Cobourg, arriving before the rain. Here we met some friends from the Point Breeze Yacht Club. Bob, one of the two skippers used to work at Harris RF Communications with me before I retired. Really nice folks from PBYC.

We decided to take a rain day yesterday, and rain it did... all day. Yesterday I finally was able to get the Internet again to catch up on e-mail from the gang back at GYC. All are back from the 2-week cruise to Kingston, where we met with them for three days. Most of the boats had mechanical problems, up to and including having to lay-over at Cape Vincent and replace his Atomic 4 block. Paul and Sue went on home, and Paul drove back to help Burt with his engine. All is reported to be fixed now, and I expect that Burt and Elaine aboard Orion are back in Rochester by now.

We will head for Whitby this morning. So far no rain but light winds. We are heading west to meet with the Lake Ontario Hunter Sailing Association (LOHSA) Thursday for the annual Rendezvous.

I will try to keep posting as long as we have Internet. Keep dry!

Ken & Ruth & Ernie the dog