With the August long weekend comes the annual Lake of the Woods Sailing Regatta (LOWISA 41). We were not able to be in it this year but I managed to get down to the lake shortly after the start of the race and tape some of the sailboats making their way down the Kenora channel past Keewatin. The winds were very strong and it was quite the sight watching all these fine vessels heeling over.
I pieced together a 6 minute video you can view by clicking the button below.

After a summer of good use, it was finally time to replace the swing keel cable. I wanted to do the repair before the steel cable to rope splice failed, leaving me without a way to feed the new cable through. I was well prepared and the longest part of the whole process was actually getting to the marina to have the boat lifed out. I had hoped I could do the repair without a haulout but because some cutting and drilling was involved, I needed easy access to the bottom side. The entire job went quite well and only took about 15 minutes. This now means one less thing to worry about and should be good for many years to come.

It's been quite cold lately and we've had a lot of rain. This means I've been going through some painful sailing withdrawal, anxiously awaiting for another warm day to come along. After supper my wife announced that her and the kids were going to walk to Keewatin bridge and back. I thought that would be a great opportunity to get an aerial shot of our sailboat by simply sailing under the bridge. There was a fair (but cold) north west breeze and it didn't take long to arrive at the bridge. Of course the trip back to the dock was a different story. The wind disappeared and soon I was hardly moving... but getting colder. Although I was dressed for the colder temperatures, I was still quite chilled. At least I was able to get out and sail again!

With fall here, sailing season quickly coming to a close and my family wanting no part of cold weather sailing, I have no problem bringing along someone elses family for an afternoon. The desination this weekend was Sultana Island (which we had visited earlier this summer) and with a brisk northeast wind it took little effort to get there. Upon arriving I raised the keel and brought the boat fairly close to shore before dropping anchor. The wind caused us to swing a bit closer to shore and I could see many large logs resting vertically just below the waterline. Not feeling comfortable with this I tried moving futher out from the beach. Next it was time to inflate "Coconut" (our inflatable dinghy) which is normally stowed in a large hockey bag in the cockpit locker. Once that job was complete I found myself once again questioning our anchoring position. Preoccupied with repositioning I failed to notice that the dinghy had not been properly tied to the boat. Looking back at the stern I fearfully watched Coconut slowly drifting off to shore. To top things off, the anchor was hooked solid on one of the underwater stumps and did not want to let go. I was in no mood to cut loose a good anchor and dreaded the thought of having to take a fall swim to retrieve the dinghy. After tugging on chain for what seemd like forever, the anchor finally let go. Yahoo... one problem down! Fortunately for me, my "rent a family for the day" volunteered to go swimming. In hopes of making the experience less painfull for my volunteer, I brought the boat in to the beach until the rudder touched sand making the water only waist deep. With the boat anchored in a new spot and the dinghy retrieved, we were ready to paddle ashore and do some exploring. Upon returning I tied Coconut to the stern rails (this is where we keep the dinghy when we plan to use it again in the near future). When we finally got to more open water we realized the wind had died down quite a bit and it would not be possible to visit another beach without returning home in the dark. Well, the sooner we start heading home the better chance we have of not freezing once the sun starts to set. Ah, the joys of fall weather... and always a story to tell upon returning from a day of sailing.

What do you do when it's the end of September, cloudy with signs of rain and a cold wind blowing in from the north that chills you to the bone? ... dress warm and go sailing of course! I had just added someone new to my list of contacts (people that showed an interest in going for a sail) so I gave them a call. An hour later we were out on the water. The wind was strong enough to provide some good entertainment and every so often the sun would break through and warm us a bit. At the end of our 3 hour cruise we put on 10 nautical miles, had a very pleasant conversation and felt quite refreshed. It just goes to show you... if you sit at shore waiting for that perfect day to come along, you will miss out on what the present has to offer.

Well, today is the 1st of October. Do we need a better reason to go for a sail? As I arrived down at our dock, it was sad to see someone taking down their mast and calling it a season. I'm sure as the days progress, one by one the slips will empty until finally the only clanking of rope and wire will come from the "3 Monkeys"... with mast proudly standing tall and its spreaders reaching wide like open arms towards the heavens. I can't help but think how privileged we are to be able to sail. To take our busy everyday life and put it on hold... and for that brief moment, allow us to fellowship with family and friends and simply enjoy the natural beauty all around us. Amen!

