FINAL POST

The OtherGoose has ben sold to a lovely couple from London, ON;  Brenda and Tom Smith. They are planning to keep her in Sarnia for awhile, then after retirement take her on new adventures.

There were tears, and there is a big part of us that misses the anticipation of travelling and living on her, but we recognize that part of our lives is over and we are moving forward.

If you are interested in the further adventures of OtherGoose, stay tuned as Brenda will take over the blog.

Thanks for following all these years!

Susan & Rick Schultz

CHAPTER # 3 Every 25 years we change course.

 BIG SIGH OF RELIEF, and many tears.

We are back in Canada, docked in Collins Bay Marina, Kingston, where we will get hauled on Monday. The boat has been listed on Craigslist, TheCatamaranSite.com, F/BProut Catamaran & F/BMarketplace. We will actively work to sell her over the winter.

Now we need to formalize plans for the winter [where do we live, etc.] I know we have many options but we're too overwhelmed at this point to make any firm decisions. We're just coming to terms with putting our HOME [not just our boat] up for sale.

Anyway, sorry if you were vicariously ready to go south. We did the whole what if's; pro's and con's and this was our best decision.

You're just gonna hafta buy a boat and do it yourself!
[This one's for sale and ready to go!]😁

ABOUT FACE

 

We are going back home.

We got through 4 locks on the Oswego system and realized that this is much too difficult for us to manage anymore. In a wild wind, neither of us can hold the boat. Rick has pain in both shoulders and his legs. I have still not gained back my strength and balance and am a liability when he needs me. We are both worried about each other's health. And we both need to be safe.

This was not an easy decision - we both love the boat and all that it has been for us through the years - even working on it was a great satisfaction and pleasure, but sometimes you just have to be realistic.

We're not retiring to rocking chairs just yet. When She's sold, we will go out west, but right now we need to stop beating ourselves up.

We will miss the opportunity to visit all of our friends all the way down to the Bahamas, but we do have a car.

When you make a tough decision and you feel relief, no matter how sad you feel, you know you've made the right decision. And that's how we both feel sitting on the wall of Lock 6, turned to go back north.

All reaction

WE"RE GOOD TO GO!!!

 Good afternoon. After much gnashing of teeth, several phone calls to different offices, and many tears, the Syracuse CBP officer and his lovely Fish-and-Wildlife partner showed up in the worst part of the rainstorm. He wouldn't get out of the car and told me I was doing it wrong... and he was right!

We told him it wouldn't work on my phone or the monitor station inside,so we all went inside to try it again.

He was quite gruff at first, and we tried several times before he saw my mistake. We tried on the tablet and my phone and he typed some; I typed some while he watched me. Rick talked to the woman and answered her questions about the boat. Affter several re-tries, he realized that we didn't have a decal. No decal, no permit. That was supposed to be purchased well in advance of coming over, and that's why we got kicked off the system. He called someone who said, "Just put in zeros". It worked, he told me to go on line and buy one. We'll have decal in Canada cuz I just bought it on line and they mail it. Liz can photo and text it to us, buI I have the receipt. At one point, he also updated the app on my phone, so we had to start the process all over again!

By the end of the hour, we were laughing and hugging. They were both very nice and helpful, [the marina manager said she was surprised at how friendly he was this time] so thanks Officer Cobb!! We're cleared to go south.

We are staying at this dock another night. We could go trough the first lock and sit at the free town dock, but these guys have been so helpful, we have no problem sitting here. We are going to get a taxi and go to Walmart for a few fresh things and just to de-stress. Its a lovely afternoon. The rain has stopped, the sun is out.

Have a good day, everyone and relax! Hoping to find something akin to TWO BUCK CHUCK in a merlot!

