Waiting for the storm

All hatches have been battened down, fenders, port and starboard, have been doubled, and the dinghy has been relocated to the back yard… oh, and we've put the snubbers on the dock lines. All is well on Shannon's Spirit and Abbey Acres is snug as a bug, including fireplace in the rec room and camp stove set up in garage in case of power outage. Ahhh, life is good. Hope your hatches are locked down and your lanterns are at the ready. Here comes winter! Always CJ

Beautiful Maple Bay

A beautiful, cool, sunny day reminds me why we moved here 20 years ago. This will be a very different winter for us as we've decided not to do our usual RV wander through the state parks of southern CA and AZ. Hopefully we'll get to see more sunny days between the rains and winds. No complaints though. We love it here.
Hope all is well with each of you. Always, CJ

It’s all about the soles…

A slightly embarrassing story, but a story nonetheless:-)

So, I got up this morning and it wasn't raining; awesome. Got dressed, grabbed Maddie and went for a walk. We walked all over the marina property and out onto the side of the road for a while. The ground was wet but not too bad. After our walk we returned to the boat and tidied up a bit.
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While I was tidying I couldn't help but notice that the cockpit needed sweeping so I got out the soft brush and dustpan and commenced to sweeping up the cockpit sole (that is the nautical term for the floor in the cockpit of a sailboat). The space is small and a bit segmented requiring the sweeper to sweep around obstacles, like the steering pedestal, and usually requires some form of inventive gymnastics to accomplish the sweeping to a satisfactory level.

Now don't get me wrong; I am not, nor have I ever been, a neat freak… But, after all, we are at a yacht club rendezvous so I want the boat to look at least nice, not perfect but at least cared for. This is a long way of saying I was crawling around trying to sweep the small corners of the cockpit and,every so often, I found a mud smeer (!). I'd no sooner clean it up, and I'd find another. It took me a couple laps of said cockpit sole before I realized it was me! And my shoes! That were leaving mud sneers as I crawled 😱

Tools down, checked my shoes and, sure enough, the soles of my shoes had collected lots of gooey dark mud on our walk and my wiping them off on the lawns hadn't been enough. Bottom line: this soul (me) had to wash down the cockpit sole to erase the mess left by the soles in the photo. DONE! No more chores today. TTFN. CJ
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Bonding Time…

If not "for the courage of the faithful crew"… I might not be lying here at 0700, wrapped in warm blankets, listening to the pounding of the pouring rain. The SE wind, as forecast, has also just arrived.

Yes, Maddie and I left the dock in Maple Bay yesterday and, after an uneventful three hour motor boat ride, we arrived safely at Telegraph Harbour Marina. It was the strangest arrival I have ever experienced. Another club boat and I arrived within minutes of each other. We both had made reservations and we both attempted to raise the Marina on the VHF. No one answered. We could see the Marina was almost empty. There were only 2 or 3 boats tied up and they were residents. So, with not too many viable options, we arrived as planned, selected our slips and tied up. We were advised by one of the residents the cafe was open but there were no dock staff on duty. So, like you would, we settled in to enjoy the Luke warm fall sunshine and had a nice afternoon and dinner before retiring for the night. The predicted rain arrived about 0400 and the expected SE wind began to show itself about 0600. Today should be very interesting as our club cruise registration was 'sold out' and a large number of boats are expected to arrive. I think it's safe to say they need not wait for the official check in time of 1300. Anyway, the good news is this is Maddie and my first solo trip on SSpirit so it's been a good learning experience. having always sailed as a twosome, I had to move fairly quickly when something needed to be done under way. Thank goodness for the auto pilot. Maddie was very good and she seems to have accepted that I'm not all that bad after all. I know I'll be dumped into the #2 position the minute Kathy gets home and that's ok. I'm happy for what I have and am tickled pink to be out on the boat, even if it is raining and going to blow. I'm glad we're all tucked in. The rain is supposed to stop tomorrow and the winds are supposed to be light on Sunday, the day we head home.
TTFN. Tata for now. CJ and Bosun Maddie.
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A wee story about Mother Nature... just a quick one.

