Final GNS fall series with Chloe and Norm - NOT - No RC

I got up at 7:30 at the PCYC dock, and there was wind.

I had breakfast, flew the Mavric Mini drone, and changed two sets of propellers.

Prop Error

 

Norm and Chloe showed up at 10:10.  We set sail and could not find the RC.  AJAX was managing the Fireball races.

In the end, we determined the Royal RC didn't show up.  Later, I found out Marius couldn't find the Orange marks; all 4 coloured flags and the mark-setter didn't show up.  He was going to take Mink to do a cancellation procedure, but Mink was low on fuel.  A.. The Royal have certainly lost commitment to excellence in racing,

We sailed around for a bit, returned to the PCYC dock, and Chloe docked BELLUM perfectly.  I managed the throttle and shifter.  Norm and Chloe departed, and I hung around.  We went to BYC for the GNS flag ceremony, and I surveyed BYC, which I hadn't done in a while.  Saw Naomie.

After returning to PCYC, I hung around for the Fireball ceremony and then departed for Dowkers South.  It was much warmer than the night before.

Morning morning, I did a zero-carbon departure, sailed closed-haul back to the club, packed up and biked home on an almost dead bike battery. And then attended a meet-the-candidate for housing issues.

Night at Grand Anse and Sailing with Carole

I biked to the club and took off shortly after Redline departed. 

Biked to the club

I anchored at Grand Anse. It was cold for mid-September. I didn't bring my down comforter or electric blanket.

-4 in the morning

Sunrise over Montreal

The next morning, I did a zero-carbon departure to PCYC to pick up Carole.  I arrived at 12:15 and chatted with Richard and Andre.  Andre was recovering from melanoma and was doing fine.  The last time I saw him was when he brought his C&C 30 back to PCYC in 2024.  link

We chatted a lot, especially Richard,  He had an audience. Last time Carole was on BELLUM was August 10th, 2025

Carole came at 2:15, and we chatted with Richard for another hour before departing for an easy sail around the lake without any direction, returning at 7:30, just as it was getting dark.

We BBQ'd on the PCYC lawn and then joined John McGuiness's 60th birthday party at the club.

Carole went home about 12:30, and I slept at the dock.

GNS fall series

 Norm, Maud, and I raced the Sunday fall GNS. Nice winds with the 155.  We sailed from the club channel to the race area and checked in.

Norm helmed the first race, and Maud helmed the second race

On the way back, we got rained on, but it ended when we got back to the harbour.  Maud docked the boat.

From Nathalie

Reline with Olga and Eric

I invited Olga and Eric to come sailing.  

Olga wanted to invite her boyfriend, Dima, and I told her okay. 

Eric was supposed to invite Cole and/or Shane.  They were not available, but the kids were "empathetic," so I made it six on board.  Or 4 and 2 halves.

I asked Norm about borrowing life jackets, and he invited them aboard Redline.  I didn't tell the crew until they arrived.  They were quite surprised, and we had a great outing. 

We motored to Pointe Claire and put up the sails, but there was no wind, so we drifted.  The kids stayed occupied with the forward and aft water hoses.  As we returned, the wind picked up, and we had a good sail back to the club.

Nauti Crew with JP

I met JP about 10, debriefed, and we took her south of the Royal, entered the Lachine Channel, sailed back to the club channel, then to the gut, and back to the club.

Captain JP

Our Track on Sail Tie

On the way out, we saw Redline returning from Grand Anse.  Norm took a couple of photos of us on the way out.

Raft up with Redline

Chris drove me to the Boathouse to buy lines for BELLUM Traveller, then to the club.

I set sail at 4, struggled upwind to the Gut, then tacked slowly to follow Redline to Grand Anse, arriving at 7.  

I got up about 7:30 and got Norm to detach at 8:20, motored back to tlub for 9:30, much of it WOT to clear the engine. I had an appointment with JP at 10 to take Nauti Crew out.  

Saw Redline come in at 10:30 from Naut Crew.

GNS Fall Series - Labour Day with John and Mark

I got up at about 8:30, had a quick breakfast, weighed anchor, and motored to PCYC.

John and Mark joined at 10, and we departed to race.  Winds were mostly steady.  I helmed the first race, and Mark helmed the second race.  

We did okay, coming in 7th out of 13.  Nice to have the 155 head sail.

In the second race, the winds were quirky: the second windward was a close reach directly to the windward mark, and a beat to the finish line, where Le Fou de Bassan got blown upwind, causing us to miss the pin. We turned around and tried again, but we blocked Frank's wind, causing him to drift upwind, and I started the motor to get out of there, declaring ourselves disqualified.  They still scored us 9 out of 13.

Southwind barged both races.

After the race, we all had de-chlorinated beer, did two nice rounds of the lake, and decided to return to the Royal, where I drove the boy back to PCYC to pick up their cars.