WAITING FOR PERMIT

 So we spent from 8 am this morning until 300 pm this adternoon trying to get the CBP Roam app to work and get us a cruising permit. we tried my phone - no good, an android. Rick's tablet -can't because you need two email addresses and we can't share one [we only have one each and othergoose]. Since I alreadylogged in on the computer, I am registered but my computer can't do anything but especially access CBP roam. We tried 4 times at the marina office but their tablet access cuts off in the middle of the appplication. We call 3 different numbers only to find that the only thing we can do is wait on the boat until Monday morning and call the office in Syracuse, who will send someone to personally interview us!! The marina lady was great - did every thing she could to help!

So we're here overnight! And since CBP Roam makes you sign an agrement that you're not selling the boat, I guess we have to bring it back to Canada. :(

Anyway...good incentive to clean the boat up. She needs a good vaccuum nd scrub inside and out! ttyl

 Missed a couple of days .. sketchy internet, but

I have internet this morning so here goes;

We are at the end of Long Point, waiting to cross.
We had to move the baot at 1:00 am this morning becaue we were in too shallow and the winds were pushing us on shore. We started up and moved around to the back side of the island. We thought we were hitting something.. turns out we forgot to pull up the swim ladder. By morning [6 am] we were sure we made a good choice... the winds were up and waves higher. It would have pushed right up the creek , so to speak. We started out at 7 am and as we rounded the point some old windsurfer guy - gray hair was ripping across from island to island.

We managed to get about 2 miles offshore but the waves were topping at 8 feet out of the southeast with winds strong enough to make our windgen sound like a banshee. [Wind reader is on the wast - not connected cuz its lying down] The weather guy [ out of Rochester - the ONLY weather we could get] said mid-lake was SSE14 miles/hr. That would be on our nose. Not good for crosssing. So we wait - I'm ok with rain [or snow] just not bad wind/waves. They elephants were having a great dance by the time we got back to shelter!
It's fairly calm in this area, I can see the wind blasting the tops of the trees, so when I can get good intel, we'll consider starting out again. We are discussing options, and doing little chores while we wait. Not sure how long I can keep this internet going, so ttly sometime.

OUT OF THE TRENT !!

 Today is Thursday Sept 19. I only say that because I need to keep the dates in my head. Its 5 pm and we are anchored in front of a cemetary, presumable Brighton or Belleville. We're not quite at the bridge. Wemade it through the last locks, got to Trenton, got fuel and did some other chores and left again. It wasn't worth $89.00 to us for a hot shower. The lake is 19 degrees and lovely. We just finished a cooling swim. THe air is still 27 and the sun is brutal.

Tomorrow we will be at the jup off point to cross Lake Ontario. At the gas dock we met a little sailboat that had just come down from Thunder Bay, thru the Welland, and reminded us of things we had forgotten about... the canal is restricted to certain times and days for pleasure craft. We might have been stuck there.

Last night at Lock 5 while having dinner we were surpirsed by a van pulling up the restricted road and parking beside us. Hmmm not liking this... they got out and the lady said "you must be sue & rick" It was friend of a firent , Sue Allison, and for the life of me I cannot rememebr thier names, but they had been looking for us to say hello. They came aboard and we talked for about 2 hours; really nice people, so thanks Sue Allison for sending them our way. It was delightful evening!

Thsi morning , the dock master got there EARLY and let us in! Then he took off to get his partner. It was a slow start. Next lock, we had to wait while they brought up a big boat. The last lock, we had to wait because someone parked their boat RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM in front of the gate, and we wouldn't be able to get by it. Rather than let us scratch it [lesson] they moved it around the corner. Heeheehee, so when the people eventually came back, they wouldn't know where to find it. [Lesson]
We are very tired right now. I'm tired of manoeuvering into the locks and Rick is tired of catching the walls, so 2 days of just motoring will be great! Rather be sailing but...
t slovely and quiet here...no trains or cars along the shore. Pretty sure no-one will be partying n the cemetary tonight. ttyl

September 16- Lock 5 TRENT

 

SO this is Wednesday ,September 18. We got up this morning at Campbellford, and headed to the grocery store, where we got everything we needed for a week or so. Fresh veggies for salad and fruit.

