Hot News

Jannuary 6, 1999 ~ September 23,1999

Links: Hot News July 8, 2000 ~ Present, Hot News September 23,1999 ~ July 8, 2000, Julie's Home Page

September 23, 1999

Aloha....from sunny, windy and cold Maine! Please do not faint because I am updating in two days....We have had to be off the boat while they are grinding and welding the diesel tank leaks (they found another one!). We do seem to be making progress here but still not sure when we will be back into the water. We were hoping for tomorrow.....we shall see.

Last night we went to Bill and Jo Strassberg's for dinner. They have a magnificient house on the coast with a fantastic view (even though it was cloudy and rainy and gray). He even has moorings for his boats out front. They were incredibly helpful with information for our trip south. Bill and Jo went to Bermuda and the Virgin Islands a few years ago and cruised for 7 months. Now they want a bigger boat, a Chuck Paine designed boat, to do a circumnavigation. We are hoping to go sailing with them next week, if it doesn't snow first! The sun is FINALLY out today, but gusty to 35 knots! The forecast is for 65-70....but sure doesn't feel like it with the windchill.

I am planning on answering all 283 emails...(yea...right!!???) .next and then David has an appointment with Dr. Bradeen this afternoon. We have a long list of questions for him about our future plans. We will keep you posted.

Also, Julie FINALLY sent our computer to Dad, so hopefully he will be emailing everyone soon.

September 21,1999

Pictures: Boston, Massachusetts and Camden, Maine

Eric has just scanned in all the pictures from Boston and Camden so I will up update this for the past few days and then he will walk over to the phone and do whatever he does to put it onto the website on Maui.

On the 18th we rented Patch Adams with Robin Williams. Very excellent! I think that we have watched more tv (we are actually addicted to watching "Friends" every night!!!!&&*&????) and movies than we did the last few years on Maui.

On Sunday we left about 8:30 and drove to Freeport to go to LL Bean because I needed two boat bags ( I had left mine on Maui, because it looked too ratty to go on our new boat). We ended up getting the bags, plus hiking boots for all of us, and pants for Eric. Freeport is FULL of outlet shops...David lucked out since I did NOT know that when I scheduled about an hour in town to shop at Bean only. I probably could have spent a week there!!! We went to Cape Elizabeth to visit my cousin Sally Brooks Dalton, her husband, Ted and son, Mark. After we left there, we stopped at Yarmouth to have a short visit with my Aunt Joan Hayden. It turns out that we could have moored right in front of her home at Drinkwater Point in Casco Bay on our way up to Camden. We are hoping to be able to see everyone again and maybe go sail this weekend....if, and when, we ever get back into the water. We missed the turnoff from the Interstate, so we had quite a tour of rural Maine on our way back to Camden.

Yesterday was another beautiful day and today is raining and a cold front is coming through with 30-40 degree weather....They have started on the diesel tank leaks.

Hope everyone is fine! My next project are my e-mails. Keep in touch....Love and Aloha to all from Maine.

September 18, 1999

What a BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!!! but it is COLD!!!! We cannot use the heater because it needs water to circulate through it. Yesterday afternoon the welder came over to plan the job. They will drain all the diesel tanks and weld where the leak is and all the vents need to be replaced and the correct hose used. Hopefully, that will be finished on Monday and Tuesday and we will be in the water on Wednesday. We need to go sailing with Chuck Paine. We also need to be heading south to Boston and beyond, however, we need to be aware of the hurricanes and we need a final visit with Dr. Bradeen.

We also purchased a small JVC stereo for our cabin this morning. Jason and David had spent all afternoon installing and securing it. We still haven't figured out what to do about the one that is installed in the main cabin....it sounds terrible and looks terrible. We think that we need small components, but just have to find them in Maine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Devon Cox and Mora Jo Anderson! Hope it was happy!

September 17, 1999

Aloha! from Camden, STILL "on the hard", but actually we are not complaining too much today because Floyd is still coming through here with very heavy rains which started yesterday morning and the winds, which peaked (maybe gusts to 50) last midnight. Yesterday we took the dinghy out of the water, put the motor away, tied up the genoa and staysail so it wouldn't unfurl in the high winds, and removed everything from on deck. We then secured the halyards on both sides of the boat to the car and a truck. It is still blowing and raining at noon, but we were SO lucky, actually the entire coast was lucky. We are so thankful that we are still in Maine (there are two more hurricanes in the Atlantic!!!!) and on the dock also. We continue to make repairs on the boat. The shaft was bent, up by the motor, so it was either bent when it was first installed or when the bolts were sheared off the engine. That has all been repaired to better than new condition. We are hoping to have the one diesel weld and the vents fixed today or Monday. David and Eric replaced all the sanitation hose, which was smelling up everything in our head and our closet. They will replace the hose in the other head when we are back in the water.

We were able to order a large cleat for the bow and also, Eric was able to figure out why the gauges (water and diesel) were not working correctly. They had been put in with too much glue and were not functioning correctly. Just another case of poor workmanship.

We went to the Art Store in Rockland with Eric in the pouring rain (actually Floyd was to clear out of here by noon, but he stalled and it was worse last night with strong gusty winds and rain and was COLD ...about 48!!!). Eric is going to be our resident artist (water colors)!!! We will scan in some of his pictures and maybe we can sell them to pay for everything for the boat!!!! Actually, he is doing some nice things!!! He had a really helpful sales lady who loves to hike and paint, so he went small!

I will bring you up to date for the past 17 days....exactly what I had said I was not going to do..meaning that I would update every couple of days...I am trying to realize that I cannot control or schedule anything on this adventure!!!!##$***????

David said that I should update backwards...so I will try it that way, let me know which you prefer! I just started doing that and realized it is NOT the way to do it....so back to my way!!!!

September 1 - Bill and Jo Slassberg came aboard to see the boat with Mark, one of the marine architects. Really nice people and we hope to get together with them sometime while we are here.

September 2 - I got out my new sewing machine to fix up the shower curtains, which we had cut in half and were all unraveling on the edge. It took me a while to figure out how to thread it, etc. (I was asked why it was taking me so long....because I was reading the directions first....unlike other people around here!!!???)

We also had a call from Julie announcing the arrival of our first "grandchild"....she is a 7 week old Black Lab, named NALU ("wave"). Just what she needs!!!! Not sure what this means for her joining us in the spring.....

September 3 - Eric and David worked most of the day changing the sanitation hose ---Eric said it was a s----- job!!!!*** but wasn't as bad a they had expected. I had two rolls of film developed, so I am hoping that Eric will scan them in for me today (he is down filing off the side of the wood that covers the mast, so that they can get the floor board out that is covering the gauges that need to be removed because they are not working... sounds like a dentist drilling....wonderful for my concentration!) so that you are really up to date!

We tried mussels for dinner.....David loved them! and he ate most of them!!!! We had fireworks in the harbor right in front of our boat for the celebration of Windjammer Weekend here in Camden. There were so many boats in the harbor you could practically walk across. Lots of windjammers come in for the weekend from all around Maine and many other yachts were here from all over the world - both power and sail. These a BIG boats and VERY expensive (over $10,000,000) Jimmy Buffett's boat has been here for about a week. We really have enjoyed some wonderful fireworks this year! (especially after I complained about the Fourth of July ones in Port Stanley).

September 4 - We watched a big boat being launched and then the mast stepped. She has been completely refitted here and is going to Newport by the 20th. The captain has promised us a tour, I hope we can see the inside of her.

We spent the afternoon sorting out the file cabinets (fun) and then went to see the movie Notting Hill with Julia Roberts. We HIGHLY recommend it - really cute, romantic comedy. We stopped and had ice cream and dinghied home in the FOG.

September 5 - David and I walked to St. Thomas Episcopal Church here in town for their service at 9:30. They have beautiful stained glass windows. The minister when the church was built was Father Hayden (according to Aunt Joan Hayden, our in-family geneaology consultant, probably no relation) in 1926. When we were walking home, David was complaining of hyperventilating and irregular heartbeats. We called a taxi and went to the emergency room at the Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, about 15 minutes from Camden. His pulse was 130-140 (which is really high for David, whose pulse is usually about 50-60) when we arrived about noon, and he had atrial fibrillation. He was given different drugs in hopes that he would return to normal rhythm overnight. Because it was Labor Day weekend, the cardiologist was gone until Tuesday; however, David was sent home about 5 on medication and told to return about 7:30 on Monday, with instructions to see Dr. Bradeen, an internist.

Dad called that evening to see what was going on and to tell us that he had tripped over the spread in his bedroom and fallen and broken a rib. He said it is VERY painful, but they don't do anything except give you pain medication. He seems to be feeling better now, Thank heavens!

September 6 - We took a taxi at 7:45 to the hospital. David was checked out and his care was taken over by Dr. Bradeen. He had not reverted to normal rhythm, so he was admitted and was given heparin (to thin the blood), quinadin and lowpressor (to lower his pulse and bring the heart back to normal rhythm). I tried to rent a car, but since it was a holiday, everyone was taking the day off, including the taxi company who had taken us over in the morning. We had a taxi come from Rockland to pick up the boys, with all the items that David needed) and bring them to the hospital. Then called them and they picked us up to take us back here. Of course, it was another foggy and rainy day.

September 7 - Our marine architect, Chuck Paine, very nicely offered to drive me to the hospital about 9....so that I could stop supporting the local taxis! Dr. Hamill, the cardiologist, came to see David about 11 and scheduled a TEP (ultrasound, which looks at the back side of the heart, especially the left atrium, which has an appendage that can contain a blood clot, which can be pumped out of the heart after you are shocked back into normal rhythm) and then cardioversion to shock his heart back to a normal rhythm, if the atrium was clear of blood. David had already had an echo cardiogram, which is the ultrasound of the front of the heart. The doctor was concerned because of David's history of irregular heartbeats, he was not sure when this fibrillation had started. He wanted to be 100% sure that there was no chance of a blood clot being released to cause a stroke. Apparently, atrial fibrillation has no connection to heart attacks, strokes are the problem. So, David went through the TEP with no problem, so he needed two shocks to bring the normal heart rhythm back. You didn't realize that you were going to have a short course in cardiology when you signed onto our website, did you????

