|
and get on with the last bit of our cruise. |
 |
|
after yet another meal in Rick's Roost. |
 |
|
One
last shot of Doug, Chelsea
and Al (I'll have to talk to Rick about the beauties of using a fill-in
flash!) - a cool east wind with the promise of rain and Uncle Al is
already
wearing his blue "fuzzy suit" and boots - you know it's a
nasty
day when Uncle Al doesn't sail/race in his bare feet!!!!!
Our
plan had been to explore
Baie Fine (behind McGregor Point just vaguely visible in the distant
mist
above) and perhaps go all the way up to The Pool at the end of Baie
Fine
on the last full day of our cruise before returning to our starting
point
at Killarney where Doug's van was waiting patiently in the Municipal
Parking
Lot.
However,
as we sailed out
of McGregor Bay in intermittent rain and 15-knot east winds with gusts
to 20 or so, the thought of a 15-kilometer beat up the narrow Baie Fine
with its high walls and shifty winds began to lose its appeal. Instead,
we decided to head for the "hot spots" of Little Current (see chart
below)
|
 |
 |
| Dressed
properly as we were for the
day's weather, the run in to Little Current was fun - even in the rain!
It was a great sailing day but we saw no other boats under sail. Even
without
the spinnaker, we made good time by winging the jib with the spinnaker
pole. ... |
 |
|
We
had about half an hour to
go before the scheduled hourly opening of the bridge (above), and we
decided to wait for that, even though the wind and current were with
us.
It simply seemed too much trouble to take the mast down in the wind and
rain. We
were quite cozy in our rain gear and simply hove to and watched the
local
Coast Guard vessel working away at something off Gibbons Point. When
wind
and current took us too close to the bridge, we simply gybed and sailed
upwind for a bit and generally unnerved the couple of sail-less
keelboats also
waiting for the bridge!
At
1400 hours we zipped through the bridge and were soon moored off
downtown
Little Current. Wet gear and all, we nipped across the road to the
town's
main restaurant, the Anchor Inn, where we lingered at
length
over lunch as we warmed up and dried out. By the time we got back to Whirlwind,
we were ready for a little afternoon nap while we waited for the
clearing
skies that were slowly approaching from the NW. This would
also give us a bit of a rest before we would go to check out the Little
Current night life.
As
we got into the boat, we
admired the large, beautiful sailboat that was moored stern-to-stern
with
us, little realizing that such admiration would be distinctly finite -
but more of that later! The
afternoon had turned a bit warmer so that we were quite comfortable in
our underwear while lying on top of our sleeping bags and checking out
the local radio stations. Through the back window of the tent we could
see the clearing skies approaching, and everything seemed just ducky.
That
was when the gentleman
in the yacht just off our transom started up his engine. The sound and
smell were bad enough but it was the spray of exhaust water that went
all
over us that was really annoying. We put our tent window flap down, but
the
damage had been done. The owner was apologetic and we had learned a
lesson
about opening our window when it is less than six feet from an exhaust
pipe.
The
evening turned out to
be very quiet as the town bar at the Anchor was virtually
empty.
So we took ourselves off to bed early, knowing we had a fair distance
to
sail the next day. We would need at least some decent winds to make it
back to Killarney for the traditional fish and chips - and of course,
unlike
Frank Dye, we don't row or paddle unless our lives are at stake.
... |
 |
|
The
photo above was taken
the next morning, which as you can see, blessed us with sunshine.
... |
 |
|
The
main
street looked pretty in the sun as we headed across the
road for an Anchor-type breakfast
...- an essential preparation for the long haul the day would bring. |
 |
| With
the benefit of a (very light!) tail wind and a favourable current, we
made
the 0900 bridge opening but the wind died almost completely by the time
we were passing the lighthouse on Strawberry Island (above)
just
a couple of miles past the bridge. In the photo, you can see the strip
of glassy looking water just past the point, and it looked like that
all
the way across to Heywood and Partridge Islands. Even those lovely
clouds
passed without bringing any wind. ... |
 |
|
Fortunately,
a bit of SW wind began to fill in after we had drifted aimfully past
the
point. Before long, it was spinnaker time (above) and we
gurgled
back into Killarney not much after 1400 hours. Another wonderful time
in
the North Channel, McGregor Bay and the surrounding area. As we enjoyed
the world's best fish and chips once more, I had the time to reflect on
how lucky I was to be sailing the world's finest small boat with an
enjoyable
and capable companion such as Doug Gilchrist in some of the most
beautiful
waters on earth. Of course we only sailed for about three days out of
the
seven, but what can you do when you get unbeatable hospitality from
Rick,
Gina, Chelsea and Yeager. Thanks, one and all!
Uncle Al (W3854) |