I was walking across the park from the washrooms and a bunch of bikers called me [ bicycle bikers.] They asked me to take their picture in front of the huge Toonie in the park.[The designer is from Campbellford], so we got to talking and they asked if I was local; I said no I was on that sailboat. Oh, wow, can we take a picture of your guys and our bikes in front of it? So we did. They were from all over the place and they have this biking group that meets and cycles everywhere. One of them said, “I saw your boat yesterday. It was anchored in front of my place on Rice Lake!” Someone else asked about sailing Lake Superior; someone else was surprised when Rick gave them a boat card that said our address was Hepworth.

After we chatted for awhile, they left on their trek and we packed away the groceries. We were at the lock which was about a1/2 mile down the river by 9:50 am. The lock finally opened at 10:20. This is why we can’t make any time!!!

We got to Lock6 at 3:25 tonight. They were hoping we wouldn’t make it but we did, so they let us through and told us where the bathroom key was hanging at the top of LOCK 5. So tomorrow morning, sometime around 10-10:30 we’ll start going through the last 5 locks, and arrive in Trenton tomorrow. All we need is a bank and then we can go out to the edge of Lake Ontario and prepare to cross. After that, comes a whole other set of issues starting with a cruising permit for the States.

Right now I’m listening to what sounds like yappy little dogs, but its geese. My god, they are annoying sometimes. I just want quiet!!! Listening to the engine all day, turn on and off … every time you enter a lock, you have to shut off the engine. At least the States doesn’t make you shut it down!!! Not good for a diesel!

Going to cook supper myself tonight. Last night was a bad idea…not happening again for a long time!  It’s still very hot down here but the sky is turning. We just need two more days! Please!!!

Hope everyone is well, and happy and safe. Take care. TTYL

PETERBOROUGH

 TOday is...? the 16th? Monday? It was along day with lots of locks, which are very tiring, especially dodging power boats!

We are at the top of the PeterboroughLift Lock. Not great spot for someone who is afraid of heights [me!] Last night was horrid! The road underneath the lock is not a residential road so unpatrolled. Until midnight there were racing cars [real racing cars!!] running up and down the road and backfiring under the bridge. Thank god these people weren't in boats!!!
People climb up here for the view, so there were a lot of pedestrians, but a threesome came up around 8 pm and they were all stoned - around mid 20's I'd guess. Tried to ignore them and the language but at one point I looked out and the one staggering around the most and swearing was carrying a baby!!! It was about 2 months old in a chest pack. I don't know what they were doing but when they realized that there were people on the boat [that's how stoned they were - "OMG there's people on it. I thought it just floated up here"] they staggered back down the hill. That baby never made a sound - I can't even tell you if it was alive. I should have called 911 but I didn't and I'll always regret that.

I'm hoping today will be better. We are heading straight through, not stopping in Peterborough and moving as fast as we can. If all goes well, we can be in Trenton tomorrow night. We'll probably spend a day getting ready to go down to Long Point to cross Lake Ontario. Time to go!

DAY FOUR in the System

 Tonight we are anchored in a little Bay in Buckhorn Lake. We crossed three lakes today; and went through 4 locks from Kirkfield Lock, Rosedale, Fenelon FAlls and Bobcageon. Not my favourite part of the Trent. Bcuz its Saturday there are hundreds of crazies still driving in the darklike they're on a highway. Sadly tomorrow will be the same but we will endure. This is a beautiful rver system but boring as hell when you're travelling through for the 6th time. You have to stay alert for people who cross your path wihtout looking, deliberately come too close to get a look at the boat and then rock us as they take off. Today I almost ran over a little runabout becasue they stopped going into the lock ahead of me. Uh...no brakes, people!!

Anyway, we're on the downside - crossed over the height of land at Kirkfield.

Met a lovely lady who was just travelling on her boat, catching the lines for her partner. She was very fragile, but determined. A head nurse at Toronto General, just diagnosed with alzheimers and feeling very say and frustrated, knowing she ws losing it - couldn't rmemebr where they were headed or the name of her town. She proud;y announced she would be 70 on Feb.1 Made me grateful for our current condition.

