An amazing thing happened on the way to the future; We sold our boat.
After our first sale fell through at the last minute, we figured we’d remain boat owners for some time. Then, somewhat out of the blue, another offer came in, and this one was real. But that’s getting ahead of this story. Using the oft-used Republic of Doyle foil, you’ve got the preview, so now we go: “three months earlier…”
They say small-town life is supposed to be slow, easy and relaxing. And I’m sure it will be… eventually. But for us, this past summer has been a rockin’ rollercoaster of near-constant activity. We’re not really living up to our mantra: Why go fast, when you can go slow.
Our new house is great, but needs a lot of TLC; repairs, improvements, cleaning. But all work and no play makes Ann grumpy, so we also squeeze in a couple more paddling sessions with our new Ramea kayak gang (maybe we should get patches, like motorcycle gangs🛵😂).
We also played host to more sailing friends, Kathryn and Harald who visited us for the day. These two senior kids had temporarily traded sailing life for a Newfoundland car adventure. They were exploring Newfoundland by road, and just like with their sailing, they were going everywhere. They had camped at nearby Sandbanks Provincial Park on the Big island near Burgeo, so were able to came across on the Gallipoli to spend the day exploring Ramea. It was great to see them again.
Shortly after saying our goodbyes to Harald and Kathryn, we got the rather cryptic, and slightly suspicious message via one of the sales sites we had Pachina Mia listed on. It was one of those: “Is your boat still for sale? If so, I’m ready to make a cash deal now.” This is the typical approach of scammers, and I responded as I would to a scammer. But it turned out to be better than legit.
We went back and forth, and eventually got Steve on the phone. After a bit more back-and-forth, he made a formal offer, which we happily accepted. So, the deal was struck. Pachina Mia had a new owner, and we found ourselves boatless for the first time in over 20 years. Emotions run the gamut: Happy, sad, strange, exciting, confusing, but … good… I think 🤔.
We struck the verbal deal, then packed up Li’l’ Black and headed off on our long-planned big journey to “Town*” Our friends Cathie & Joe, along with Cathie’s siblings Duncan and Margaret, were on one of their amazing group trips, this time to St. John’s. They had invited us to join them. It’s an 11-hr journey from Ramea, which is too far for us in one day. But luckily we still had a boat located about 1/2 way, in Lewisporte. So we stopped in on Pachina Mia to sleep, say hi to a few marina friends, and began the final cleanup of the boat.
* “Town” is St. John’s, and the surrounding cities.
We planned to meet up with Joe & Cathie and the sibs at their BnB at the mouth of The Narrows. This is the entrance to St. John’s stunning natural harbour. The BnB used to be the lighthouse keeper’s house, so offered a breathtaking view of the city, the waters, as well as Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, which is directly opposite, on the other side of the narrow entrance.
But before we connected with Cathie & Joe, we spent a couple of days with sailing friends Tammy & Roy, who live near St. John’s in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, on a pond (lake) in a beautifully rustic home. We arrived in the afternoon, and spent a relaxing couple of days at their stunning refuge. We’re used to meeting at the Lewisporte Marina, so it was nice to connect over more than just boats.
We eventually headed into Town [after visiting The Rooms (Ann’s edit),] and found our way up the winding and tiny road along the south side of St. John’s Harbour, all the way to historic Fort Amherst. There we met up with the gang, got caught up with everyone, and had a quick tour of the old lighthouse keeper’s house, which we had the privilege of staying in for the next few days.
After Before (Ann’s edit) reconnecting with everyone, and catching up on everyone’s recent adventures, we headed off on a tour of The Rooms, a famous and quite stunning provincial museum/art gallery. The facility is spectacular in its architecture, and its displays. We spent many hours going through just a few of their exhibits. And then stopped for lunch in the upper café, which has an amazing view of the harbour and city.
We spent the next few days hanging out with the gang, swapping many stories, and touring various aspects of the city of St. John’s. This included places like the historic Signal Hill area, Quidi Vidi, and a number of yummy restaurants. It was a great way to be reintroduced to ‘Town’.
Seeing Cathie & Joe, Duncan and Margaret, was wonderful. But a highlight, and something I’d been fretting about, was meeting some of my extended family. Mee ol’ Fadder came from St. John’s. He had a large family (good Catholics), so I have many dozens, perhaps hundreds, of direct cousins in the area. I figure I’m related to 1/2 the Avalon. Unfortunately, I’ve had almost zero contact with the family, so it was with some trepidation that I agreed to meet.
And what better place to meet than O’Reilly’s Pub, of course.
O’Reilly’s is one of the major pubs on the famous George Street, and is owned by my equally famous first cousin, Brenda O’Reilly. She’s an incredibly accomplished business person, well known in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and beyond, for her business acumen, and enthusiasm for all things Newfoundland. I knew she was a lovely person, but she, and the whole O’Reilly clan, exceeded all my hopes and expectations.
Everyone rolled out the red carpet. Brenda inviting me and Ann, and generously extended the invite to Joe & Cathie, Duncan, Margaret, along with our sailing friends Paula & Craig, With all the support, I certainly felt safe to meet the extended family.
