Eastern Lake Ontario. Issued: 1:12 PM EDT Wednesday 20 September 2006 for the period ending at 10.30 AM Thursday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. Forecast: ..Waterspout advisory in effect.. ..Small craft wind warning in effect.. Wind northwest 20 knots increasing to 25 this afternoon then diminishing to 15 near midnight. Isolated showers. Isolated waterspouts ending this evening with gusts to 35 knots possible near waterspouts. Waves 1 to 2 metres lowering to 1 or less overnight. Outlook..Light northwesterlies diminishing to light and variable then becoming southerlies.

They say 18 KPH, but it is solid and the channel is covered with mini whitecaps.

I expect the guys with the little dog are begining to remember my advice regarding a southerly Lake Ontario crossing in late September. I always say wait for the wind to die at night. probably by 23:00 and go. The lake likes to sleep until dawn and then fills in again with conditions that will have a the seasoned cruiser well reefed.

Wakaura 09/20/2006

I called it quits after getting caught glassing the Wharram port aft when a rain squall popped up just when I had 6' of fresh matt laid up.

You know tha you are in trouble when your polyester wetted matt which is normally a translucent brown goes milky white. Bah - Hum Bug!... Fortunately, I know the score and promptly took the scraper to it and had a ugly pile of one cabin side in no time. This is the fix. Never, ever try to let it go as the strength is shot. The water contaminated rosen must be ground off. Not bad perhaps a coffee can of rosen, and a half hour of sanding. Sometimes the bear gets you.

In the picture you can see the remains of the scraped off matt. Note how wonderfully nasty the million little razor strings are when we move to the section I had completed immeadiatly prior to the one I really got caught out with. On the left you can see where I was successfull in removing 98% of the contaminated mat when it was little more than a jelly. In fact it really will not be too bad a fix grind, the aft section where the cabin tapers had a good hold and had kicked off. The client will not be charged for the repairs, my boo boo.

Today Mike left for his journey up the Trent Severn Waterway via a kayak. This is sturdy boating with a lot of importance on minimalist living.

Marine Forecast issued for Eastern Lake Ontario. Issued: 6.30 PM EDT Monday 18 September 2006 for the period ending at 6.30 PM Tuesday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. Forecast: ..Small craft wind warning in effect.. Wind south 15 knots veering to west Tuesday morning then increasing to 20 Tuesday afternoon. Scattered showers at times heavy beginning early this evening and ending late Tuesday morning then fair. Waves less than 1 metre building to near 1 Tuesday afternoon. Outlook..Strong westerlies diminishing to moderate northwesterlies.

The rain has returned and the day was ushered in by the tap tap tap of rain dripping from the cabin roof to the deck. Rufus has returned from his first day walk with his wet rat coat to assist me asI update the Blogs. He just hates rain days. I on the other hand must get the update report on the Wharram ready for Dick.Wharram pages here.

Rick is the new owner of Estren a traditional Falmoth channel cutter with the nastiest looking bowsprit any 28' boat ever saw. Rick a Yachtmaster and retired Royal Marine is an experienced sailor who hails from Falmouth England. He has been practicing with Estren. It is a joy to behold proper boathandeling and seamanship. Estren goes to a far better place, or in fact gods country as after he shakes her down the boat will be loaded on a trailer and move to British Columbia.

Sunday on the other hand turned out beautiful and I had a mega marathon on Wakaura. There is nothing like 5 hours of grinding to fill a beautiful fall day. But seriously, and if you are interested in this project check out it's progress on the Wharram pages here.

Saturday was a complete washout with dreary clouds dispensing just enough moisture to make any form of outside work unpleasant.

Marine Forecast issued for Eastern Lake Ontario. Issued: 3.00 AM EDT Friday 15 September 2006 for the period ending at 3.00 AM Saturday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. Forecast: Wind north 10 knots veering to northeast this morning then becoming light and variable this afternoon. Occasional drizzle and mist patches ending near noon then fair. Waves less than 1 metre. Outlook..Light and variable.

It is day three of the rain and clouds. This morning has brought only fog and a light drizzle with temperature above what they have been. This was moving day for Cruising Canada, or at least the shop part of my operation. Mike gave me a hand and we loaded the trailer and borrowed a truck and made the move to the new shop in one load. so it is official Cruising comes to Ben Gill.

Thursday was a drive to Peterborough to take Rufus to see Dr. Terry. Rufus was in fact on his very best behavior and did not get restless until the ride home, probably due to the fact he no longer likes a litter box, or perhaps it is the one I had in the car was too small for his taste. In any case Dr. Terry did finally find the problem with his left eye which is his eye is not producing enough tears. Sos now he has new meds and hopefully will be a two eyed cat to his old age.

Wednesday lived up to it's promise. The dark clouds bore a cold rain, driven hard by a southeast wind. Outside was just flat nasty and everyone went home early leaving the marina deserted. I spent the day working on my computer problems and now know a lot more about my laptop. There is no question I will repair refurbish it as it is still near the top of the heap years after. On the other hand the editor is way faster but not set up for the Internet at all except via a network.

Rufus has left for the evening again and I wonder where he finds so interesting. When he returns he is wet and been outside, but he seems to love it and it was the same way with winter cold. I am afraid I have a nocturnal tom aboard. The feral cats are now using the new house in the orange building, but I have been unable to sort out someone who will feed them when I go in less than a month.

Marine Forecast issued for Eastern Lake Ontario. Issued: 10.30 AM EDT Tuesday 12 September 2006 for the period ending At 10.30 AM Wednesday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. Forecast: ..Small craft wind warning in effect.. Wind southeast 15 knots veering to south overnight then increasing to 20 Wednesday morning. Chance of a shower. Scattered showers beginning late this afternoon or evening. Waves 1 metre or less. Outlook..Moderate southerlies increasing to moderate to strong.