I would love to post pics but the interent isnt cooperating and drops my posts when I attempt it, so you'll have to imagine all the lovely little spots we are seeing again.

tomorrow Buckhorn, Lovesick , Burleigh [a big one]. Maybe as far as Lakefield. Peterborough on Monday.

New Posts

 HI, if you are reading these posts, can you just let me know because I'm not sure they are showing up unless you go through the list of blog posts to find them. It seems my 2016 post is stuck on the headline.

Thanks and have a good night.

FIRST DAY IN THE CANAL

 We left Dutchman's Cove an hour later than we had planned but we had morning coffee with friends that we won't see for a while, so well worth the delay. Copper Penny and R.Calista.

It was an easy trip arouund past Midland to Port Severn and the lock opened almost as soon as we got there. There was quite an audience waiting for us to pass though.
Big Chute railway was next after Little Lake and Glouchester Pool with the ususal assortment of muscle boaters who don't pay attention to what their wake does as they pass other boats, and not just sail boats...little guys fishing in small boats get tipped as well.

So we're sitting at the bottom of Swift Rapids Lock 43. Its a big one. But that's a problem for morning. They are supposed to run 10 am - 4 pm, but if your not at the lock by 3:30 your s$*t out of luck. We got here at 3:45 and one of them came screamng past us in a tinny, at 2x the speed limit...the uniform was a dead giveaway.

Quiet night, a couple of chores, dinner and a movie LOL

Duthman's Cove now Foundry Marina

 We got up thismorning to a lovely calm sunny day and called Foundry Marina to see about taking down the mast...most accomodating. It took 3 hurs to get here and ut was amazing that not pushing the boat past 2500rpm we were doing 5+ knots. To non-sailors that is like...what??? who cares?  To us it is a VERY big deal. We dumped enough weight off the boat to GAIN a knot in speed at that rpm.

The mast was down by 3 pm and we could have left and headed over to theCanal but we would be stuck on the wall witing for it to open. Instead we opted to stay thenight here [no cost to us] and BONUS   Copper Penny met us at the dock!!! George and Cindy [Bahamas friends] heard that a yellow cat was coming in so they looked out on thewater and saw GOOSE [ George never bothered with the "Other" part - he always just called "Goose, Goose" on the radio.

He has taken Rick to town to get a shackle that we lost and we are having dinner there tonight.  Also Paula and Paul [also Bahamas friends] just f/b'ed me to let me know they are heading back this way [ I can't rememebr the name of their new boat] 

Going to be a great evening!!

 An ocean-sailing friend many years ago in Genada taught me how to look at the water and decide what the sea-state was, and if it was safe, or not. And the worst condition when you DON'T go, he called "elephants dancing".

Yesterday we left GSMarina at 9:30. About an hour into the trip [at 5 -7mph] a wind warning for Lake Huron and Georgian Bay came over the radio. Coincidentally, the OPP were heading out at the same time and commented how calm it was over here as opposed to Huron. By the time we got to Cape Commodore 20 or so miles up the Bay, they weren't dancing. It was a stampede and I'm sure there were hippos in the mix.

With 30 knots [mph for you land lubbers] on the nose, we had to drop the sails and still couldn't push through, so we turned back as far as Presquile [you can see Owen Sound from here] and sat for the night in a barely protected but shallow beach. I'm seasick today!

In the course of assesing the situation, we have decided that the smartest, safest course for us is to go back over to the dreaded Trent Severn Canal system, suck it up, pay to have the mast taken down and the cost of a one-way transit [about $600.00 all tolled]

Its 300 miles shorter and we will give ourselves an extra 6-8 days of down time if necessary. The weather is too unpredictable. We are still 5 days ahead of when we left last year. And right now we are closer to Midland that we are to Tobermory.

Right now we are still at anchor, waiting for another storm system to pass. The winds will be behind us and we will follow the rain over to the canal. Even another day lost going this way is not a problem, so we have confidence that it will be ok.

