The Joy of Windsurfing

What a joy it has been to windsurf after a year of nursing a frozen shoulder. I had thought on many occasions this last year that my windsurfing days were over; however it would seem that I am not quite ready to throw in the surfing towel yet? I had always said that I wanted to surf at seventy; however I am now aiming for sixty and we will re-evaluate at that point?!?! The water is cooling as you can see by my outfit but it is still great to be out on the water. It has always been the place where I feel my father and Java's presence. Both my dad and my dog used to watch me from the shore everytime I was out on the lake on my board. As I have said in other blog entries the cottage holds a special place in my heart.

Lake Huron Majesty

Lake Huron is beautiful. There is no other place on this earth that we love being as much as the cottage. These are just a few pictures of the many faces of this lake. We never tire of watching the sunsets or storms. Lake Huron's majesty still brings tears to my eyes.

Tug Boats for All Seasons

Last year before we headed to The Bahamas we were reminded of why we go south to go boating in the winter. We watched three tug boat fishing vessels out in open water beyond the ice in December. They had been out further in the lake fishing and now wanted to get back into Bayfield Harbour. We were amazed to see each of them try to break through the ice. We were certain that they were going to have to head further south to Sarnia to get into a harbour; however one by one they tried valiantly to push through the ice jam and finally one had some success. With diesel engines roaring and lots of black smoke one by one they followed the leader into the harbour. Evidently this is not an unusual occurence and the fishermen push the season as far as they can. Personally we prefer both fishing and boating in The Bahamas.

Solar Success

The panel in place on the roof. Rob installed the plumbing to the panel and the solar boiler. We purchased a new 60 gallon water tank in anticipation of lots of hot water.

The panel begins to get sunshine in the early afternoon. We are thrilled that it begins to work without a hitch or a leak!

A very happy lady about to have her first high tech solar shower. Of course she is no stranger to low tech solar showers having showered under the bag for many years both at the cottage and on Celebrian. This is definitely an improvement.

One of our dreams when planning the renovations to the cottage was to have a solar hot water system. When we first checked into the possibility we were slowed down by the cost; however we didn't want to give up on our dream. After much research we decided we were going to join the natural resources eco-grant program and get the cottage audited. Our plans of only putting a new roof on the building grew to include all new windows, doors, full insulation, low flush toilets and the piece de resistance....the solar hot water system. The grants were made available over the past year to support home owners making energy saving improvements to their dwellings. Once we get our cedar ceiling up and our dry wall taping done we will have the home inspector out to do our post construction audit.
Even with the grant money assistance for the solar system we won't likely save money; however we are happy that we are doing something good for the environment and besides how can you put a cost on a dream?

Beach House Unplugged

My mother returned to her home at Huronview on the 25th of August and no sooner had mom left than the beach house was being transformed once again into a work site. Jurgen had arrived just in time to see her and say hello. He has known mom since the days he used to cut grass for she and dad in Clinton.

Jurgen and John's first job was to finish the soffet and fascia. Rob was hoping to work on the siding; however Rona made a mistake in our order so we have had to wait another week. No worries about things to do. Rob and I borrowed John's truck and trailer and headed south of Woodstock to Curries to pick up our cedar tongue and groove ceiling. Then we proceeded to begin sanding and oiling almost one half a mile of cedar boards. Rob would spend the first few hours of each day sanding and then he and I would apply the Danish oil. In between sanding and oiling we stuffed the rest of the R28 Roxul insulation into the ceiling. This was most disheartening as the insulation rained down on everything and our once clean beach house is once again very dirty; however the good thing is that after the insulation was done Jurgen and John were able to finish putting up the vapour barrier in preparation for the wood ceiling. Rob and Jurgen have started to put up the ceiling and it looks stunning...all our hard work is paying off and the beach house may be unplugged, but it is definitely becoming more beautiful.

Transformation

From Work Site to Beach House

Somewhere akin to working at the theatre just before opening night or being a member of a pit crew during the Daytona 500 was how we felt getting ready for Erma's visit. Sweeping compound, bleach and assorted cleaners,lots of brooms and elbow grease were used to clean things up while furniture, dishes, bedding, linens and assorted cottage things were brought back into the building and cleaned. The bunkhouse and the shed have been warehouses for everything in the cottage and they are far from empty; however it is now possible for us to have friends stay in the bunkhouse. In fact Gayle King who I hire to look after my mom will be staying there during mom's visit. Gayle was also very helpful in setting up the cottage and the transformation from work site to beach house has been amazing. While Gayle and I worked our magic, Rob the plumber was busy hooking up connections. After four long exhausting days we stood back and admired our new welcoming beach house complete with flushing toilet and hot water!!

