The May long weekend is the traditional cottage opening weekend for us. “Opening” a cottage for those not familiar with the process is primarily about starting up the water system and other lesser tasks to get the place up and running after being shutdown for the winter. If friends invite you to the lake for either May long weekend or Thanksgiving, it’s best to decline unless you’re into working a lot.
Starting up the water system was relatively easy. There were no “surprise” breaks in any of the lines and the pump prime kicked in on the third time lucky. It would have started on the first try, but I couldn’t get the screen off the foot valve to let all the air out of the line. After opening the valve to the cottage a fast look around confirmed that there were no floods taking place. However, a little dripping sound in the shop area where the washing machine is located indicated a small problem. One of the connection hoses wouldn’t seat correctly and will need to be replaced. Well, I guess after 25 years some things will need to be replaced from time to time.
The new lake “toy” for this year is a second kayak. We enjoyed the first one last year and decided that two would be even more fun. While I like solo paddling, company can be great too! So, after getting the basics tended to around the cottage Shirley and I headed out for our first paddle with both the boats. Things went well for the first few minutes until Shirley’s new boat has a minor breakdown at sea. One of the rudder cables where it’s attached to the rudder decides to let go. It’s a stainless steel cable crimp that must have been defective. We manage to carry on with out the rudder, the way all good pro paddlers paddle anyway.
After a short loop around the bay, the clouds are rolling in and it’s not too warm in the first place, so it’s back to the dock. All in all a great first outing.
Oh yeah, I took the pictures with my Olympus SW790 waterproof camera. I’m looking forward to may more great shots from water level. While it may be waterproof, dropping it in 70′ of water could be a problem. I think I’ll hook up a tether to my PFD for subsequent trips. (More kayak photos).
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