I HATE the Trent Severn System; I've made that quite clear but it's the devil you know. Sometimes you have to do what you need to do, so it is what it is. Not sure when I will post again. Everyone is asking me to blog again [if I can still open it} so if you can't find me here try the othergoose.blogspot.com.

Stay warm and dry !!

P.S. We are anchored at Beckwih Island just east of Christian Island. Lovely little Bay. Sails are off the boat andwe are hunkering down for the night. Bright blue sky right now and very little wind... good decision to come this way. Tomorrow Midand and dwn with the mast! Have a good night!

 So ... update. Apparently I will live. Today is my last day of antibiotics and my PICC line gets removed tomorrow. Still have issues with my hands. Feels like I'm wearing gloves -can't really feel anything with detail, and anything more than lukewarm water burns. The surface skin on my quads is still numb and my feet also have numb spots.My skin still is still mottled and I look like an [old wrinkled] alien - Zindi comes to mind [Star Trek Enterprise ref]. And I am still losing my hair. [My sister is not sympathetic].

So no idea what happens next. Haven't found a local gp to replace my Owen Sound doctor. I went to went Owen Sound for a "follow-up" but my doctor didn't bother to show up. The doctor who did show up tried to tell me that there was no information about my hospital stays in Trenton or London but when I told her that the OS clinic had confirmed they had received all the info, including blood work results, she backtracked. The best she could tell me was "nerve damage [ ref. hands and fingers] takes about a year to heal and that's as good as it gets", and " very sorry this happened to you but there's not much we can do." She was out of the room before I could stand up.

SO..one more time... do your own research - get a second opinion - whatever it takes to be sure you know what you're being prescribed and why!!

PS the only good thing is my nails are hard as daggers. But it hurts if I stick myself accidentally because my skin is so sensitive! lol

Its lovely here in London - still warm, no snow. Good thing bcuz we couldn't find our winter clothes in the storage unit! Next week we will go to Kingston to finish winterizing the Goose. *sigh*

take care all!

 So it kills me to say this  but we cannot go south this winter. I was prescribed a drug by my doctor that I am severely allergic to ... Terbinafine. It has reduced me to complete skin breakdown. My hands and feet are so swollen I cannot walk .  I was hospitalized in Trenton; sent to Toronto for assessment; moved to London for hospitalization. again.

Doctors have no idea how to leach the 'poison' out of my system. This is a horribly painful condition and so many variables to what is happening to my body, and no guarantee t will get better or not have permanent liver damage.

The boat is put up in Collins Bay for the winter.Luckily we had friends in Ottawa come down to help Rick move the boat from Trenton - 11 hours to Collins Bay.  He has to go down on the 8th of October to strip the boat and get it winterized. Unfortunately, I can't help him.

 So not sure what day this is literally, but we are in Trenton. Today is a blustery and we were waiting for tomorrow to move out to False Duck Island to do the crossing but I have developed this excrutiating rash and blisters all over my body. After spending a day at the hospital 3 doctors are of the opinion that they have no clue what it is so they are sending me to Toronto to a dermatologist. How?? "Well don't you have a car?" What part of travelling on a boat don't you understand? MY mouth is dry; water feels like oil; I have no appetite; its too hard to fold clothes bcuz I have no strength. I took a Benadryl yesterday morning and its still coursing through my system. Haven't felt that that stoned in decades!! And I don't like it

So far the weather has been excellent and will stay good to cross the lake as soon as I can be let out so enough whining. I will load some photos when I find the right back up

Getting ready again!

 August 28 2023. Who knew it would take this long? In 3 days we move onto the boat and 10 days after that we leave for the sunny south. Sadly we will be leaving family and new friends here. Thats the problem with standing still to long. 

You saw the pics of the new galley [again] . I will post pics of the new rigging when the mast goes up in Castleton, NY. Until then we're a really awkward power boat. 

I was actually amazed that the blog is still active [cuz I wasn't!]. So stay tuned ! Stuff always happens to us!

2019 beginning to end

December 23, 2019

For the last few of you who actually read my posts...of which there Have been pathetically few this year, here is an update.

