Our Summer Cruise 2016

 

Monday, September 12

No need for a chart for today's trip as we only went about 1/2nm to the dock to await our haul out. Tug'n was pulled with no issues and we just headed on to the trailer guided by hydraulic pads. A large front end loader hauled us up the ramp and stationed us on a concrete pad for the power washing. Unlike at home, Maine requires all power washing of boat bottoms to be done on an impervious service and the water run-off collected and filtered to remove any solids such as tin, copper, and zinc before it can be released to the waterway. At home it just all runs into the Lake and builds up as contamination.

Wayne, who has been with Atlantic for 25 years, is in charge of the haul outs and personally does the washing. Although the bottom was very clean, he spent at least twice the normal time to clean the bottom and then washed the hull as well.

They hauled the boats up the hill to a flat storage area, blocked the keels solidly, and put the jack stands in to keep the boats upright, before pulling the trailer out. We now had our new home on the land.

Atlantic made sure we had water, power, ladders and even some carpet scraps to keep the gravel off the boat! Throughout our stay, Wayne, David Dennison (the manager), and Cy Hannon (the owner) were constantly checking if we needed anything to make our cleanup easier - a great crew at Atlantic!!

The rest of the day was productively spent spent on boat cleaning, polishing, draining salt water from the engine and generator and generally getting the boat ready for storage. We are not as tight for time as Stephen as we will be making a trip back to Maine soon with the dinghy trailer to deliver the dinghy to Quebec City for hull replacement. We will finish up the boat then.

Tuesday, September 13th

Another sunny day, just perfect for polishing and outside work on the boat. While Judy did the stainless, I got the hull half finished as well as miscellaneous work inside. We didn't quit until 6:00pm well beyond our target of 4:30pm but a cup of tea recharged us for a while longer.

Twins ... Well Almost

Cy Hannon lent us his car, a nice Mercedes, to drive the 40 miles to Bar Harbor Airport to pick up our rental car; Hertz came through with an free upgrade to a Chrysler Town and Country minivan with all the bells and whistles and a Nav system. Another example of Atlantic Boats customer service!!

Wednesday, September 14th

Up at 5:30am for the long drive home; we had four drivers and took 2 hour stints each as we drove the country roads of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont before entering Canada west of Sherbrooke. The Customs and Immigration was just a one-man post and he didn't seem too busy with very little traffic on the road. Not long after, we were on a major highway retracing our outbound route by water; Montreal, Salaberry, Prescott, and Gananoque. Here, around 4:30pm, we hit a major traffic jam - 401 had been closed all day with a major accident and traffic was backed up for miles or rather kilometers. For the next two hours, we inched our way (can one centimeter one's way in Canada?) to a detour off the highway to Gananoque where we stopped for dinner.

Our Companion - Thorsons - For Way Too Long!

 

Finally, after 16 hours on the road, we reached Toronto and Stephen/Fran's house where we were soon fast asleep. A very long day and more to come tomorrow!!

Thursday, September 15

After a good night's sleep, we stocked up with food at Cora's, a chain restaurant serving breakfast and lunch (excellent food and prices), and bid adieu to one third of the Three Amigos until next year.

The Last Breakfast!!

The last part of the journey went relatively quickly and we soon cleared Customs at Port Huron and were back on the dreaded I-69 highway with its potholes, patches, and road works. After 1000 km of Canada's great roads, it was horrible, especially in the back of the minivan. Not to worry, "the Donald will take care of it" as the guy in Havre Bouche, Nova Scotia told us.

After dropping Bob and Jan off in Charlotte, it was only an hours run to home where we found everything to be in order - grass and garden had been well-maintained; inside was dust-free; and no issues to take care. After a good cup of tea, a shower, returning the rental, and getting something to eat, had an early night.

Friday and Saturday, September 16 and 17

Picked up the dreaded four months accumulation of mail from Lindsay's and spent the next three hours sorting the miscellaneous subscription notices, junk mail, statements, and the odd valid bill that they will not e-mail. Only ended having to pay four bills in the end, all medical. The cupboards were bare as Mother Hubbard's so next on the agenda was to restock enough basics to get us through a couple of days before leaving for Maine.

We did get to relax for a while and watch the Michigan football game against Colorado which ended up with another one in the win column, 45 to 28 ... Go Blue!!

Sunday, September 18

We decided yesterday that, as we had made good on our home jobs, we should start heading for Maine today with the trailer to miss the Monday traffic for the first half of the trip, especially around Toronto. It was a good decision as we left at 7:30 am and made Kingston, 540 miles by 5:00pm. We decided to keep going for a while to Prescott, Ontario, a small town we stayed at on the St. Lawrence, and found a small bed and breakfast, the Colonel's Inn, just a block from the Marina.

The original house was built in 1835 of local limestone by Colonel McDonnell, the commander of nearby Fort Wellington. It remained in the McDonnell family until 1905. At one point extra soldiers were billeted in the basement.

We added further deja vu by dining at O'Heaphy's Irish Pub ... as good as last time before hitting the beds.