Sioux Narrows Bridge...

How to get an 80' rig through the 65' bridges of the Intracoastal Waterway using two tons of water. The balls get swung out with an initial turn to port or stbd. The tendency then is for the roll to continue by itself, but is controlled by letting the bags out slowly with a line made off to each bag and running through necessary tackle to a cockpit winch.

Video onboard Kite, Lowisa 46 Day 4

On A Boat With The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

The Adventurer - Featuring Kenora's Dave Treadway

Manitoba Keelboat Championships

Congratulations to Northern Yacht Club member Dave Nelson and crew for winning that Manitoba Keelboat Championships. It was a three way tie between Dave Nelson - Kite, Charlie Burns - Liquor Box and Fred Finlayson/Jim Fogg - Rhum Line up until the last race. Whomever won the last race won the regatta. 1st and 3rd place where separated by 41 seconds.

We can try this at the Sioux Narrow Bridge next summer

Race Report - SGT DICK BOOTH MEMORIAL SAFETY PURSUIT RACE

For the first time in many years, every club race this year enjoyed nice wind (save for the first half of the day 2 or warroad). For this race, however, the sun was replaced with clouds, cold air and rain. The forcast combined with a number of boats heading off down the lake Friday in an effort together down to the Whitefish for Frock night resulted in a disapointing turn out of only three boats. The course took us around Survey, past Strawberry, around the Elbow, past Bun with the finish around Steamboat Reef. Wind was w-s-w starting the day at 10-15, the building to 15-20 around noon, then peaking out at 20-25 around 1pm just as the race ended.

The boats were hard on the wind all the way to the Elbow, then downwind to Bun, then a short reach to steamboat. Grand Cru had caught up to Raven at the elbow, having passed the singlehanded Black Knight previously, and decided to run the gennaker instead of the chute- the though being it was easy and they should be able to hold even with Raven. Alas, it was not to be. Under chute, Raven passed Grand Cru and built a modest but unnerving and unexpected (for Grand Cru) lead of about 100 meters approaching Bun, setting up what looked to be a very tight finish. This race required a man over board drill which both Raven and Grand Cru had completed while approaching Strawberry. Black Knight, flying chute singlehanded in 20 knots had almost reeled in Grand Cru but still had to execute the man over board. Unfortunately for Raven their 100 meter lead disappeared as they got stuck behind Bun. Grand Cru slipped by them and beam reached the next mile to the finish. Raven being second followed by Black Night.

As this race is named after Sgt Dick Booth, Wendy and I spent some time remanissing about the fun times we had on our previous boat, Black Pearl, with Dick's son, the late Kevin Booth. Kevin used to join us on Black Pearl for all the club bouy races and the LOWISA layover day bouy races. He was a pleasure to have on board - always in great spirits and truly loved to be on the lake and to be in a sail boat. A creature of habit I suppose, everytime he came on board he brought two beer (Keith's if I recall) and a salmon sandwich wrappped in wax paper. We both miss the post race rums with him that we used to enjoy on the Black Pearl while returning to the Harbour after the races. We also miss his welcoming smile whenever we drop by Northern Harbour. This race was important to Kevin and Wendy and I are proud to have won the race bearing his dad's name in the year of Kevin's passing.

Blair Magnus

Sent from an Iphone.

Lets try this off the end of A Dock

Somehow I suspect this new generation of 18 to 20 year old's is not going to be excited about slow keelboats in the future. Sell now....

Witch Bay Pursuit - Onboard Grand Cru

Continuing what has been a remarkable year of wind and weather for the racing season we once again had beautiful wind between 10-15 knots from the western quadrant all day. After the start at the south end of Pine Portage Bay we had a beam reach down to Copper. Carrying a chute was a little tight and most boats elected not to launch except for Goliath. Either way there wasn't much in it. After rounding Copper it was a long port tack up to the north side of Survey. Rounding Survey the course then took us between Scotty and Middle.