The social worker at the hospital gave me a ride to the rental car place in Rockport. We were talking about boats and cruising Maine and the cardiologist (who also sails) told me that "she" wrote the book. It turns out that Jan and Hank Taft are the authors of Cruising Maine, the guide book for Maine. If we have a chance to do some sailing up here (looking like we are not going to see any of Maine....), we will get the book. The other interesting thing is that her late husband, Hank Taft grew up in Cincinnati. Dr. Bradeen also grew up in Cincinnati, in Clifton. We feel extremely lucky to have been in Camden when this happened. We have been very impressed and pleased with the medical care and the professionals here, who have taken excellent care of David. A big mahalo to all the doctors, nurses, etc here in Camden!!!

September 8 - I drove over to pick up David for hospital dismissal about 7:30, but after seeing the doctors, etc., we didn't get home until about 2:00. They were having an open house in the new Step Down Unit, which was scheduled to open the next day with all the patients transferring over there. Patti, David's nurse, walked me through and showed me all the new facilities. David didn't like it enough to stay .....to enjoy the new unit!!!

That afternoon George and Debi Maynard came on board with Chuck Paine. They had sailed with us in Port Stanley, back in June. They were working on some of the design problems with Chuck. I wish that we had been able to go on a boat to really see it...

We rented Shakespeare in Love, which we thoroughlly enjoyed. Thanks, Denny, for recommending it months ago!

September 9 - which was 9-9-99!!!!! It was also our 32nd wedding anniversary! It would have been Aunt Alice and Uncle Bill's 60th anniversary! We didn't do anything to celebrate - David was not feeling well....no energy....his pulse was 40! Another day of rain and fog! We had received the mail and it was full of surprises! The worst was that the EPIRB (emergency locator beacon which is activated if you are shinking) was not really registered. They had given us another Canadian EPIRB and NOAA could not register it. So I spent days trying to figure out what to do with it....finally sent it by Fed Ex hazardous materials to Manchester, NH. I hope that it comes back before we are ready to leave. The other was a $500 AT&T bill for my $89.99 one rate plan...I am still not finished with that problem! That phone might still end up at the bottom of the ocean!!!!!

September 10 - Another foggy rainy day....I sure hope Maine appreciates us bringing all this rain for them during their drought! David had to have a blood test to regulate the coumadin, which is a blood thinner that the cardiologist wants him on for about a month to protect from strokes. We stopped for fresh corn and fish for dinner. Both were DELICIOUS! We still are waiting to have our lobster dinner....We heard there was 4" of rain during the night!

September 11 - We stayed home all day since David was still really tired. I just worked on all my administration, which never seems to be completed. David was walking below the boat and started talking with a girl about the boat. She is Beth Leonard! We had purchased two copies of her first book, Voyagers Handbook. She has been our sailing guru. She and her sailing campanion, Evans Starzinger, came on board and we talked and talked and talked! They just built an aluminum boat in Florida, by the other BAD boat builder! I guess we were really naive, as they were when they first started out. She also autographed our book! We gave the other copy to Bill Kaelin when we left Maui, in hopes that they might follow us. Almost forgot....it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!!!

September 12 - Beth and Evans had invited us to visit them on their boat, HAWK, for tea and coffee about 10. We rode the dinghy out into the harbor and went past MAYA, 74' Sundeer, similar to the boat DREAMCHASER that we had tried to buy in Florida three years ago. Very pretty boat! We visited with Beth and Evans until about 12:30. We learned a TREMENDOUS amount from them in a very short morning. They gave us some invaluable advice. Most cruising people seem to be very friendly and helpful. They had also been surprised at the amount of crewed and captained sailboats in the area. We had hoped to see them again, but we are not sure where they went during the hurricane, but I am sure that our paths will cross again....soon, I hope.

That afternoon, David and I walked into town to buy some clothes for me. I bought some really pretty colored dresses and short outfits....but now it is too cold to wear them! Needs to warm up! They are made in Boulder...fun clothes! Thank you, David!

September 13 - Very quiet day - lab test in the morning and wrote thankyous all afternoon, but still not finished! We started to watch Floyd on tv.

September 14 - Wayfarer Marine finally got the shaft back from being straightened and put it back on (had to lift the boat up to do that again). It actually took him about 3 days to finish it, but he did an excellent job.

My Mom went to school in West Newton, Mass. and then on to Wellesley College with Martha Sneith (? sp) Mann. My Dad realized that she lived in Lincolnville Beach, which is right next to Camden. I called her and she came to meet us that afternoon. What a special lady! I am hoping that we can get back into the water and have her come sailing with us. She has a 35 foot boat with her son. They had just hauled it out of the water.

September 15 - EPIRB was packed up and sent FedEX, but then it came back because we didn't use the correct form, which he didn't have on his truck. C'est la vie! Not sure why life has to be so difficult sometimes just to accomplish small tasks! Then I spent more time writing thankyous and letters. When I finish those and this update, then I have to tackle all the emails....which have been piling up for the past month. I keep telling myself I am an organized efficient person who accomplishs many tasks daily!!!!! Please be patient with me!

September 16 - David had an appointment with Dr. Bradeen at 9:30, and needed to have a lab test before his appointment, so we left the boat about 8:30. I also got my third Hep B shot, which I was not able to get in Boulder along with everyone else. So we are all up to date with our shots until we leave Florida and need the really strange ones, such as typhoid and malaria. David and Jason are almost finished with the six month dosage of INH for the TB exposure.

We had been invited to dinner with Bill and Jo Slassberg, who live in near Camden. They are very interested in having a boat designed by Chuck. They have much more experience cruising than we do, so we were really looking forward to visiting with them. However, we decided that it was not the night to leave the boat, so hopefully, we can get together sometime this next week. They stopped over today and we are planning on next Wednesday.

It rained all day, actually it rained all day Wednesday through early Saturday morning because of Floyd.

September 1, 1999

We are "on the hard"...again, except this time we are living aboard. Wayfarer Marine pulled her out of the water yesterday about 2 pm. Today has been spent trying to remove the propellor and the drive shaft. They are in the process of moving her higher so that they can take the rudder off to get the drive shaft out.

And of course, the weather has been absolutely beautiful...we should be out and about, but we still have time to see the area and visit with relatives.

Please stay tuned for what happens next....We had planned on being here about two weeks, back to Boston and then to Martha's Vineyard the weekend of the 18th to meet my Aunt Kay and Uncle Dick and my cousin, Nancy Avery and her family. Then on back down Long Island Sound to New York City, then to Philadelphia to visit my brother, Peter and his wife, Susie. We are hoping that my Dad will come on from Cincinnati to see us somewhere along the way. Then to Chesapeake and Washington, DC and then down the coast to Florida, arriving sometime in November. David's parents are outside Naples in the winter time. We will spend Christmas with them and Julie will join us. We are hoping that she will join us for spring semester...will just have to wait and see....We will be there through New Years and see what happens to all our electronics with the Y2K problem. We will then head to Mexico, Belize and through the Canal in March. Nothing is cast in stone, evidenced by the first four months of our adventures....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSIE! August 31 ...it was GREAT to talk with you and Harvey! Glad to hear all is well on Maui....We still miss you guys, LOTS!

August 30, 1999

Not good news!!!!The fellow looking at the engine says the boat might have to be hauled out......Say tuned.....

It is about 2pm and we are at the dock at Wayfarer Marine in Camden. We came in about 11 to get diesel and water and to have them check out for the repairs on the boat. They are starting work on the engine now. Eric spent all morning scanning in pictures and the updated route on a smaller map. I hope this helps you to visualize a little more of what we are experiencing. We realized when we were going through the pictures that many people and places were missing - Doug and Gretchen in Port Jefferson, all the Coxes in North Haven, and alot of the trip when the weather was terrible, such as going through Hell Gate and along Connecticut and Rhode Island. I do have another roll to develop, so hopefully, that will be on here soon.

I have already activated my new phone, now we are busy reprogramming it. I hope this works..... We have a new acoustic coupler for the computer. So we should be all set. Now I just have to sit and answer empteen e-mails....please be patient!

Yesterday, August 29, was a BEAUTIFUL Maine day, so we decided to take advantage of it and not stay inside and answer emails!!!! We made a lunch and hiked to the top of Mt. Battie. It is right above the harbor and Edna Saint Vincent Mallay wrote many of her poems at the top. The view was SPECTACULAR from there out across the ocean and many islands. We met Susan, who was on a very large power boat from Birmingham, Michigan, on the way up. The hike is only a half mile, but it is straight UP with no switchbacks like in Colorado. We were doing a little huffing and puffing, and couldn't blame it on the altitude! We stopped and looked around the town again and then stopped to enjoy some ice cream. We talked with a very lovely couple who have lived in Camden for about 10 years, after many years of working in New York City. They were telling about their trips to the Mediterranean, Israel and Jerusalem.

August 28, 1999

Pictures: Oswego and Erie Canal, New York City, To Cape Cod, Up to date route

Now it is 10 days later than when I tried to update all of this....I should be able to finish this morning. We are in Camden, Maine. We assume that it is a very beautiful place, however, we have only seen the harbor for about 8 hours yesterday! FOG!!!! It is so dense this morning, I cannot even see the boats moored on both sides of us! More about the fog later.

Before I forget Julie's address is: 1119 Pennsylvania, Boulder, CO 80302. No phone number yet.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, STEVE AND KATHY!!!!! (I hope this is the correct date?????)

