Not too bad, huh???!!

Let the party begin!!!!

We have started to get more folks show up at the Island.  Yesterday Amy, Jason, Evan (for his first Binnacle trip) and the Chief showed up.  The parking is getting a little tighter but somehow we'll figure out what will work the best.

BINNACLE ISLAND 2011

Yesterday we pulled up to Binnacle for a week of fun in the sun.......well, not yet as Hurricane Irene is going up the coast and we will get a bunch of rain and wind today.

As of this moment we have:
- Teagan
- Bob
- Steph
- Jackson
- Marty
- Kathy
- Anne
- The most interesting man

Stand by for pictures and further updates as we progress through the week!

Plenty of other life also.....

On top of the most bugs we have EVER seen there have also been some nice views of some our animal friends....Eagles, ospreys, minks (not sure if it was Marty's mink), loons and deer have been around.  

The little black snakes at Thurso we could do without but first I have to research what the darn things were....

And then there were more...................

From Simcoe Island we did our first sail to Waupoos and yep......we found some "Cheese heads" from Wisconsin!  Good ole "Buddy" motored around the point and right into the anchorage.  These guys launched from Picton a couple of days prior and some friends there.  From there we eventually met up with them again by Mulcaster Island just in time for another t-storm.  Unknowingly, we sent them down river right into Pirates Weekend at A-Bay!!  Hope they survived....

While at Mulcaster we also met up with our good old friend Les on Cadenzza II.  Anne's shortbread is still something to savor!!  I can't forget Les's soda bread either.  I wasn't able to steal the new loaf in the cockpit.......

Holy Cow!! Where did all the people come from?

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of moving from anchorage to anchorage and seeing many friends that have made it to the "river" this year.  First Tim and Marie christened their new boat, "He Macaria" at Clayton.  They then took it down to Oneida Lake for some local sailing.

Tom & Sue came up for a long weekend and we rendezvoused with "Tenacious".  On one of the days the wind came up enough to do a circuit of the islands around Grindstone Island.  All hands were on deck for the sunny sail.

Then, yes Jim, we found the Northern Frontier "monitor of all things" and he resides on Otium!!!  The picture has found him wandering to all the boat at our Simcoe Island anchorage.  The legend lives on in the north!!!

Red sky in the morning.........

I would say this says it all........yep, it has rained and thundered most of today!

Sunset at Clayton

We still do have good sunsets in the Thousand Islands!!!!!!

Grey Hound's first....."motor"

At least we got off the mooring.......no wind but we almost made it to an anchorage before a good old t-storm blew through.    +40 knots made  the only option putting her in neutral and drifting around for a few minutes but we eventually made it to one of our anchorages near Mulcaster Island.  Plenty of muddy sand and also plenty of bugs!  Yuck on northern bugs!!

Getting back to the hard work..............

We did work our butts off at getting Grey Hound back to ship shape.  I hope she knows how hard the work was but I do think it paid off........

Think she is ready for another season of sailing all over the northern hemisphere????

Finally.........Grey Hound is splashed!

It seemed like it took forever but we got her done........last Thursday we pulled out of Bob, Steph & Teagan's homestead and headed north.  On the way we picked up the repaired dodger and bimini and managed to get her in the water in Clayton, NY before dark.  Now we have a sparkling clean and polished boat again.  She looks just like new......

Because of the short time period that we will be in the water up here we have worked up a deal to grab a mooring at Islander Marian for two months.  They have been real good to work with.  We won't be here for a long time so we better be here for a good time!

It feels good to be back at home on Grey Hound!!!!!

Out with the dirt....in clean fresh hulls and stuff

We have finally started to give Grey Hound her a fresh water bath, her first real cleaning since last fall.  Most everything has been pulled out of the boat and Anne has the inside looking like new!  She can even get my stains out of the cushions!  The "Y" valve is now operational and nothing has been put back on board unless we deem it worth putting back on.  It's amazing how much "stuff" one accumulates over the coarse of a year living on a boat.  Jeff, the Super Sucker isn't going back on the boat.  It makes too much noise and and doesn't work worth it's weight!

The daggerboard has been pulled, scrubbed and new bottom paint is going on tomorrow.  Same with the rudder.   We have Woody waxed the nonskid and she is starting to look like new again.

Today is "Woody Wax the hulls" day......hopefully 3 coats on the whole boat.

Captain Doug Stein.......

We have received word that our friend and fellow sailor, Bryan Douglas Stein has died  Saturday night at his home in Gulf Breeze, Florida with his wife, Peggy at his side.  Doug was 47 in February of this year and a monster called Glioblastoma Multiforme was the cause of his death.  He fought the horrible brain tumor right to the end but there was no winning this battle.

Anne & I first met Doug and Peggy in 2000 at one of the Corsair Nationals in Ft Walton Beach, Fl.  For some reason we hit it off right from the start when he walked up and wanted to know what a "SATO" (our F-27 at the time) was!  Since then we have seen them when possible and it was only less than a month ago that we managed  to make it to Gulf Breeze for one more visit.

Doug, you won't have to worry about which boat you will be on next..............your memory will always be with us as we head out to sea!!

Fair winds Captain Doug

And the work begins!

The PMI work has started at will.........Anne has all the cushions cleaned and waterproofed along with most of the frontrunner cleaned and sparkling, the saildrive lower unit is primed and painted and new zinc's are in place.   The inside zinc is not easy but with a new $15 ratchet it finally met it's match!

First coat of primer

Old & new

The bolts are on the outside!

We just finished cleaning the prop, the new anchor eye's have been installed.  Next week it will be polishing time!!

Getting ready for spring cleaning!

The wedding shower that Steph is holding is just about here and next week we will start to work on GH. She will be getting a new bottom, at least 3 coats of polish and a sparkling clean prop. Anne plans on going through the inside from top to bottom and before the end of the month we will have a shinny, almost new boat again.

Overall Grey Hound came through the winter in good shape. But to keep her that way will require a few hours of TLC.