Last Monday, we decided to take a quick trip to Cobourg from Toronto. This is a mere 100 km. NNE, hardly an expedition, but we like the little town, and we like the well-serviced marina, and the boat was running well, if in "Spartan" mode. I'll leave what that means to your collective imaginations; however, no lake was harmed in the making of this voyage.
So here are a few pictures. This is my son in 2005 at said compact destination:
And here he was last week.
He'll be nine in a couple of weeks and has been sailing since he was five days old. Yes, that means the photographic proof predates digital!
As is so often the case on Lake Ontario in the summer, decent wind was NOT a feature of this trip.
Consequently, the Harry Potter Book Club held several meetings.
Yes, my kid can read, but he still likes being read to.
We did get a chance to throw up some sail...
...but even with my cruising spi, we could only make about 4 knots in 6 knots of wind. At least it was from the south east, a rare direction here. Getting "up lake", meaning to the south west, is usually a chore of beating long tacks.
Eventually we just motored...straight into fog. Also note why boats with worn gelcoat and child passengers need frequent cleaning...oh, the footprints...
About 30 seconds after I requested my wife to hand me the can of compressed air, I had to blow it at a drifting fishing boat that came out of the fog directly in my path...five miles offshore...(sailorly invective omitted).
Anyway, that was our mid-week getaway: 75% motoring in next to no wind with about five hours of actual sailing...sigh. Now, back to boat reno ashore.