January, we had a fairly cold month and not much going on. I was doing some general research for a company out of Tobermory...mostly at home - reading and scanning documents. In the spring we decided that we were not going back up to Tobermory...Rick's boss had decided to hire his daughter instead, so there was no point in me going back if he wasn't working.
We found what we thought would be ideal jobs...a boat tour company closer to home on the Sauble River...was not to be...the hours  were few and far between and it was not a very lucrative venture for the  owners. Rick enjoyed driving the tour boat, and I was in the ticket booth but it just didn't give us enough.  In the fall we found other jobs. I am currently working in a nursing home as a resident services worker...LOVE IT!  And Rick is installing for Shaw...he hates it...piece work covering hundreds of miles a day and no pay for  driving. He will be looking for something else.

Last February,  Rick had bladder surgery to remove some small tumours. We didn't say anything because we didn't want to alarm those who were far away.  He will be having the same surgery in January ...two more small ones, but the doctor assured him that these ones are not cancerous, but it means he will be off work for about 5 weeks.

I am having cataract surgery on January 16..yay! which means I will be able to see better and hopefully be able to enjoy picking up my paint brushes again. I can still see to sew and write but its just too frustrating to focus on colour and detail.  Luckily for my job, eagle-eye vision is not a requirement.

So the most excitement ...fun...we had this year was going to the Robbie Burns dinner last February; Rick trying to learn the bagpipes and going to the Fergus Festival for the 2nd time and meeting new Erwins/Irwins. My sister and her husband moved back to Ontario  and we became great- again. Rick's nephew in BC had beautiful twins and my nephew in Ontario had a gorgeous little girl.

Also the completion of the new galley in the boat!! It is truly an awesome piece of carpentry and he  did a fantastic job! This winter project is building the fridge and installing it this summer.

spare room in the apartment

Some other excitement [not the good kind] was watching Quentin struggle with his first year of college and deciding to postpone it for  awhile. He's now working at Tim Horton's in Owen Sound and just bought his first car.  He loves working the cash, and is okay with the rest of it. He struggles with the up selling.."Would you like a donut with that?"... because he doesn't drink coffee or eat donuts! LOL

So here are some pics from the year... and have a Merry Christmas and a safe and peaceful New Year!!

Great drawers for all the dishes and drop downs at the bottom for tray lids etc

New sink from Ikea [restore actually] and new counter tops

New flooring- vinyl that looks wood grain - everybody has this stuff now!

I'm in  my Erwin tartan and he's in his Wilson tartan  [paternal grandmother]

Quentin's new [old]car  2005 Honda Civic

our apartment living room...uh oh..I'm really liking this

January 2019

Happy New Year..mine starts today!

Good morning! I haven't been posting lately for several reasons...

1] my keyboard is making me crazy..I'm not the best typist but some of my keys are getting ornery and I spend as much time inserting missing letters as typing the words;

2] most of the time my computer is on, I am working on the research project or my boss. It's an interesting 'search and find' combing through documents and putting an order to them...right up my alley!!!

And 3] you all are having so much fun and adventures and what we're doing is pretty boring.

However, today is the first day of my new year, and as soon as I can get over this little bout of pneumonia, we are heading back to "boat and body works", preparing ourselves so the doctor will let us "out" when it's time.

Rick went to the Toronto boat show this week and got some really positive advice on the frig construction; we have torn out the galley again and found a lovely bright Arborite to replace the cool, sexy but useless black counter. Man repairs like rudders dodgers and bimini will have to wait until warmer weather or at least until I start poking him with a bigger stick.

I notice that some of you have missed the snow and cold as much as we did and are enjoying a real winter [Brent and Mary] and I see you posts and think I could do that...20 years ago!

They say age is only a number, and I believe it, but every time I see my doctor he tells me I am in really good shape...for my age. Whaaaaat?!?!?

We are going to Robbie Burns night with Rick's new friends- the McLaren Pipe Band next weekend. Love those pipes and drums!!!

Today we are all going to a Park restaurant for our birthday lunch with Liz Geoff and the kids.

Happy Winter!