July 19 - 20, 2014 …finally ready to head out !!!!

I met Janise Albright, thru Women Who Sail (WWS), on face book .. of course I wanted to meet up with women that are sailing the area that Joe and I want to sail …. I have been chatting with Jan for 6 months or so ..  Jan and husband Cam have spent many, many years in the Bahamas and  then back home here in Canada in Annapolis Royal, The Bay of Fundy … they took the time to drive 2 hours to Gold River Marina to meet us …   the best part of this is that we are going to cruise up the Bay of Fundy to see them ……  thanks millions you two

our storage locker is now empty   … # 4 is now ready for the next sailors

we have turned around MODAKI, for a quick exit in the morning …  oh …..  hum …what the heck …JOE ...

when is the tide going out ….  ????  okay 

maybe not that early in the morning …. 

we have spent the last 2 weeks getting her ready .. and I think we are there now … 

yesterday the installation of the BBQ was support to take 5 min .. no ... it took 4 hours, with a car trip to Chester, to buy a dye and tape set …  stainless and aluminum do not mix .. so unscrew those two things when you leave them for months

this was our home for 10 months, on the hard .. Gold River Marina, treated us so well, this is a marina that you can do work on your boat.  The marina set us up to get new refrigerator batteries, parts for our new wind generator, advise from a boat electrical, mechanic, only at our cost, no hidden fees.

our home

our new wind generator, we had to change BBQ, and Man Over Board pole, etc … dinghy is ready to go   … to be continued   xoxo

Good Old Wooden Boats at Gold River Marina

meet two Good Old Wooden Boats, one is 107 and the other is 102

they were just launched here, and getting ready for the Chester Classic Race, next month

the mast on this one weights 2000 lbs.  the boat lowered 6 inches into the water when it was installed

beautiful sleek lines, there is no life lines or toe rail on this beauty … there is also a 3rd one, that I failed to get a picture of and it is 101 years old .. they all belong to the same person .. nice eh

Tern Boatworks, Gold River Marina

Tern Boatworks, wooden boat builders is stationed in Gold River Marina, this boat about 28 ft was being repaired from a collision with another boat.  The wooden boat  was damaged the most.

we understand that there is only about 20 ship writes left in Nova Scotia, here the Burmese Teak, has been steamed and bent in a curve one way then twisted another, then screwed into place with bronze screws

then the wood is planed smooth .. this young lad is from Peterborough, Ontario, and has been working here full time for 6 years

then plugs are installed over the bronze screws

cotton is squeezed in-between the planks ….  this for sure is a labour of love for these young lads … 

July 17 - 18, 2014 … launch day … MODAKI is happy to be back in the water

the storage locker is just about empty … many trips from the locker, up hill to the boat, we could only take small amounts at a time, cause it all had to be put away ... somewhere

yesterday we put on the fenders and dock lines getting ready for the move out of our  11 month safe haven, in a gravel pit, just off the Gold River, Chester Basin, Nova Scotia

the rain has stopped and Joe and I take our last walk around the winter storage lots at Gold River Marina

finally the crew is ready for us, Darrin backed the truck and trailer under Modaki with precision 

here we go

down a hill

and around a bend  … our boat only sits on the pads, nothing is strapping her down to the trailer

transferring to the travel life

in slings and slowly lowered in the river, at high tide

it takes 20 minutes in this travel lift to get completely in the water

Modaki is checked to make sure no water is coming in and filling the bilge

she is hand lined back to a dock and secured for the next few days, while Joe and I finish installing the wind generator, bimini,  filling the water tank, getting diesel etc.

Darrin, marina manager goes up our mast and installs mast head light, antenna, and wind indicator

….. to be continued

July 14 - 16 .. still on the hard, launching Friday

sorry this is not very exciting .. we spent all day in the heat trying to route the wind generator wires back to the main panel .. plan one took us one hour to figure out that, that did not work, then plan two took 4 hours and we finally made it …. did I mention the heat …  thanks to our friend Clark James, he sold us this unit ….  full pictures of unit once we are in the water and installed

I just threw this in for the knowledgeable electricians  …, but in my words, it is our easy undo point when we want to take down the wind generator .. it is accessible in a locker

we headed to Lunenburg to get our Jack Lines sewn, pictures at a later date, and to get electrical parts, which was not in stock .. but it was great to visit this beautiful town again.

lots of FolkArt , even a dancing Chicken .. my favourite 

we dropped in to see Bluenose II, she is not looking happy .. she wants to be on the high seas, not at dock … we met a father and son, from Calgary, taking picture of her … one of the high lights of their trip out east.  We mentioned to them to see The Ovens, while they are in the area. 

we installed our antenna for the SSB (single side band radio), which we bought from our friend Clark James, that has just returned from 7 winters in the Bahamas … thanks Clark .. it fits !!!  

what else are we up to  ….  we set up our charts for the next 9 months and now have them all in order  .. probably not …  we are still missing from here to Annappolis  Royal, Nova Scotia .. we have over views but not close up ones … our chart plotter will help us out if needed .

finally scallops … with mushrooms, garlic, salad and snow peas for supper … still can't get enough seafood  … Friday is market day in Chester …  Boat Launch day … darn !!!

 ….. to be continued

July 11-13, 2013 Gold River Marina --getting ready to launch

every Friday morning is a Farmers Market in Chester … Joe picking up his French pastries, we also got fresh mussels, scallops, smoked mackerel, lots of veggies 

we had to make a bracket to hold our wind generator … close by is a scrap yard, the owner made us this piece … later we went back for more aluminum pieces

Joe in a locker, installing the new piece behind the diesel tank … it was a tight spot, but all worked out well

sorting out the fresh mussels, ready for cooking

all ready for the pot

our supper of fresh market veggies, and mussels, steamed in water and hot peppers

we had to get a boat survey done for insurance for the Bahamas

Linda and David Grant, from Lunenburg Marine Services

next was the anti fouling the bottom, 3 quarts later, took a few hours in the heat

our 2nd anchor got a new coat of rust proofing paint, it looks brand new now

close to our marina is a beautiful restaurant , Seaside Shanty, famous for its chowders (all gluten free)

this was recommended Maple Walnut Greens with honey shallot vinaigrette, so good

I had the seafood chowder, Joe, shrimp and scallop alfredo

we went with our friend Marie and Henry, that we met last year, on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia.

They had recommended to us Gold River Marina, and for sure this  worked out so well for us.

back to work again, getting the dinghy pumped up and into the water.

we took advantage of no wind to put on our main and fore sail

we even managed to put in the reefing lines .. this marina is one of the few in the area that is so protected from  high winds, which means it is hot too

another job completed   … to be continued