Trip to Italy, March 11 to 27, 2016

The idea of a trip to Italy started with an invitation to join a group that was going to ski in Cortina d'Ampezzo at the end of March. My girlfriend Marie and I had previously done three ski trips in France with some of the people in this group. So we decided that this was the year we were doing another one. And we decided to leave a week early and visit Rome, Florence and Venice. So the preparations began... plane tickets, hotels, trains, tours in Rome, etc. Then in January, my friend tells me that she won't be able to go on the trip because she was now on sick leave from work. I had to make a quick decision: cancel the trip, go only on the ski week or find someone else to join me. In the end, I joined Pierre and Denise, a couple that we had met on the other ski trips and that were also going for two weeks. I changed my plane ticket in order to fly out with them to Venice and off we went!

The first week started in Venice for one night. We arrived in the morning so we had the afternoon and evening to explore the area around Piazza San Marco where our hotel was located. The next day, Sunday, we walked through the narrow streets with our big luggage and took a boat towards the train station where we were supposed to take our rented car. (Tip: if you go to Venice try to have only a small suitcase to carry around!) Our car was a nice Volkswagon Passat station wagon so we had enough space for all our suitcases.

We had not planned the first week but we had an idea that we wanted to go see Lago di Garda and take it from there. So our first destination was Lago di Garda to the west of Venice. We drove on the highway A4 that runs between Venice and Milan. Pierre always drove and I was the navigator and Denise was the back seat driver!! We stopped in Verona for lunch and a quick visit of the main site, which was an ancient arena.

When we reached the lake, we started by driving on the east coast through villages like Lazise, Garda and Brenzone where we found a room for the night. This was our biggest and cheapest room of the trip - 70 Euros for the three of us! And the views from our large balcony were beautiful!

On Monday, we continued towards the north and stopped in Malcesine. It's a beautiful old town with narrow streets and a castle (Castello Scaligero) along the shore of the lake. We visited the castle and walked around for about two hours. From the castle, we had superb views of the lake.

 

Lago di Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It gets pretty windy and in season, is hosts to many sailing regattas. In fact, just after our visit, there was an Optimist regatta with about 900 children participating. The day those pictures were taken, I saw a few of them practising on the other side of the lake and it looked cold!

That's wind doing a trick on my hair!

Did I mention sailboats? :)

From Malcesine, we continued north to Riva del Garda, located at the northern tip of the lake, where we stopped for lunch and a stroll along the shore.

View from Riva del Garda.

At that point, we had decided to drive around the whole lake and find a hotel somewhere at the end of the afternoon. The drive along the west coast is more mountainous and has lots of tunnels. It got pretty scary when we encountered a big bus and a truck in one tunnel. We were inches from the wall and the bus but we made it without a scratch!

We landed in Desenzano where we found a nice hotel (Hotel Bonotto) just off the main street along the shore. The breakfast room was on the top floor and again, with superb views. It turns out the guy that welcomed us when we arrived was the owner (Emanuele Bonotto) and he was very helpful in telling us what to visit, etc. So we decided to stay there for two nights and take a day to visit Desenzano and two other villages in the area worth the drive.

View from the breakfast room in Desenzano.

More sailboats in Desenzano!

From Desenzano, we drove into the country side to find Borghetto, a visit recommended by Emanuele. It was worth the drive! Beautiful country scenery along the way and pretty village.

We had lunch in Borghetto and walked around then drove back to the lake to visit Sirmione. Another beautiful town on a peninsula with a castle. Almost everywhere we went there was a castle!

Castello Scaliger, built near the end of the 12th century.

On Wesnesday, we hit the road again towards Negrar in the Valpolicella region. We were hoping to find a B&B for one night but ended up just having lunch in Negrar before continuing to Bassano del Grappa. Since we were early in the season most vineyards were not really open for business.

Bassano del Grappa is known for its covered bridge and the grappa liqueur produced in the area. The owner of Hotel Bonotto had told us that he also owned two hotels in Bassano so we drove in search of Hotel Belvedere. Once we found it, it was full for the night but the other hotel, a Best Western just behind the Belvedere, had space for two nights. This is another great small town to walk leisurely around.

From Bassano, we set off for a day trip to Asolo, a place recommended by the hotel reception staff. Another castle in Asolo! But to get to it you had to climb a few hundred stairs! The view from the top was magnificent.

