16 June, 2014

16 June, 2014

Hola Mis Amigos,

Let me just say that the territory between the last 6 locks of the Waterway is unremarkable.  Getting back to civilization-road noise, industrialization, etc.  A bit of rain and drizzle made this gray area grayer.  As we rounded under the highway bridge in West Quinte (formerly Trenton), we rang up Craig on VHF channel 68 at the Frazer Park Marina.  As we backed into our slip, he was there to catch our lines along with our oldnew Canadian pal, Bill (Grand Banks Classic “Sea Star”).  Must be a story here-there is.  Seems that after they left us in Hastings, they were plagued by a recalcitrant transmission which insisted on overheating.  He was well and properly vexed about this, since both trannies had just been rebuilt by one of the best outfits in Ontario.  Delving deeper, the Admiral asks “What type of transmission?”  Velvet Drive.  “Velvet Drives SUCK!” says she, still smarting from an ulcerating wound over 7 years old.  (But that’s a different story about a different boat and not at all positive about the product or the complete and utter lack of customer support).  After agreeing to agree on this matter, it seems that the rebuild shop does understand customer support, and hired a local mechanic, and shipped a part free of charge-couple days lost, everybody happy, happy.  The rest of the good news is that we were able to enjoy Bill (a.k.a. Ed) and Lauren’s company for another evening of dinner and chuckles.  Tomasso’s provided the venue and the good grub.  It’s a very popular place, attested to by the big week-day dinner crowd.  After breakfast, Sea Star was off, and we were ready for some exploration.  The Royal Canadian Air Force Memorial Museum is about 4 km. out of town, and was VERY worth the ride.  When we arrived, a docent latched on to us, and gave us a very thorough Q and A session, as well as some tips and tricks for getting the most out of our visit.  Besides the indoor displays, including a Halifax heavy bomber (the only one in existence), there is an outdoor static display of twenty-five or so aircraft-all Canadian military except three.  Had to get my picture made next to an F-104, my favorite Cold War era jetsled.  Two-and-a-half hours later, back to the boat through a misty drizzle to check the weather and regroup.  New neighbors!  A shiny 34’ American Tug,”Great Laker” is tied next to the Girl.  Anne and Larry are from Michigan and are completing the Great Loop (down the Mississippi, across the Gulf, up the eastern seaboard, across the New York canal system to the Great Lakes).  He says the weather will hold, so it’s off to Mount Pelion, an area of high ground just out of town where Samuel Champlain met with (and probably screwed over) First Nation leaders in the 1600’s.  The view was great, the ride straight up.  Whew!  Gotta get more exercise to go along with that redpop.  Live music at the park, 75 yards from our little ship gave a nice backdrop for dinner cooked aboard.  Postprandial cocktails see Anne and Larry waddling (just kidding) back from Tomasso’s.  Can’t have one without the other (sorta like Temptation and the Hawaiian War Chant for you U-M fans)-How ‘bout comin’ over for a drink?  Yep, Larry’s a Michigan alum, met Anne while living in California, and returned to Michigan around 7 years ago.  They’re headed up the T/S to complete their Great Loop after having their boat on the hard in New York this winter.  As an aside, I think that Krogen should get us on the sales team, as I have acquired TWO hot prospects in just three weeks (just sayin’).  It’s Saturday, and colder (52F).  Quick trip to the Farmers market to pick up some strawberries, and we’re outta’ here.  Get “Great Laker” pushed off the dock, then it’s our turn.  Now that we are underway, I hafta say a few words about Craig and Frazer Park Marina.  It ain’t much to look at (the facility), but has to rank among our most enjoyable stops, due to its proprietor, Craig.  You’d be hard-pressed to find a more gracious and helpful guy.  When we couldn’t find a strong young guy to help us raise our mast, he was right there on our boat helping.  He has a wealth of knowledge about boating and his town, which he is happy to share with you.  Having been there for 17 years, he is fully invested in making sure that his “peeps” are having a good time.  Good Folks.  On our way to Picton, the Girl is telling us that she is happy, happy, happy to have 100 feet of water under her keel, and some room to breathe around her.  Planned to anchor in Picton, but the harbor is so cluttered with mooring balls that we tie up at the town dock, which is in need of major amounts of TLC.  They’re pretty proud of it though, and charge us accordingly.  The town itself is pretty cool, built in the late 1800’s, it looks a lot like many of the other towns and villages along the way.  Revitalized, presumably for the tourist trade, it was pretty vibrant on this sunny Saturday.  On the way home, we checked with the little inn on the harbor to see if we could buy their password, and have interweb on the boat.  Absolutely not!  “Here’s the code, didn’t know it went that far”.  Life at 7 knots in small towns.  Our 10 mile voyage to Prinyers Cove brings us in around 1200.  Sure enough, the bay is littered with mooring balls (all unoccupied).  There is a little marina with a dock to tie up to.  I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I wasn’t born yesterday.  It’s starting to dawn on me that all these balls are producing income for the docks.  We drop anchor in the mooring field, and take a long dinghy ride to cottagegawk.  Dinner off the grill, and a little reading to get our itinerary ready for Andy and Jody after we meet them in Kingston.

See Ya’