The wind was starting to oscillate a little more with the shifts to the w-n-w becoming larger and longer for a while. As a result the fleet was faced with the decision weather to go to the east or west of Maizes. Some of the early boats chose the west, a few chose the east and a late shift back to the w-s-w made the decision for the later boats clear.

Borderline, Raven Black knight, Auberge and Goliath all looked to have the option with only Raven taking the west. Kite and Grand Cru, last to round Survey and coming into the w-s-w shift would have had to tack to get to the west so the east was the logical route. The west side paid. Post race the Raven team was coy about the reasoning behind their decision. All the non-spin boats took the west side.

Passing Strawberry the course then took us south west for water then east down Andrew Bay. Around this area a rain storm blew through. Winds pick up immediately. Within 15 seconds it was 25knots from the west. Sloop du Jour reported a max wind of 36.5 knots. Three boats had rounded and we heading east just before the storm hit. Raven reported 11+ kts boat speed with main (genoa was fully blanketed). Other boats on the down wind side of the storm were borderline and Goliath. The boats still going upwind had a tougher time. Genoas were dropped some mains were reefed. Misty's headsail pulled out of the track. Eventually the trailing fleet got past the turning bouy and could turn down wind and enjoy the ride. However time lost to the front boats would not be made up. The wind quickly returned to its previous state of 10-15knots. Chutes went up for the run down Andrew Bay for a very nice five mile sail to the finish.

Finishing order:
Raven
Goliath
Borderline
Kite
Grand cru
Black knight
Auberge
Knock-out
Swordfish
Oh boy
Misty (dnf)
Black Pearl (dnf)

Queen Island Pursuit Race - Results

It was a great day to race. Wind from the south west 10-15 knots. There was a short spin run from Palisade to Whisky but it was a fun one as the wind had just peaked and was gusting to 20. It was a drag race from Whisky to the finish around Iriam with the top three boats finishing within 15 seconds of eachother.

Great battle between Raven and Black Knight as well up to the finish.

Kite
Borderline
Grand Cru
Goliath
Raven
Black Knight
Knock out
Auberge
D Boat
Fandango

Recap of LOWISA 46

For a excellent recap of LOWISA 46 and some historical perspective from Brett Walker who raced on Haemony. Click on the following link http://ratkingsails.tumblr.com/

Sailing on Lake of The Woods.

Sailing on Lake of the Woods from David Warrenchuk on Vimeo.

Oh my goodness, just when you thought your boat was fast

A New Personal Watercraft

Go Canada

View slide show...

Kenora cruise ship sails on rough waters

KENORA -- It has 14,500 islands. There are 105,000 kilometres of shoreline.

It is surrounded by 2.5 billion-year-old rock. The first white man to see Lake of the Woods was French explorer Jacques De Noyon in 1688.

What better way to learn about magnificent Lake of the Woods than skimming across its waters on the MS Kenora...

Kenora cruise ship sails on rough waters

Race Report - Warroad 2011

Day 1: West-north-west wind around 15kts with gusts to 20kts in the open
water and, as usual, gusts to 25kts approaching the finish line at Warroad.
During the day the wind backed slightly to West. Beautiful 25 degree sunny
day. At the start, a few boats carried their chutes (it was tight) down to
Bare Island then dropped the chutes as they turned to head toward Gull Rock.
Rounding Bare, it looked like Goliath was simultaneously cleaning their
boat bottom with the chute, trying to catch shrimp, all while sailing
backwards for a while. Turns out this was a good plan as they went on to
win the day.

After Bare, it was a close reach to Gull Rock with boats at hull speed.
Rounding Gull, with the wind backing to the West, it was a beat to the
finish. Fleet was spread across the course with some to the extreme south
and some modestly north. Some stayed up the middle. While the wind was
oscillating nicely, there was no clear advantage to any side of the course.
The two Abbots (Raven and Black Night) had a good battle up this leg with
Black Night slipping by Raven on a shift about 2-3 miles from the finish.

