Newport Yacht Club to Mimico - 25 nautical miles sailed, 8 kilometres walked
Despite spending nearly nine months on SeaLight cruising to the Bahamas and back, after a month at home I was anxious to get back on the boat for a week on Lake Ontario. Small spaces, daily adventures, boat meals, open schedule, new people, and new places to explore - these things I thought of, as Ana and I drove down Highway 403 on Friday evening.
Friday night we spent at the marina, doing some yacht club work, then hanging out with friends in SeaLight's cockpit until far too late, catching up on a lot of missed weekends at the boat. It had been a funny summer so far. May and June were so cold and wet and crummy that few people were coming down to their boats. Then an extreme heat wave hit like a hammer in July, and continued to keep people away. Newport had been quiet.
We arrived in Mimico and eased ourselves into our assigned slip then went to find the two other boats from Newport who were already here. This was a club cruise weekend where our club and the Mimico Cruising Club swap boats for two nights, at no charge. The Newport ranks had begun strong with over ten boats, but that number had dwindled to just a few as folks bailed out for various reasons. Mimico sent over a dozen boats our way. We hung out with our Newport friends for a while then set out walking to the Mimico Go Train station to meet the kids, who had chosen to stay home Friday night to host a party. The kids looked surprisingly springy.
The four of us walked together back to the marina, passing through some residential neighbourhoods then a commercial area on Lakeshore Drive, then made lunch back on the boat. Though not a napper, I was fading fast, deprived of sufficient hours of sleep the previous night, so I excused myself and collapsed in the v-berth for a twenty minute nap that lengthened to three hours of deep REM sleep where I dreamed of purple hippos, international espionage, tomato plants, scurvied and black-gummed sailors, talking fish, Rastafarian hair, and the smells of pulp and paper manufacturing. Where these images and odours came from, I know not, but they all seemed to tie together into a magnificent plot.
Our friends Daryl and Lydia and Zach had arrived in their boat while I napped, and I awoke just in time for Stella and I to do a dock walk then meet our friends Matt and Courtney who were joining us for dinner and beer sampling. Everybody needs adventurous friends for inspiration, and this is what Matt and Courtney are to us as they spend three to four months every year traveling. They are divers, climbers, surfers, campers, martial artists, and I'm sure they also do sky diving, bull fighting, caving, wing suits, Houdini-inspired escape stunts, and likely wild boar hunting, but they've never thought to mention these pursuits. We always have a great time with them - especially since Matt never fails to show up with a cooler full of premium beer he's crafted with his brother in their quasi-commercial garage brewery.
We had a lovely dinner and visit on the boat then moved over to the Mimico garden and restaurant where there was a surprisingly good band pumping out the hits, completing the perfect summer evening vibe under the glow of patio lanterns with folks enjoying dinner and kids kicking soccer balls around. We joined up with Daryl and Lydia and sat visiting for a very long time as we took turns holding baby Zach and Magnus snuggled with their wiener dog Willy. Lydia and Daryl have also lived a life of extreme adventure with a recreational repetoire very similar to Matt and Courtney's, but their time recently has been focused on far more harrowing and difficult pursuits, namely, raising a child.
It had been a busy month back in Canada. My two weeks in Saskatoon were packed with fun-seeking and did not disappoint. The subsequent two weeks in Paris were consumed with rebuilding our back deck, working mostly ten and some twelve hour days in the over 30 degree heat, hoping to get it done before our vacation. And get it done we did, with a half day to spare and a decent final product.
Friday night we spent at the marina, doing some yacht club work, then hanging out with friends in SeaLight's cockpit until far too late, catching up on a lot of missed weekends at the boat. It had been a funny summer so far. May and June were so cold and wet and crummy that few people were coming down to their boats. Then an extreme heat wave hit like a hammer in July, and continued to keep people away. Newport had been quiet.
By 6:30 am the next day, we were slicing through the flat, fresh water, pointed towards Mimico, a mere four hours away, which felt like a short walk to the corner store instead of the marathon runs SeaLight had become accustomed to. It was exhilerating to be back on the water and we enjoyed the trip like it was our first time on the boat.
We arrived in Mimico and eased ourselves into our assigned slip then went to find the two other boats from Newport who were already here. This was a club cruise weekend where our club and the Mimico Cruising Club swap boats for two nights, at no charge. The Newport ranks had begun strong with over ten boats, but that number had dwindled to just a few as folks bailed out for various reasons. Mimico sent over a dozen boats our way. We hung out with our Newport friends for a while then set out walking to the Mimico Go Train station to meet the kids, who had chosen to stay home Friday night to host a party. The kids looked surprisingly springy.
The four of us walked together back to the marina, passing through some residential neighbourhoods then a commercial area on Lakeshore Drive, then made lunch back on the boat. Though not a napper, I was fading fast, deprived of sufficient hours of sleep the previous night, so I excused myself and collapsed in the v-berth for a twenty minute nap that lengthened to three hours of deep REM sleep where I dreamed of purple hippos, international espionage, tomato plants, scurvied and black-gummed sailors, talking fish, Rastafarian hair, and the smells of pulp and paper manufacturing. Where these images and odours came from, I know not, but they all seemed to tie together into a magnificent plot.
Our friends Daryl and Lydia and Zach had arrived in their boat while I napped, and I awoke just in time for Stella and I to do a dock walk then meet our friends Matt and Courtney who were joining us for dinner and beer sampling. Everybody needs adventurous friends for inspiration, and this is what Matt and Courtney are to us as they spend three to four months every year traveling. They are divers, climbers, surfers, campers, martial artists, and I'm sure they also do sky diving, bull fighting, caving, wing suits, Houdini-inspired escape stunts, and likely wild boar hunting, but they've never thought to mention these pursuits. We always have a great time with them - especially since Matt never fails to show up with a cooler full of premium beer he's crafted with his brother in their quasi-commercial garage brewery.
We had a lovely dinner and visit on the boat then moved over to the Mimico garden and restaurant where there was a surprisingly good band pumping out the hits, completing the perfect summer evening vibe under the glow of patio lanterns with folks enjoying dinner and kids kicking soccer balls around. We joined up with Daryl and Lydia and sat visiting for a very long time as we took turns holding baby Zach and Magnus snuggled with their wiener dog Willy. Lydia and Daryl have also lived a life of extreme adventure with a recreational repetoire very similar to Matt and Courtney's, but their time recently has been focused on far more harrowing and difficult pursuits, namely, raising a child.
It was a great day and fitting start to our week on the water.
Have blast, glad you are able to get off the home dock.
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