With the Thanksgiving Long Weekend here and the promise of a warm south wind, I set sail... just me and the "3 Monkeys" (not the kids, the boat). The extended forecast called for snow in the weeks to come so it's best to take advantage of the good weather while it's here. The sun was bright and the winds were incredibly warm. In the 2 hours I was out I spotted only one other lone sailor, and he happens to dock almost right next to me. Looks like this may be the last warm sailing day of the season.

Today I woke to bitterly cold 25-knot winds gusting to 50 coming in from the northwest. It was nowhere as nice as the previous day and as I stood pouting at the front window watching leaves, branches and bits of paper and other garbage blow down the street, I wished I could be out on the water one last time. Wait a minute.. what’s stopping me? Okay, so the winds are crazy.. and the lake water looks an ominous black.. and white caps are swelling up everywhere.. Maybe I'll go down to the dock and just look things over. I'll simply assess the situation and see if the weather is really as bad as it feels. Yup, just as I suspected. One would have to be crazy to go out in this kind of weather. Then again, sailing season is pretty much over and it's not often one gets to go face to face with these kinds of winds. An hour later I had to wonder what I was thinking when I raised the sails. The up and down rocking motion made it feel like I was riding a wild stallion and the heeling every time a gust hammered down on the sail.. well, that just made it feel like I was falling off the horse. What normally takes 20 to 30 minutes to arrive at Keewatin Bridge took 2 hours but then again, I was fighting a strong headwind. I also forgot the sun sets a lot earlier these days so it was quite dark upon my return. Well.. I was able to end the season on a high note! The sail was fun, exhilarating and made me feel great to be alive!

The weather forecast said warm with zero winds so I decided to head down to the boat and pack everything away for the season. The Genoa weighed a ton and I was glad there was no wind. I found that even after removing the boom I was still ducking (which is a good habbit I suppose). I also moved the boat over to the pumpout to get the hold cleaned out for the season but soon discovered it was broken and probably wouldn't be working properly until next summer. Hmm, guess I will have to find a different way to take care of the problem before things start freezing up. I will also have to figure out a good way to lower the mast.

I would have liked to lower the mast this weeked but because it has warmed up a bit, everyone is out hunting. I am also waiting to hear the status of our new trailer which is being custom built. It should be ready soon but it was also built without exact measurements from our boat. This means there may be some adjusting to do once we try putting the boat on the trailer.

Talked to a friend today that said he could get a bucket truck and help bring the mast down. This would certainly make things a lot easier. It's raining for the next few days but is suppose to clear for Wednesday... so that will be "mast lowering day".

Received a call last night that my trailer is complete. Also had another friend volunteer to tow the trailer and pull the boat out of the lake. Unfortunately the rain today has turned to snow and the ramps will be all iced up Wednesday. There is a small chance it will clear up a bit Thursday, so if all goes well the mast will be lowered and the bat can be taken out at the same time.

This morning the sky is dull and overcast but the lake is very glassy. I decided to bring the "3 Monkeys" into Keewatin first thing instead of waiting for noon (the scheduled mast lowing time). I discovered that trying to untie frozen rope would be much like working with bridge cable. After spending way to much time fighting with rope and a chilly 20 minute ride to Keewatin, the boat was ready for demasting. The bucket truck was ready right at noon and I started loosening the stays. The mast came down without problems but it ended up taking almost an hour. Minutes later we had the trailer in place and I was maneuvering 5000lbs. right for the middle of it. Things fit almost perfect and despite a few snags the "3 Monkeys" was soon pulled from the water. I was quite nervous about moving the boat over dry land (considering what happened at the beginning of the year) but this trailer is strong and we only needed to travel a few blocks. On one hand I am sad that sailing season is over, but on the other I am quite relieved that our "3 Monkeys" is safe on land for the next 6 months.

Removed battery, extra gas tank, remaining life jackets, tools, sail bags and anything else that looked like it would be better off spending time indoors. The finishing touch was covering up with a couple of blue tarps. Our "3 Monkeys" is now tucked in for the winter!