Many boats had to pick their way through the channel (but eventually made it
to get into Warroad. Knock-Out and Grand Cru stayed outside at anchor for
the night.

Day 2: Golf?

Day 3: From about 7am the wind was coming from the South-West at 12-15kts
setting up for what looked to be a beautiful downwind race all the way.
Fogger started at 10AM with their iconic pink chute charging for the rock.
5 minutes after their start, a massive persistent shift to the south east
came through. As the fleet watched, Fogger kept his chute up and was now
sailing North (were going the wrong way!). For what seemed like an
eternity, finally their chute came down and the boat turned to the west, but
still no headsail could be seen. Strangely, for the fist time in three
days, Fogger's laugh could not be heard. We would later learn that not only
was their headsail not ready to go, but the jib sheets were not run.
Anyway, the rest of the fleet now set-up their headsails and off everyone
went for this unexpected upwind leg. The wind was very patchy and the early
boats to leave had a chance to stay in the wind. Some of the early boats
had success, some were just out of range. The later boats sat parked up
just off the starting line for an hour or so. AI and Borderline made it
around Gull Rock and did a horizon job and the rest of the fleet. It was a
two boat race and AI just managed to hold off Borderline over the last 20
miles.

With pending severe storms, Grand Cru dropped out after 1 1/2 hours of
"racing" after realizing that they were only 1 mile from the start line and
had spent the last 30 mins going backwards. Good times. Fogger dropped out
as well. Remaining fleet stuck it out and the wind filled in at the end
with some boats having a great ride. Kite reported over 16kts of boat speed
before their asymmetric tack blew out.

Boats arrived back at Sportsman lodge just as the storms began to roll
through. Fortunately, no serious storms rolled over Oak Island.

Day 1
Goliath
Kyte
AI
Borderline
Grand Crew
Black Night
Raven
Knock out
Vixen
Sloops
Fogger

Day 2
AI
Borderline
Goliath
Sloops
Knock Out
Kyte
Vixen
Black Night
Raven
Fogger DNF
Grand Crew DNF

Winners
AI
Goliath
Borderline

Cruise Week 2011 - July 22 to July 29

Friday July 22 – Dinner – Meet and greet on the deck of Northern Harbour Boat Club – pot luck hosted by Vera and Dave from Aftica

Saturday – Sail to Sanderson Beach for the Appetizers on the Beach Party – also called “Make room in the fridge right away!” – Anchorage – The Funnel or Newfoundland

Sunday – Sail to Timber Beach – Yes, I know it’s a long sail but you’ll love it! – Anchor on Timber Beach (weather permitting – if not, the backside of Timber or Annie Island)

Monday – back to Timber Beach for Bocce Ball and other activities – Anchorage – Big Bird Island

Tuesday – leave early for Sioux Narrows – anchor in the bay, dinghy to The Mine Shaft for a Cheeseburger in Paradise afternoon on the deck – Anchorage – Barney Narrows or Twin Island

Wednesday – Sail to Yellow Girl anchorage – Hot Dog’s over the fire (bring your own dogs, buns, etc)

Thursday – Sail through Sunset Channel – anchor at Deadbroke Island

Friday – Sail back to NH or stay on the Lake

Cavey's Crab Dip

INGREDIENTS

24 Ounces Sour Cream
1 1.8 Ounce Package of Knorr Leek Soup Mix
8 Ounces Real Crabmeat

NOTE: This recipe can be made with regular onion soup mix and canned crabmeat. However, I highly recommend using Knorr Leek Soup and the real crabmeat found in the refrigerated section of your local supermarket (usually near the meat department). Costco also carries a great lump crabmeat in their refrigerated section. Additionally, though it doesn't really make this a "healthy dish", using the "Light" version of sour cream certainly cuts down on the caloric and fat content for those trying to watch their Caveish figure.
Cavey's Crab Dip Ingredients

Place sour cream and soup mix into medium sized mixing bowl and stir until fully blended.
Sour Cream & Knorr Leek Soup Mix

