The 2009 rendezvous was nearly a bust for Buster.  We started out from Brockville on Thursday with the idea of a nice cruise up to Trenton with a couple of stops along the way.  When we pulled out of the marina, we found that the starboard engine would not come up to speed.  The engine would hit 2,500 RPM and then cut out.  A quick cell-phone call to the mechanic suggested that the engine was going into fail-safe mode due to some perceived problem.  Limited to around 7 knots, it looked like it was going to be a couple of long days of low-speed cruising to get to Trenton.  I was not totally certain we could get there in time for the Saturday lunch.

We took a chance and pulled into Williams Marine near Ivy Lea.  They could have put us at the back of the waiting list, but they didn't.  Unfortunately, Buster's engine would not communicate with their diagnostic tool, so the mechanic went through the painful process of step-by-step elimination of possible causes.  Eventually, he found the problem in the form of a failed exhaust heat sensor.  They did not have one in stock, but fellow Alcan owners, Frank and Deb were there and Frank graciously offered to drive me to Gananoque to source a replacement part.

A little after noon, we were under way.  This time able to get up on plane.

We had another great turn-out at Trenton.  We only had three boats show up, but quite a few crews showed up by car.  

Buster and Whatever Eh just after arrival at Fraser Park

Cadoruca

Buster enjoyed the weekend with fellow boats and then carried on up the Trent-Severn system to Georgian Bay.  It was a wonderful cruise through a beautiful part of the province.

We enjoyed an evening with Terry and Cindy of Mastercard III at their Rice Lake docking.

The trip up the Trent-Severn and back was mostly uneventful, but there was some interesting weather.  There were tornados in the area for several days.  We managed to avoid anything really wild, but it did result in one of the most spectacular evening skies I have ever seen.

That's all for now.

David