 |
        |
 |
Hi
Everyone!
Well, today marked the beginning of another new adventure... Toronto has been good to us this summer, but as every sailor knows, when the seasons change and you can feel a bite in the air... it's time to move on! This past week has been filled with all the hustle and bustle you can possibly imagine that precedes a major voyage on a sailboat. Even though we've made many similar passages over the past few years, there is always a new and improved list of projects that are required to get 'Sophisticated Lady' ready for the beating she will experience during this 2500 mile passage to our winter destination in the Caribbean.
'Sophisticated Lady' had come to look like a bomb went off down below, and everyone that would stop by to visit and bid farewell would look around say, "wow, are you sure you're ready to go?" lol... Again, as every sailor knows, you're never truly ready. The project list is an ongoing adventure on its own, and knowing that it will never be completed is winning half the battle in itself. All you can do is pick your most important tasks that ensure the seaworthiness of the boat, and the rest... well, they'll just have to wait!
Today marked the day when, ready or not, the time has come to unceremoniously slip your docklines from the dockside cleats that have been home for so long and turn to the open water. My best friend Terry who owns the charter boat 'Miss Toronto' in Toronto Harbour came down to send us off in proper sailor fashion... with a bottle of Captain Morgan's rum! Even as he showed up the boat was still looking like a bomb went off and you'd never have guessed we were only about 2 hours away from departure! lol Terry went down below and fixed us up some true sailor concoctions and we all toasted the beginning of our next new adventure.
My good friend Brian was able to come along for the ride this time as well... Some of you will remember Brian from our first major passages and it will be great to spend some time with him onboard again as we make our way down the Erie Canal and Hudson River to New York City. Together with great friends, we had our final dockside toast to celebrate sailors everywhere, and with the dinghy finally hoisted, we slipped the lines and turned the bow South.
As we head across Lake Ontario, we are rewarded with very calm seas for our first night out. The wind is light and the air is cool and crisp, but certainly more than comfortable for a day in October! It's 3am now as I'm writing and the sky is beautifully clear and there are literally a zillion stars all sparkling like diamonds. It's surprising how something so simple can take your breath away, but after having spent so long under the glow of the city, it was amazing to actually see so many stars!
It feels good to finally be at sea again... we're already over half way across the lake, and the constellation Orion is shining brilliantly tonight as it hangs over my shoulder like an old friend as if to say... welcome back.
Cheers, Rick 'Sophisticated Lady'
PS... As always, we love hearing from you so feel free to email us at charter@WindInMySails.com . It's better for us if you send a new message rather than reply to ours as we are using satellite again and it is very slow to download all the emails if our original message is still attached. Thanks and we'll look forward to hearing from you!
Wind
In
My Sails Inc.
|