These are the adventures of the MosieGrimm family. We started sailing dinghy boats (Laser and Albacore) in 2011. We purchased our first, almost real, sailboat in 2016, a 2002 Macgregor 26X, Criss-Cross.

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In June 2018 we sold our Macgregor and moved to a larger CS34 Sailboat, Foghorn Lullaby.

Sailboat Anchored Presquile

If you are looking for expert advice on how to sail or maintain a boat, please move on, these are not the stories you are looking for. This site will show you our typical approach to learning anything new. We like to first explore all of the wrong ways it can be done and then we usually try doing it wrong at least one more time just to make sure we fully understand it. Eventually, we get it figured out and move on to the next new thing to mess up.

Please comment on this blog as much as you can! We are still learning and always interested in hearing your opinions on how things should be done.

Twenty Years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

How to sail a sailboat…


Figure out where you want to go.

Whichever way it is, do NOT aim the sailboat in that direction. Aim the sailboat some other direction.

Trust me, this is the way sailboaters do it. They are heavy drinkers.

Dave Barry

Sailing – The fine art of slowly going nowhere at great expense while being cold, wet and miserable.

Irv Heller

Foghorn Lullaby Sailing Log

Back to the Thousand Islands
  • Guests to Kingston
  • Grandson in Gananoque
  • Time on our own in Kingston
Launch
Launch

Late launch with limited options to get to Foggy amid another Covid lockdown. We spend a couple days sailing back to Cobourg.

Haul Out
Haul Out

We take Foggy to Loyalist Cove in Bath, ON for haul out. Friends warned us that the entrance to Wiggers Custom Yachts hasn’t been dredged and they are having to drag boats into the lift sideways to get them in.

Right before haul out, we finally had our solar installed on the boat. Finding an arch solution was difficult. We finally went with a local welder with experience with stainless to create a custom solution for us.

Story: Finishing up our Solar Install

We have our last sail of the season and take three days to go from Cobourg to Loyalist Cove.

Story: Last Sail of the Season

The logistics for moving our cradle, renting a van, and transporting ourselves to the three different marinas was difficult to plan out.

Story: Sailboat Haul Out Plan for 2020

Late Launch

With limited access to marina we debated not even launching this year. Fortunately things opened up.  There were a lot of restrictions, but we felt self isolating on the boat was safe.

Covid-19

Government of Ontario declares emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA). Effectively shutting down all access to marinas.

Haul Out

It’s the end of the season again. Wiggers Custom Yachts takes great care of us again.

Belleville with Grumpy Gramps

We return to Trenton, this time with family and two boats, continue on to Belleville and then back to Cobourg.

Wedding Anniversary Sail

We spend a few days travelling East to Trenton and then back to Cobourg.

Launch Foghorn Lullaby
Launch Foghorn Lullaby

Name changed from Dionysus to Foghorn Lullaby and first time going  through all the recommission steps on our own. Launched from Wiggers Custom Yachts.

Haul Out

Our first time hauling out our CS34 we were nervous and unsure what to do. Taking the mast down seemed like such an impossible feat. Wiggers Custom Yachts took great care of us and made this way easier than I ever expected.

Toronto Island
Toronto Island

We traveled west on Lake Ontario from Cobourg to Toronto. Several interesting stops along the way and we were very nervous about navigating the busy Toronto harbour!

Thousand Islands

Our second visit by boat to the Thousand Islands, and our first long trip on our new CS34.

Launch CS34
Launch CS34

Dionysus is launched from Bluffers Park Marina and we take her to her new home in Cobourg, ON.

Purchase 1990 CS34
Purchase 1990 CS34

After months of searching and almost giving up on finding a decent sailboat we found Dionysus.

Sold Macgregor
Sold Macgregor

The Macgregor 26x has gone to a loving new family.

Haul Out Macgregor

We use the boat ramp in Cobourg to haul our boat out for the winter.