Mom arrived on the 9th of August for her summer vacation. Although she had little warning of the changes we had made to the cottage she has adjusted remarkably well. There are things that both she and I will miss from the original cottage; however everyone agrees that the new beach house is beautiful. The weather has cooperated and mom has had days of paddling in the lake as well as a couple of bonfires.


She has enjoyeed visits from her good friend Jean, our friends Bob and Jan, cottage neighbours as well as her great neice Alison and her two children Chase and Sherry. Evening entertainment, the new Life series by the BBC has been a real treat and she has even had a chance to eat outdoors on a couple of occasions. Rob provides the daily entertainment as he puts the new siding on the building. Gayle and Brian have been wonderful and mom seems to be having a good holiday at the ripe old age of 89.

Happiness is Windows and Doors

Getting Closer....the Windows and Doors Arrive

There is something about windows and doors that makes one feel like you are getting close to living in a home. Although our windows and doors were delayed they arrived before panic set in. It was exciting to see them come down the hill on the trolley. It took five men to carry the two eight foot sliders that are on the front of the building but what a view! Over the next couple of days Jurgen and John installed them and I learned the value of Goo Gone. Rob continues to work on both the plumbing and the electrical as we countdown to my mother's holiday.

Raise the Roof Party

 

The annual beach bash was an evening get-together to celebrate the cottage renovation. Due to the damp weather we moved the indoor/outdoor furniture into the front room of the cottage. We had plenty of room for our friends and had a wonderful evening. We served homemade chocolate cupcakes and icecream after a toast to the new cottage. The cupcakes were decorated with loonies and served up with one hundred dollar napkins to represent the demise of our bank accounts!?
We are on schedule for my mother's holiday in August....the interior won't be pretty but we will have utilities!!

The Cottage Excitement Continues

 

We continue to be busy with our renovation. This next week will be exciting as our doors and windows arrive. Wish us luck and or better still stop by and see the excitement first hand.

Raise the Roof and More

 

Since returning home from The Bahamas in mid April we have been working very hard on our cottage renovation. Rob spent a good deal of the first 6 weeks doing the prepatory work for Jurgen our builder. Rob saved all of the cedar timbers from the roof and hopes to re-use them as trim on our windows and doors. Jurgen, along with his helper John have just finished our green steel roof. We can finally be dry once again. Rob is busy preparing to do the plumbing and electrical while Jurgen and John are building decks this week. The next major thing will be putting in the new windows and doors and doing the insulation.
It is a very exciting time for us. As for me...I am the site manager,cook, gopher, cleaner upper and designer. It is very neat to see what one has drawn come to life, albeit a bit scary at times too. I don't enjoy the process quite as much as Rob does; however I am thrilled to see my cottage dreams come to life.

Three Years and Still Smiling

We took the afternoon off from working on the cottage to celebrate our three years together in Bayfield at The Black Dog Restaurant. After a most enjoyable lunch we returned to the cottage for a champagne happy hour. Three years and the honeymoon continues.

Snorkelling Delights

Sergeant Majors are a popular reef fish. I took this picture in the Sea Aquarium in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. They were nibbling at my arms hoping for soggy bread crumbs.

We saw this small stingray snorkelling at Pipe Creek in the Exumas.


One sees quite a few large stingrays buried in sand for warmth. This one was resting along a reef in our Bell Island anchorage.


Rocky Dundas is part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. Rob took this picture of Christine in one of the grottos.


Rob caught this clown fish being inquisitive.


The colours can change with the sunshine.


This green turtle is sleeping. We were able to get quite close to him without disturbing him. We found a gorgeous reef within swimming distance in our anchorage at Bell Island.


Rob dives down and takes most of our underwater pictures. I stay on the surface because of my ears and only occasionally have a camera.


Parrot fish are so pretty. If you follow them around you can watch them bite off pieces of coral and if you are very lucky you will see it come out the other end as sand...recyling so to speak?!


