Log Book (november) 

November 1-10

My hands are covered in blood. 

I am renting an unused office at the brewery so that I can write while the girls are having school on the boat.   I leave my computer at my desk for lunch and end up covered in blood up to my elbows helping someone butcher a moose. 

Happens everyday to you also?

Rachael's New Boat

The entire trip I have been looking for a boat for Rachael that is a little more suitable for Blue Water Sailing.  The Catalina 27 that we have sailed about 20,000 miles all over the Great Lakes is a good heavy weather boat with one exception; the companionway is the largest of any boat that I have been on.  One good wave and you are swamped.  The only other fault I have the 27 is that it is very maneuverable, perhaps too maneuverable  If you let go of the tiller the 27 will turn on a dime. I have been looking for a full keel, small, but indestructible sailboat and found it in the Contessa, perhaps a cliche of cruising boat.  A full keel may not be great for tacking around the buoys in a short race, but it is ideally suited for long distance cruising. 

I looked all over for a Contessa 26, only to find one right in my backyard in Newfoundland.  I made an offer Rachael was happy with, and the owner agreed.  Now the fun begins to get the thing ready for a trip South. 

November 8

Shopping at Costco

There is only one Costco in Newfoundland.  I think the entire island showed up today for shopping.  People didn't seem to be in a rush, and there wasn't any upset or angry people in the bunch.  I think if our Costco looked like this at home there would be bloodshed.  I was probably the most uptight shopper in the building.  If I had hair, I would have pulled it out.

We celebrated Deb's birthday, Nov. 8, with a cake bought for us by Roy.   Thanks Roy. 

Happy Birthday Deb.

november 11

Jannelle and Bianca proved that they were sailors by raking Roy the brewer's yard in the rain, of course not every kid has a pair of high quality foul weather gear to work in either.

November 15    

Precipice high and dry

Sonar, Sumlog, and Paint all touched up just in time for the tide to come in. 

I have always wanted try drying a boat out with the tide but never have been able to because the Great Lakes do not have tides.  The tidal range in Newfoundland is usually about four feet, but about once a month the tidal range goes to five feet.  This is just enough to dry Precipice out. 

I also like the idea of getting to work on the bottom of my boat for free.

I started planning this project about a month ago.  My first task was to get permission to use the ramp.  After asking about five people I realized that it would be easier to ask forgiveness than permission because nobody knew who to ask.  The only thing I got for my trouble was to alert the doomsayers.  My boat would pull down the wharf wall, the ground under the boat would collapse, the boat would tip over, and the most common concern was all the junk I would run into on the way to the ramp.  I am happy to report that all of them were wrong.  I think most of the problems come from a complete misunderstanding of how a sailboat it constructed.  35% of Precipice's 21,0000lbs  is in a piece of lead that is a foot and a half wide and covers nearly the entire bottom of the keel.  This piece of lead is the first thing to hit anything, and is what Precipice sits on when the boat is out of the water.  This piece of lead is also what saved our tail when we grounded in Les Mechins in August.  Having a boat with a full keel like this is going to save me a bunch of marina bills over the years. 

We ran four lines to the mast, and five lines under maximum tension from our four winches and our anchor windlass, and four more lines as safeties.  Precipice wasn't going anywhere. 

A sampling of the 14 lines holding Precipice in place.

My work is done and the tide is on the way back up. 

The bottom paint I paid nearly 200 dollars a gallon for is working great.  I only had to scrub the boot stripe (the bright red).  The rest of the hull looked just like you see it here, no growth at six months.   

Saturday morning we went for a short sail just to try out our new GPS/Sonar Combo.  Yes, it is true:  We now have GPS and have joined the ranks of the video screen sailors and will probably forget all about how to navigate for real.  It was cool to watch the contours of the bottom as we sailed.  The entrance to Quidi Vidi goes from 200 feet to 8ft (at high tide) in about 100 yards. 

The tides also make getting into and out of our boat a climbing adventure.

Our grocery getter, in front of a state-of-the-art Newfoundland military vehicle

Someone actually offered to give us their car.  We thought about it, but then we remembered that cars suck money.  For us money equals time spent cruising.  Every dollar we spend means less time out here doing what we want.  We have our bicycles and they get us around to where we need to go, and for the longer trips we ride the bus.  If we really have to, there are vehicles we can borrow.  Getting around in St. John's is pretty easy and the entire town is only about ten miles wide. 

Jannelle on the bus.   We like the big rear windows that are not there on the busses from our hometown. 

Maurice is an amazing man.

I received my ham radio licence last month, but I haven't had a rig to work any of the ham bands with.  Maurice, one of the pillars of Quidi Vidi offered the use of an Icom 2100H 2 meter radio so that I could access the Newfoundland repeater system.   I was amazed.  He had to do one thing to it first.  He knew that the radio had been modified so that it could transmit on marine band frequencies so he looked up on the internet how it was done, and for the first time in ham radio history, re soldered a diode that allowed the illegal operation of the radio. 

November 17

The donated two meter radio in its temporary place until I get a marine/ham/ssb transceiver.

I installed the radio and then started trying to figure out how to program the St. John's repeater frequencies in.  WIth a lot of help for Maurice, who came over a little later, I made my first Ham Radio contact ever with Don who we met at a SONRA meeting here in town a week earlier.   Thanks Maurice for your patience with me.