My traveling companions on those steps.

The top of the castle.

On Friday, we needed to return to Venice to meet up with the ski group and to return the rental car. My last navigating job and I got us there without getting lost!

This time we are staying at the Courtyard by Marriott close to the airport. After settling in, we left by car towards Piazza Roma to return the car then we stroll through Venice again but a different area. We returned to the hotel by bus at the end of the afternoon. The bus (#5 aeropuerto) is much cheaper than a boat ride and faster.

Saturday, we met up with the rest of the group and went to the airport to find our private bus to Cortina d'Ampezzo. We arrived in Cortina around noon. Time to settle in for the week, have lunch and get our rental skis. Cortina is a posh town with very expensive stores.

Our hotel!

During the week, we skied hard, ate well, drank some good wines and had some good laughs! Here are a few of my favorite pictures. And check out this video of our week.

Beer time after a good day on the slopes!

Marie, one day we will go back to Italy and visit! Denise and Pierre, thank you again for accepting me as the third wheel during the first week!

Summer 2015 on Suzie Q

This summer, we launched only on June 19, a couple of weeks later than last year. Our insurance company had asked for an out of water marine survey so we had to set that up for the spring. So after cleaning and preparing the boat inside and out, we proceeded with the survey. We were reassured to find out that Suzie Q is in pretty good shape for an old gal! But she needed cockpit drain valves to comply with the rules. So Dave got to work...

This is the final result, one on each side.

The day after launching, we were ready to sail! We try to go out every chance we get.
This year, one of my dreams came true. It is not a big dream but something I've wanted to do ever since we bought the boat - jump in the lake on a hot sunny no wind day! Well, I got to do it, two days in a row! Once I jumped with my 8 year old god daughter Kathleen and the other with my stepdaughter Alison.

Kathleen and I.

Alison and I.

We managed to sail 22 times during the summer. Haulout was on October 9th. She is now wrapped for the winter.

CMWA 2015 Championships in Ottawa, July 31 to August 3

The Britannia Yacht Club was the host this year and I was the organizer of the event.

Friday night was the welcome reception and registration at the club. Most participants were able to come by and enjoy the evening at BYC.

Saturday was windy enough to have 4 races. Sunday morning was very calm but the wind picked up enough after lunch that we did one race plus a long distance race. Monday was cloudy but the rain stayed away and we were able to run 2 more races. All in all, a great weekend on Lake Deschênes!

For my part, I only finished 2 of the 4 races I started because the wind was too strong. Up to that point, I had windsurfed only once this summer because of a bad back so I could handle it only in light wind.

A few pictures...

For more pictures click here.

Kona Worlds, Islamorada, Florida - October 31 to November 5, 2014

This is the second time I participate in a windsurfing world event. I must admit that the location (in the Florida Keys) and the fact that a fellow windsurfer told me YOLO (I had to Google the meaning - you only live once!) helped me to decide to plan the trip. I am not in shape but I am looking forward to it, even if I know I'll be at the back of the fleet looking at all the colourful Kona sails!

October 30th - Departure from Ottawa
Travelling from Ottawa to Miami with Denis Dagenais and his wife Carole. Plane is on time and the trip goes well. We pick up the rental car, a red Chevy Cruze, big enough for all our luggage. It takes about two hours to drive south to Islamorada and we arrive around 5 p.m. We find our rooms and take a quick tour of the resort, Guy Harvey Islander Resort. It is very nice!

October 31st - Free sailing
Today we pick up our equipment that has been prepared and laid out in one area of the resort. Everything is brand new. Wow! I sail for a bit over one hour in light wind before heading to the pool. Tonight is the welcome party.

November 1st - First day of racing
The morning brings very light winds so they send us out around noon. The start line is quite far but I make it. As soon as I get close, the wind starts to pick up and pick up and pick up. I stay there for a while before I realize that I can't race in that kind of wind. So I make a bee line towards the shore even if I end up not in front of the resort. I am happy to see that I am not alone doing that. Once I get to shore, I rest a bit then sail up along the shore towards the resort. That is hard and I end up pulling my left glute. After that I take it easy for the rest of the day.

November 2nd - Second day of racing
In the morning, I don't sail because of my glute but in the afternoon I risk it and go free sailing. My muscle is not too bad.

Equipment lot and lunch tables in the back.

People still leaving shore to go to the race course far away.

