That's it for the season - Haulout 2008

We knew it was going to be an interesting day Saturday when we awoke at home to the sound of rain pelting down on the roof. The weather forecast had predicted steady rain and strong winds all week long, and of course they were right. When we arrived at the club shortly before 8am on Saturday, the rain was coming down hard. I rushed down to the travel lift area decked out in my rain gear expecting to see the boat ahead of me already being hauled out. Of course, things weren't moving that fast. It wasn't until 8:20 or so that this boat finally made it over to the mast crane. After 20 mins or so the mast was off and I could move Victura to the crane. I had lots of help Saturday with Vince Wong (Peas & Carrots), Peter Howells (Cassis), Paul Orava (Salty Hacker) and my friend Stuart Gray coming down early to give me a hand. Paul's boat was due to come out right after me, and Peter after lunch. As we pulled Victura over to the mast crane, the rain subsided and we got a bit of a break. As the mast came off, the rain stopped. Everything from there went smoothly and we were even able to wipe the mast dry and wrap it up in plastic. Once Victura was moved to her resting spot in the yard we got to it doing all the winterization. On Sunday, I returned with Stuart and we built the frame for the cover, and despite strong winds and a very threatening sky put the cover on. With the cover on, the rain finaly came. That's it folks for another season.

Last Sail of 2008 Season - October 18th

We managed to squeeze in one more sail for the 2008 season. Vince & Julie Wong joined Barb & I Saturday morning for a last sail. Conditions weren't great with only 4-5 kts wind and fall definitely in the air. We put the gennaker up and tried to get Victura moving in the light winds. Not making much headway and the lake being a bit lumpy, we took the gennaker down and sailed back to the club with the main and genoa up. WIth Vince & Julies help we were able to get the sails off the boat quickly and in their sailbhags. Thanks Vince & Julie for all of the help. At least we got out one more time.

Coming down to the end of the season

On Sunday Barb, Jamie, Sara & Chance came out for what could be our last sail of the season. The weather here in Toronto this weekend was very warm for this time of year. With the sound of the travel lift in the harbour hauling boats we left about 2pm for an avernoon sail. Not a lot of wind but very relaxing just to get out on the water. We haul out on October 25th so we're hoping to get out next weekend for a last sail, before starting to derig the boat.

Annapolis 2008 Sail Show

We decided this year to drive down to the Annapolis Sailboat show. It's a full days drive from Mississauga with lots of scenery on the way. The show was fabulous with lots of boats we had never seen before. The highlight of the show was the 70' Hinkley that we could have bought for a cool $3.5 million. Annapolis itself is pretty spot with lots of restaurants and places to see. We drove down on Wednesday arriving about 5pm at our hotel. Thursday was VIP Day at the show so the crowds were a down from usual. The weather in Annapolis was terrific with the temperature in tne mid/high 20's and lots of sun. We went back to the show on Friday to cover some of what we had missed on Thursday. Saturday we headed back with a detour through Emmittsburg and Gettysburg that were not too far out of our way.

Dufour at the Annapolis Show 2008

Nice to see Dufour Yachts at the Annapolis show. They had 4 boats including the Grande'Large 365, 425 & 525. and 40 Performance. It's been a few years since Dufour exited the Toronto market. Would be nice to seem them back here soon. The new Dufours showed very nicely. The 525 was as expected spacious inside. The 40P of course would be choice among the boats.