All systems ready to Cruise 2014

June 22, 2014  Point Bay Marina, Charlotte, Vermont

Marc-  Sue, Stephanie and I went up to complete final preparations on the Lucy III.  I am happy to report all systems are up and running this year and the boat is well stocked with non-perishable foods for the summer.  We will load the new freezer/cooler just before we depart on July 4th.  Stephanie is working at Basin Harbor Club and we will stop over to visit with her during the cruise.  We slept aboard this weekend.
This is the first year that we have found good storage spaces for the essentials.

Lucy III Launched

June 2, 2014:  Point bay Marina, Charlotte, Vermont

Marc-  Judy at the Marina called with the excellent news.  The season has officially started for us.  I prepped the dinghy with new bottom paint and fuel for the Yamaha last weekend.  I even went out and checked out our mooring in the Bay.  We are at the same location as last year just South of the Easternmost docks.

Almost ready for Launch 2014: 2 days and counting down.

May 31, 2014,  Point Bay Marina, Charlotte, Vermont.

Marc-  Final prep for launch.  Lucy III's bottom is now painted with VC-17 and we hope the boat is as slippery as the paint was going on.  She looks really nice with the smooth Copper finish. The two part paint (one part copper powder and one part clear liquid) was real interesting to use.   Lots of electrical work completed this week for rewiring of the 110 volt circuits and two new 12 volt circuits.  I am alone again for this working weekend as Sue is taking care of her parents and the girls are both away.  I have the some of the sails aboard and was able to mount the mainsail.  The furling genoa will have to await launch as the yard removes the forestay for some reason during launch.  We still need to load the other basics aboard such as the sheets, towels and provisions.

Cleaning took considerable time this weekend and I hope that the seagulls stay away for a change.

My goal is to have the boat in top condition for Cruise Week(s) with departure on July 4th.  the Outline of the Cruise is as follows:

Spring Boat Prep: 2014

Point Bay Marina:  Charlotte, Vermont.  April 26-27, 2014  

Marc-  It is that time of year again.  It has been a long winter in New England with the ice finally  leaving the Lake in late April.  I have several projects this Spring for the boat.  An unwanted plumbing fix to replace a cracked pump-out was first and foremost.  Second was the installation of a second fuel tank to extend our motoring range. Third is replacement of some of the cabin sole.  Fourth is completion of an electrical upgrade begun last year.  The first three items are nearly completed.  The first two required a total re-make of the v-berth woodwork.  The electrical is tough with finding routes for the new wiring.  Finally we have to do the regular maintenance items.  Sara and Stephanie have volunteered once again to strip and repaint the bottom. The cover will be coming off soon.  We plan to be on the mooring by June 1.

Winter 2013-2014

Point Bay Marina, Charlotte, VT : 11 February 2014 -Marc Winter is all around us this time of year. Lake Champlain is frozen except for the tiny path kept open by the Grand Isle Ferry. Royal Savage Yacht Club "Mid-Winter Raft Up" at Charlotte presentation: My family has the travel bug and we enjoy travelling by water. It was this travel bug that brought us to sail to Lake Champlain years ago from the Boston area and then in 2009 took us away when we decided once again to explore the further inland waterways of North America using both American and Canadian rivers, lakes and canals. We will recount our travels off lake from 2009 to 2011 utililizing the Richelieu River, the Chambly canal, the St. Lawrence River, the St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake St. Louis, the Ottawa River, The Rideau Waterway, Lake Ontario, The Trent- Severn Waterway and Lake Huron. These travels are documented in the family blog at www.saillucyiii.blogspot.com. We will explain what is needed to head off lake and travel these waterways along with our stories of adventure from this journey, or rather series of journeys. This trip was done in segments due to limited vacation time over several boating seasons. The plans for such a journey will be discussed so you can plan your own journey. Key points will include deciding on routes to take, customs issues in leaving the USA and returning, navigating in rivers and locks, points of interest, and especially the wonderful people one meets along the way.

Haul-out Weekend 2013

October 5, 2013  Point Bay Marina, Charlotte, Vermont

- Marc:  Sue and I came back from dropping off Sara and Stephanie at McGill University and proceeded to empty the boat for the winter.  The Lucy III  haul out actually was done while we were away.  I noticed some deck damage that I quickly repaired and ended up re-bedding everything in that area of the deck  There will not be any leaks next summer.  I have a photo below showing all the details.  We decided to cover the boat ourselves this winter with tarps from Loews that seem to work for most of the fleet here in the storage yard.  Our winter cover is very nice but is designed for lowered masts and we have kept our masts up this winter.

This whole process took several trips to Vermont or stopovers on our way home from Montreal.  One visit to Montreal, on Canadian Thanksgiving, was spent apple picking and enjoying the Fall foliage.  The apples were great and the colors were spectacular.  We took our Aunt Dorothy along and returned via the ferry crossing the Ottawa River at OKA.  There were several sailboats crossing with colorful spinnakers.  We had fond memories of travelling in this area with our boat in the past several years stopping in St. Anne de Bellevue and in Hudson.

Our last stop was in St. Anne where we enjoyed dinner with friends on the waterfront.  

Tartan 34C Reunion Weekend at LCYC Shelburne, VT

August 24, 2013, Charlotte, Vermont

Marc-  Sue, Stephanie and I are on board this weekend for the annual Tartan 34C event.  We did enjoy dinner last night aboard John and Mindy's Coquina and a great breakfast this morning under the tent at the RSYC.  It was fun to see our sailing friends again.  We left our mooring at about 11:00 to sail North to Shelburne.  This ended up being a motorsail trip but we did sail through the racing fleet gathered for the Diamond Island Regatta.  We were warmly welcomed at the dock of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club in Shelburne.  They later provided us with a free mooring for the night.  Sue and Stephanie departed on the bikes for a trip to Shelburne Village. I remained aboard and gave some tours of the Lucy III.  I also toured a few boats myself and was impressed with "Indian Summer".  The boat looked none the worse for its transatlantic and Caribbean adventures. Sue and Stephanie returned just in time for dinner at the club to be followed by Richard's presentation about his sail to Europe aboard his vintage 1970 Tartan 34C "Indian Summer".  An excellent presentation with humor and excitement as well.  The best parts of Richard's tale dealt with his close encounters with whales and flying fish.