Neil out for a daysail

Neil is in the Okanagan visiting and it was too nice a day not to go out for a sail. Temperature was around 30 C with about 4-5 knots of wind. He looks like he is having a good time.

A nice waterfront development

This was one of the nicest developments located along the shoreline of Okanagan Lake on the north end of the lake near Ellison Provincial Park. It is a series of small houses (some are probably only one bedroon) scattered around the rock cliffs. It is not a resort but individually owned houses, though all built by the same builder and designer. It is a strata development I believe. I was informed starting prices are around $500,000. There is a small marina located with the property.

New equipment added

The Tacktick is a speed and depth instrument I added this year. One of the nice features is that it is wireless and solar powered - the black area across the top. It also gives me other information such as water temp, average speed, depth alarms, and wind info if I got the wind transducer. A good quality binocular is also a very handy item to have especially when going into an unfamiliar bay.

Cruising Okanagan Lake

I am including some pictures of my cruise to Okanagan Lake Provincial Park. The dingy in the photo was purchased last winter and the autopilot when I bought the boat. As a single-handed sailor, the autopilot is my best friend as it is invaluable when sailing or motoring.

While moored in Penticton, this Blue Heron was hanging around for a few days. This picture was taken with my new Sony Digital SLR camera.

Boat Name

My boat is called Kato II. The boat is named after our dog Kato, and Kato was named after Kato Kaelin from the O.J. Simpson trial (that was going on when we got him). As the boat is Japanese, the name seemed to fit. There is also another famous Kato - the sidekick for the Green Hornet.

For those of you that don't know, this dog is half Bassett and half Chow.

Origo Stove

In 2006 I installed a 1500 Origo Alcohol Stove. I chose this stove as I had one on my previous boat and really liked how easy it was to use and how quickly it would cook. I also like the fact that it is not a pressurized alcohol stove with all the dangers they offer such as flaring up, and that it has none of the explosive dangers of propane. I have it gimballed and potholders to hold pots to the grate so that it could be used while sailing or in a rough anchorage.