No More Sawing in the Living Room

The maple flooring is laid and the saws have now been banished from the living room. We are busy getting the cottage ready for my mother's visit later this month.
Choosing boards is more complicated than it sounds.
Christine collapses on the couch after a long day of laying flooring.
Rob uses his new air compressor nailer to nail the maple flooring.

Our maple hardwood flooring arrives from Bruce Hardwood. Thirty boxes are brought down the lift and carried into the cottage.

Happy 4th Anniversary

To celebrate this year's anniversary we had a delicious lunch at Thyme on 21 in Goderich.


We took a break from laying hardwood at the cottage and spent a little time enjoying each other. We have been working very hard and it was good for us to take a time out to reflect on our fours year of married life and what we have accomplished together as a couple.

Spring Happenings

A mother deer tells a new born fawn to stay still by the side of our cottage road.
The birthday boys of May....Bob and Doug.
The nasty weeds stopping the flow of our creek don't stand a chance.
We have some good storm watching in the spring as the weather changes.

Mother's Day Tea at Huronview is a special day.

Climbing UP in the World....Stairs and Railings Take Shape

A sure sign of spring at the cottage are the trilliums in the bush. Another joyful sight has been seeing loons on the lake on their journey further north. What a wonderful time of year this is.
A pizza and a glass of wine tastes good after a busy day on the job site.
The antique washstand looks fabulous. The captain has a way with wood.
The railings look great....lots more beautiful pine wood to varnish.

Our stair builder arrives in style with the posts for the loft railings.

Home Sweet Cottage

Soon after we were home in mid April it was back to the lake to begin working on the cottage. The first thing Rob did was frame the walls upstairs followed by drywall. Rob spends most days there while I try to catch up on things at home at the condo. I am also chief researcher and shopper!
The stairs up to the loft were an exciting addition this week. Unfortunately there was a glitch in the design so they are not finished yet; however our stair builder Dave has assured us he will be back soon with the problem rectified.
The fan adds a tropical feel to the cottage and will be very practical once summer gets here.
This is an antique wash stand with a vessel sink. As if we don't have enough to do we have to strip the wash stand and varnish it. The good thing is that we will be varnishing the stairs at the same time.
The loft frame before the drywall was hung. Rob working on the closet in the back room. This area will have the upstairs toilet and wash stand.
The slanted loft ceiling is a challenge for closet space but with a little ingenuity we should be able to make it work.
Once the drywall was done in the loft it was time to get the paint brush out.
Framing and drywall were first on the spring agenda.
The bonkers that came home in our stay sail are ready to be hung with care. When I look at the pile that we carried home from the beaches of The Bahamas I can't help but think that we are perhaps going a little bonkers ourselves? That being said Lynn and Peter also collected bonker fish floats and managed to fill their forward cabin with quite a few. At least they floated their bonkers home and didn't have to air freight them or explain to U.S. Customs what the round things were in the luggage?! According to the Cat Islanders who practise voodoo the McGuffins and Forgoshes will not have to worry about evil spirits in their homes by the water any time soon.

Homeward Bound

The big girl is lifted and ready to be taken to her summer home...life on the hard.

The boatyard crew of Stafford,Craig and Phillip feel like our Bahamian family. Of course the Abaco Yacht Services is Celebrian's home away from home.


Lynn and Peter will be life long friends. Perhaps our wakes will cross again in the Caribbean?

Having the cottage is a real blessing on the last night in the boatyard.


