[Rhodes22-list] My new Rhodes 22. It's great!!

[Clarke, Donald R (Don), NEO]

Hi Mark,

My Family is from Canada, a small town on the St Lawrence River called Brockville. Been gone for many years but we still have a summer home right on the river. After my trailer under goes a restoration I plan to bring it up to sail on the river. My family has sailed the Brockville narrows for so long I can dodge the shoals in the dark. Would be fun to fine another Rhodes to sail with and you should try the St Lawrence!. While it is not as good for cruising as the Chesapeake Bay my current sailing area the water is crystal clear ( thanks to the Zebra Mussels ) and the wind is from the South/Southwest pretty steady in the summer. And there really are a thousand Islands to explore.  You found the prefect boat!

Don Clarke
S/V Certainty





 -----Original Message-----
From: 	rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org]  On Behalf Of Mark Skapinker
Sent:	Sunday, May 30, 2004 10:46 PM
To:	rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Subject:	[Rhodes22-list] My new Rhodes 22. It's great!!

Last year I started a quest for the perfect sailing boat. I live in Toronto, Canada and was looking for something special. The city is on lake Ontario which is a huge lake with sailing boats of every size, but every summer I spend as much time as I can on one of the beautiful smaller lakes about 2 hours north of here in an are known as Muskoka.
I was looking for a sailing boat big enough to sail well on lake Ontario, but small enough to trailer and not too big for Lake Muskoka.
I did my homework and searched everywhere until I came across the Rhodes 22 on its own web site. It seemed ideal, and a month later I was fortunate to be able to visit the factory and meet Stan and see what he was up to and see my first Rhodes 22 in person.
I ended out buying an almost new Rhodes 22 and took delivery of it three weeks ago.
Even though I have been out of town quite a bit recently, I have taken every opportunity I can to sail the boat and it has been fantastic.
Elton delivered the boat to Canada and he was really helpful. He was so proud of the boat that I almost felt that he didn't want to let me take it away from him. He helped set it up after its trip up North and spent a few days here in Canada.
Dealing with Stan, Elton and the folks at GB was a really positive experience. Their pride, caring and knowledge shone through in all my dealings with them and I really felt like they went the extra mile and really cared.
Now, I am launched. I am still a novice but I am learning a huge amount every time I take my Rhodes 22 out. I have no idea whether mine is the only one in Ontario or Canada - does anyone know? Now, I am starting to build up many questions as I learn more and enjoy more. This weekend, we had sunny skies and great winds (very rare for late May in Toronto) and I was out all weekend - lots of stares and inquisitive looks from other boats.
This site seems great, and I am working my way through past postings to learn from questions others have asked.
If anyone is up in Ontario Canada - there is now a Rhodes 22 here ready to go out!
Fair winds-
Mark Skapinker

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