On the hard at PCYC

Not a lot of room for pictures with all the boats, but here's VICTURA with her Top Shop cover. It provides great protection over the winter months.

We assembled the frame Friday and put the canvas on just before the high winds and rain moved in.

That's it for the Season

Well ... That's it for another season. We hauled out on Saturday.

It was a clear day but a cool 5-7c. Things went very smoothly. We moved the boat over to the mast crane before our 9am appoinment and the mast was unstepped. Other than dropping the clevis pin for my forestay into the lake, things went smoothly. The boat was then pulled into the travel-lift, lifted onto its cradle, power washed ... and by 10am we were parked on land in our resting place in the yard.

We finished winterizing the engine and water systems on the boat, and cleaned up. As the day wore on, the weather started to change with some showers coming in so we headed home.

I returned on Sunday to give the boat a good washing. It was pouring rain, but I managed to spray the decks off and cleaned any parts on the hull that the power wash missed. Our spot in the yard is conveniently close to both power and water.

On Friday, October 27th, we assembled the frame for VICTURA's winter cover and put the cover on. Again weather was ok when we started, but by noon the clouds had rolled in and by 3pm it was pouring rain. We managed to get the cover on and secured before the rain started.

So that's about it for the season ... I'll be checking the boat regularly. I'll need to think about some projects for the winter.

Last Sail of Season - Thanksgiving

Some on-water action shots taken on Monday by our friends.

Maybe Our Last Sail of the Season

It might have been our last sail of the season Monday. It was a pleasant day, temperature mild at 20c but some clouds had moved in and fall was definitely in the air. The wind was variable and light. We saw maybe 8kts, just enough to put the sails up and move us along.

We got of the dock late joined by Jamie's friend Patrick for his 2nd sail with us. It was pretty quiet on the water; I guess a lot of the boaters were having their Thanksgiving dinner on Monday.

We caught up with our friends Donna and Peter and their boat CASSIS a mile or so off-shore near Port Credit and took some pics. After a couple of hours we both headed in.

Hope we can get out one more time, but the forecast is calling for wet and colder weather and we need to start thinking about getting ready for haul-out.

CASSIS

We met up with Peter & Donna Howells and their boat CASSIS just off Port Credit and sailed together for a while. We managed to get some nice pics and a video of their boat.

VICTURA in motion

We shot this on our Thanksgiving sail. Not very much wind as you see, but a very nice day and very relaxing.

VICTURA on THANKSGIVING

The weather in Toronto this weekend was beautiful. Temperature a very nice 20c and lots of sun. Not very much wind, 5-8kts but just enough for a relaxing sail.

Our boat comes out on October 21st, so this may be our last time out unless the weather co-operates next weekend.

VICTURA on a tack

I shot this a couple of weeks earlier and finally figured out how to embed into my blog ... You can see we have a nice bit of wind and the boat is making good headway.

Our first October Sail

Even though the clouds were ominous, we went out for a fall sail on Sunday. Winds were light blowing 5-10kts in the harbour and there was occassional sunshine. Jamie brought his friend Patrick along for his first sail.

Our first hour or so was pretty uneventful. Winds were light and it looked as though we might not get much of a sail in. The sky was getting darker, but it looked like the worst would pass over.

As the last of the dark clouds passed, the wind died momentarily and we were slammed by a gust blowing 25-30 kts. Fortunately, I could see it coming, so was ready to ease the main and let sail out. The boat powered up in the strong winds and we quickly were going over 8 knots. We eventially pulled the genoa in to its first reef point and started to head back. The wind was blowing a steady 20 kts with the occasional puff to almost 30 kts. The boat handles the wind well so we felt in good control.

We eventually pulled the genoa in and dropped the main before some rain started. We made it back to our slip and got docked smoothly. After 30 mins the sun was shining again. It was that kind of day.

Fall's In the Air

We had our friends Rick and Sue Silver over to the boat on Friday evening . It was there first vist.

Rick and Sue are friends from work. I met Rick in 1978 when I joined the Bank. He was the Assistant Manager at the first branch I worked at. Barbara works with Sue in he same area in the Bank.

It was a chilly evening with fall definitely in the air. We had some drinks on the boat and adjourned for dinner in the clubhouse ... A nice evening with good company.