I am sitting in air conditioned comfort writing this blog update in the cottage that we rent the last night at the boat yard. We stayed here last year and it really makes life easier especially when the weather is hot. The captain is putting on Celebrian's cover which we call the circus tent. I am ever so grateful that I was able to get all the below deck work done before he started to put the tarp on. I have been suffering with swollen legs in the heat so I am more than grateful to be out from underneath the cover. The weather has been a scorcher and the boat yard is almost unbearable. We have never had to work in such heat before but by the looks of the weather in Ontario we won't be complaining about being hot for long.
After our exciting time in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay we headed back to Manjack Cay for a couple of days. Lynn and Peter sent us off with a farewell dinner to die for.....steak, LFPs (their friend Len's favourite potatoes), broccoli, and apple pie with vanilla icecream. And just when you think Lynn can't spoil us anymore she gives us a loaf of homemade cinammon bread along with a beautiful card about friendship. We will miss our dear friends next year more than words can say. The weather has been quite lovely and we hated to head back to Green Turtle and Abaco Yacht Services to haul out. Last year The Bahamas had one of the worst winters in forty years; however this year we have been blessed with great weather.
We came into the dock on Friday afternoon at high tide and since then we have been working long days to get Celebrian "summerized." If it wasn't for salt water things would be much easier; however we have to clean everything on the boat in order to keep from getting mildew. That means a lot of laundry at $4.00 a wash and $4.00 a dry. In addition we have to de-salt all our gear whether it is dive gear, comfy seats,life jackets or paddles. In addition we have to deal with all the food....some of which we give away and things like canned food and dry goods if they haven't been open we leave on board. All the engines have to be serviced ...Mr. Yan, our diesel, Mr. Johnston, our outboard and Harry Junior, our Honda generator. In fact Harry had major surgery after his 300 hundred hours of service. In addition there is the pickling of the water maker which is critical. There is a reason sailors call living on a boat in a yard ....living on the hard! All in all things have gone very well this year and it makes us feel good to know that Celebrian has been put away in good order. We always worry during hurricane season but we know she is in good hands at this boat yard.Goldberrry is ready to be hoisted up on deck. The cabin is beginning to fill up and it is getting increasingly difficult to move around below decks. Celebrian's circus tent begins to take shape. Mr. Johnston gets taken for a last spin.The admiral baking muffins for the trip home...as if it wasn't hot enough??

We are now sharing our cottage with another couple from Ontario. Christine came down with heat stroke and her husband couldn't wake her up this morning. Their boat was tied up at the dock. The boat yard found a local medic and they took her to Marsh Harbour where she was rehydrated and released this afternoon. This cottage has two bedrooms so we volunteered to share with them so she could sleep in an air conditioned room and not on a very hot boat. Just a reminder to us all of how important it is to drink lots of fluids and stay hydrated.
I am now sitting in front of the gas fireplace in the condo putting this blog together. It always amazes me at how quickly we slide back into our life in Ontario. It takes us a few days to get through the mail and get caught up but after that things just fall into place. While I am busy getting the condo back into shape the captain has returned to the cottage and framing walls in the loft. When we are on the boat we are dreaming about the cottage and life in Bayfied and when we are at the cottage we are dreaming of sailing in the Caribbean.
We had an uneventful trip home and had both the Green Turtle Ferry and the Yellow Air Taxi all to ourselves. We have flown several times by ourselves in the 8 passenger Cessna. We are always happy that the plane isn't packed since our luggage is usually the equivalent weight of another passenger....this time we were about about 160 pounds. This year we flew our staysail home and plan on having a new one made. It provided good protection for the tree bonkers and looked particularly interesting in the x-ray machine as we came through U.S. customs in Fort Lauderdale. Spirit Air to Detroit was on time so that was a bonus. This year we arrived home to freezing temperatures and rain and it was a rude awakening; however we know better than to complain. Our new neighbours Paul and Jane welcomed us home with a cheerful note and some breakfast treats...very thoughtful and much appreciated.

White and Wet Knuckles in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay

The clouds rolling in before the storm hit.

