OFF 2 C Irene

Lots of people have asked about Hurricane Irene.

We are planning on a departure of Sunday, August 28th 2011 at noon.

Irene is not projected to be much of a negative influence on Lake Ontario.

Weather forecasts show sun and light winds from north and west.

We will be stopping every night and will be able to ride out a little high wind that might come our way.

However, there is some concern about the Erie Canal.

I just recieved an email post from New York State that flooding over the next 48 hours may cause the canal to close. Damage to the canal or the navigational aids may cause closure of the canal or sections of it.

That would delay our progress a bit.

Hmmm...

Stay tuned.


Update Saturday August 27th.

Some weather models are suggesting that it could get VERY windy tomorrow.

Captain is not up to starting this trip in 30+ knots of wind.

We may delay our departure until Monday


Update Sunday August 28th.

Either out of prudence, respect or being unprepared, we have decided to delay our departure until tomorrow morning.

Watching a hurricane just outside your area is a humbling experience. We decided that it would be disrespectful to set sail in the face of Irene. Winds of 30 to 40 knots would have been less than a fun way to start our journey. As an added benefit, this delay allowed us to gather those last few items that we would have left behind.

Irene is now a memory we'll heed for the rest of our trip and be thankful she blew through when she did.

Newest Crew Member?

The roof of Port Credit Harbour Marina has become a massive rookery for a flock of Common Terns.
(think seagull, but slimmer, more graceful and with a black cap)

The fish that these birds feed on are abundant in the harbour this year. Consequently, so are the babies!
Unfortunately, the roof of a 4-storey building is not the ideal place to raise children, and with the young now beginning to be mobile, many are falling off the roof to the asphalt below. As they are still unable to fly, most do not survive this fall. Those that do, often run to the water, escaping the traffic of the parking lot. Once in the water, they are excellent swimmers, but as the docks are elevated, they cannot get out, and will eventually drown.
On our way to the shower on Wednesday night, Jessica spotted a little "motorboat" in the water, calling for his mom ... being the animal lover that she is, she sent Madeline to get help (aka Daddy with a net). Greg came to the rescue, and scooped this little guy out. We dried him off, put him in a bucket with an old T-shirt and placed it over the computer to keep him warm.


Thursday morning, we were woken early, to the sound of a rested, and now hungry, baby bird. Jessica and Greg went fishing, caught a little fish and came back to the boat. The fish was then chopped up, mixed with some bread and water, and fed to him.

Once full, he spent a few minutes marching around the bow of the boat.

With many tears from Jessica, our little friend was delivered, by dinghy, to the stone breakwater protecting the harbour. This is right under the flight path of the adult terns from the marina roof, so we have our fingers crossed that they will continue to be fed. From these rocks, the babies are also able to get in and out of the water to cool themselves, get a drink and hopefully seek protection from predators.

Friday Update: Retrieving these babies could be a full-time job ... later on Thursday morning, while standing near the building, Greg had cause to look up and managed to catch another falling baby in his hat. On trips back and forth to the car, Greg ended up rescuing several more and took them all to the breakwater. After picking the girls up from sailing camp, the three of them walked along the building and found another 9 who had survived the fall ... gathered them in buckets and boxes, and delivered those to the rocks as well. From our boat, we can see the adults sitting with the babies, and are hopeful that they are being cared for.

New Anchor

We've got a new anchor. This Rocna 25 kg is a massive chunk of metal hanging off the front of our boat but we have to sleep on it for the next 12 months. Between this monster and an upgrade in chain size I'm hopeful we can weather whatever splashes our way. We'll let you know how it holds.