RSYC 2020
Cruise Week
2 July 2020: Converse Bay
Marc- We spent the morning shopping for
groceries and loading the boat. We also
filled the water tank after flushing the system, unfortunately there seems to
be a leak in the system at maximum pressure. This will give me something else to fix when I
have the time. We left Point Bay Marina
at noon and motored partially out into Town Farm Bay before unfurling the genoa
and sailing around Thompson’s Point into Converse Bay. We followed Mindy Donnelly’s advice and
anchored behind Cedar Island. This was a protected spot from any possible
thunderstorms. Fortunately all we
experienced were passing showers. There was Great swimming to be had by all
present here.
3 July 2020: Converse Bay
Marc-
Another day here in this beautiful bay. I missed the 8:30 VHF check in on channel 68 and so
went over to the Cruise leaders’ boat for information. The plan is to stay here until more of the
fleet can gather. I noticed that our freezer and the
refrigerator are taxing our electrical system ( a single 50 watt solar panel)
and shut down the freezer. We then went
off in the dinghy to the Garden Island ferry dock to leave the dinghy and walk
over to Point Bay Marina for the car. It was perfect with no issues raised by
the locals. John and Mindy were surprised to see us so soon back to pick up the
generator out of their garage. The Honda 2000i is great for peace of mind. I did a few painting projects and some
non-skid tape. Steph made lunch. We then prepared the inflatable paddle board
for a spin around the bay. I pulled
Steph around in the dinghy. The RSYC
Dinghy raft up was fun with some good conversation at a reasonable social
distance.
4 July 2020: Shelburne Harbor.
Marc- Departure at 08:00 a.m. under spinnaker, main and mizzen with a South
wind of 5 - 10 knots. Once past Sloop Island the wind shifted to North at 3-5 knots
and we motored the remaining miles to Shelburne Bay arriving at noon. We
anchored at the Southern end of the harbour for a quiet night of club
festivities and boats lighting up to celebrate the 4th. Lucy III was all decked out in led lights and then the fireworks started.
5 July 2020: Malletts Bay
Marc- Arrived at Niquette State Park in the
Eastern end of Malletts Bay. This is a
great place with warm water, a nice beach, cliffs for diving, and extensive
hiking trails with fabulous views. Best
of all there were very few bugs. Steph
and I did a long trail hike and a swim to refresh, The RSYC activity was a
blind dinghy race. Steph did the rowing
and was very efficient. A fellow Tartan
34c, Island Gypsy came over with Bob McGill at the helm. We had a nice visit as he sailed around the
boat discussing the latest on our boat club.
6 July 2020: Nichols Point
Marc- We motored today out of the Eastern side
of the Lake through the marble causeway to the Southern end of South Hero. There were shallows West of the causeway that
were easily avoided by staying close to the shore. This provided us with a view
of South Hero beach and its multitude of colorful birdhouses. I recall riding my old Schwinn bike here to
skip stones as a teenager. We then
passed through the Providence Island Narrows to the Western Lake. Still no wind to speak of as we proceeded
North past the Grand Isle - Plattsburgh ferries and then on to Nichol’s Point
at the entrance to the Gut. We were the
first to arrive and anchor. We saw what
appeared to be a Tartan 34C heading East and coming from the Laundon family
camp just North of here. I tried calling
but was not successful. The excitement
here, aside from the water sports, was a silent movie provided by Patrick and
Jessica and shown on the side of their boat. One of the boaters even provided us with popcorn
to cook.
7 July
2020: Burton Island.
Marc- Our dreams have come true: we are going
to Burton Island State Park for two nights. This is always a favorite part of Cruise Week
for us. We followed the leader through
the Gut to the North Hero - Grand Isle Bridge. Except for a slight delay at the bridge all went well. Once past Ladd’s Landing the wind picked up to
20 knots from the South and we quickly reefed the genoa. Jerry and Sharon reported a 30 knot gust at
one point. It was otherwise a fast sail
doing 7 knots over to Burton Island where we tied up to the service dock. We assisted the late arrivals. There are five RSYC boats here but only four
are really doing the Cruise. I organized
a campfire for smores in the evening. Steph and I enjoyed hiking the trails and picking
raspberries.
