September 16th to December 17th, 2009 - VICTORIA VISITS AND BIRTHDAYS

After a short visit in Vancouver we set sail, via BC Ferries, to Vancouver Island and our home port of Victoria.

Helped friend Alex with some boat projects. Does this count as fixing a boat in an exotic location? Just days before two boats and boathouses burned down to the waterline and this boathouse was badly damaged. I got a moment of fame as I was the only one on the dock the day they came to film a followup story.

Starbucks coffee with niece Kara and her boy friend Jared.

We house & pet sat for our friends Mike and Cathy. The dog Fee Bee is so sweet we almost "dog napped" her.

We visited son Mike, his partner Cori and Grandpuppy Brock. Sandra prepared a vegan birthday cake for Cori's birthday that got rave reviews.

Party for MIL Loretta and son Rob, who share the same birthday. Guests included son Mike's visiting Korean student Sing Gin and Grandpuppies Brock and Bob.

Dinner with Bob and Shelley. Great martinis, wine, scotch (pictured) food and pictures of their travels to Ecuador, Peru and the Galapagos Islands.

Visits to Grandma.

Sandra's birthday dinner with Mike and Cathy.

2009 - August 16th to September 16th - FREDERICTON, NB TO THE CHESAPEAKE, USA

We leave the dock at the Fredericton Yacht Club and return to Saint John. We haul the boat at the Saint John Power Boat Club. We discover "On Off", the only cleaner that can tackle the "Mustache" stain caused by the coloration of the east coast USA waters. You literally brush it on and hose it off, saving hours upon hours of labor. However, it is best not to read the ingredients.

After a delay to let hurricane "Bill" pass we head south.

We check into the USA at historic Eastport, Maine.

We pass lighthouses and fish traps on the way down the coast of Maine. We duck into "Mud Hole" to wait out a storm. It was downgraded to less then a gale force by the time it arrived, but it was still nice to be in a safe harbor.

The coast of Maine again presented challenges due to the outrageous number of lobster trap markers. Often two are connected by a line that is less than the 6.5 ft we draw. We snagged three in one afternoon. We were able to back off of two, but had to cut one off. I refuse to eat Maine lobster in protest.

We spend a few days in Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island, NYC. Son James and his girlfriend Maria join us for a day at Coney Island. The beaches are huge. The beer is cheep (by US and CDN standards). We tried a Hot Dog at Nathans, the originator of this sandwich. The taste is so so by my standards. We did not try any of the rides as they looked sadly run down.

We leave NYC on the dawn tide and go straight through to Chesapeake City. We had wind and current with us the whole way!!! We averaged over 7 knts.