Huybers Retirement Adventure: Fall Is Coming!

Yesterday was another stellar day here on PEI. The morning temperature was a little nippy … only 6 degrees … but it warmed up to 14 degrees by the afternoon. We decided to take advantage of the nice weather while we could and thought that it would be nice to take a walk on the Boardwalk in Summerside. We love that area and at this time of year the shops are all closed and it is so peaceful and quiet there.

We put a sweater on Bailey so he wouldn’t be too chilled and I bundled up with a scarf, sweater and my wind jacket on top. I feel the cold more than others so I wanted to make sure I would be warm enough. It was perfect … for me. Ron had a light jacket under his wind jacket and found it a bit too warm for him. To each their own, I guess. J

We parked at the Silver Fox Marina and found that all the boats were out of the water already. That was our sign that Fall has arrived. They have to take all the boats out of the water in the Fall because the harbour freezes during the winter months and it would do a lot of damage to the boats. The place was very quiet.

We started off on our walk along the Boardwalk which takes you along the marina and behind all the shops on Spinnaker’s Landing. There wasn’t another sole as we walked along our scenic route. However, there was some activity in the sky that Ron noticed. He saw a military Hercules plane doing maneuvers over the water. It would fly from New Brunswick over the water towards Summerside and bank its wings in a sharp turn and head back out over the water. This went on the whole time we were walking. On one of the passes, we noticed that the tail gate was open. Ron said that they were probably practicing area drops and that there was a boat out in the water somewhere picking up what ever they dropped out of their planes. Ron used to be with the auxiliary coast guard and used to do that when the military planes would do their practice runs.

As we continued our walk, we came upon a fishing boat being taken out of the water for the winter. I asked the owner of the boat what he fished for and he told me lobster. I was so tempted to ask if he had any he wanted to sell, but I didn’t have my purse with me. (the one time I don’t take my purse with me!)

We found it very interesting on how they managed to get the boat out of the water so we stayed and watched them. They have a very long tow truck that backs down the ramp and into the water. They attached the winch of the tow truck to a chain they had pulled through the front of the boat. Very slowly they started to pull the boat out of the water. There were tire bumpers on the tow truck to stabilize the boat as it was being towed up the ramp. When the bottom of the boat got too close to the cement ramp, the tow truck driver would stop pulling on the boat and then roll his truck backwards into the water, giving the boat more clearance from the bottom of the ramp. Eventually the boat got out of the water completely. The driver then left, with the boat on his flat bed truck, to deliver it to its winter destination.

On walking back to our car, we spotted the Cap Nord Coast Guard boat returning to the harbour. They came in behind Spinnaker’s Landing and docked it over by the Silver Fox where we had parked our car. They were at the dock getting more fuel when we arrived back at the Silver Fox. Ron asked them if they were out “playing” with the Hercules plane. They responded yes. Ron told them that he used to do that as well, and then they started talking about boats and engines. It was at that point I kind of lost interest in the conversation. I turned my questions to the person fueling up the boat. He said that he was getting about 200 liters of fuel. When I asked him, how much does the boat hold, I was surprised to hear that the boat held 1500 liters of fuel. I tried to picture what the size of the gas tank would look like. It must be HUGE I thought. When they finished refueling, they pulled away from the dock and crossed the marina to the other side where they normally dock their boat.

It was a wonderful day. We always seem to find something new and interesting to see when we go out. Even going to Spinnaker’s Landing and walking along the Boardwalk, which we have done many many times, we always seem to find a new adventure along the way. Life is good! J