And So The Vacation Begins

I’ve been noticing lately that a lot of the things that we do seem to make others around us uneasy. Some are afraid of water, some are afraid of boats, or bad weather, or being trapped in a small concrete, rock and steal room while thousands of gallons of water come rushing in, (a waterway lock). And a whole host of other things, that to us, seem pretty normal, but to others can be truly terrifying.

I was beginning to think I was immune to these phobia’s and fears, but I’m not, I just don’t wear them on my sleeve, and a few days ago we left our yacht club for a summer of cruising Ontario’s canals, and I was sick to my stomach with anxiety and irrational fear. I couldn’t even pinpoint what was really bothering me, but my stomach was tied in knots anyway. Maybe that’s the point, for some reason my brain does not allow me to notice those fears until I am already knee deep in them. As long, of course, that there is no sharply pitched roofs on the waterway, those I know I have issues with. Brrrr, gives me the willies just thinking about it….

Well I needn’t have worried, Vita preformed flawlessly, the weather was beautiful, and Serena and I were in 7^th heaven once again. Anchored in a little bay with just each other for company. Good food, good beer, and good companionship.

The second day was more of the same, only we got the anchor down early in behind Ram Island, in Hay Bay, and had time to try all kinds of stuff. Serena was on the coach roof in a lawn chair, beer in one hand, and a fishing pole in the other before the engine was idled down.

We spent the day kayaking, fishing, swimming, and just chillaxin. It was the reason we wanted to go cruising in the first place.

Day three had us move to Collins Bay Marina in Kingston, to take advantage of the free overnight dockage that our reciprocal agreement with the yacht club allowed. We picked up some marine hardware, some groceries, and went to our favourite restaurant for pasta, the Pasta Shelf. A long hard day that saw us in bed early.

That’s where the blue skies ended. The fourth day saw a bad weather forecast continuing for the next three days; move now, or get stuck. I knew we shouldn’t have stopped in Kingston, but the lure of pasta had my brain not thinking right. The forecast was for 40 km/h winds with gusts to 50. Bullshit, I’ve been in lots of 50 km\h winds (25 knots), and had a great time sailing, this was more like 70 km/h, at least. It was brutal. We got the living crap beat out of us. The few boats that were out were large sailboats with barely scraps of sail up, and they were healed right over. Unfortunately Vita does not currently have a mast, because we are doing the canals this year, and they have a height restriction that does not allow it. So we did not have the wonderful stabilizing effect of the sails to calm the ride. A swell coming off of Lake Ontario, and wind driven waves from another direction made for a terribly confused sea and a very rough ride. There were times we would role and I would swear that the keel was trying to come out of the water, and times when I could watch the bowsprit sink beneath the waves. Only a sailor would take a power boat out in that crap, and Vita is effectively a power boat right now. Add to this rain coming down in sheets so thick it was like a pea soup fog had rolled in. One of these rain squalls hit us as we were trying to enter Kingston Harbour. We had a following sea at that point, thank god, but the Wolf Island ferry was leaving, and two sailboats under sail were headed straight at us. Rules of the road be damned, I knew the ferry wasn’t going to get out of my way, and there was no way those two sailboats were going to be able to avoid me in that mess, so we swung Vita around and back out towards the lake in order to make enough room for everyone. Once all the potential collisions were over with, we headed back into the harbour unmolested, and aimed for the little bridge opening in heavy winds and a following sea. Parts of me didn’t un-pucker until we were shot through the hole under the highway into the relative calm of the waters behind. And so we started the Rideau Canal system, its starting to feel like a vacation now.

Vita back to one six.