The Blackwoods Sailing Adventures

On August 27, 2004 the Blackwood family- Shawn, Kathy, Shawna and Emma - decided after almost 20 years of backwoods canoe camping it was time to graduate to sailing.

They made this decision after canoing down the French River to Georgian Bay in July 2004, meeting up with long time friends who'd been sailing for 9 years. The friends - the Brandon's took the Blackwood family on a sail. And the Blackwoods were hooked.

So started the search for a sailboat that would fit 2 adults and 2 pre-teen daughters.


Their search was not in vane on August 27, 2004 they purchased a 20 foot Matilda sailboat named 'Fair Dinkum'. The name is Australian for 'fair honest and true'. We felt that was appropriate for our first boat.






During September and October 2004 we sailed around Buckhorn Lake, one of the many lakes in the Kawartha Lakes system. We were learning how to sail - it was a lot different than canoing.

Over the winter Shawn and Kathy planned their first sailing trip - with the Trailer Sailor Association to the North Channel of Georgian Bay in July 2005.

Alot of work had to be done on the boat to make it ready for the one week trip the work included:

• reupholstering all the berth cushions
• adding back rests to the quarter berths
• redoing the wiring
• redoing the galley plumbing
• redoing the head plumbing (very important)
• redesigning the back pulpit to accommodate a solar charger and a rigging change
• improving access to the interior lockers
• window repairs
• and ensure Fair Dinkum didn't have any leaks.

We were kept busy all winter long. It did however feel like a very long winter while we waited anxiously to put Fair Dinkum in the water.

So as soon as the ice was out we put her in the water in Little Lake in Peterborough. We went for a sail on Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful sail on a beautiful day and provided lots of entertainment for the people on shore who were surprised to see a sailboat out on the lake so early in the season.

Our next sail was on May 7. Shawn's birthday and the day before mother's day. This time we took her to Chemong Lake, sailed the lake a bit, had lunch, sailed some more, and had a bar-be-que for dinner. We then motored her back to the Marina and took her home. Again, a great day.

Our May Sail

Our Victoria Day trip

On the Victoria Day weekend 2005 we planned to sail from Chemong Lake to Buckhorn Lake for the family cottage weekend. The only problem was that as soon as we put the boat in the water it started to rain. So we motored all the way with a big tarp up to keep us dry. We looked like we were a covered wagon on water.

After the Victoria Day weekend, we put Fair Dinkum into Little Lake a couple times, just to get back out on her, but didn't do much sailing.

We were anxiously waiting for July 16th when we would leave for our North Channel Cruise.