Those lazy hazy days of summer

We said goodbye to our good friends Julie & Paul, stayed another couple of nights in Gananoque to hide from a storm, and do some resupply (mostly beer and wine 😉 ), then made the big sail back out to the nearby anchorage of Beau Rivage. We really did plan to do some more exploring … really. But each day we slept in, lazed around, and took it easy. The place is lovely and protected. Our anchor was well set, and the fridge was stocked. Why go anywhere???

So each day the answer to the question regarding whether we should go somewhere else today was: eh … maybe tomorrow.

So we stayed, and stayed, and stayed. We played with the dingy, and did some exploring around the nearby islands. We ate, we slept, we read. It has all been just too much relaxing fun. Even the one storm that passed through was a bit of a thrill.

After a while though even these two lazy sailors’ thoughts turned to the idea of getting a few jobs done around the floating home. Ann did laundry , and then took on the gruelling task of washing and polishing the hull. I pulled out the varnish can and went to work sanding and varnishing the cockpit.

I also tried to wire up our RADAR unit. After running all the wires I managed to get it connected, but could not get it to operate. Paul, Oh PAUL!!! I need your help!

Good thing we don’t need RADAR till next year.

One week slipped into two, and now beyond. We’re planning to be back at Stillwater around Sept. 12, which is now less than a week away. But the distances here are so small, we could reach it in a day if we had to. So there’s no need to rush … not that we ever do 😉 Meanwhile there are fireworks to watch , food to eat , and sunsets to enjoy:

We also met some wonderful new friends. Jim & Sass from Cavallino, and Marleyne & Heiner from La Buena Vida. They both spent a few days in our anchorage (it’s now OUR anchorage since we’ve stayed so long!), and we enjoyed their company immensely. It’s fun how outwardly different cruisers and sailors can be, yet we’re all out here, doing it, in our own ways.

Cavallino is a relatively new 50-foot Able Apogee. It is large, luxurious and well appointed, with all the space, technology and systems to make living aboard very comfortable. La Buena Vida is an older steel Goderich 35. It is traditional, compact, simple and solid, with beautifully hand-crafted wood cabins and straightforward and effective systems.
Jim & Sass have plans to head south in a few years, and perhaps eventually make it over to the Pacific Northwest. In my mind this is where I can see Ann and I ending up as well. We talked about plans, dreams, and damnable boat systems that never seem to work quite right 😉 .

Marleyne & Heiner are a little older, and have already sailed off a few times. They’ve sailed to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, spending years at a time exploring the warmer waters. For some reason we couldn’t convince them to sail up to Lake Superior … something about disliking the cold 😉  They shared with us their experiences, including how they were able to live and cruise quite inexpensively. So great to hear from real people!

We had great times with all our new friends, and certainly hope we can stay in touch and meet again out here on the water.