August 19 - Thursday was a work day - David had his liver function blood test for the TB medicine (all ok for the last month of treatment); David, Eric and I had haircuts (first time to have my haircut by someone other than Eileen at the Intercontinental in 8 years....really scary! but she did a good job) and then David cut Jason's on the boat when we got home; we did lots of wash; and then had a picnic at the park. We stopped at the Eastern Yacht Club to meet Sarah Betz. My phone was not working, so we just missed her parents, Gary and Judy Mason Betz. Judy and I went to Hillsdale together in Cincinnati. We still have another chance to see them in Virginia. Sarah just started work there as their Assistant Manager and she is living in the apartment at 58 Lee St, where Sally and Fred Brown lived here in Marblehead when they were first here. Sarah's grandmother, Betty Mason, had Creekwood Antiques in Cincinnati, where Mrs. Brown and my Mom purchased items to decorate theirs homes. Sometimes this world is very small! The Browns lived in Marblehead for a long time and still belong to Eastern. I had not contacted Eastern, because they did not offer reciprocal privileges. We were moored right in front of their clubhouse and when I was there I didn't have my camera. We were also talking with another sailor in the harbor. He was telling us about Maine and the Cape, etc. and he went to Amherst. After we left the yacht club and visiting with Sarah, we went to Salem and did a walking tour there. We had to return home to make all the beds, put the wash away and make dinner. We were taking showers at the club house, so we didn't have to run the generator to heat the water. (The bay water is 64 degrees, which keeps the boat and water in the tanks, very cold).

August 20 - We cleaned the boat, went to Costco (first time in months...I did leave a few items for others in Boston! and we developed six rolls of film...hope to get some pictures on here too), and to West Marine and returned to put it all away before my cousins arrived at 3:30. They arrived before us at 2:30 (oops), so they helped us carry everything on board. David gave them a tour and I put things away. We did have a chance to visit for a while. I hadn't seen Judy since Peter and Susie's wedding 26 years ago, and I had never met her two sons, John and David. Her older son, Matt, was in NH and was joining them later. Her brother, Tom and wife, Colleen and son, Andy came also. They had visited us on Maui a couple of years ago, so it was good to see them again. We had hoped that Aunt Betty and Uncle Tom would come too, but they thought it was too much. I hope that they can see the boat later.

August 21 - Saturday was probably THE worst day of the summer to go to the Cape, but we went anyway, since Sunday didn't sound any better. We found Uncle Tom's cabin! We visited with Aunt Din and Uncle Tom and my cousin, Kate. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of egg and crab salad sandwiches, fresh tomatoes from Uncle Tom's garden, pickles and cookies from Aunt Din, and root beer and fresh peach ice cream, which Uncle Tom still makes. We went to the next cottage to visit with my cousin Tom, his wife Pat and their kids, Monica and Thomas. I hadn't seen them since 1990. They very graciously asked us to spend the night and/or stay for a lobster dinner. We felt that we should head back, since it was about a 3 hour drive through Boston, which was even a mess at that time. We stopped at Wendy's and were back to the boat at 10pm. That night was very rolly, cold, rainy, and 20 knot winds.

August 22 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA ERNISSE!!!!!I did work on the web site some that morning, when it continued to be cold and cloudy, but no more rain. We went out to do another wash....our towels weren't drying out....and bought some cod for dinner.

August 23 - We went in to the dock, had to motor in amongst all the boats...we filled up the diesel and water tanks. We then went out into the Bay and worked on fixing the compass. We had lunch out there. Since it was Monday, it was a nice beautiful day. We took the car back to Salem and they drove us back to the yacht club. We decided to walk around Marblehead. Very picturesque town on the side of a hill with many one way streets, but we finally managed to be able to find our way back home. We found the shop that is owned by Julie Gross Adams, whom I knew from summers with Shirley Wichern in Northport, Michigan. She and I were in Shirley and Bob's wedding, 33 years ago. Her husband, Westey, is a boat broker, so we spent a while discussing our particular situation. I guess it is not unusual, dealing with boat builders. ...We stopped at the local supermarket and bought enough cod for two more nights....really delicious!!! (We wanted to make some phone calls, but the phone wasn't working ....again.) We took showers and said goodbye to all the nice people at the Boston Yacht Club.

August 24 - We left our mooring about 7 am and David had me motor out of the harbor through all the boats. Lots fo fun!! No wind, so we had to motor all the way. We arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire Harbor at 1:45 and decided to anchor in Pepperell Cove, which is actually in Kittery, Maine. Very pretty spot and we even went into the water....David swam, but I just got wet from the back of the boat. The water was 64 degrees....working up an appetite for our fish dinner! There was a schooner/windjammer boat which anchored next to us. Fun to watch the kids climbing up the nets and furling the sails.

I spent most of the day on the phone with AT&T. They FINALLY decided that the phone was defective. I just received the replacement today, so hopefully, that will end all of our phone problems.

August 25 - HAPPY 26TH ANNIVERSARY, PETER AND SUSIE! We were a little late leaving. We were very concerned about pulling up the anchor, since the deck wash pump had broken several days earlier. Luckily, the anchor came up fairly clean and we could just clean it with a bucket and brush. (The worst mud we had was in New Haven....) We motored all the way again. We kept trying to put up the genoa to get speed and stability, but just not enough or from the right direction. We anchored in Harpswell Harbor about 4:30. Very beautiful, quiet, very protected harbor. David went swimming again, and I got into the water, but seemed colder than the day before. We saw a whale, seal and a pod of dolphins.

August 26 - We left Harpswell Harbor about 7:30, with a marine forecast of patchy fog.....we entered the bank of FOG at about 8:30 and it appeared to lift about 12, but came in again at 12:30 and finally, lifted a little as we entered Penobscot Bay. We arrived at our mooring at Wayfarer Marine, Camden, Maine at about 6pm. We were absolutely EXHAUSTED! I spent the entire day on the bow looking for lobster pots and signalling David how to go around them. Eric spent the entire day on the radar and fog horn. We could hear people, engines and fog horns, and we saw a boat wake, but couldn't see anything!!!! I probably could only see 50 feet in front. Fog is bad enough but having to deal with the lobster pots was almost impossible. Another boat like ours ran over one and his prop was pulled out, so water was coming in.....are we having fun yet????? I can't believe that there are soooooo many pots, everywhere!!!! We were told that this is peak season, so maybe when we return south there won't be so many. The cruising guide indicates that the lobster fisherman are supposed to leave a channel.....and it is a sailor's responsibility to find it!!!! We did learn one thing - we will never leave harbor, if they even mention the word fog!

August 27 - We woke up to fog, but it lifted about noon and we went in to meet with the architects - Chuck Paine, Mark Fitzgerald, and Ed Joy and also to meet the people at Wayfarer Marine and Dave Allen, who will be our service representative, to see what could be repaired. They all came out to the boat later in the day. Dave Dillard, another client of Chuck's, visited. He is building an 84 foot boat, but has to wait three years to have it built in New Zealand. Hopefully we will see him in Panama in February, when he is chartering a boat for three months..

August 18, 1999

Pictures: Finished interior, Mom cruzing, Greating at Sodus, Sodus Bay

We are in Marblehead Harbor (north of Boston) along with 1,999 other boats! Julie leaves in a few hours to return to the University of Colorado in Boulder. She doesn't know her address and phone number yet. She could be reached on cell phone number 1-303-949-8747. I will add her address when I have it.

I can't believe it has almost been a month since I have updated this site. We have been busy sailing and visiting friends and relatives and it is hard to find time to sit down and write. We also had communication problems with both the cell phone and the computer not working. We think that we have fixed everything at least for now.

July 25 - We did a final provisioning for the boat. We also did our wash. We said our farewells to Gary and Uncle Bobby, Julie, Keith and Linda Sylvester. We had our final dinner at Grandma's.

July 26 - We were up at 6 am and motored over to the cottage to wave goodbye to Grandma and Linda Sylvester, after we hailed them on our LOUD can horn. We motored (remember the mast is on the deck and it is very difficult to see and it is VERY rolly) across the Lake to Oswego and entered the Oswego Canal about 10 and passed through Locks 1-8 (those locks were up, where the water comes in and fills the lock. Going up is more difficult and harder to control the boat). Then we entered the Erie Barge Canal and went through Lock 23 and tied up for the night at about 6 pm. Very pretty countryside, and it was definitely not boring like many people had said it was. Taking this big sail boat with a huge keel is much more difficult than a power boat.

July 27 - We left early and crossed Lake Oneida with no problems. We went through Locks 22 and 21 and then there were tremendous vibrations with the engine and drive shaft. We realized that bolts had been sheared off. We were able to "Crash land" into the dock above Lock 20. It was about 100 and the humidity was about the same. David and Eric took off in search of a hardware store and bolts...they had to walk miles and finally returned 3 hours later. So, now we have to check the bolts every day until we can have it fixed properly. Another case of something not being done correctly....We were also having difficulty with the refrigeration....

July 28 - We couldn't leave until 7am when the locks open. We had a near mishap when we were using the autopilot and we went under some high tension electric wires and it went crazy and in 2 seconds we almost crosswise in the canal.....but David pulled it out!!!!! Thank you. We tied up at the dock on the lower side of Lock 10 for the night. Most of these locks have parks around them and flowers and are really nice. We were also impressed by the friendly lockmasters! They were helpful and patient!

July 29 - We left early at 6:45 and arrived at the Albany Yacht Club at 5pm. The last 5 locks of the canal, the Waterford Flight, is the world's largest series of high lift locks. There are five in 1.6 miles, a total lift of 169 feet, twice that of the Panama Canal. We locked in with a canal boat, whose stern was bouncing off the walls of the canal, which made it very difficult for us to hold our boat. I was especially concerned since another Kanter boat owner had damaged their boat last fall coming through the locks with a canal boat...but we made it ok. That completed about 50 locks for us.... Should make the Panama Canal a breeze! On the eastern Erie Canal we traveled 90 miles on canalized Mohawk River, 70 miles of canal cuts, crossed 20 mile long Oneida Lake and cruised 9 miles on canalized Oneida River. It was quite a trip... we are glad we had a chance to experience it, but really wouldn't want to do it again.