And what a night it was. O’Reilly’s is the quintessential Irish pub. There’s almost always live music going, and the ambiance is perfectly pubby. Of course, there is great food and beer on tap, brewed by YellowBelly, which is a craft brewery owned by Brenda. But the highlight was meeting all the family.
There were so many cousins, and so many stories. They were all very interested to hear about their uncle — my father. And I learned a few things about him as well, getting the view from their perspective. It was a Large Night with all the cousins; a truly memorable evening. I look forward to making my way back there soon.
The next morning happened slowly — and quietly. But after a bit more coffee than normal, we eventually got rolling. Our travelling friends still had many days to go in St. John’s, but Ann and I had to pack up and start the journey back home. We said our goodbyes, and headed off once again.
Happily, instead of heading directly back to Lewisporte, we only had to drive a short distance to Paula & Craig’s place in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s. They are part of our sailing fraternity. But more than that, they are both incredibly sweet people who will remain good friends, even though we are no longer sailors.
We spent a relaxing afternoon and evening at their lovely rural home. It’s surrounded by forest, and has incredible bird life. Their home is warm and inviting, and comes complete with a proper bar. Craig is an engineer by profession, but what he really loves to do is make fancy drinks in his own bar. He treated us to a few fancy and yummy drinks while we tackled all of life’s mysteries.
After another relaxing morning with Craig and Paula, we headed off towards Lewisporte. But we had one more visit to make before getting back to our boat. Duncan & Renée live a couple of hours out of Town, in the rural area of Hodges Cove. Their place is on a terrace above the cove, overlooking the Atlantic. It’s stunning. Duncan was off on another great adventure, but Renée greeted us warmly, and gave us a tour of their home, and amazing garden.
After a couple of hours we had to head off once again, heading for our boat… one last time 
.
We arrived in Lewisporte later in the day, and spent the next couple of days sorting, cleaning, and generally getting Pachina Mia ready for her new owner. It was a melancholy time. On the one hand, it was wonderful that we had successfully sold her. Even more importantly, it felt good knowing that she was going to folks who already loved her, and could take care of her — perhaps better that we can right now.
But on the other hand, this was the end of a major chapter in our lives. We’ve been living this sailing and cruising lifestyle for a quarter-century. Pachina Mia had been our only home for over a decade. A door was closing. Happy, but sad.
The drive back to Ramea was already familiar. The Burgeo road 
, waiting at the dock 
, the ferry ride home 
. It all felt… right.
We got back home, and settled in for a couple more months of “life in paradise.” The weather remained generally good; warm and dry — perhaps nicer than “normal,” but maybe this is the new normal. We spent some time volunteering on the boardwalk brigade, and even installed our own new boards. We got out kayaking a few more times, and even spent a wonderful couple of days hosting yet another of our wonderful sailing friends. In this case, Clarissa & Tom, and their incredibly cute cat: Chia.
The weather that had been so wonderful for so long, started to take on a slightly harsher edge as we moved into mid-October. Temperatures trended down, winds trended up, and RDF: Rain, Drizzle, Fog returned as more of the daily norm. We still managed to get in a few more kayak days, I enjoyed more of my home brew beer, and we even made our first full turkey supper. It was turkey, turkey, turkey, turkey for a couple weeks because we also enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving meal with allll the trimmings (and more) at Dave and Jan’s place (new Ramea friends).
Our final few weeks in paradise passed quickly. We managed a few more repairs and upgrades, like fixing the crawl-space door, and building more side tables. A final special treat was to play host to Paula & Craig. It was great to spend more time with them, and was especially wonderful to reciprocate their lovely hospitality from earlier. We spent three days showing off the sights and sounds of our little island home. Paula seemed quite smitten with the place; so much so that she might consider teaching here. Craig definitely… enjoyed the visit.
With our departure day rapidly approaching we were glued to the weather charts. Our little island had been battered with storm after storm after storm. Both the little ferry and the big one were experiencing days of cancellations due to weather. But we managed to thread the weather needle, and picked up both the Gallipoli (to the big island) and then the Blue Puttees (to “Canada”).
It was hard leaving our new little island home. It especially felt sad knowing it would be seven or eight months before we would return. Parting was indeed such sweet sorrow. But being back on the road brings its own kind of joy and excitment. If only we could avoid being stuck at the bottom of the boat, down in the bilge of the Big Ferry.
The ferry crossing went smoothly, and we rolled off, heading first for our friends Chet & Margie who live near Truro, NS. We spent a relaxing couple of days with them and their cats, and then made the final push towards Ottawa, stopping for one night at our little motel in Cabano, QC.
It’s always wonderful to get back to Ottawa, and spend time with Mom & Sis, and Hammi. We spent the next few weeks checking in with our various medical practitioners. Ann had a special surprise when our GP made an endoscopy (colonoscopy/gastroscopy) referral. Not fun… but it all went well, with no issues noted.
In addition to doing a few odd jobs at my sister’s place, including a couple of plumbing repairs, we did some early celebrating of a certain December birthday girl.
Soon we head off on our first of four house/farm sits for the coming cold season. Our first stop is near Grand Bend, at a lovely rural home on the shores of Lake Huron. It will be great to reconnect with homeowners Ed & Kerry, and especially their feisty kitty: Jake.
