Back to the islands

Again this year I traveled down to the islands in Notre Dame Bay to spend a few days sailing and relaxing on the water. The weather cooperated and the conditions were great. Just before I left for the trip though I realized I had no screen door for my Pathfinder and had to rig one up quick. I took the hatch door down into the workshop and traced the outline on a scrap of plywood. Cut it out and then cut a hole 2" in from the edge. Without waiting for approval I tore the screen out of my patio door and stapled it to the back of the frame. Cut the edges off and Violla! A screen door.
The winds were low in the first day and we just ghosted along doing a couple of knots. Nadine took pictures of the whales and shot some video, but with a small camera the whales look only like dots.

Siviers Island was our destination and this time we were sleeping on the boat. The cabin was hot and there was no reason not to sleep on the boat. The review of accommodation? Comfortable. big enough to sit up to  cook or change your cloths, space for 2 adults to lie down comfortably and if I had a thicker foam pad it would have been better, but that's for next time. The screen door and vent forward gave us cool comfort in the night without the feeling of being closed in with the cabins size. In the morning when we awoke, the tide had gone out and left us grounded for an hour or so. luckily the Pathfinder don't need alot of water to move in.

 On one of the days there I took my sister in-law out for a run. She had never sailed before but with some basic instructions she handled the tiller with ease. The winds were light so it made the lesson all the easier.

 My task, moving around the boat taking pictures but mostly lazing around up front.

 Later in the afternoon, the breeze turned into a gale and the winds hit a nice sustained 20 knots. No time for pictures, I reefed the main and with 4 adults on board for ballast, we gave the boat a good run. 7 knots on the broad reach, and wet. The waves were short and choppy and broke regularly and whipped sideways over the bow. A fun day, too bad I have no waterproof camera. Another item on the list. I hate blogging with no pictures. When I read other blogs like Steve Earley's the pictures add a lot.
When we hauled the boat up to leave a quad was used since the boat is light and the quad 4x4 very maneuverable. The in-laws house is immediately next to the shore and slipway. Doesn't get better than that.

 And not a moment too soon. I snapped this just as I was covering the boat and hooking it to the car. High winds and heavy rain for the next day but the trip was at an end. That could have been a very wet trip back.