July 30 - We were up early and scheduled to be at the Scarano Boat Works a few miles down the Hudson at 7:30 to have the mast put back on. It was very foggy....We left Albany Yacht Club about 7:45 and arrived about 8:30. We had an opportunity to try out the radar and other electronic equipment to navigate down the Hudson through Albany Harbor....not exactly fun. It took all day to put up the mast. The problem was the size of their crane, but they were very careful and made it work. They build large wooden classic boats. They gave us a tour of their yard when we were finished. Very beautiful boats... We went back to the Albany Yacht Club for the night. We had to circle around since our dock was not available, so we were not docked until after 7 pm. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, SHIRLEY AND BOB!

July 31 - We spent all day cleaning - sails, inside and outside. Eric and David had to put all the electronics back together and all the rigging and then they worked on the engine again. Eric had to go up on the bosun's chair again to check out all the rigging and place the wind monitor on top of the mast. She was ship shape!!! There was the Rennsalaer Festival that night so we had front row seats to spectacular fireworks directly across the river. That definitely made up for our lack of fireworks in Pt. Stanley for the Fourth of July!

August 1 - We left Albany and motored (still...but at least we could see) down the Hudson. Very pretty. We had a mooring for the night at Chelsea Yacht Club in Chelsea, NY, south of Poughkeepsie.

August 2 - Up early again (much to the distress of the younger members of the crew!) and left Chelsea at 7:00. We motored down the Hudson to New York City. Spectacular scenery with West Point and all the big mansions coming into NYC. We went under the huge bridges - Tappan Zee and the George Washington - and then into New York. We sailed almost all around the Statute of Liberty and went by Ellis Island and the Railroad Station. The Statute of Liberty was probably the highlight of our trip to NYC - she is soooooo BEAUTIFUL! We docked at the Liberty Landing Marine at the Liberty State Park, which is actually in Jersey City, NJ. We have been in Ontario, Canada,and in New York, Michigan, Colorado, California, Illinois, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New Hampshire since we left Hawaii on May 7. Eric met Kumi Craig on the beach at Makena a few years ago and she is now living in NYC (Brooklyn). She came over that night to see the boat and they went out to dinner. We were treated to more fireworks! We were not quite as close as in Albany, but these were over the Statute of Liberty and were choreographed especially for Hillary Clinton, who was in town campaigning. We had never seen a show like that before and were very impressed. It was definitely spectacular! We heard that it was common place there in NYC, but we really enjoyed the show!

August 3 - Eric and Jason did all the wash at the laundry at the marina. You must remember that washing and getting food and supplies is a major expedition for us....David, Julie and I WALKED a mile or so to the Newport Mall (we had wanted to go to the marina right there, but could only get in and out at high tide and weren't there at high tide, so....). We had to buy tools at Sears and shop for food and managed to grab a taxi to return to the marina. Of course, he took us to Liberty Marina first and then we had to go way around to get to Liberty Landing. That night we had a fire, not fireworks, at the end of the marina in the grasses. We met Artie and Ilene Epstein who live at the marina. He is the commodore for their Yacht Club and he gave us reciprocal privileges. He also gave us lots of information about sailing up the Sound through Hell Gate. They are friends of Carole and Gene Montgomery, whom we have been trying to meet. They live at Liberty Landing in the winter on their Kanter built boat.

August 4 - We took the ferry across to the World Trade Center. We ventured into the NY Mercantile Exchange and visited the galleries for the two different trading floors. It was very interesting to watch them yelling, waving, gestering,etc. etc. to make all the deals...I would have an ulcer in two minutes! It is amazing to me....looks completely disorganized and like utter chaos, but who am I to judge...it apparently has worked efficiently for years.

We then tried to locate the bus to take us to the Bronx Zoo. I asked the bus driver if she went there, and the very nice girl in the front seat said that she was going there also. She was also in the marina on her boyfriend's boat. We helped each other through the subway system and arrived safely at the Zoo. Dr. Don Bruning, whom I had known at CU, is the ornithology curator for the Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society. So we had a fantastic personally guided tour of the birdhouse and the newly opened gorilla facility and then we were treated to lunch in the employees restaurant. We learned so much that day, with our own biology professor and a class of 5! Thank you so much, Don. He is doing so much to preserve the wildlife, especially birds. I wish we could all be that effective. We didn't leave the zoo until 6:00pm.

We walked to the subway and promptly got on a train....going the wrong direction, so we did make it to Brooklyn! We got off as soon as Julie realized that we had made a mistake. We simply got off and walked up the stairs and over the tracks and hopped on the next train.....we continue to learn daily! We went to Lincoln Center, Avery Fischer Hall for a Mostly Mozart concert. We ate dinner in front of the fountain! We enjoyed the concert but the acoustics at Maui Arts and Cultural Center are superior! Then we made our way out to the World Trade Center on the subway, changed to the Path train to Jersey, and took a taxi to the marina arriving about midnight. It is not very difficult to get around, just takes money and time! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNCLE DAVID!!!!

August 5 - We got a late start and went into town again at noon to visit the Museum of Fine Arts. Four hours was not enough time to see all, but I think we were on overload by that time...when we headed back to the boat for dinner.

August 6 - Julie, Jason and I went shopping in the World Trade Center, while Eric went to Brooklyn with Kumi. We were NOT shopping in the right place for the clothes that we wear so didn't buy anything. (Amazing!) David's sister, Linda and her husband, John, were in the city doing business so they came over for dinner on the boat. Our first dinner guests....not exactly very fancy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSIE!

August 7 - We cleaned up the boat and did laundry in preparation for departure tomorrow. That afternoon we went to Ellis Island. Very interesting and moving place! We did not have time to get off on the Statute of Liberty Island, but the ferry was docked closer than when we were sailing. As I said before, she is spectacular. While we were away, a sailing instructor sailed into the back of our boat with her class coming into the dock. Thank heavens, Eric was on board, otherwise, I am sure it would have been hit and run. Our first big scratch and dent. We will have it fixed in Maine and send the bill to the Offshore Sailing School.

August 8 - We left the marina at 6:45 am in order to arrive at Hell Gate at slack tide about 8 am. It was foggy, cloudy and rainy, so we did not get any pictures of the UN building, etc. We managed to get through Hell Gate with NO problems....thank you very much. From what we can understand the current is so treacherous, a boat can end of up the rocks on either side in minutes and then is pushed along the rocks at the edge with the current....sounds wonderful! Eric and David timed it perfectly!We arrived in Port Jefferson about 3pm and our phone would not work.We had a mooring and took out the dinghy, and motored into the office. We called Doug and Gretchen Smith, who promptly came to pick us up in two cars at the Setauket Yacht Club, about 2 minutes from their house. Doug was David's roommate at CU and my ornithology lab instructor. Doug has his Ph.D. in biology working on redwing blackbirds, taught at Stoney Brook, but left to own a hardware store and now he is a locksmith. He made us keys for our boat....we only had ONE. Unfortunately for our boys, their two girls were away (maybe Doug had them leave town when he heard the Ernisse boys were arriving! Remember, he knew their dad during his college years!!!!) They served us a delicious dinner of hamburgers and corn on the grill. We then went to their favorite homemade ice cream place for dessert. The yacht club took them out to our boat on the launch, so they had a chance to see our "home". It was such fun to see them! Thanks for a delicious dinner and wonderful visit! But we still hope to meet those daughters! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUMMERLY AND HARVEY!!!

August 9 - The wind came up during the night, but it was still sunny when we left Port Jefferson about 10:30 to sail to New Haven in 32 knot winds! We anchored at the New Haven Yacht Club about 3:45. We went into their dock in the dinghy and made phone calls. Cell phone and the computer were not working.

August 10- Linda (David's sister) and Marshall (one of their sons) came to pick us up at 9, but they couldn't find it...so it was 10! (So much for direction on the net!) We went to their house in North Haven, which we had never seen. We had a very wonderful lunch, went shopping and all of us took all the groceries back on board, stowed everything, while David showed them the boat. We went back to their house to make phone calls and work on the computer (STILL not working) and to have a delicious dinner. We saw Devon and met his girl friend, Marshall was there and John came out from NYC. Jeremy is in Miami with the Ballet company there and Bethany was away camping. Thanks for a wonderful visit and delicious food....hopefully, we will be able to see Beth sometime soon,, before she gets too involved in Law School at UCONN, and we should be able to see Jeremy in Florida in the fall.

August 11 - The weather changed during the night, the wind came up and it was rainy and rolly! We did not leave until 11am after a storm moved through New Haven. We arrived into Old Lyme about 4....but we still had no phone. We docked at the Old Lyme Dock Company. Kathy and Steve Wilson came to pick us up in two cars.....Their house is about 2 minutes away and they know all the kids at the Dock Company, because they get gas for their boat there. Kathy was my roommate at the University of Colorado. We had a delicious dinner with them and madly tried to catch up on ten years! (They came to Maui to visit....or better yet, it was only ten years since we were at CU!!!)

August 12 - Kathy picked Julie, Eric and me up at the Dock Co and we drove to her Bookstore in Guilford. She loaned us their big Ford Explorer for the day. We drove over to Defender Industries, bought more STUFF for the boat and we put faces to voices over the telephone for the past six months. Steve took Jason fishing on his FAST boat. We kept hearing about the BIG ones that got away. Julie and I went birthday shopping at the outlet mall and picked up Kathy. We stopped to get some corn and stuffed chicken breasts and we had dinner with everyone on our boat.

