On the Wall at Coburg

We have a free mooring on the wall, and apparently there are now some reciprocal slips with power.

I’m trying out Orca (top) vs Navionics (bottom). Liking Orca, but the chart coverage is not as good in the north.

We motored all the way but sail assisted some of the time. Lots of weed near the Murray ($5.50 this year), and apparently we picked some up on the way in to Coburg too!

We stayed another night ($1.50/ft) because of zero visibility.

Sandy Cove

Motored up the Bay of Quinte almost to Belleville, then anchored for a pork chop BBQ.

Scenic Little Club in Kingston

 

We have really enjoyed our stay on the centre dock at the lovely KYC, almost like a cottage in the city, but we will be headed out this morning for points west and north. Rosemary is joining us for the leg from here through the Welland. 

After good wishes from friends on the dock we got away about 10:20. Now motoring in no wind up towards the Bay of Quinte.

Naming a Heron

 2025-06-07 Naming a Heron

More than 20 years ago we used this same short ceremony to rename Anemone II as Dragon III. We sailed Dragon III far and wide for many years, and she is still sailing with Tom and Sue on the east coast. That seems auspicious evidence of a good and proper renaming.

This short ceremony allowed us to safely and happily rename Lasata as Night Heron, ready for many voyages under her new name. We completed the ceremony on the lake following Sailpast with long time crew members Martha Sellens and Mary Wilson on board.

Rick: Bless the vessel Lasata. We now allow this name to go back to the everlasting sea and the Canadian Registry of Ships. Thank you for your service and goodbye Lasata, I toast your service!

(Rick toasts and sprinkles some wine on the bow)

All: Lasata, we toast your service!

Laura: Hail Poseidon! We seek your benevolence upon this ship, now to be known as Night Heron. Poseidon and Night Heron, I toast you!

(Laura toasts and sprinkles some wine on the bow and in the water.)

Both: Oh Poseidon, you spirit God of waters great and small,
On this vessel, by your grace, allow these sons and daughters all,
To pass from port of hailing to their port of call,
And on these sailing subjects let your gentle blessings fall.

(Both sprinkle some wine on the bow and in the water, then toast)

All: Poseidon and Night Heron we toast you!

Rick: Hail Aeolus! We seek your benevolence upon this ship, now to be known as Night Heron. Aeolus and Night Heron I toast you!

(Rick toasts, sprinkles some wine on the bow and spits some wine into the wind.)

Both: Aeolus, whose mighty hand doth charge the wind,
To this vessel gentle zephyrs send,
And we who sail within will bend,
Our heads in awe and tribute without end.

(Both sprinkle some wine on the bow and spit some into the wind, then toast)

All: Aeolus and Night Heron we toast you!

Ten Years After

 We had some wonderful sailing on Signature from 2014 to the end of 2023, but after 10 years the world had changed. Signature reached the end of the road partly due to old age and partly due to the hassles of trying to insure a unique 40 year old vessel. She was stripped and went to Kimco in April of 2024. Most of our travels over that time were documented with facebook posts that kept our friends and family up to date on where we were.

In the fall of 2023 we bought Lasata, a 2005 Dufour 365 with pretty good performance for a full on cruiser. Peter and Jim and I delivered her from Lake Champlain back to Kingston in May of 2024, once the Erie Canal opened.

For 2025 we are planning a return to the North Channel via the Welland, as 1.7m is still a little deep for the Trent. Some friends have poked me about maintaining an illustrated log of the journey, and I have made absolutely zero commitment to do so (Hi Scott!), however I thought I might try this platform to see if it still works.

The Times They are aChangin'

Dragon III is up for sale because we bought Signature, and Tom and Sue's Spontaneity is up for sale because they are about to buy Dragon III, and who knows how far it will trickle down. The best way to buy a boat is from people you've known for years, whose boat you've raced on and know the history of, so that's what we're all doing.

For our first outing we sailed in the the Partridge Bowl with Mary, Cole, and Tiberius. It's a chase race so we started after everybody else had left, but managed to catch up with them before the got to the club property on Wolfe Island. It was an upwind race in very light wind, which certainly helped us win the cup.

Signature has all the racy stuff, but will still take a while for us to get her in cruising form. First on the list are a variety of details revolving around the engine, electrical, and plumbing systems. Hardly romantic, but rewarding.

The raw water pump leaks a few drops per minute while the engine is running and I don't know yet if it's a loose screw, or needs a new gasket. There's only about 2" of clearance for those screws, so I need a special tool, or better yet new hex-head screws. The plate inscription says Volvo Penta 829895 8323, which should help tracking down parts.

All the Volvo stuff says it is important to know the engine Model (2003 or maybe MD 17 D) and Serial Number (21255)

at least as show on this plate on the crankcase. A partial list of fixes so far:

New diesel fuel supply/return lines

Raymarine SX-5 Autopilot

Relocate the chart plotter back to the helm station on a makeshift binnacle to figure out ideal positioning

Standard Horizon AIS VHF with remote mic at the helm

Spin pole supported tent over forward hatch

Remove the shore power to comply with code

New throttle cable to replace broken and McGivered version on Partridge Bowl.

Dragon III For Sale - A Bargain at $21900!

After many years and lots of great memories, Dragon III is for sale. We would have kept her for many more, except a great opportunity came along to move up to a bigger boat. We have been upgrading all along, including a brand new RayMarine Wheel Pilot this spring, so you can benefit from our unexpected opportunity. The list below covers the major equipment, most of which is fairly recent (years approximate). Dragon III rates 144 under PHRF-LO if you are inclined to race. I will add more pictures later.