November 3rd - Third day of racing
It is still too windy for me to race today. So I rig a 6.6 that nobody was using (after asking Steve permission to use it!!). That sail is easier to handle in all that wind and I have a blast just free sailing in front of the resort. I am not the only one free sailing so that makes me feel better. In the afternoon, a bunch of us go to Key West by mini-bus. Carole comes with me and when we get there, we end up leaving the group and walking all over town. We find Hemingway's house across the street from an old lighthouse, Harry Truman's Little White House, walk along Duval Street which resembles Bourbon Street in New Orleans, catch the end of the sunset in Mallory Square and have dinner back on Duval Street at BugerFI. We are glad to have done that side trip.

The Little White House

Kapok Tree

Lighthouse surrounded by a huge tree

Sunset in Mallory Square

November 4th - Fourth day of racing
It is still windy... oh and still sunny! I rig the 6.6 again but I only go out in the afternoon. I sail for about one hour before calling it quits after I banged my knee on the board. I was trying to uphaul the sail and the swells made me fall in a few times and I think that is when the banging happened. Darn that's the end of my sailing.

Racing a bit closer to shore.

November 5th - Fifth day of racing
Last day of the regatta. I take it easy and spend some time in the hot tub and in and out of the pool.

So I did not get to race but I sailed and had fun... and that is all that counts!

Our abode for the week!

On November 6th, I drove Denis and Carole to a family member's place then I stayed in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea for 4 days before flying back home on the 10th. My mother arrived on the 8th so we were able to spend a couple of days together. I was also able to visit some friends from the Britannia Yacht Club who are presently living on their new sailboat around Fort Lauderdale.

National Capital Regatta, BYC, August 9-10, 2014

Right after the masters regatta came the National Capital Regatta in Ottawa. Unfortunately we had only five participants but everyone was happy with their weekend (well I think!). There were four Konas and one raceboard so we all raced together. We told the raceboard that he could not pump on the start line and he did not! On top of that, he did not pump at all and after the first morning he even put his race sail on a Kona board! We did seven races on Saturday in light winds and only one race early Sunday morning before the wind shut down for the day. I don't remember the last time we did seven races in one day... I was pooped! On Sunday, once the wind died, a couple of us went paddleboarding with one swimming alongside. Thanks again BYC and volunteers for a nice weekend!

Start line

CMWA 2014 Championships in Toronto, August 1 to 4

The Toronto Windsurfing Club was hosting us again this year so I make the trip to Toronto by myself to partake in this annual regatta and see my windsurfing friends. Michael Keltz organized it with the help of Stephanie Todd and a bunch of volunteers. They did an excellent job again! We had 16 Konas, 8 Raceboards, 4 RS:X and 3 juniors on Techno.

Friday night was registration and munchies at the club. Irene McNeil was our Race Officer for the weekend. Saturday brought some light wind and we only managed to do 2 shortened races (3 legs each). The rest of the day was spent waiting for wind that did not materialize.

Sunday was a day spent on shore waiting for wind. A few of us went paddleboarding for a while for something to do!

On Monday, we managed to do 2 full races and that was the end of it. I finished 13th out of 16th. I used to do better but oh well...

Kona corner at TWC

Summer 2014 on Suzie Q

This year, we did not have to do as much to get Suzie Q ready for launch. A bit of cleaning, waxing and sanding and re-painting the bottom with VC17. This being our second full summer, we knew a bit more what to do to get her ready. 

Before and after pictures.

While Dave was painting, I was chasing a family of Canada Geese from land to water!

Launch happened on Friday, June 6 this year. The next day, we put up the mast and by the end of the weekend, she was ready to sail.

Our first time out was during sailpast and Alison and Nick joined us. It was our first out of the harbour sailpast. Last year, it happened in the harbour as the harbour gates were still in. I may have a picture of Suzie Q doing sailpast to post later.

We went out one day that was pretty windy. Even Dave wore his life jacket!

One day we even managed to get a good picture of ourselves!

One day we sailed with someone who also has a Mirage 24 and we followed each other all the way up to Pinhey's Point and back. Our friend took pictures of us sailing. This is the first time we actually have pictures in action! Thanks André!

Suzie Q came out of the water on October 10th after another great season! Now it is time to empty her and prepare her for the winter.

Here's a little souvenir video of the summer! Click here.