Well I decided I was going to have one last hurrah on the water before putting Little Squirt away for the year. She was leaking, and needed work on the chimes desperately. Also it was getting colder and I was starting to worry about the temperature of the water. I love to sail, but not to die for. I had asked a couple of guys at work if they wanted to go with me, but one bowed and and one forgot. Oh well. I was hoping for the company. It's nice when someone else drive once in a while. Well Sunday morning came and I got everything ready to go. I decided not to take the sail. I had two cans of premixed gas, and I'm under the impression it doesn't keep well. So I wanted to burn it off.
0952- Well I got the boat into the water and tried to tie up against the dock while I took the trailor out of the water and parked the car. The dock was blocked with boats put in the water and then just left there. The dock is only for boats to tie up on temporarily so I thought this quite rude of these people. I tried to go around to the other side of the dock, but got grounded. I finally tied up in a small opening between the launch and the dock. I put the car away, and started to row out to deeper water. I took a picture of all the boats at the dock as I was leaving.
10:30 Refueled and bailed. I'm really concerned about the waves. I'm getting wet from water splashing up through the daggerboard slot, and over the front. The water is quite cold.
10:42 Put on jacket and Rain Suit. It was either that or quit. Actually I did a lot of that too. At this point I was chickening out and turning back. I go a little ways back and decide I'm being silly and turn up towards the lake. I did this about three times before lunch.
11:03 Refueled and bailed. Lots of waves and spray. Decided Endurance needs elec eng to maintain course while refueling gas eng.
11:28 Stopped ashore for lunch
I got my little cooking area set up and plugged in my radio into the boat.
11:45 I had already cooked my lunch, and was happily eating my corn chowder when I looked up and saw a fox about five feet away from me. I stood up and kept eating. He looked so thin and pitiful that I threw the bread I was eating toward him. Actually I missed and hit him with the bread. He must have jumped three feet straight up. I didn't mean to hit him. Let's just say I'm not really popular to have on a baseball team. He ate the bread and started wandering around me. We seemed to have the same feeling about each other. He didn't trust me and I didn't trust him. At one point he took a drink of water at the lake. I took a picture of him as he was going back towards the wood.
12:01 Rowed back out to deep water. Took two pictures of the fox. He's in the woods to the left of the log in the first one. He's the spot on the beach in the second. Refueled and bailed Put radio away last. I figured the noise was keeping the fox away from the boat.
12:31 Bailed and refueled. I had finally reached Gander Lake.
Shortly after reaching the main part of Gander Lake I was just amazed at the view. I decided to take a picture of the hills. However I couldn't capture the scope of the landscape. I think I need a wide angle lens. Not likely to happen with a $50.00 digital camer.
12:49 It's getting warm now so I removed rain suit. I wear pants with removable legs so they convert to shorts when I'm on the water. I took the legs off at 12:55
13:05 Stopped to refuel/bail. Removed jacket. Is nice and warm out. Waves not bad.
13:10 First gas can empty. I've used half my gas, but I went back and forth at the beginning of the trip so I figure it will take less the half the gas to get back. I'll continue on till the next fillup
13:40 Refuel/Bail. Turning back. Gone much further then ever before. Took Pic 12
14:01 Reached cabin again. Stopped to put legs on pants. It's getting chilly agian. May as well bail and refuel while here. Put on sunscreen. Pic 13
14:19 Lost bail bucket. Had to row back and get it. Every boater should try losing something over the side and trying to find it again. The object is moving, and the boat is turning. It makes you apprechiate what safety groups say about never taking your eyes off a person who has fallen overboard. I had a hard time keeping track of the bucket. If it wasn't bright orange I probably would have lost it.
14:23 Passing previous furthest point. Cabin with dock.
14:36 Stopped to take pic I couldn't pass up. The view of the water is just perfect. Refueled / Bailed
15:00 Reentering Outflow
15:10 Eng stopped. Out of gas. Refueled/Bailed. Note decided elec eng mount should be on outside of deck portside by little squirt name letters. Rudder mount starboard side with bolts and main line attached to it.
15:30 Refueled and bailed
15:44 Last fill up 2nd can empty. Bailed.
16:00 I reached the area of the dock, but with the shallow water in the area there was no way I was running the motor up to the dock. I started rowing back.
16:22 Boat out of water. Met a nice couple who were taking there boat out. I often wondered how the bigger boats got out into the deeper water. They used a pole to push their boat out.