Quidi Vidi (Pronounced Kiddy Viddy) is an amazing place.  I wake up in the morning amazed that I get to be in such a place. I walk over and see the ocean, and at night I walk out and hear it roar and count myself blessed.  When the winds howl with that anger that only those who have been tossed around by the sea really know, I sit calm and warm in the safety of 100 foot tall rock walls. The people of the village have accepted us and watch over us, making us feel welcome and safe.  The brewery staff have become friends and like family.  We have water, power, and internet.  We have a shower.  The beauty of this humble little fishing village gets to me.  Every day. 

I know no other place like it.  It has trumped my Grandma Reds home on the AuSauble river as a place in my mind that I can go to for peace, but I actually get to live here.  I, amazingly, have stopped looking over my shoulder here.  I can rest. 

We don't take such blessing lightly.  We rejoice daily in this gift that we have been given.  Thank you, God, for making Quidi Vidi.

Quidi Vidi in the fog.  Below me is the sound of rushing water from the stream that feeds Quidi Vidi.   Off in the distance I hear the fog horn for the entrance to St. John's.  I can smell the stream and the ocean.  It is about 13C (55F) but feels warm because everything is still.  The fog changes the sound.  It makes things seem quieter, but I hear stuff from far away like it is next to me.  All of this instead of being disorienting makes me feel at home.  It feels like a dream, a dream I had as a child and now I am back in again.  Narnia.  I must be in Narnia. 

I know, get off the drugs, you think.  If you were here you would think different. 

November 24

Deb looking all sexy next to a Hydraulic fluid Polisher.  Only 7995.00 

This last Saturday our whole family spent the day at the North Atlantic Fish and Workboat show.   This is the Newfoundland equivalent to the annual boat show.  It is about half the size of the show in Grand Rapids, and about 1/10 the size of the show in Chicago.  The show is geared toward the working man, and at first glance I thought that there would be little to hold my interest there.  I probably would not have gone if it wasn't for the broker for Rachael's boat giving me free tickets.  Once we got there though, I found that it was just what I would have for a boat show if I made a boat show.  Remove all of the junk that you really don't need to go to sea, and add all the stuff that is usually missing and you will have what amounts to a real boat show.  The people here are used to dealing with people who spend their entire lives at sea, 365 days a year in some of the most punishing conditions on the planet.  This tends to weed out the junk.  I found the exhibitors very willing to talk to me, even though when I walked up I would say that I wasn't their target market.  One guy spent a half hour showing us how a fish pump can pump 60 tons an hour of live fish without harming them.  Afterwards I apologized for taking all of his time and not being his target market.  He pointed to my daughter Jannelle and said, "You might not be, but she might someday."  Smart dude.  I made contacts with electronics distributors, heater distributors, rigging distributors and felt like I was dealing with real people who knew their industry and would keep doing what they were doing if they could start all over again.

The typical boat show exhibitor is some guy who has sailed three times and comes up with an idea that he thinks a bunch of rich yachties would just absolutely need for the next year and charges three times it's value and gets away with it.  There was none of that here.  It was refreshing.  I would go again. 

Jack, the brewery owners Dog, taking a seat on Jannelle

Sunday morning I got really Holy by going to two churches.  First I went to a small Russian Orthodox church.  Small means that I increased attendance that morning by 10% by showing up.  It was my first chance at attending a Russian Orthodox church, and this was great in that the service was mostly in Russian.  Steve, who got me here, had the English version of the liturgy which was very helpful.  I was struck by the extreme reverence shown to scripture in the service.  Imagery was also very important.  I immediately left there and attended another modern protestant church and felt like I had just left the ocean only to wade in an inch deep pool.  I am still trying to process the distinct difference between the two groups of people trying to genuinely worship and seek God. 

Sunday night the girls got their decorating fix by helping decorate the brewery for Christmas.  I helped also, but have to admit that I am allergic to Christmas decorations.  I survived. 

We also had our first MacDonald's meal for the first time since at least April.  I woke up with what I can only describe as a MacDonald's hangover.  How can people eat that stuff every day?  Death by grease!

november 27 Thanksgiving

Native Newfoundlanders enjoying dessert at our "American" Thanksgiving party in their natural habitat.

Not in your home country for Thanksgiving?  No problem, just throw a party for the Natives. We brought the Turkey and the potatoes, they brought the Ham and vegetables, desert and the brewery provided the drinks and the room.  A true international effort. 

Familiar things were said like,  "I ate so much I could die!".  and "uggg, I am ready for a nap"  The kids were kids at their own table, with milk and orange juice.  As far as I could tell a good time was had by all. 

Differences?  Well, we didn't go out afterward and shoot our guns, being all stuck in Canada and all.  Oh, and there weren't any petty family dynamics going on.  So I guess it all evened out in the end. 

We are still eating the leftovers five days later. 

The desert table after over 30 people attacked it. 

Over 30 people showed up for our little gathering.   The guy in the cap in the lower left is Pat, who told us about this place. 

He is getting ready to go on a sailing trip himself.  He has a small blog: The Artful Dodger

Next Month