August 13 - JULIE'S 20TH BIRTHDAY!!!! We took Kathy to work again and went to the outlet malls again with Jason and Eric, who promptly were tired of shopping! We had hoped to visit with Uncle Dick Arms in Noank, but he was not feeling well. Hopefully, we will be able to see him on our return south, when he will be feeling much better. We wish him well.

Julie and I tried(?) to make her birthday cake (she always wants angel food) in our new oven....we had difficulty keeping an even temperature, so was rather burnt on the bottom and edges....But Kathy came to the rescue and had purchased a chocolate mousse cake, when she went to have soup for lunch! We had dinner on the boat and had gone over to their home to return their car and say goodbye. We had a birthday party for Julie! Matthew (their son) and Corrine, his wife, had stopped there on their return home from Block Island. So...we were able to see Matthew, meet Corrine and to see Jason, their 9 month old son. He is really cute and just wants to go! He wants to walk there...not crawl! So...quite a wonderful day! Thanks, Kathy!

August 14 - Up bright and early to ....RAIN....and Kathy and Steve came to say goodbye at 6 AM.....We were really impressed. Thank you! Thank you! We sailed to Dutch Harbor, Rhode Island and were anchored about 4:00. Very rainy and cloudy all day. We tried to contact Melanie Martin, whose parents live in Saunderstown, which it right across the bay from Dutch Harbor. Melanie has a pair of our eclectus parrots. She moved back here from Maui. Hopefully, we can catch up with each other on our southern trip. We would love to see her and Nohi and Nani.

August 15 - We left about 7:30 with COLD, WIND, and RAIN. We really sailed with our heavy foul weather gear, boots, and our harnesses and jack lines on in the 32 knot winds....It all works and we went up to 12kph. We anchored in Onset, Massachusetts. Onset is on the south side of the Cape Cod Canal. We had to go into a VERY narrow channel to reach this anchorage, through lobster pots, around a buoy and against a 5 knot current coming from the Canal. We made it and it was a very beautiful anchorage and it was clearing some. As usual, when we needed it the phone wouldn't work....again.

August 16 - The Cape Cod Canal is not really a canal....no locks....thank you. They allow you 2.5 hours to traverse, we made it in about 30 minutes. The problem is the current, associated with the tide. Here on the Cape, tides can be as much as 10 feet and so the current can be that much also. The sun was out....because it is DAVID'S BIRTHDAY.....!!!!! but we had no wind. So, we had to motor all the way to Marblehead. I wasn't complaining since it was warm and sunny; however, it was VERY rolly, because we were being hit on the side by a swell coming in from the Atlantic. But we made it about 4:15. Our phone was working (HURRAH!!!), so I had called several relatives in Boston. We had difficulty deciding where to stay - in Boston Harbor (very expensive) or staying in Marblehead on a mooring and driving places in a rental car. We decided on Marblehead and we used a mooring from the Boston Yacht Club and used their launch to come and go. We rented a car from Entreprise. They picked us up and then returned us to the yacht club after we returned the rental car. The BIG problem is driving in Boston.....what an experience!

We were moored and Julie and I succeeded in making a delicious chocolate cake for David's birthday!!!

August 17 - Enterprise picked us about 10 and we went to Salem to get the car. We then drove to West Newton to see Aunt Betty. I managed to direct us off Route 128 to her house, and after we left I also found my grandparents house. Uncle Tom Brooks came to visit with us. They treated us to a buffet at the Marriott. It was delicious....I think we all ate too much! But I didn't have to make dinner! Thank you so very much.....After I update this site, I am writing all my thank yous.....I promise.I also promise not to wait so long to update this.

Aunt Betty gave us a tour of "38" Putnam Street. The house was built over 100 years ago and my grandfather bought it in 1911 (I think). David, Jason and Eric had never been there before, Julie and I had been there in 1990 after the Hayden family reunion. Lots of family history there and not enough time to absorb it all. I had planned on getting back to see Aunt Betty again, but timing was not right. SO...we are definitely planning to see her lots more on our trip south. Both Aunt Betty and Uncle Tom seem to be wonderfully well! We need to see more of them. She is 92 years young!!!

August 18 - Julie packed all her belongings and the boat rose 3 feet!!! We left about noon to drive to Logan Airport. We arrived with time to spare. Her flight took off on time and we left the airport about 2:30. We had explicit directions from my cousin, Nancy, even down to the exact lane to use. If you are not in the correct lane, Boston drivers won't let you in...who knows where you might end up! We arrived at their home on Beacon Ave. in Chestnut Hill about 3:15 and surprised them! Jim said he expected us to get lost at least twice. We had a wonderful visit with them and their children, James, Carolyn and John. Nancy served a very elegant, delicious dinner! Thanks so much. We are planning to join them and her parents, Aunt Kay and Uncle Dick, in Martha's Vineyard on September 18, when they come on from Oregon. Carolyn left Monday to attend Yale as a freshman. Unfortunately, Julie didn't have a chance to see them all. We had a good visit years ago at the reunion and when they came to Maui.

July 24, 1999

Ten days later...will bring you up to date: We did arrive at Sodus Bay about 8:30 and were welcomed by Keith and Julie Sylvester at about 8 miles out in Lake Ontario. It made us feel very good for a change! They went back to the cottage and brought David's father out to meet us and they all came aboard after we anchored.

July 15 - We went into Rochester, did some shopping and picked up Julie at 1:10. Craig Farnsworth, friend of David's who still lives here, came over to see us in his catamaran. He will be in Florida this winter also.

July 16 - We really cleaned the boat, inside and out, put out all the comforters (I hadn't done it before, because there were always workmen on board pulling up the beds to get to instruments), and get all of Julie's stuff stowed.

July 17 - Dad Ernisse, Keith, Julie and Bob Sylvester all came on board and we went for a sail on the lake....unfortunately, not much wind. We also had a very difficult time furling the main sail.

July 18 - John Davies, another friend of David's from here, joined us on the boat for the day, spent most of the day working on different things. The weather has been beautiful and warm, so we have been swimming alot.

July 19 - We had some excitement at about 1:30 am when David realized that the anchor ball and rope were caught up in the rudder. We cut off the ball and then Eric pushed the boat over enough with the dinghy that we were able to free it. Then we had rain and thunder about 4am. We spent the day on the mainland, doing wash, shopping and stopping by Gary's and Uncle Bobby's place in North Rose.

July 20 - John Davies joined us again for the day and we did go sailing after we went into Katlynn Marina for fuel and water. We had some nice wind and wished that everyone could have been with us. Our mail arrived from our forwarder in Florida - almost like Christmas, but there are always some surprises!!!! and it always takes a long time to do all the administrative work. I still have lots to organize in my filing systems.

July 21 - We had been spending the last week trying to make a decision about which route to take: the Erie Barge Canal, Hudson River to New York City or the St. Lawrence Seaway, around the Gaspe Peninsula, to Nova Scotia to Maine. We had originally planned on the Canal, but made the decision back in March or so to do the St. Lawrence because of all the sailing and the beautiful country side. We purchased many expensive books and charts for that route and none for the canal. With the incredible delay that we experienced with Kanters, we decided against that route. That route it approximately 1500 miles and takes at least 4 weeks. But the problem with the canal is that the mast needs to be taken off (and then put back on) at considerable expense and possible damage. So, we made our decision to take the mast off on Monday and leave Tuesday; however, Katlynn Marina could only take it off on Friday because the person was going on vacation on Monday.

July 22 - David, Julie and I went shopping all day in Rochester. We purchased boat shoes for Julie, food, and everything that we needed for removing the mast. We had a little birthday party for Jason (July 12), Julie (August 13), David (August 16) and Grandma (August 22)....with a big decorated chocolate chip cookie and ice cream! We have been eating most of our meals at Grandma's....probably put on 20 pounds! The cottage is on the market and some people came to look at it after dinner...maybe they will make an offer.

July 23- We were at the Marina at 8am to take off the mast. It was REALLY hot at the dock, but we were back at our anchor about 3pm and absolutely exhausted...again.We got everything put away and lashed down. We did take some pictures, but not sure when we will have them developed but will try to get them on here soon. She is very tippy and rolly now and the wind seems to be up. Marsha, David's sister, came down and was here for the weekend. Her daughter, Danielle, is visiting cousins in Connecticut (David's sister, Linda's kids) so we didn't have a chance to see her.

July 24 - The pump on the refrigerator/freezers burned out this morning, so spent all morning trying to remedy that situation. We talked with the authorized service center here in Rochester, but they cannot come without authorization from the company in Florida and of course, they do not work on weekends. So, I am not sure if we will be delayed from leaving on Monday or not. The other problem is the wind and waves are up on the lake and we need to go to Oswego to get into the canal, and we need to do it on a calm day. So will keep you posted. We have been told the trip is about 4 days to Albany and 4 more days to NYC. We will need another day to restep the mast.

Hope that you are all well and happy and enjoying a beautiful summer! Keep the email coming, we do so enjoy hearing from you all. Hopefully, we will be able to visit with you soon. Our plan will be to go from NYC to Long Island, Connecticut, The Cape and then to Maine. Julie will be leaving from Boston (or possibly Portland) on August 18. We will just see how it works and how the boat is performing. Please contact us if you are along our route ... See ya!.

July 14, 1999

Pictures: Good times, Welland Canal, Chained Hostage

It seems like an eternity since July 3, when I last updated this web site. We are presently enroute to Sodus, New York, where David's parents have a cottage on Eagle Island, Sodus Bay, in Lake Ontario. We left Niagara on the Lake this morning at 5AM because we wanted to cover the 100 mile distance in one day because of the lack of safe anchorages or harbors for a boat this size. The wind has finally increased and we are doing 8.8 knots, but we are motor sailing. We have the spinnaker up, absolutely gorgeous in pink and purple on white! So hopefully, we will arrive before midnight!

July 3 - we did enjoy the fireworks that night. Canadians like their fireworks spread very far apart and with no finale....We were back at the fishing docks but on the other side in a much safer spot.

