Saturday, June 18, 2016

Two days and counting

Whew! I just survived the hardest part of our pre-departure tasks - babysitting the grand kids. Well, to be technical it is not over yet, but the two 2 year old twin boys are in bed, and Aubrey is finishing her bath with Grammy, so we are nearing the finish line.



I must admit, babysitting the three of them does stress me a bit. Fortunately Kerry is the perfect Grandma, which makes it very manageable. The kids really love "Grammy". When I get too nervous she sends me out or even home with the dogs. Spaghetti was on the agenda for dinner. As you would guess, the cleanup crew was pressed into duty when it was over.




We spent the day making last minute preparations. Much to my surprise I discovered that our local Giant Eagle liquor store carried Sailor Jerry's Dark Rum.  We first had Sailor Jerry's and Coke at the Riviera Beach Trawler Fest last January. It is so tasty. I also got a bottle of Sambuca to sip on as the sun sets on Annie nestled in a little anchorage. I also bought a jar of baby food. I need the jar to store some gel coat to take on our voyage in case I need to do some more repairs.

The day started with coffee and donuts at the Club. John Robertson was there and convinced me to sail into the Georgian Bay after we leave Tobermory. It is a beautiful cruising ground, but shallow, not so well charted and full of rocks. I never went there with Excalibur because, with its 7 foot draft, I knew it would not be happy there. The places John told me about are (he says) relatively easy to navigate to, so we well likely give it a try.

Kerry opened the Ship's Store and made some nice sales to club members. The new items this year have been well received, and the tone on tone monogramming is proving to be a big hit. We each bought a sleeveless fleece vest. I ordered a burgundy to match Annie while Kerry went with red.

I delivered the 2 new "Welcoming New Members" signs to our manager Matt. He will install them for us. It is our first effort in our new marketing campaign to attract new members. We lost about 6 docking members this year for a number of reasons, so our treasury has taken a big hit.

Rick and Nancy Simpson gave us a delicious looking bottle of Cabernet to enjoy while anchored in a secluded cove somewhere. The only stipulation was that we think of them while we are enjoying it. We will do that. The wine was a gift to thank us for all the information we have provided to them about cruising to the Thousand Islands. They and 3 other VYC boats are cruising there this year. Too bad their trip was not last year when we were there.

The BMW is gassed, washed and happy in the garage with it's battery maintainer all hooked up. We spent about an hour and a half working on items for Stefanie's wedding shower. Kerry has to have everything ready when she drives home from Charlevoix as there will be no time for preparations then. Here is a picture of a wood sign Kerry made for Stefanie's shower, which has a tea party theme.


Rosemary is driving us to Vermilion tomorrow. We are having a Father's Day lunch at Anne's. Nate's parents will be there too, so it will be nice to see everyone before we cast off the dock lines on Monday. Sure hope the Cavs can pull off the NBA Championship with a win tomorrow night!

The weather if forecast by NOAA to be favorable for the 42 mile trip to Leamington on Monday, 10-15 knots from the SW moving W. I did notice that the Weather Channel has now increased their forecast to be 10 - 20 knots. We will see. Marianna has invited us and the Karpinski's over for a lasagna dinner Monday night, which would be our first dinner party of the trip.


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