We are back in White Sound taking shelter from a cold front that is predicted to have winds of up to 50 knots. We had hoped to stay out all week at Manjack and Powell; however the weather ultimately decides our movments. We have anchoredin the harbour and First Edition has decided to go in to the Green Turtle Marina given the forecast. For awhile during the front we were wishing we had opted for the marina tie up as well. The storm hit hard and the wind gusts were ferocious. We were anchored in weeds and mud and even though we had backed Big Bruce in hard we started to drag. It was a slow easy drag that was hard to feel on the boat but I kept saying to the captain that we were moving. We grabbed our foul weather gear, started the engine, hauled up the anchor and I drove around in the wind and rain until we found some sand to anchor in. The added complication was finding space among the other anchored boats and those on mooring balls. The storm hit hard and fast and before it was dark the front was through. We have no idea how hard the wind blew but it was one of the worst storms we have been in since sailing in The Bahamas. We have slept with our anchor alarm on before but have never had it go off. Big Bruce has always kept us safe and will continue to do so in the future. Rob and I always say that our job is to keep Celebrian safe and in return she looks after us.

There are advantages to civilization....not only harbour protection but a nice dinner out, a walk on shore and internet; however we love the remote places the best.
While waiting for the storm we decided to get some of our boat jobs started....locker cleaning, shell sorting and packing and Rob managed to wrap six fish floats (affectionately known as bonkers for our cottage tree)in our stay sail. The stay sail is going home to be replaced by our sail maker Kevin. Then the big girl will have all new sails and be very proud. She may have to sail her crew to Cuba or the Eastern Caribbean next winter so she has to be ready for her next adventure. We have had a great year in The Bahamas and the weather has been terrific, but we are ready for new places to explore. We love The Bahamas and feel safe here but the idea of visiting different islands and cultures is hard to resist.
The marina and island are named after the green turtle.

The Magic of Manjack Cay, Abaco

We left White sound in Green Turtle Cay and headed north to one of our favourite cays....Manjack. The weather had settled and was perfect for a kayak out into the ocean and a snorkel on the reef. Peter and Lynn joined us in their dinghy.
How can you not love this woman???

We saw lots of fish and a green turtle who wasn't too shy. It is definitely a sign of spring when you can paddle out onto the ocean. Of course everyday is different and the same ocean can look very different when a cold front blows through with 30 to 40 knot winds.
This collage shows how quiet our spot was one morning and how clear the water is. It sometimes feels like we are floating in an aquarium. Actually the night before we were sitting on the foredeck looking at the stars and I heard the distinctive sound of a dolphin at the surface. We have seen dolphins while at anchor before; however we have never had one around the boat at night. He stayed around for several minutes and we could see his outline as he came to the surface for a breath. It was very special.
Peter and Lynn had bought a new blow up tandem kayak but had not used it this season. Manjack's mangroves are made for kayaks and we had a wonderful time paddling among the baby nurse sharks, green turtles and the odd pig. We had lunch along the ocean beach and then Rob and I did some snorkelling on the way back to the boats. Peter and Lynn were delighted with their kayak and look forward to using it more in the future. It will be perfect on Mill Creek on the Chesapeake where they are building their new home.


Frist Edition and Celebrian happily anchored together at Manjaclk Cay.

We will miss sailing with First Edition and her crew next season.

The Abacos...Celebrian's Home Away From Home

Sunset on the east coast of Great Abaco.

These pictures were taken the day we were kayaking around the Manjack area.

This picture shows the difference in boating styles in The Bahamas.
We are soon to up anchor and head out of White Sound in Green Turtle. The front is through and the wind is down. We want to spend the next few days up at Manjack and Powell if the weather lets us. We will return to Black Sound in Green Turtle next Friday afternoon and plan to spend the weekend at the dock getting the boat ready to be hauled on Monday morning. This week we will be cleaning lockers, doing hand laundry and anything else that we can do while at anchor. Rob did some work replacing hoses in our anchor locker yesterday so we are already in boat yard mode which means b oat chaos.
This picture shows the Green Turtle Ferry on its route through the Sounds.
We are meeting up with Lynn and Peter today and Lynn has some veggies from Marsh Harbour for us so that will be a treat.

This is how the captain likes to end his day especially if the head or the anchor hose doesn't leak.