Lionfish are spectacular fish to look at but divers are encouraged to kill them all over the Caribbean. They are a tropical tank fish with poisonous barbs; evidently good eating but you have to get by the poisonous barbs. They have invaded the reefs in The Bahamas and elsewhere in the Caribbean and they kill off many of the indiginous reef fish. No one knows for sure how they got south but many believe it was the dumping of fish tanks in the ocean that started the problem. We saw them most everywhere we dove so they are thriving.


One sees schools of yellow grunts on most reefs.


This Sergeant Major almost came up and kissed me at the Sea Aquarium, a snorkelling spot in Exuma Park. I have a theory that the fish are less afraid of divers in the park because they know that they are safe. We do see far more fish, turtles, rays and nurse sharks in the park than elsewhere so the conservation is working. I have also seen my one and only lobster in the park.


This is the airplane that missed the runway at Norman's Cay during the Carlos Lehder drug heyday. This plane would have been flying in illegal cocaine from Columbia. At Norman's it was made into crack cocaine and flown in small airplanes to Florida.


The airplane has turned into a nice reef for fish as it has been underwater for over 30 years. It is within swimming distance of the anchorage in Norman's Cay so it is a great spot to go. We often see stingrays around the wreck too.

The Bahamas has some of the best diving in the Caribbean because the water is so clear and relatively warm; although a wet suit is desirable if you are going to be more than a few minutes in the water. We thoroughly enjoyed our diving this past winter and look forward to seeing some new reefs next season.

Planes, Ferries and Automobiles

The Green Turtle Ferry is the first leg of our journey after our short car ride into Green Turtle from Abaco Yacht Services.



Highschool kids take the ferry to the mainland from Green Turtle to Treasure Cay and then a bus to Cooperstown.



Treasure Cay is a sleepy little airport in The Abacos.




The waters of The Bahamas look beautiful from the air.




The pictures of Fort Lauderdale are taken from the 8 passenger Cessna.



Yellow Air is our airline of choice for our trip between Fort Lauderdale and Treasure Cay.



This mahi mahi at the Fort Lauderdale Airport was the one that got away?!



The first day home was as warm as The Bahamas but we knew it wouldn't last!?



I could hardly wait to get to the hairdresser!

From Fort Lauderdale we flew to Detroit with Spirit Airlines and were met at the airport by Brian who runs Ontario Shuttle Service. He delivered two very tired passengers home to Bayfield just before midnight. As always it is good to be home but we always remain grateful that we have had the opportunity to continue our sailing honeymoon.

Life on the HARD

Monday morning bright and early Celebrian was lifted out by the travel lift and put on the hard at Abaco Yacht Services. While Celebrian was finding her summer spot the captain was in Green Turtle Cay renewing our cruising permit and the admiral was doing laundry. Everything on the boat has to be washed before we leave for the season... from the life jackets,wet suits ,snorkel gear, bimini curtains to the sails and seat cushions that have to be rinsed with fresh water. All of the blankets, pillow covers, any clothes that have been worn, even if only once, and all of the regular laundry has to be done. Salt is the culprit and anything left salty or dirty will mildew and we definitely do not want mildew. Rob had been kept busy doing all of the mechanical "summerizing" on Sunday....pickling the water maker, flushing Mr. Yan's rad and changing his oil, servicing the Honda generator as well as Mr. Johnson our powerful 3 HP motor and what Rob calls making love to our batteries...the heart of Celebrian's utility system. If you have ever lived off of the grid you will understand why this is such an important thing to do.
This picture shows Rob in the process of removing the 6 gallon hot water tank.
After he returned from getting our permit and we were on the hard it was time to get the deck clean and ready for the circus tent and lastly hoist Goldberry up on the deck. We were grateful that we had booked the cottage for the last night. The cottage is part of AYS and used to be rented out weekly to anyone; however they have decided to rent it out to their boat yard clientele and use the cottage yard for extra boats. It is very nice and has a full kitchen, huge screened in porch and is tropically decorated. It took the stress out of the last day in the yard knowing that we could get Celebrian all put away including the tent tied on and then relax for the evening. Last year Rob ran out of time to finish tieing on the cover and we had to leave. This year was much more relaxed and we had a pleasant evening in the cottage. The admiral even had a bath?!!The next morning we were up early finishing our packing and off to catch the 8:00am ferry for the journey home.