Hi All,

The distribution list seems to be growing. If anybody wants off please let me know, and likewise, remind me if I'm missing anybody who might be interested. I don't have an email address for either Tobin or Adam -- Laura?

I'm sitting here on the dock at Sarnia YC for the second night (July 11). Further progress up the river was slow and pretty uneventful, except for the powerboat that sunk off my bow while I was sleeping at anchor. (see photo)

Phil asked me to be sure to send some pictures to prove we actually went
   somewhere, so I have attached one of us storming the gates of Mordor
in the dark of an evil night. Actually, I think it was lock 7 at about
midnight, but peotic license... I also attach a shot of the huge
dragonfly we found in the cockpit, and one of Laura with the roses at
the Pelee Island Winery. And one more to prove that the boat was heeling
over a bit while we sailed down Lake Ontario.

Peggy arrived today by train and I walked across Sarnia to meet her,
stopping briefly for internet and lunch. Sarnia isn't very big, but we
cabbed it back so that we could do provisioning on the way. All we need
to do now is top off the fuel supply and head out in the morning.
(Although you probably won't see this until much later.)

The fridge is cooling things and not eating up too much power doing so,
and I like that. The engine is behaving better since I sprayed the HT
lines and connections. Peggy brought the spinnaker sock from JC, so we
will have to try that out on the DRS, or maybe even on a real chute if
we feel ambitious... ;-)

It's now Tuesday the 12th. We had planned to leave this morning, but the engine reminded me again that I really should pay some attention to it. It has been hard starting and stumbling until things warm up, and I had eliminated all the other issues besides ignition power. So instead of sailing away, I went looking for Atomic 4 parts, in Sarnia, on foot.

Fortunately I had a good idea where I might get a start, having already determined that the people at Wilson's Plumbing and Hardware had a C&C35 Mark I in the family, complete with Atomic 4. After much assistance in phoning around to various marine sources, Chandler (about 19, Mount Gay hat from Detroit NOOD) offered to take me to PartSource because he had to get spark plugs anyway, but nobody thought we would have any luck with an auto parts store. The guys at the autoparts store were able to pull up an enormous list of Atomic 4 parts numbers and they had everything in stock but a distributor cap. I figured I was best buying the whole system and keeping anything that still seemed to work as spares. I wound up with a full paper copy of the list and we left a photocopy for Chandler's Dad, who is delivering his boat to Chicago for the Chicago Mac Race. So I invited Chandler to drop by for a beer after work, and this is where it gets weird -- we're in his Dad's slip, or boat well as the local terminology goes. So very many thanks to the Chandler and his family for all their help and the fine slip they made available.

Anyhow, I replaced points (definitely needed it), condensor, rotor, coil, plugs, plug wires (also required based on back substitution), and the engine roared into life with enormous enthusiasm. Parts cost about $125, Value of still good spares about $60, Feeling of accomplishment in mastering the problem: Priceless.

Meanwhile, Peggy was mostly trapped on the boat by the big gap to the dock. She has been reading and quilting and generally baking in the heat. She has been drying out some of her papers that apparently picked up some water while we were on Lake Ontario. I thought they had come out of that adventure dry, but it turns out they were still damp, just a lot drier than everything else.

Last night we christened the BBQ with some butterfly pork chops and some very ripe tomatoes we have had with us since Kingston. Tonight I think I will have to test its versatility by BBQing some lamb, or maybe some steaks, oh the tough decisions of the cruising life! We have both on hand through the magic of mechanical refrigeration. Cool, Eh?

Still having a lovely time! More later in the trip,

Rick / Dad