July 4 - I cleaned (lots to do still) some of the boat in the morning and the guys worked on an oil leak. We were out sailing all afternoon and still having trouble with our roller furler and the autopilot was not functioning properly. David went in search of more leaks because we continually smell (still) diesel. He did not find any leaks but he found a bad weld in a structural member of the boat, which had been cut to repair the diesel tank leak. He made the decision to go to the attorney at that point, instead of just settling up on Monday, like he was planning. The Kanters knew that the weld should be welded on both sides but that meant more work to remove all the batteries and they chose to not completely repair the boat and put it back into the water, and see if we would find it.

July 5 - David and I went to see our attorney in London at 9 AM while the boys did all the wash, in hopes of leaving on Wednesday. We also did some errands in preparation for departure. We went with our lawyer to settle up with Kanters at their office in St. Thomas at 3:30. We basically took the lawyer in hopes that someone could negotiate some of the extras on our side, since we were not able to communicate anything to Manfred or Chris Kanter. That's when the fun began. Manfred said that he had to have his lawyer present, which was ok. But then he told us that HIS boat was not going any where and that he was going to have to evict us. He told us on May 27, the day before launch, that we needed to make the final (very large) payment on the contract because the boat was OURS as soon as it left his boat yard in St. Thomas. He also questioned if we had insurance for the boat because he didn't. We assured him that we did. So Manfred likes to have things both ways.... on the Thursday before in the storm, whose boat was it then?.

So, we left and decided that we would go home (boat) and let Eric and Jason in on what was happening and drive back to London to work on a case at 6pm. We did so, arriving back at the boat at about 8:30 to find her IN CHAINS and our boys scared to death, not knowing how to contact us or what to do. All the Kanters: Manfred, Chris and Gina and Cookie, apparently drove down the long dock in front of our boat to ascertain that we were not there. They then came storming up in their big black trucks, mafia style, jumped out with all their big chains and padlocks. Cookie put on his scuba gear to wrap the chain ten times around the prop and padlock it. Cookie was still there when we got there and handed David a letter and said "Don't start your engine! Don't start your engine." The letter contained a notice saying that they were putting a contractors lien on PEACE AND ALOHA.....That's very interesting....He is putting a lien on his own boat?????

We went to the top of the hill to call our lawyer (the cell phone does not work in Port Stanley). He suggested that we come back up, so we made our third trip to London. Upon our return to the boat at about 11:30pm, Cookie was sitting in his van across the dock shining his lights on the boat and watching us. He had been driving by often during our absence. We immediately called the police. Obviously this was an incredible safety hazard to our boat, the harbor and our lives. Nobody chains a boat to a dock! The police tried to talk sense into Cookie, but he kept saying that their lawyer advised them to do. Very strange, since at the meeting at 3:30 Manfred had said that his lawyer was on holiday until July 12 or 14th. We finally went to bed at about 1:30.

July 6 - We had an appointment with our lawyer at 9am and left about 8am expecting that the electronics installer would be there as promised at 8am and we would be able to communicate with the boys and finish the final electronics. We contacted him only to find that he was NOT there because Chris Kanter called and told him not to come. Same situation, Kanters want everything both ways. At all previous situations, Steve Riddell, from Canada Marconi was working for us. So, then we became very concerned about Eric and Jason, not knowing what the Kanters would do next. We had no luck with the police, etc. It was a very scary situation - a situation that you might expect in a third world country! We were at the lawyer's until about two. We went home but first bought some bolt cutters. Eric and David went down but couldn't see because of the yuccky yuccky filthy waters at Port Stanley. Right before we came home Cookie had come and taken the chains off, but not off the prop. The judge ruled that the chains HAD to come off forthwith....Cookie came and removed them , but he docked his boat right across the channel and sat there and watched us.

July 7 - Both lawyers, ourselves, Manfred, Chris and Gina Kanter were here at 9am to go over the deficiency list of over 100 items (actually it is even more than that, since we made up the list when we were in the cottage before we moved back on board). It was VERY stressful. Manfred and Chris are such liars. We had lunch on board with our lawyer and then went to Kanters office at 1 and went over the extras. We arrived home at 9pm after negotiating all afternoon. I am not even sure what we got, but I was not happy and I don't think David is either.

July 8 - Steve, the electronics installer, was here until about 6pm. We went back up to lawyer and did a few errands. Back to the boat to go sailing with Steve about 2pm. Still items outstanding but will meet us at Niagara on the lake on Tuesday. Our lawyer got the release from the judge saying that it was ok for us to leave on our boat.

July 9 - We awoke to rainy weather and possibly bad wind direction. David and I went back up to the lawyer's (to pay him and pick up the judge's release order). We had to exchange and return the rental cars. We returned the Avis car to the London location. We had that one for about 2 mos. Then we rented a Hertz in St. Thomas. A very nice lady, named Mary Ellen, who lives in Union (between Port Stanley and St. Thomas), at Hertz said that she would drive us back to Port Stanley after work at 4:15. So David and I did all the provisioning at Costco and A&P, went to Lens Mills to get fabric to make courtesy flags, and Canadian Tire for parts. We tried to find this mixer at Radio Shack for Jason for his birthday, but all sold out. We then raced home (the wind was fine and it had stopped rainy) and put all away and then went to local laundramat to do all the wash, sheets, towels and all. Getting the hang of doing 10-12 loads at a time!!! David took the car back up to St. Thomas. The boys stayed on board and organized items. Someone HAD to be on board at all times. We did not leave the boat alone after the 5th, even with a judge's order, we could not trust the Kanters. Never know what they might do. We were talking with the lovely people, Gerry and Jill, in the laundromat. They had been over to see the boat the night before when we were out working on electronics, since they had been talking to the boys when they were doing the wash on Monday. They had even driven them home. They were shocked at how we had been treated. We invited them over that evening, even though the boat was a mess. We went to bed early and they did stop by with some wine. So, we will remember some nice people in Port Stanley with them and Jim and Donelda (we stayed in their cottage). Thanks to you all.

July 10 - We were up at 5am and left at 6:06. It felt so good to leave, but it was so sad that it all happened like this. It was definitely not at all like I had imagined it. It is always such a disappointment and heartache when you put all your trust in people, to say nothing of an incredible amount of money, and you are cheated, harassed and your boat is chained to the dock. People should remember that this is not just a boat, this is our"home" and contains all of our most prized possessions. It was actually a hostage, kidnap situation, not just a trespass. We could have done nothing to protect our possessions if a storm had come up with winds and waves or if a boat had wanted to come into out spot on the dock. It is amazing what money, greed and power will do to people. I guess their true personalities shine through.

We made excellent time going to Erie, Pa. across Lake Erie, until the very last hour. Presque Island State Park is very pretty. Very unlike my previous experience with Erie, which is about half way between Cincinnati and Elmira. My family and I would stay at the Howard Johnson's enroute to college. We anchored out, since our friends, Ellen and Bill Oehlbeck, were out of town that weekend. Eric went up the mast to replace the hailer horn which the Kanters hadn't put back up after they blasted it off the mast during sailing trials. We went to bed early and slept beautifully for a wonderful change.

July 11 - Happy Birthday, Danielle and Don! We were up at 5:30 and headed out to Port Colborne, Ontario....again. The winds were light and not the right direction so we had to motor ALL day. We docked at the Sugar Loaf Municipal Marina at about 4:30. We decided to stay right there at the entrance to Welland Canal to be ready for tomorrow's transit. The lady at the marina was very nice, and we purchased 6 straw bags for use with our fenders to protect the boat from the sides of the canal. We walked all the way up to the first lock but nobody was going through so couldn't really see how it worked. We spent hours ready the book with all the rules and regulations. Ken Mitchell, one of the sailmakers from Toronto, had offered to go with us, but unfortunately, pressures at work this week would not allow him to join us. So, we were a little (actually, alot) apprehensive about all this, especially since we didn't know exactly how it all worked. Then when two LARGE freighters came out beside us, we really wished that Ken were going with us.

July 12 - HAPPY 26th BIRTHDAY JASON! HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY SAMMIE (Samara)! We love you and miss you and Manu lots! We were up at 5am again. (Jason just loves getting up early) and through the first bridge at 6:13. We were through the last lock #1 at 3pm. There are 8 locks and we had to wait twice, the first time so two other pleasure craft could join us and the second before lock #2, which allowed time for a little lunch. It is quite an experience. You bring the boat in and they throw lines to the bow and the stern and you play them out, as the water goes out and you drop down along the edge of the concrete wall. David had the stern line, Eric had the bow line, Jason and I were "Push-offs" in the center. I also had to man the radio for communication when they call to tell you what to do. We only had one set of fenders and bags so we had to move them from side to side depending upon the lock. I did take pictures so will develop them in Rochester and get them on here ASAP. The Canal was completed in 1932. Actually, there have been three canals at slightly different locations. It is an incredible engineering accomplishment. We will have to go through more locks on the St. Lawrence, but we are still going down, which is the easy direction. Apparently, going up or west is much much more difficult, when the water goes in. We were all very proud of our acccomplishments....we hardly even touched the fenders. It was a beautiful day with almost no wind, with the exception of the last two locks. We were blessed. Thank you.

We then sailed to Niagara on the Lake, which is on the Niagara River below the falls. There was no room at that sailing club so we went down the river looking for a place to anchor, and called in to Youngstown, NY Yacht Club. They radioed back that they were closed so we could use their main dock. David was so tired, he performed a miracle by navigating between lots of moored boats, and arriving at this dock, all the while, compensating for the 2 mph current in the river. We were very dissappointed because they were not open, the people were so nice. One gentleman had spent alot of time in Kihei. Also, took a picture fo their lovely clubhouse. Will post asap.

We called in to customs and had us cleared, but I had to schedule an officer to come to the boat on Tuesday morning at 9am to clear in the boat. Everyone has a different way of enforcing the rules and regulations.

