Dandelions!

Along the way near Ilderton, Ont....Dandelions as far as one can see.

Field of Dreams or Nightmares

I passed this field of dandelions a few weeks ago on my way up to the boat and had to stop and take a few photos. If you are a gardener or one that keeps your lawn nice this would be a nightmare neighbor.....George

Long Weekend

Over the weekend a stone and driftwood sign was placed on the beach at the lake basin.

Our long weekend was kind of a quite one. We took in our grand-daughter's soccer game on Saturday and a drive to the lake on Sunday stopping by our son's trailer for a visit. We also hit some of the greenhouses and had a really late lunch at the boat.

On Monday I finally got to work on getting the boat ship shape. The cockpit is now spic and span, and the water system flushed. The fridge is running and the beer is cold. I stayed over for the first time of the season and did get a few chores done on Tuesday before the rain came....a good weekend for this old guy...George

The lake basin is filling up. This is the view on Monday evening of the long weekend.

On Monday on my way up to Bayfield I stopped by the GBYC to see how the weekend racing was going. I spent a few moments chatting with the race committee on the south pier.

Launch Day

Last Thursday there are four boat including mine in the lakefront basin. Yesterday it was about a third full already.

Last Thursday I finally launched my boat after a long cold winter. All is well with no leaks to speak of. I did get back twice since and things are getting accomplished slowly. Yesterday I actually went for a walk on the beach in shorts, a tee shirt and flip flops. It was a nice warm morning. I decided to take off the flops and head into the water. It was actually warmer than I thought.....I think I took almost 10 steps along the shore before I could not feel my feet anymore.....I picked some nice looking beach glass along the way also...cheers to the good weather...George

Last week the main road from the area most of the boats are stored was under construction resulting in no boats from that area being launched. This week they seem to have cancelled the work program so boat could be accessed.

The High Road...Breezy Mount Washington

As a sailors I seem to always note wind activity at the boat and from afar. Well if you travel to New Hampshire and in particular Mount Washington one will surely find wind....and lots of it. There is a sign on the mountain stating "the highest wind ever observed by man was recorded here"....231 miles per hour in 1934....want some of that in your sails. The whole story can be found in the current CAA Magazine (Summer 2014). Seems to be a cool place to visit. The author did the trip up the mountain by motorcycle. He mentioned a few neat named locations along the route such as the Horn, Mother-in-Law's Drop and the Cow Pasture......George

Productive Weekend at the Lake

I spent Saturday and Sunday working on my boat. Finally got the cover off on Saturday...but first I stopped by to say hello to the gang at the GBYC who were in the process of launch day. It was a cold windy day. Sunday was a great day and I got a lot done.....washing the boat, bottom painted, batteries connected and charged and about a third of the boat even got waxed. Hope to finish off the rest tomorrow.....then I will wait till launch. It appears there is lots of water this year in Bayfield with no dredging needed......with 6 days of rain forecasting beginning tomorrow night I hope to launch sometime around the 5th.....or in about a week.....that gives me time to get Susanne's projects done at home.....George Dutka

As one can see at about 10am half the fleet is already in. John and Mikes boat is in with the mast up. Normally they are the last boat to be worked on.....this year they are happy to report that they are first.

Although it is spring the beach at Bayfield is still littered with ice chips this weekend.  I think it maybe awhile before I am out sailing.

How many years do you have left?

Brad sent me this interesting link below that was developed by Northwestern Mutual Life. It is a calculator that estimates you life expectancy. Good luck....George

Lifespan Calculator – Test Your Life Expectancy || NM

Time to take the cover off

March 2nd in Bayfield. We took a drive up to check the boat. I was surprised to see not that much snow around the boat considering all we had in London.

Now that the weather is getting better I guess I better get to the lake and take the cover off...even if we had two more snow days this past week. Susanne and I did get up to the lake in early March and it was really cold....no surprise. On the way up I saw a guy ice fishing sitting on a bucket in the middle of the little lake in Parkhill. I decided to stop and take a photo...it was so cold I made it rally quick. Boy can not see the fun of sitting on a bucket on a lake in the middle of winter...better weather days ahead....George

Grand Bend Pier.

The lake in Parkhill. I do not see the fun of sitting on a bucket on a frosty winter day.