Days 2-206-217 in Fairhaven, NY R&R and great visit with Brother and Sister-in-Law

This is a planned break at my Brother and Sister-in-Law's home on Little Sodus Bay off Lake Ontario. We will get back to the "Rest and Relaxation" part later, but you might guess that there was some opportunities to rest but not a whole lot. At Hank and Joan's home in Fair Haven we are a 20 minute drive west of Oswego, NY where a branch of the Erie Canal enters Lake Ontario. The photo at right is of Lucky Us at their dock. The evenings were cool (50sF) so we declined the kind invitation to sleep in their home and slept well in the gentle rocking of the bay.

In the previous post you saw the greeting (by boat) as we entered Little Sodus Bay. This is Drift ,n Wood at her dock. She is a classic 1965 Lyman Soft Top Sleeper. Lyman Boat Works in Sandusky, Ohio is long gone, but many of the boats have been preserved and/or restored. She is 25 feet long and has lapstrake (overlapping) planks over steam bent oak ribs and beautiful teak and mahogany bright work. Interestingly, the boot stripe, water line and seat trim are all in (Aggie) Maroon...



During this time frame, the Admiral flew to Texas for a busy 7 day trip. She saw her Grandniece Terry Ann graduate from high school (which included a party with many family members and friends), had several visits, including an overnight, with our Grandkids, visited her parents in Rockport, TX for several days and also saw her nephew's triplets. Also, she got to spend quality time with her sister. Indeed, it was a very busy trip.

For over 25 years, my brother Hank has been the driving force behind the construction of the schooner OMF Ontario as a floating (and mobile/sailing) classroom. Starting with plans and a pile of steel plates she has been entirely built by volunteer labor. She is about 65 feet long on deck, but with the long bow sprit she is 89 feet overall. I was "invited" to go along for the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning work sessions. Just like most of the other volunteers, I learned a lot about the rigging, sail covers and setting sails. GREAT FUN!!!

The second schooner picture shows me all bundled up and reporting for work. The schooner is moored in the port of Oswego, and the wind seemed to always blow strongly off the lake, which is around 50F. To say that it was brisk would be an understatement.

There were lots of other activities including eating out, driving tours and a walking tour of downtown Fair Haven, which took about 5 minutes. The really special day was Father's Day when all of the nieces, nephews and their spouses showed up as well as all but one of the grand nieces and nephews. In spite of the cool water there were plenty of boating activities, and we moved Lucky Us out and anchored her to make room at the dock.

There were boat rides in Drift 'n Wood. The picture at the left shows the Admiral enjoying a ride around the bay.

The Admiral showed her sailing skills on a Sunfish while I went kayaking. The kids really enjoyed the "towables". This one (at right) would completely leave the water and "fly" when it hit a wave. It seems that Hank has a natural talent for finding high wakes, including his own.

In case you loved throwing wet tennis balls out into the bay, there were also four large retrievers just begging for a chance....

...and food. Let's not forget the food. There was plenty of it, and I was not bashful.

After dinner, it was time to take the "water taxi" out to Lucky Us to bring her back to the dock for the night. The taxi driver (my brother Hank) was proud to show off his cab. This overhead view from the flybridge shows more of the beautiful varnish work.

After all of the family was gone, we said a sad farewell to Hank and Joan with this lovely sunset as a back drop...