Just a wee story, about nature in our own backyard.  Ms. Maddie and I have a morning routine, quite a ritual actually. It involves me getting up first and usually having to wake her up (gently). She then collectsTeddy in her mouth and comes to greet me.  Teddy's a very important part of this ritual; not sure what we'll do if he ever gets lost or totally destroyed (there's not much left now ::-)  Anyway, the usual ritual is, once awakened and after the usual morning greetings (including a back scratch and a bow) we three proceed to the back door where Teddy stays behind (as enticement to return) and M heads out to do her business. Once completed, she sprints (full speed) to the back door and leaps into the air, capturing Teddy in her mouth, before continuing back into the house and to her, still warm, bed for a little more sleep.  It's a bit weird, but it works. What can I say?

This morning was different.  Maddie woke me up barking, just before 7. Hmm, that's different.. so off I padded to see what was up.  I could tell by the curtain being slightly ajar, she'd been peeking out the sliding door at the back yard; so I did too.  Seeing nothing untoward I carried on as usual but not so Miss Maddie. Nope, her butt was planted firmly on the floor in the middle of the family room and she wasn't going anywhere. This was the first time in over 5 years, she hadn't raced me to the door.   

Not too many options here. I donned my warm, plaid, working jacket and slipped on my old but functional 'duck boots' and opened the back door carefully.  Nothing. I was about to step out and decided (being the survivor I am) I'd best be armed for the unknown... so I grabbed the umbrella  :-)  Trajectory's not great, but it gives me 2-3 extra feet of distance 😁  Anyway, I stepped out, into the yard quietly and stopped to assess.  No bloodied mess on the lawn, no gate swinging open in the wind, no skulking racoon, cat or squirrel... Then I saw it.

A hawk, about the size of a raven, sat quietly on the side fence, watching me watching him or her. It sat quietly until I took a few steps towards it, and then she or he flew to a part of the fence a little further away and then headed off to places unknown.  It was pretty neat. The air was still and there was no traffic or other noise.. just me and the hawk.  

Declaring the coast clear, I invited Maddie out to do her business and she complied.  All is well in the neighbourhood/ Ahhh, great start to the morning.

Blessings and Adventures

How does one prepare for a Camino? Great question, with an answer I wouldn't have known if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes and felt it in my heart. Stamina, energy, commitment, inner strength and gut determination all factor in. Weeks and months of physical training (working up to 15 and 20 km hikes), hours of research, dozens of conversations, miles of pavement pounded in the search for just the right pair of shoes… and more.  Everything you've ever done in preparation for an international trip and a bunch more…that's how you prepare.

 And then there's the backpack. Not  just any backpack  though. It has to fit well, be the right design for the trip and, above all else, it has to hold everything you will need for your journey and still come in at 10% of your body weight.  Some choose to ship their kit ahead of them, and that's their choice; but some choose to do the pilgrimage the 'old' way…and that is Kath.  She's left the country and is en route to Portugal via Ireland (where she will have a short visit with her cousins before flying to Porto).

We've agreed, for sanity's sake, to not set up a schedule for communication, but rather to stick with the old adage 'no news is good news'.  This will allow Kath to immerse herself in the experience itself and to follow whatever path she chooses … to its end.
We will stay loosely in touch; the hearts demand it.

Back at the 'ranch' life goes on. The orchids are blooming and Maddie's doing her shopping at Home Depot. All going well Maddie and I may enjoy some days aboard the good ship SSpirit. We shall see.

We hope you are all enjoying the departure of summer and have your sails set for the onset of Fall.   Until I write again, this is CJ signing off.  TTFN









Sent from my iPhone

Homeward bound…

We had a great sail heading home from our few days across from Ladysmith. Warm sun and a steady breeze provided a wonderful sail home. Photo credits to Kathy,,,,

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