For Sale!

Hughes 35, built 1979 and launched 1980         CDN$21900

Sparkman and Stephens Design

Atomic 4 Engine with Gori Folding Prop, Spares, and Moyer Marine Manual

Balmar 60W Alternator and Smart Regulator/Charger (2005)

2 Trojan Deep Cycle Batteries with 130W Solar and 20 Amp AC Charger(2009)

30 Amp Shore Power and 50' Cable

V-Berth Double, Quarter Berth 1.5 and Main Cabin Queen+ with Frohli undersprings

Hot and Cold Running Water in Galley and Head with Shower (2012)

New Head Tank (2013)

Isotherm Holding Plate Refrigeration (2005) 

Origo 4000 Alcohol Stove

Dodger and Bimini

Stereo with PolyPlanar Cockpit Speakers (2012)

Standard Horizon DSC VHF with AIS and Cockpit Controls (2012)

Raymarine ST60 Speed / Depth / Wind (2003)

Raymarine SPX-5 Wheel Pilot (2014)

NavMan Chartplotter (2007) with Lake Ontario (2007) and Lake Huron (2012) Charts

Rigged for Spinnaker with Pole, Lines, Harken Mast Track (2004)

3 Spinnakers (0.5, 0.75, 1.5 oz)

Ultra-Furl Headsail Furling System

KSL Dacron Main and Heavy #1 (2003), #3 Blade (2005) 

Sobstad Mylar Light #1

Older #2 and Storm Jib

2 Lewmar 46 Self-Tailers and 6 Other Winches

Nautos Solid Vang (2005)

Navtec Integral Hydraulic Backstay Tensioner (2009)

2 Anchors, Chain and Rode

and much more...

             

Final Leg

September 1: It's always the familiar that catches you up. We didn't pay enough attention to the wind forecast and woke at two to waves slapping at the stern in the NE breeze. After some fiddling around we decided to move out to a mooring, but maybe didn't get ourselves awake enough first. Laura was able to recover both of the boat hooks, but her glasses are on the bottom, somewhere near the northernmost mooring.

Greg and Perry had arrived on Sukha some time before all this happened and taken the southern mooring ball. They said hello this morning then headed on down to the islands.

This afternoon the dock filled up with Compulsion, Offliction, and Happy Puppy. Dan made an heroic effort diving for Laura's glasses with fins and mask. Unfortunately they seem to be gone for good.

September 2: Spinnaker run before a light east wind lasted until about the spectacles at noonish. By one the thermal had broken through and we were beating towards KYC, where there were plenty of people around to welcome us back and regale us with the events of the Shark Worlds.


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Trenton to Jemmett's Landing

August 29: The winds were rather fickle today. Although we had replaced the cocktail jib with the number 1, it was still hard to find enough to keep us moving, so we motored much of the way to Picton.

The yacht club looked full, so we decided to try the cruising club and pulled into one of the slips that wasn't marked "reserved". It turns out the process for docking at the cruising club is a little more complicated than it says in the Ports guide, and you really need to call Ted in advance. Any how, having talked to Ted he assured us that the slip we were in should be fine overnight, although slip 2 was the usual guest slip, and we went up to the top of the hill and paid at the spa.

Slip number 7 belongs to John and Carol Carruthers and Kaihuna. They returned early from the islands to beat the next day's wind (foreshadowing) and found us in their spot. They graciously pulled in to number 2 and we spoke at length about appropriate ways to get even with Ted ;-) Next morning they gave us a much appreciated ride to and from the grocery store, allowing us to stock up on heavy things so we remain very well supplied for the final leg.

August 30: With groceries stowed we motored just long enough to clear the harbour, then unrolled the #1 to take advantage of the forecast breeze. We made good time down the reach with the wind almost dead behind us at 10 to 15. Things heated up a little in the gap at the end of the county and Laura and I took turns having the fun of steering. After clearing the Brothers we were able to come up a little, but the confused sea state took the fun out of it for about half an hour, as we transitioned from the channel to the lake waves.

By Carruthers Point everything was predictable again and the wind was over 20. Our speed picked up and we started getting blasé about 8 knot surfs. We peaked at 8.8 multiple times and managed to sustain 8 for over a minute down by Oak Point. Not bad at all while dragging a dinghy! By the time we rounded the corner towards Jemmett's Landing, the wind was 25 to 30, but our peak speeds had come down with the smaller waves. We pulled into the dock about 1730 making it about 7 hours from Picton, averaging well over 6. The Masons were there on Dancing Spirits to catch our lines and share some snacks.

Truly a glorious and exhausting day, and a great welcome back to Kingston wind!


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Niagara on the Lake to Trenton

August 27: We headed out about 0800 and went quite quickly until we ran out of river current. Then it was motor sailing, or just plain motoring, and a lot of rain. We got into Coburg about 1900 and tied up on the reciprocal wall, which is really set up for much higher water. (0.39 m above datum right now)

August 28: A great sail in 15 NW took us up the coast at speed and then motored through the Murray. We came through with a young guy from Picton alone in a J/24. He was greeted by a bunch of people on the shore as he continued on back to Picton. He was almost done a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of Lake Ontario to raise money for the Cancer Society. Maybe we'll find out more when we get to Picton.

We anchored on the north shore of the bay, half way between Trenton and Belleville.





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