09/25/2011

Under way for the last voyage of the season, though without pomp or fanfair. We have only our main topmast stays'l for stabilities sake and no timbers save the topmasts. There is an odd comfort right now.

Perhaps it is the quiet knowledge that we are nearly done. There is a strange feeling to that. We are all so very tired and in great need of time away, but leaving is always a somber affair. Leaving the peope who have surrounded you; people whome have shared your experiences at the basest level. There are very few goodbys in this world, but see you somewhere also has a sadness.

For us, home is an odd concept. This deck has a bit of us in it and we can't forget that.

09/20/2011

Back towards Ere with a few new faces and a few new challenges. We are trying a new watch routine that seems unclear to most of us and I somehow damaged my kindle so I am writing this on half a screen. I apologize in advance for typos.

We have cleared the first set of locks and are making our way into Lake Ontario with a possible stop at Fort Welland depending on timing. Montreal was lovely as aways but the crew ontinues to be tired. There are several rumors as to what is going to happen at ship yard though most of the crew is hoping for hotel rooms. Somewhere we could rest peacefully and get some quality sleep woud be mice.

I did have another personal realiztion aboutthe degree to which I am avoiding the real world. If however being in he real world requires what I have seen it do to people I love... well... I smile a lot more.

Much love to all.

09/13/2011

Through the first two locks on the Saint Lawrence and tied up by the third for a few hours of rest. We have had several changes to our plans in the past twenty four hours and have had to adjust quickly. Strong currents and winds had us coasting down the river at eight knots just sailing on our bare poles,so we did get a bit of sailing in after all.

Having a light crew is certainly lacking in rest, but we all know our jobs so things tend to happen smoothly which is a nice change.

Standing by till 2300 to get back under way and straight on till Montreal.

09/12/2011

On our way through the Thousand Islnds and headed for the river and Prescott. The crew is in higher spirits after warm showers and a few pints,long with a bit more time for rest.

The Thousand Islnds area is one of the prettiest bits of this Earth, from my experience so far. Seeing little houses on isolated island is almost enough to make me want to stop. I imagine that the winters here could easily break me of this however.

Kingston was a lovely town and we all enjoyed it I look forward to coming back some day.

In an unrelated note

I apparently have regular readers from the UK, Germany, and India... I think I might know who the UK one is, but I'd love to know who you folks are and how you found me. Feel free to comment, or contact me in any way you like.

09/11/2011

And now we have found our way to Kingston Ontario for a bit of maintenence and perhaps a bit of rest. We had a pleasant watch running across the lake last night after a days rest and tonights light dock watch should continue our building up tollerance to exhaustion. I have come to realize that issue has been one of my biggest issues of late and some of the crew have agreed. We are tired to the point that recovery is hard and missing a nights sleep can have a profound effect. We are at the point in the season when the fatigue is setting in and we are all coming to need more than a day off.

Our excitement to go to Montreal is not diminished however and our hope for adventure is high. We may have picked up a new trainee on the dock; we will see if he makes it for our 0700 departure.

09/10/2011

More mishaps and advenures on the way to Montreal. Our small crew is proving resilliant in the face of long hours and demanding work. We left Port Colborne around 2200 with our pilot on board and headed into the canal, taking the first lock with all hands. The next being a few hours away due to traffic bravo ad charlie were stood down to rest for the coming locks. Just after bravo returned to the deck we started nto the next set with charlies help and passed lock seven and the flight locks in about three and a half hours. During that time we were pushed into walls by ugly currents and had our dock lines dropped on us by people who are clearly used to much taller boats but made it with only minor bumps and scratches.

Credit must be given to charlie watch for basically standing the deck from 0300 till 1300 and taking away the right of anyone else to complain.

Now we are pushing through Lake Ontario and driving for the Saint Lawrence. Four days till Montreal.

09/09/2011

Another voyage has started, though we have had many challenges already. The entire trip was nearly scrubbed due to new pilotage requirements and a surprise twenty thousand dollar cost to fulfill said requirements. Thankfully we were able to make a deal with Montreal to mitigate some of that cost and got under way with only an eight hour delay. It was an uneventful motorboat ride to our current dock at Port Colborne.

I personally have many reasons to be excited for this voyage. My parents are on board wich is alwas welcome in my mind and I get to see a dear old friend once we arrive; I am glad that it worked out.

So now we wait to leave at 2100 and pass through thelocks on our way to Lake Ontario and points beyond. Our yards are cockbilled and our fenders greased. One more push on our adventure.