Now, place crabmeat into bowl and gently fold into sour cream/soup mixture.
HINT: I like to have small lumps of crabmeat in my dip. If you prefer it a little smoother, go ahead and add the crab meat when you initially put in the soup mix. The extra stirring will smooth it out.
Adding Crabmeat

Cover mixture and refrigerate for at least three hours ... and that's it! Just serve with your favorite dipping chip and be ready for the YUM!!
Cavey's Crab Dip

Prep Time = 3 Minutes
Cook Time = 3 Hous
Serves 10-20

Mosquitoes more attracted to beer drinkers: study

It might be nice enough to enjoy a pint outside in your part of Canada, but news that mosquitoes are likely to target people with beer in their systems might make you re-think enjoying your favorite patio.

Or at least apply some bug repellent before you head out.

A study, conducted by scientists at the IRD Research Centre in France, shows that insects are 15 per cent more likely to fly toward humans after they have consumed a pint.

The researchers write in Plos One that one possible explanation is, "Mosquitoes may have evolved preferences for people who recently consumed beer - possibly due to reduced host defensive behaviours or highly-nutritious blood-meals." More... http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/mosquitoes-more-attracted-beer-drinkers-study-200654377.html

Homemade Ginger Beer and the Dark 'n' Stormy | The Paupered Chef

Homemade Ginger Beer and the Dark 'n' Stormy | The Paupered Chef

Ginger, Lemon, Sugar, Yeast...and 24 hours.

Summer Solstice Race to 22 ft Bay - Results

Competitive Fleet of 7. Winds ranging from 12 knots to 15 knots with a few gust reaching 20 knots. Lots of spinnaker work and some beating. It was a tight parade at the end. Not many seconds between each boat. Borderline dominated from the start. All of the other positions were in question a few times during the race.

1st Borderline
2nd Raven
3rd Kite
4th Black Knight
5th Oberge
6th Grand Cru
7th Fogger

Capsize

Bud and Spud social fundraiser for Bob Wenzel

This past winter fellow Northern Harbour sailor Bob Wenzel, of Sandwip, had an unfortunate accident in his home. While he expected to fully recover from his fractured neck, he is currently in a neck brace and unable to operate his salon. As a proud, self employed businessman this must be a very taxing time.
Some of his friends have organized a bud and spud fundraiser to assist Bob and his wife Janna during this difficult period.

Canad Inn Windsor Park
Stereo Room

Friday June 3, 5-8 PM
Cost is $20 Inc meal and a beer

We are asking for your support and generosity for any donations for the silent auction and to come out for a nice meal and a dance on your way out to the lake.


Please contact any of the following for tickets or info:
Cathy Sheppard 794 8281
Donna Dela 832 6550 h
Rick Thompson 8326550 h 204 803 9910 MTS cell rthompson78@shaw.ca
Alfie Gentle 612 1398
Dianne McDougall 299 5716

Registration is now open for LOWISA 46!

Registration is now open for LOWISA 46! You can register online. We’re offering a Mount Gay Rum hat to all skippers who register online in advance. Once again due to the generous support of our sponsors we have been able to keep the registration low this year at $185 for Racing and $125 for Cruising. The registration fee includes two tickets to the Commodore’s Banquet, additional tickets are available at registration along with LOWISA Clothing and charts for purchase.

Saturday July 30th, on-site registration, race instructions and charts will be available at the Northern Harbour Boaters’ Club in Northern Harbour. Help with lifts in and out, will be provided by Gary Hall and his family at Northern Harbour. Be sure to buy your Morgan Fuels gas and diesel fuel and Arctic Glacier ice from Gary. Once again we will be offering a seminar which will provide local knowledge on navigating Lake of the Woods along with tips for having a successful week on the lake. The seminar will be held in the Northern Harbour Boaters’ Club on Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm. Those who are new to the lake will find it interesting and valuable. The Skippers’ meeting, Sailors Social, and dinner will follow starting at 6:00pm.