We walked up the hill to the little town and had dinner...Jason's birthday dinner! He got to have sphagetti and meatballs. We were so tired.....We walked back down the hill and crashed!

July 13 - We got to sleep in until 7am!!! Customs officer arrived at 9:15 and we were finished by 9:30. We then went to Niagara on the Lake Sailing Club to pick up Steve and Brian to finish up the electronics. They finished all of that about noon. They had a space for us for the night, so we filled out diesel tanks and had filled our water tanks at the Youngstown Yacht Club. We found our space and docked.

We pulled the dinghy out and went across the river to Fort Niagara. We took the guided tour and learned or re-learned alot of American History. It is quite a complex with quite a history. Of course, we had another beautiful day. Eric took pictures so will have some for you soon.

We went into the town in Niagara on the Lake for dinner for Jason's birthday.(again)... There are some lovely places there and lots of nice shops (didn't buy anything!).There are absolutely incredible gardens of every flower imaginable all over town. There were even two horse drawn carriages in the park. After waiting to be served in a little restaurant for over 45 minutes we left and bought sub sandwichs at a deli and ate on a park bench. We then went back for an ice cream cone!!!!!

We went to bed early, but there were people up near us in the marina until 3-4am.

We were up at 5am and left immediately. We are heading to Sodus with estimated time of arrival at about 8-8:30. The wind hasn't been as good as it could have been, but we are making better time than we thought we would. We have motored and had up the spinnaker. I will have to make dinner here shortly. Hopefully, it will not get rough. This is the first time that I have done much below because the other times were so rough. But still haven't gotten sea sick....thank heavens!

Julie arrives tomorrow at 1:12 pm from Boulder. She is due to return for fall semester from Boston on August 18. So we will be in Sodus for about two weeks. You could call on 1-315-587-2622. We have used lots of this months minutes on our cell with all this mess.

If you haven't lasted to the end of this, I will understand. We just felt that anyone that was thinking of building a boat with Kanters or are already involved with them should be aware. The design by Chuck Paine is incredible, she sails beautifully and she is DRY and FAST! and she is BEAUTIFUL! And we thought the rest of you should know exactly what we had been dealing with and not answering your e-mails.....

Please keep in touch! We do enjoy hearing from all of you and hopefully, now we may begin to see some of you.....very soon. See ya!

 

July 3, 1999

No fireworks last night...maybe tonight, if it is not rained out tonight. All the stress was this morning when we awoke to find an oil barge arriving with its tug boat. They were coming right towards us, Eric managed to get the anchor up fast enough and we left. We came back in to the channel, but decided against docking in our "regular" spot, because the fishing boat was still right in front, leaving no room to maneuver. We are now sitting at the far end of the dock, having our diesel tanks filled. Somehow, the tanks were not refilled after they were drained to be repaired. So, we will have lunch and Eric will take the computer over to the pay phone to send all the messages that I just sent and to update this page.

Happy Fourth tomorrow! Keep in touch. We love hearing from all of you! We appreciate all your help in getting through all this "stuff" and really beginning our adventures.

 

July 2, 1999

We are finally back into the water and moved back on board. She was re-launched on June 30, and we had to be out the cottage that morning at 9 AM. To celebrate, we had two large pizzas at Godfather's pizza in Port Stanley! We had quite a bit of excitement on July 2, we had to be pulled away from the dock because the wind was so strong and the swells were pushing us up against the dock. We came out and anchored in the turning basin, had dinner at 9:30 and had a very very rolly night, but we did get some sleep and nobody got sea sick!!!!

It was a beautiful day today and we went sailing from 10-3 and made water with our water maker (but didn't dare drink any of it). We practiced lots. We came in and are anchored here again, because they are forecasting the same winds for early tomorrow morning with thunderstorms. We took the dinghy out and went into the dock and retrieved our dock lines, got more water and emptied the garbage. We also took a trip up Kettle Creek by all the other boats and the yacht club and then bent the prop on the rock in what we thought were the channel markers. Some more tuition! We are ready for bed but waiting for the fireworks for Canada Day, which was yesterday. They were postponed until today because of the wind and the rain. It doesn't get really dark around here until about 10, so not sure when they will appear. It has be alot quieter around here than on Maui last New Years and Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone! We are all blessed to be living in the United States and we all have much to be thankful!

Call us on our cell (1-808-283-0663) or email. We are busy setting up our Inmarsat C address. Keep in touch. We miss you all. Hopefully, we will be leaving here by the end of the week. Julie finished her exams yesterday and today at CU, Boulder, and will be joining us in Rochester on July 14, unless we get there earlier. Jason is very concerned since she will miss his 26th Birthday on July 12.

June 27, 1999

We have had some MAJOR changes since our update last Monday. The pilot house windows have been replaced with glass....and we can see out without distortion and becoming instantly seasick! The lexan ones came out with less difficulty than expected. The entire job would have been completed by Tuesday night; however, one glass window was broken by the glass company, so that replacement piece was installed late Wednesday. We were also proceeding with some of the last adjustments on the electronic equipment.

Wednesday morning David went in search of the origin of the continued smell of diesel. He discovered six leaks. It was decided with the counsel of the marine architect, Chuck Paine in Maine, that she needed to come out of the water to be repaired. So, she is sitting on the dock behind the Fish Market in Port Stanley. We had originally thought that she would go back into the water on Friday afternoon, but it is looking more like Tuesday. They have been doing pressure testing and have rewelded.

We are presently back in the little cottage, phone 519-782-7246, at least until Wednesday morning. I have been trying (again) to answer all the emails that we have received since we left the cottage. When we were on board and in the future we take the computer and attach an acoustic modem to a pay phone to gain access. The first couple of times it was very difficult, but I think Eric and David have figured out the system. Our cell phone is rather a problem and I have had long discussions with AT&T about the service, which happens to be non-existent in Port Stanley. It is on the coast behind all these hills. So, in order to use our cell phone (1-808-283-0663) and even to access the messages, we need to be out in the Lake or driving to St. Thomas. Eventually, we will understand how to communicate better with all of you.

We have started planning our trip to Rochester (David's parents cottage on Eagle Island, Sodus on Lake Ontario). It looks like a five day trip. We are considering stopping at Erie, Pa. on the way to Welland Canal (Canadian side around Niagara Falls). It is 109 miles from Port Stanley to Port Colburne at its entrance. Our only problem with that is US Customs, since that will be our first US landfall with the boat. Ken Mitchell, one of the sail makers from Ullman Sails in Toronto, has offered to sail with us through the Canal, since we are not that familiar with our boat and this will be our first canal experience. We are definitely working our schedule around him (he needs to do it during the week). We are much appreciative for his generous offer.

Julie is finishing up summer school in Boulder with finals this coming week on July 1 and 2. She is scheduled to join us in Rochester on July 5...so we are making changes in that itinerary. She wants to stay in Boulder for some special activities with friends until the 10th.

That brings you up to date with us....just stay tune...we are very anxious to leave here and begin our sailing adventure. She is incredibly beautiful with all the sails up! The spinnaker is awesome (no pictures yet) with the pink and purple stripes...just three stripes across the center - pink in the middle, with purple on both sides. The Kanters did take alot of pictures (some from a balloon) while we were sailing on the 18th. I hope to have some so that we can share them with you on this site.

Hope everyone is happy, healthy and enjoying a beautiful summer wherever you may be! We miss everyone from home, especially our "baby birdies" whom are probably having lots more fun than we are at the moment. Take care. Keep in touch. We love you all!

June 21, 1999

Found Lost Pictures!!: To Launch, Launch

Aloha!! We are still here in Port Stanley. Many of the problems on the boat are fixed with one large exception of the pilot house windows, that's this weeks focus. Every day we go out for a sail to exercise all the systems onboard. Yesterday we used our inflatable dinghy and outboard motor. Everything is staring to come together. It looks like the earliest we will be leaving Port Stanley will be the beginning of next week. Enjoy the pictures.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Birthday to Lynn, Denny, and Rosanne!

June 9, 1999

Pictures: Blessing, Mast placement

Aloha...we are still at the dock, they are now fixing three diesel leaks, finishing installing the electronics and the main sail is still not here. We did get the spinnaker. We are continuing to move onto the boat. Next week they are to replace the windows. Sometime we need to sail...begin living aboard and starting our adventure.

Eric added some pictures today...putting the mast on during launch, our blessing, and Peace and Aloha at the dock in Pt. Stanley. We seem to be missing the roll of film which shows her being craned up and put in the water..Hopefully, it will turn up....stay tuned...

Congratulations to Shawn Chapman on Maui and our newphew, Jon Brooks in Philadelphia, for graduating from High School!!!!!

June 6, 1999

Pictures: Niagara Falls, Attaching Mast, and Load Her on Truck.

Finally, the pictures which I promised you last week...Unfortunately all the pictures of the actual launch just were taken to Costco yesterday...so, hopefully...those pictures will be on someday this week.

Monday was spent doing at least ten loads of wash. Our washing crew had left to go back to Boulder to summer school two weeks before!!! Wrong day to do wash in Canada after a nice weekend. However, the weather turned very cold, rainy and or cloudy until Friday. Actually the entire week was spent working on the boat with the electronics or finishing up various problems. I spent one day working through all the manuals and warranties. Now we just have to read them all and learn how to work all this fancy equipment.

Friday was to be sail day...but 3 meters short of luff tape for the main sail. We still don't have a main sail, and still have not been sailing.

We did start moving onto the boat today...that is always a good sign.

Hope you enjoy these pictures...we stopped at Niagara Falls on the way home from picking up all the items that were shipped to David's brother, Gary in North Rose, NY, just east of Rochester. The mast is being craned up onto the boat for the first time. The rest of the pictures are for the actual launch. They craned her up and then loaded her on the truck for the trip down to Port Stanley.