Cobourg to Picton in Eight Days

We spend eight days sailing to Picton and back to Cobourg again. Visiting various spots along the way.

Summer Sailing Lessons

We spend the summer living on the boat while the kids take sailing lessons at the Cobourg Yacht Club.

Launch Macgregor

WE move our boat to Lake Ontario and launch at her new home in Cobourg, ON.

Haul Out Macgregor

This marks the end of our first season with our Macgregor. We pull our boat out onto her trailer and store her for the winter.

Seven Days in the Thousand Islands
Seven Days in the Thousand Islands

We trailer our boat to Gananoque and spend seven days in the Thousand Islands.

Burleigh Falls
Burleigh Falls

We pack up the boat with our kids, and the dog, for a family trip up the Trent-Severn waterway to Burleigh Falls.

Launch Macgregor
Launch Macgregor

We trailer our boat to Lakefield Marina on the Otonabee River (Trent-Severn Waterway) near Lock 26.

Purchase 2020 Nissan Xterra
Purchase 2020 Nissan Xterra

We now have a way to tow our Macgregor.

Purchase 2002 Macgregor 26x
Purchase 2002 Macgregor 26x

We buy our first sailboat without a plan on where we were going to store it or how we were going to transport it.

Maritime Radio Course ROC(M)

Obtained Restricted Radiotelephone Operator’s Certificate, Maritime with DSC endorsement.

Sail Canada Coastal Navigation

Successful completion of Sail Canada’s Coastal Navigation.

Now broken up into Basic Coastal Navigation and Intermediate Coastal Navigation Standards.

Sail Canada Basic Cruising

Successful completion of Sail Canada’s Basic Cruising Standard.

Course Description

This is one of the entry level courses in the series of Sail Canada courses on sailing keelboats and on cruising. It
develops the student’s ability to take command of and operate (with assistance of competent crew) an auxiliary
powered sailing vessel, by day, in light to moderate conditions. Basic boating skills are developed under sail and
power with a focus on operation of the vessel as both crew and skipper. Individuals with minimal practical on water
experience should consider completing the Start Keelboat Sailing standard before attending for this training.
This course introduces the operation of a cruising keelboat both as a powered vessel and as a sailboat. Terminology
used in describing the boat and on water activities is taught and used throughout the course. Practical topics under
power include simple maneuvering skills as well as departure from and return to dock. Basic sailing skills are
developed including sail selection, the use and positioning of sails to provide propulsion, and the operation of the
vessel with crew. Required and recommended safety equipment is discussed as is the handling of emergencies that
might be encountered while day sailing. The basic rules for avoiding collision with other vessels are explained and
this information is applied during the practical sessions. The meaning of weather forecasts is clarified and the impact
of weather on vessel operation, crew behavior, and on water activities is discussed. The curriculum includes an
elementary introduction to the Canadian navigation system and to the basic use of charts and tide and current tables.
The program may be offered in a day sailing or live aboard format. It is envisioned that the day sailing format will
be taught in not less than 27 hours of which at least 18 hours should be devoted to practical sessions on water. In a
live aboard format the course may be offered over a period of 4 or more days. A challenge of the standard may be
accomplished in a minimum of 4 hours afloat plus completion of the written examination.

Objective

To be able to cruise safely in familiar waters as both skipper and crew of a sloop rigged keelboat of 6 to 10 meters
with an outboard or inboard motor in moderate wind and sea conditions by day.

Dingy Sailing

We stumbled across the Peterborough Yacht Club on Clear Lake. We joined, fell in love with sailing, and spent our summers learning to sail dinghies.

The club provided Albacores, Lasers and Optis for use by club members. It was a small and gusty lake, we spent as much time in the water as we did in the boats. Some fantastic members dedicated to dinghy sailing, including an older talented couple that were pro Albacore sailors, Yanna and Jiri Spirk. Their son, Richard Spirk, also was amazing to watch on a Laser in all kinds of weather.

See full history on one page