an infrequent repository of mostly new stuff
Guideboat under construction
One day it rained. Almost all the day it rained. We could have stayed inside by a window and read, but instead went to the Adirondack Museum on Blue Mountain Lake; because a) it’s a really great museum with lots of very cool stuff to see, and b) I remembered they have a terrific collection of boats on exhibit. Continue reading “Boats and Bikes ~ Boats and Boatbuilding at the Adirondack Museum”
pianos and bikes in the park
Montreal was founded hundreds of years before the automobile, and never really got on board with the whole idea. Many streets in the old quarter are still cobblestone and narrow, more suited to carriages and peddler carts. That’s part of the appeal. And like many old cities, they’ve only grudgingly made concessions to cars. Parking is a hassle. Within 8 hours of arriving, we got our first parking ticket. That’s what the nice lady who let us in was trying to say: We had to move the car by morning for the street cleaners, and shuffle from spot to spot like a shell game every few days, or we’d start paying fines. Once we found a safe and free place to leave the car, we did, and didn’t fool with it again for the remaining three days in the city. And, fortunately, didn’t need to. Bicycles were a much better way to get around. Waaaay better.
an elegant classic sloop shoots “The Cut” in the video
Back when Burlington began reclaiming the waterfront, one of the first things they did was reacquire the old railroad bed running along the shore, a strip of land that effectively put the lake behind a fence. Once in public hands again, not only was access restored to most of the shore, but the graded bed provided a perfect foundation for a walking and biking trail. That’s how the Island Line Trail was born, and it now runs roughly 12 miles north out of Burlington.
Sailing at Gwynn’s Island video link
Writer friend and fellow sailor Doug Lawson was out visiting from California last weekend. A crazy amount of stuff got packed into a couple of days, making the most of the trip. Top of his wish list was to go sailing, and sailing we did.
Doug owns a Crawford Melonseed. He sails it in lakes around San Francisco, at Tahoe, and estuaries near Santa Cruz. With an experienced Melonseed sailor in the house, this was finally the first opportunity since my boats were built to have them both on the water at the same time. Exciting!
Aeon stretching her wings. Video from the longest leg.
The trip back was a 10 mile romp. The wind was now blowing at 15 to 18 knots, with a gust to 25 picked up by a buoy at the mouth of the Patuxent. Once we got away from the shore you could feel it. Most of the boats had reefs in. George stayed near the south shore where the chop was not as bad. I didn’t like what the trees did to the wind, so moved farther out, the rest riding it out in between.
Spirited Reach up the Patuxent
The basic plan is sail upriver until hungry, stop for lunch. Sail all the way back, and then some, to St. Leonard Creek. Hole up there for the night. If that ends up too far, turn into one of the smaller creeks along the way.
When scouting maps for launch spots, St. Leonard had looked promising. There was a place marked on the charts as a fairly large marina, but went by the odd name of “Vera’s Beach Club”. Hmm. A little googling rendered details of a seafood restaurant, bar, full service docks, etc.. Likely bathrooms and showers. Also, wet t-shirt contests. Bill’s on Broomes Island was more our style, but Vera’s did offer some appeal. St. Leonard was looking pretty good.
Aeon with her topsail, leaving the creek. photo: Kevin Brennan
The wind would stay locked to the Southwest for all four days, ramping up steadily day after day. What a stellar day this would be. Sailing all day at speeds averaging 5 knots, with sustained spurts over 7. Thirty miles covered easily. All after the walk to Sotterley, and with two long breaks of an hour each stuck in the middle. Just wow.