Aloha to you all. Hope you are all well. We miss all our friends, especially our birdies. Happy Birthday to Joy, Cilla, Rod and Peter. Sorry I missed some of them...all best wishes. Keep in touch.

May 30, 1999

After trying to answer some 142 e-mails yesterday, I decided to put my two cents worth into hot news about what has actually transpired in the last month. We left Maui on May 7, we needed a little (actually ALOT) of R&R after packing, moving and cleaning after we left the rental house at 2505 Omiko to stay in C21 condominium at Napili Point on April 29. We sold our Previa van and Jason's Subaru the day before we left. The truck is still at the condo. We really enjoyed our few days in Napili. We placed our three babies - Manu, Samara and Squirt with a couple up country, James and Liz Brent and with Pat and Mike Hill in Maui Meadows. I kept telling them that they were going on vacation. I know they are being very well cared for...but I still miss them! Thanks.....lots.

We had a very tearful last few days, saying aloha (we will be together again...so I will not say goodbye) to all our many friends....Thanks for the gifts, the get-togethers, the food, and the best wishes from you all: Denny, Rosanne, Bill and Carole, Suzy and Harvey, Ruth and Harvey, Don and Shell, Dot, Joann, Nina, Pat and Manu and Samara, James and Liz, Skipper and Squirt, Naran and Rod. Rod drove us to the airport the morning of May 7. We actually managed to get ALL our luggage and ourselves into his beautiful BMW. Thanks.....lots. We miss you all.

We arrived in Denver at 12:30 AM May 8. We had a VERY long wait for our Dollar Rent a car shuttle and then got lost going to the Comfort Suite in Westminister. They didn't have a room large enough for all three of us, so finally at 4:00 we crawled into bed in two different rooms, but with a wedding party and graduation festivities at the motel we didn't get much sleep. Saturday and Sunday we were like zoombies....saw Julie and Eric and that's it. They were still taking exams.

We talked with several friends at the phone, but with everyone's busy schedules, we only managed to see Shirley, her parents (whom I haven't seen in about 18 years....was a real treat! They are absolutely incredible! Mrs. Wentworth was celebrating her 82nd b-day on May 13 and Mr. Wentworth is 90....They are following our travels on her computer! ), her daughters: Amy and Heidi, and her new granddaughter, Rachel. Since Shirley taught me everything I know about sailing in her "puddle-duck" on Lake Michigan, I am sure that we will be having visits from all the Wicherns as we travel. We also were able to see Maria Donnelly in Boulder. She has moved to Breckenridge and we hadn't seen each other for 6 years. I am sorry that we were not able to visit with our many friends still in the Boulder Denver area, but we will be back...Julie is still there! Or if you are anywhere near where are travels take us, please contact us!

Thursday and Friday were packing and moving days for Julie and Eric. Julie will be moving into an apartment next fall and she inherited most of Eric's belongings, plus his truck! We are working out a deal with Eric, Chris and Julie. Thursday night was the Engineering Graduation at Macky Auditorium. Each graduate went on stage to receive his diploma. CU now has graduation ceremonies for the different schools, plus the entire university ceremony which was held on Friday morning at 9:30 at Folsom Stadium. We had beautiful weather!!!! Actually, Monday May 10, it was snowing at the motel....but didn't stick! So, Eric graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in EPO Biology. After sailing with us, he will have to decide which direction he will pursue in graduate school: medicine, ecology or engineering. He spent his last year building a wind tunnel for a biomechanics professor in the biology department.

We tried desparately to change our flights to Canada; however, we were flying on frequent flyer miles, but Eric's tickets could not be changed unless I paid LOTS of money, so we left on Saturday, May 15 at 9:00. Chris and Julie flew that morning also. Except they were on the 6:40 am flight....and they overslept....until 5:40....somehow, they made it to the airport and were on board - in FIRST CLASS - just as the doors were closing!!!!***??#@%^&* They were there to meet us in Toronto. Chris's dad works for United, so they are able to fly standby. We rented a van and drove down to Port Stanley, where we are renting a little house, on the beach (???). They just redid the entire house, so it is all new and nice and clean. Sure beats a motel! You may call us at 519-782-7246. We are not able to use our cellular here in Pt. Stanley.

We drove to North Rose, NY (east of Rochester) to pick up all the boxes of items which we had ordered and had shipped to David's brother, Gary. We drove two vans over and just barely managed to get everything in them, plus ourselves. We stopped at Niagara Falls on the way back. Still very spectacular! We had NO problems crossing the border! Thank you!

We then had to empty all the boxes and do an inventory of all. We are still working out our order with Defender. They are to ship the remaining items this Monday, hopefully. (We made the order April 1!)

In between, we have be shopping....bedspreads, linens, etc. etc (like setting up a new house)...and going through the boat to make sure items are corrected and fixed. The mast finally arrived last week and we saw them crane it up and put it in.

Unfortunately, Julie and Chris had to return to Boulder to attend summer school. Chris felt that it would be easier to fly out of Detroit, so David and I drove them over last Sunday and stopped at the West Marine store in Mt. Clemens to try to purchase items we still needed. They didn't really have much....we need to be in Florida or Newport! Julie will fly to Rochester on July 5 and then return for fall semester on August 18 from Boston. We are not sure if Chris will join us again or not, depending upon his job schedule. We certainly hope he does, we really enjoyed having him here. He was a big help with our computer and web site, with moving, etc. etc.... and he seemed able to withstand all the chaos of this house(ship)hold!!!! They missed the launching on Friday, as did several others who were trying to make it....the date kept changing....17th, 24th, 26th and finally, the 28th. The weather here last weekend (which was their Victoria Day weekend, like our Memorial Day) was terrible.....COLD, windy and rainy!!! so it is just as well, that we were not in the water.

The launch took ALL day...the truck and crane arrived at Kanter's boat yard in St. Thomas about 8:30. They craned her up and then onto the truck. It took about an hour to drive the back way down here (watching for low wires all the way)...we followed most of the way. Then craned her up and put her into the water about 1:30. Then the truck went back to get the mast. That was a couple more hours. Then hoisted the mast up, and then the boom. The Kanters motored her down to another place in the harbor. We changed into aloha attire with our silk leis, which we had also used for Eric's graduation and which will have a permanent place on our boat. Cookie Kanter stayed for our beautiful dedication. The Kanters had brought in champagne, fruit and cheese and delicious turkey sandwiches for our FIRST dinner on Peace and Aloha.

So.....after this LONG dissertation....you are up-to-date with us. Plans are to continue debugging the boat, finishing her up. We are slowly moving on, but can't put too many items in placed while they still need to work on her. Sails should be here Tuesday or Wednesday and maybe sea trials by Friday. The windows should be here in 2 weeks and then a week to put in. We will not be going to Georgian Bay and Lake Michigan, we will simply head over to Sodus and David's parents should be at their cottage by then. Then out the St. Lawrence and around to Maine, where we hope to meet up with Larry Miller on his boat, also built by Kanter and see our marine architect, Chuck Paine again. We also plan on seeing many friends and relatives in the New England area. As yet, I really have no idea on dates ...just stay tuned. Hopefully, I can get caught up with this website and my e-mails...and you won't have to suffer through these LONG stories. Hopefully, this brings you up to date and now you know why we haven't been answering our emails. Love and Aloha to you all....we are so blessed with all of you for friends. Thank you and we miss you all. See you soon!

May 28, 1999

Peace and Aloha was finally put into the waer Friday May 28. We had a beautiful blessing and dedication which we will put on this site soon along with many pictures. We are waiting for the boat builder to debug the systems and to fix the remaining things that need fixing. We have to have the windows in the pilot house replaced because what was originally put in (lexan) was unacceptable. This will delay our leaving Port Stanley by about two weeks. There is much more news and we will get to it soon. Our schedule is totally hectic at the present. For those who have sent email, thank you and be patient for our answers. We simply do not have the time to devote to answering them adequately now.

 

May 21, 1999

The mast was put on today, and the boat is almost definitely scheduled to enter the water for testing of the systems on May 26, next Wednesday.

May 20, 1999

We are staying in Port Stanley where the boat is soon to be launched. Our days have been filled with diligent labor in preparation for the launch which is uncertainly expected to happen on May 25. Staying with us is the entire crew and Julie's boyfriend Chris Johnson.

May 14, 1999

May 6, 1999

The projected launching date has been extended at least a week to May 24 from the intended date of May 17. Late delivery of the mast from Forespare has caused this delay. We are proceeding with our intended airline schedule but we are. Leaving Maui May 7. We will keep you informed with the latest date of launching as the time comes closer.

May 2, 1999

We have just completed moving to one of our condominiums at Napili Point. The move was so stressful that we have delayed our departure for Colorado until May 7, arriving May 8. Being here at Napili Point is like being on vacation in Hawaii and it will be difficult to leave now that the time has come. We had a nice bon voyage party May 1 and many good friends came to wish us well. We will spend the few remaining days recuperating and enjoying Maui before beginning our odyssey.

Update on the status of the completion phase of Peace and Aloha: Chris Kanter has indicated that everything is on schedule except the spar from Forespare. This problem affects the measurement of the sails that will be constructed in Toronto. We continue to hold firm on a launching date of May 17. Our boat equipment that we have ordered from Defender and delivered to Gary Ernisse in N. Rose NY will be picked up and transported to Canada the week prior to launching.

April 21, 1999

Our new cell phone number that will be in use for the remainder of the year is: 808-283-0663.

March 7, 1999

Final plans have been made to leave Maui and return to the mainland. These are the key dates:

January 6, 1999

Eric and David are preparing this web site for uploading to the server. The boat is about 3/4 finished and we are working on selecting the interior fabrics. We are also working on finalizing our lists for the equipment that has to be purchased for the boat. Finally, we are working on winding up our residency here on Maui by selling and storing our various things.

Link to Hot News September 23,1999 ~ Present