Life On The Hard
A rainy Sunday. Only 5’C. We sleep late after a very enjoyable summer supper and evening with Mike and Ann, Paula and Craig. Barbecued burgers, accompanied by spinach salad, potato salad and dessert of ice cream and fresh strawberries - what a treat!
Paula and I exchange some heritage information, as there are Laings in her family, too. I provide the names from the headstones we found in Norris Point last year. She will provide these to her relatives when she sees them at a family function next weekend. Once again we are in awe of the connections we keep finding on this journey. I am glad I continue to carry my “heritage folder”.
The wine and conversation flows until late when we all return to our boats - it is still, and the humidity lingers, along with the dense smoke from the Quebec wildfires. We say our “good nights”, knowing we probably won’t be together as much tomorrow in the rain.
“Jelly Bean” Office & Clubhouse Against a Smoky Sky
Kashmir leaves at 9:00 Tuesday morning, with Mike and Ann seeing them off, but I rush to the break wall for photos. It is a bit foggy and the wind is from the north. We hear later they stopped in South Sampson Island, 16nm out the bay, with the plan to continue north the following day. Mark is able to send updates via his Starlink wifi as they move each day closer to Labrador. His reports, though, are daunting as he describes the number of large icebergs and fields of bergy bits they are trying to see through the fog. We are happy to hear they arrived in Maiden Arm Saturday. Harald and I know they will find peace there and hopefully get some much needed rest. (We also hope the caribou are there to greet them!)
We are living on the hard again, after one night at in our slip. The night was sleepless as bilge pumps ran every 23 seconds. When we launched on Thursday, there was no evidence of water coming in, but by Thursday evening, the three bilges were filling in less than 20 minutes. The location of the leak is found, the reason yet to be determined. We are grateful for Jim’s evening visit to help assess the situation, but we feel badly for his early departure from his granddaughter’s birthday celebration in answer to our plea.
The marina manager explains they would have been here to help us “in a heart beat” if we had called the night before. We are grateful, even though we didn’t call them. They lifted us out at 8:15 Friday morning and we’ve been living back on the hard since then. Fortunately, this happened while we were still here with available help.
Unfortunately, we missed Mike’s birthday celebration but enjoy Ann’s chocolate cheesecake for several days following. This is important to Ann, as we provided the decoy while she blended and baked in the clubhouse kitchen.
First Launch
Completed tasks since we arrived in Lewisporte June 10 include:
Bottom painted
Fog horn installed
Main sail up
Davit lines installed (for lowering and lifting dinghy)
General engine maintenance, stuffing box, and propeller shaft checks with Mechanic Jim
Continued work on centreboard
Supply and spare part inventory
Jim Penney climbs our mast to examine wind instrument and anchor light
Almost daily trips to two local grocery stores and two dollar stores, hardware store and marine supply store. (Price comparison is paramount with these prices!)
For the most part, the work is pleasant as others offer a hand, a needed tool or spare part. We reciprocate when we can. Many people live nearby but a few of us are living onboard. We prepare most of our lunches and suppers in the clubhouse where we enjoy eating together as a family then doing our dishes while chatting about our day and our tomorrow plans.
The marina is a busy place with boats being launched now on a daily basis and boat owners busying themselves with the preparations for launch. As soon as the weather turned warm on Wednesday we noted a steady increase in the activity. (The temperature rose 30’C on Wednesday, in just twelve hours. I am still happy with the flannel sheets, though, as the nights are still cool.)
Two gentlemen are painting the clubhouse and marina office. With their new vibrant yellow and orange, with blue trim, they resemble the jellybean houses in St. John’s.
On a few walks to our slip we have met our slip mate “Sammy the Seal”. He is a large harp seal which Harald first encountered lounging on our dock. He slips into the water and seems to have fun stalking us as we walk back and forth.
We do a lot of walking through the day, moving about the yard and between clubhouse and boat but I especially enjoy forty minutes along the boardwalk at Woolfrey’s Pond Trail. Spring is just arriving in north central Newfoundland: ferns are opening, crabapple and lilac trees are blooming and gardens are ablaze with tulips.
Yellow pollen is everywhere. It floats on the surface of the water in the harbour and the boats and cars are covered with the fine powder. We welcome today’s rain to clean the boat, but the cockpit cleaning will have to wait as we installed the full enclosure on Saturday night.
The plan was to enjoy part of this rainy day in the extension to our onboard living space but it is cool and too damp so we stay close to the heater, puttering at small chores and waiting for the appropriate hour to pack up our supper things and head to the clubhouse. We have a movie to watch and expect we’ll reconnect with friends who have been hiding out in their boats today, like us.
Rhodora
