Summer 2018 on Suzie Q

Launch happened on June 20th followed on the same day by mast up. We did not paint the bottom this year and she did not suffer from that.

It was a weird summer weather wise and we only sailed 10 times which is 3 times more than last year! In July it was very, very hot and we could not even stand being on the water. So we went out 4 times in July, 5 in August and once in September. Considering we also had 3 funerals in about 5 weeks, 2 weddings (May and August), a trip to Trois-Rivières and Québec City in August and a few days in Picton in September, we did pretty well! Oh and also the birth of Dave's grandson on July 5th!!

Here's William in a little sailor outfit I bought him!

My goddaughter Kathleen started taking sailing lessons this summer and came out one day with her parents. I think she is a natural!!

At the bow, afraid of nothing!

Me with Yanjie, Kathleen's mother.

On our last sail of the season, we encountered our mooring neighbour who was able to take a picture of us sailing along.

On October 3rd we took our mast down and that of our neighbour. Here they are ready for haulout.

That's what the bottom looks like when she comes out of the water.

Getting covered for the winter.

Oops William is not happy that the season is over (wearing another sailor outfit from grammy!!)

Summer 2017 on Suzie Q

This year we launched on June 8. We took our time getting her ready because the harbour gates were still in and it looked like the water level would take a while to go down. Finally the gates came out on June 12. I went to watch how it was done because in all the years I've been a member at the Britannia Yacht Club, I'd never witnessed that.

The panels come out one at a time so that the flow coming in is not too strong.

But before all that, I must mention that the club and a lot of houses and areas along the Ottawa River were flooded in the spring. Bigger flood than anyone can remember. On May 7th, Dave and I went to help fill sandbags at BYC for a few hours. There were over 100 volunteers that helped during the weekend in order to keep the water out of the club and surrounding land. The building was flooded but thanks to big pumps and dryers the damage was kept under control.

This year we did not need to do much to the boat except the regular cleaning and painting of the bottom. As Dave applied the VC17 (rust colour) on the bottom, he ran out of paint. So instead of VC17, the keel was painted with black Tremclad. Maybe we have started a trend... We are not sure what it will look like when we haul out!

For a number of reasons, including the weather, we only sailed on Suzie Q seven times this summer. But each time was a beautiful day with nice manageable winds.

On Canada Day we entertained our friends Alan and Mary and Alan's relatives. Alan gave us a huge flag that Dave promptly hoisted and that I took down in the middle of the night as the wind picked up and the flag made a lot of noise. Yes we slept on the boat that night!

July 15th

To finish the sailing season, there was a freak storm on September 27th that did a lot of damage at BYC. Trees were down, boats were damaged in the harbour, one boat was blown off its cradle, others off their trailers, etc. Thankfully Suzie Q did not sustain any damage but she was pretty dirty.

We hauled out on October 6th. That seemed a bit early this year as we had a beautiful month of October. But now the cold is here... time to go to Florida!

The Tremclad did a pretty good job!

Tall Ships in Québec City 2017

Dave and I went to Québec City from July 18 to 23. That week the tall ships were in town to celebrate Canada 150. We spent the Wednesday afternoon walking in the old port to admire all the ships, big and small. It was hard to visit them because the line-ups were very long. We only boarded one ship.

Bluenose II

Black Jack from BYC

Fair Jeanne from BYC

View of the port.

Sailpast July 23rd on the St. Lawrence taken from a rooftop.

During the week we also went to the Citadelle and visited the Governor General second residence. We had done the other tour before and this one was available and free!

Main entrance to the residence.

The view from the terrace.

An old "poudrière" is now a nice church inside the Citadelle.

And then we walked and walked. Saw this interesting display of flowers... if you have old suitcases that you don't know what to do with!

New York City 2017

Well, I never thought I'd make it to New York City but I finally did! I received an email from my friend Sandra on a Sunday afternoon in August asking me if I wanted to go to NYC and the next afternoon we had booked flight and hotel. I don't think I ever booked a trip that fast!

So off we went from September 12 to 15, 3 nights at the Skyline Hotel in Hell's Kitchen. The hotel was nice and clean and very well located to walk to Times Square, the many theaters, restaurants, etc.

On the first night, we walked around to get the lay of the land and also went to the theater where The Book of Mormon was playing to buy tickets for the next night. We got some at a decent price in a balcony on the side of the theater. For dinner we found a restaurant where Sandra had eaten on a previous trip to NYC and tried it again. It was called Sangria and on 46th Street West.

September 13th - Before we left Ottawa, we bought a cruise around Manhattan online that departed at 10 a.m. from Pier 83 which was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. What a great way to see the city! Here are just a few of my many pictures.

After our cruise, we bought some lunch from a street vendor and found the entrance to the High Line. We walked the High Line towards the south until we reached 20th Street. We wanted to go see the store Kleinfeld of Say Yes to the Dress! Yes we both watch that TV show from time to time! The store was located at 20th West and 6th.

One part of the High Line.

Kleinfeld

The Book of Mormon at Eugene O'Neill Theater

We had dinner early at Uncle Mario's Brick Oven Pizza on 9th close to the theater. The shows start at 7 p.m. so we had to dine early.

September 14th - For our breakfast, everyday we went to the Skyline Deli across the street and bought coffee, bagel sandwiches and whatever we may need for the day. Before we went out that day, we decided to go to see a show again that night. I looked online on Todaytix.com (recommended by a friend) to see what was available at a good price. We settled for Waitress that played at a theater not too far from us.

For our second day, we had booked tickets for the ferry to go to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty island. Departing at 11 a.m. from Battery Park at the south end of the island. The tour lasted about 3 hours. Wow that statue is big!

Ellis Island (left) and Manhattan (right)

Inside the Ellis Island museum

After the island visits, we made our way on foot to the 911 Memorial. What a place... We did not visit the museum because there was a line-up and it was very hot outside. We walked around that area and found City Hall, the Brooklyn Bridge entrance and many other beautiful buildings. 

911 Memorial

The new World Trade Center

City Hall

During our walks we came across a couple of memorials to 911 as they had marked 16 years on the Monday before we arrived. Here are a couple of pictures.

The show we saw on Sept 14th at the Brooks Atkinson Theater

On our last night, we decided to try the restaurant attached to the hotel. It was a Mexican restaurant.

September 15th - Our flight was at 5:15 p.m. out of Newark. We left the hotel around 9:30 a.m. with our suitcases and made our way on foot towards Penn Station where we had to take the train to the airport. On our way, we did some shopping to kill time! We ended up at Macy's. I think it said it was the biggest department store in the world. I believe it! One can't see it all in one visit unless one stays there all day and night! We had lunch at one of the many restaurants in the store. Best lunch I had in a long time and that I tried to replicate at home with some success. Here's a picture of the original one! 

After that delicious lunch, we went to find Penn Station and our train ($13) to Newark. Train takes about 30 minutes. We got there so early that we were able to take an earlier flight home at 2:10 p.m. We flew Porter with a stop at Toronto Island. 

All in all a great trip and I hope to go back soon to continue exploring that great city.