Day 1, Racing gets started on Sunday, July 31st, at 12:00 noon in Safety Bay, so the crowd at the Kenora Harbourfront can enjoy the excitement of the starts. We’re planning a course allowing for a couple of east-west laps on Safety Bay with a finish in the Vicinity of Keewatin Channel. This will be an interesting race with lots of tune-up opportunity. If the weather cooperates we’re hoping for around 15 miles of windward-leeward racing. Expect lots of cottage owners and Kenora residents out to watch the fleet duke it out on the water. The cruising fleet can take advantage of ever popular Scotty Beach and join up with the racers for the evening. The anchorage for Day 1 will be Strawberry Island.

Day 2, Monday, August 1st, start at the north end of Scotty’s Island and proceed through the Elbow to the unnamed bay south of Yellow Girl Point. In honour of their continuing support, we’ve designated this scenic spot as “Mount Gay Bay.” This is an excellent area for camping and there’s a terrific little island that’s great place for our first event of the week: the Mount Gay, Pepsi, and Arctic Glacier Wilderness Party. Pirate costumes are optional (be all you can be as Captain Sparrow – Savvy?), but at the very least be sure to wear your Mount Gay Rum hat and your best smiles for the photo ops.

Day 3, Tuesday, August 2nd, start at Yellow Girl Point and proceed through Sunset Channel to end the day at the west end of Deadbroke Channel. Sunset Channel represents much of what is the best of Lake of the Woods and promises to be one of the most scenic days of the week. For Cruisers, there is an opportunity to enjoy some early aboriginal rock paintings along the way and, if you are extraordinarily lucky, a petroglyph.

Day 4, Wednesday, August 3rd, start at the west end of Deadbroke Channel and proceed to Ash Rapid Camp. Cruisers may want to stop for a lunch break on the sandbar at S Island. Ash Rapids Camp is a full service wilderness lodge and well known for their hospitality. They offer great food, a rustic bar and sell fuel and ice. Nicely furnished cabins are available. See the LOWISA Website for their Internet link and to make reservations.

Day 5, Thursday, August 4th is a day of rest. After 4 days of racing and cruising most of us need a day to sleep late, fix gear, and socialize with other sailors. But for those with the urge to race, we’ll have an optional and stand-alone windward leeward series of races. The skippers meeting will be held at 10:00 AM at which time, we’ll describe the location and the round-the-cans race course choices for the layover day races. We have lots of kids activities planned on shore this day. Ptarmigan Bay is close by and is a great place for a leisurely day-cruise for those who want to get away. Dinner in the dining room is provided as part of your registration so be sure you have a ticket for each of your crew members. The Arctic Glacier Frozen T-Shirt Contest will be a part of the evening’s social events. The Commodore will hand pick the contestants and for those whom he picks, declining is not an option - there’s nowhere to hide!! Pump out and garbage disposal will be available during the layover day.

Day 6, Friday, August 5th, start near Ash Rapids Camp and race to 22 Foot Bay. We’ve used this anchorage many times in past regattas; it’s another great spot for wilderness anchoring and camping. If you wish, cabins are available at Crow Rock Lodge, which is just around the corner from where our anchorage. See the LOWISA Website for their Internet link and to make reservations. Crow Rock Lodge offers a full service bar and dinning. We’ll have the gas powered blender on shore for Margaritas after racing. Bring a bottle or two of Tequila; we’ll provide the mix. Throw it all in the blender and see what happens… no big Woop – or maybe a big Woop!!

Day 7, Saturday, August 6th marks our last day of racing. We’ll start near the Crow Rock Light and head back to Northern Harbor via the famed Manitou Reach. The LOWISA Commodore’s Banquet and the Awards Presentation will be hosted in the Northern Boaters’ Club, on this final day. Back by popular demand are Brent Parkin and the Schooners. This is truly a great band that’ll make you want to dance your socks off, so our closing festivities will carry on well into the evening.

There will be Children’s activities throughout the week with an emphasis on having the kids gather on the islands following the races for fantastic games activities and surprises galore!!!!