8 July
2020: Burton Island.
Marc- Glad to still be here for a second day. Steph did kayaking and stand up paddle
boarding on our inflatable paddle board today. I rowed the dinghy. My arms got a good workout especially on our
trip to Eagle Bay. We ready some
Longfellow at the park at the Southern Tip. The excitement for today came from a most
severe thunderstorm with 70 knot winds that came from the Northwest. This was
wild even being tied to the dock. Steph
took a video of our friends on a mooring nearby who disappeared several times
from view. We later learned that a
camper’s tent had been blown away. The
campers were fine but very wet. Steph
and I walked around to check on things and saw puddles everywhere and lots of
close lines strung up between the trees to dry out whatever got wet. Th e fake dog is there to scare the canadian geese from the picnic area (It works!).
9 July
2020: Valcour Island.
Marc- We
departed the marina at 9 a.m. on short notice that the construction company invasion barge needed
Lucy III out of the way for it to back off of the beach. We did not argue and
left. Lucy III motorsailed over to
Ladd’s Landing by the North Hero - Grand Isle Bridge for a few items. No food
available due to covid 19, not even coffee. They did have lots of cold drinks so we
returned with water and lemonata six packs. 30 minutes later it was 11:00 and time
for the bridge to open. There was not
much wind in the Gut and then light headwinds towards Cumberland Head so we
motored. We were the first to arrive at
Butterfly Bay and anchored right in the centre of the harbor. There were half a
dozen powerboats up near the beach but no crowds. Our RSYC compatriots arrived within an hour
and anchored. Swimming and paddle boarding were next in order to cool off. The water was very nice. Jessica and Patrick organized a group picnic
on the beach which we attended. We then took off on an Island hike to the
Valcour Lighthouse and Bluff Point South Harbor. It was great especially after we decided not
to take the poison icy infested trail and stick to the beach. After Bluff Point North there was a nice trail
to the Lighthouse and then a great trail over to the Southern harbour. Later in the evening Jessica and Parick set up
a on the water gas fire pit. They stayed
in the water next to their flaming raft while the others circled by Dinghy. There
were not very many bugs in this bay.
10 July
2020: Burlington Mooring Field.
Marc- We departed at 08:00 before the VHF call
in on channel 68 since I wanted to get an early start on the wind. The wind was
very weak at 06:00 but blowing 10 knots by 08:00. It was due to increase to 15 knots from the South. Off we went following the New York shore until
Port Kent and then tacking once over to Burlington. We had a great sail over with Steph reporting
6.6 knots sustained speed for most of the trip. Unfortunately the wind
diminished just before arriving in Burlington but we persisted under sail until
past the breakwater. We picked up float
101 and made our way to the Burlington Boathouse to check in. There were fewer boats in Burlington than in past years. While at the dock we had lunch at Splash. This
rated good since the waitress was less than understanding for a vegetarian. We later hiked up to "Ben & Jerry’s Ice
Cream" with Jerry and Sharon from "Exit Strategy". Church Street was not very busy. I picked up a few food items at the Market on
the hill. Unfortunately we left the
grocery bag in the park by the dingy dock. Fortunately a kind soul kept an eye
on it protecting it from the seagulls until we came back. The return trip was a
problem with running out of gas. Steph
rowed us over to the new marina nearby but they had no oil to add for a two
cycle engine. I rowed us back to the
Lucy III where we had oil. I did buy 1 gallon of gas for $ 2.40 discounted to
2.00 since they could not make change at the gas dock.
11 July
2020: Point Bay Marina.
Marc- We departed before the tropical storm winds
were to arrive. That meant leaving the
mooring field at 06:00 and motor sailing South. "Exit Strategy" followed us. The
trip was mostly uneventful except for rain showers and some fog. We arrived at the PBM fuel dock at 08:50, before
they opened. Todd came down to help us both out with our needs. Steph and I off loaded a week’s worth of
laundry, clothes and excess food. Lucy
III was placed on its mooring and off we went to the RV in Panton. We returned for a cookout under the RSYC
tent. The tent is very well placed for
social distancing.
12 July
2020: Point Bay Marina Mooring Field.
Marc- We
returned to Lucy III to check out items left aboard and to replace a recharged
propane tank.
