How we got here...

Around 15 years ago, Jim felt he needed a new hobby. He had full time work at his cabinet shop, but needed something other than wood work to fulfill his need to create, be busy and still use his talents while developing new ones. Having him mooning around the house was enough for his then girl friend to suggest he take up something completely different, say...sailing.
It was love at first bight! He decided to look into sailing more seriously and came to the revelation that there are people out there who are living aboard and travelling the world. Since then , he has made it his life's goal to do just that. Good thing he liked to work! Hard! and a lot! You could say he traded cabinetry for more cabinetry. More curves. Working hanging upside dpown. Using inch-and-a-half bolts instead of civilized 3/16 ones.

But first, he felt he needed better company. Blah, blah blah...we met and got married! (No, really!)



And I let him build things...
In my living room! Above is actually the bulkheads for a boat we were going to build, but when Chelonidae didn't sell, we had to put "Stella G" on hold. Below is our 80lb plywood dingy, Chelley.

I, Michelle, have always wanted to travel. Isn't this a good fit? And don't I look good on a boat? Looking forward to completing my active parenting years (hardy har har!), I began to plan ahead...what would I be doing after work? As Jim began to describe what life might be like living aboard, I got a feel for it, it sounded appealing, adventurous, heck, even affordable! (I only worried about the wet, bumpy part very, very recently) Sailing sparkling turquiose seas, exploring tiny villiages that have only seen a visiting boat once every three years...drinkies on the deck, snorkling over coral reefs, perhaps touring the canals of France one wine region at a time...all we need now is a sunset to sail off in...






Ah!

In The Very Beggining...

In the very beginning, Chelonidae wasn't even a boat. When she came to us she was as derelict as a boat could be...I couldn't even see a boat. But James could! Boy oh boy could he see a boat...the kind of boat that could make (yet another) ocean crossing! When we looked at the ship's records, we found she had already made 5 (five!) crossings!

Well...! I have no "derelict" photos for you, but her she is after 3 seasons of Jim's full time work: first he gutted her insides and stripped her back to a bare hull. Everything had to go. Then he replaced sawn and bent frames, built a new rudder and fired up the Perkins 4.108 diesel that hadn't run in at least five years. In year two he re-planked, sanded off many years worth of copper bottom paint and replaced some bronze ports. Year three saw new bulkheads, settees, galley and some repaired "brightwork", or varnished wood on deck.

Then she was launched! Her wooden hull took up the proper amount of moisture and she floated! Thank God! Jim took her through the Rideau Canal to Kingston, our home port, and lived aboard for the summer. She kept on floating, through good and bad weather, through engine repair, bow repair (by golly, that was exciting!) and even a few leak-chases!

Over the next summer, Jim lived aboard and I still came out for weekend visits. We sailed across the east end of Lake Ontario a few tmes to Cape Vincent in New York state. To Prinnears Cove in Prince Edward County and a few other small islands with good anchorage. She's a delight to sail, very handy on the water.

And, of course, the star of the show, our baby Chelonidae, sporting her very best colours dockside in lovely Burrit's Rapids, Ont.

Crew Members

Here I am, Michelle "what-the -heck -have-I-gotten-myself-into" Lambton! Blythly varnishing away my cares and thinking not a bit about where, exactly, I am going to store my tampons!!!

Here is the captain, course-plotter and all around good guy, James "Saltier -of-the-two" Lambton, seen honeymooning in Mystic, Conneticut at the living museum Mystic Seaport. As it turns out, he's a man worth following!

(Michelle, please remove that soppy crap, Jim)

Welcome!

All Aboard! S.Y. Chelonidae soon to weigh anchor and shove off! S.Y. (stands for sailing yacht! ME! on a real yacht!) Chelonidae (Latin for "green sea turtle", very fitting, however, she's no longer green).