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A cloudy but pleasantly warm Sunday morning. Dick H. returns from
his morning swim/wash in water that is surprisingly warm.
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The beautiful rocks are freshly scrubbed by some overnight rain
which appears to be moving off to the east. Dick & Dick slept ashore
in their tent where our previous evening's campfire did not keep away a
medium concentration of mosquitoes and drove us into our tents by about
2300.
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Ed had a bit of trouble sleeping in the boat and the last straw
was sitting on his prized stem ware as he extricated himself from a restless
night's sleep on Sunday morning. Ed managed to avoid the boat floor for
the rest of the nights of the cruise.
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Although he got some bug bites in the tent overnight, Dick T. looks
happy with life as he waits for...
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... Dick H. to add the boiling water to his oatmeal.
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Aaah! That's better! Ed looks much happier now that he has sampled
Uncle Al's main contribution to the cruise, coffee from his Bodum which
Dick Tyrrell insisted should be called a cafetière. Note
the long painters in the background which led to some disagreement when
Dick H. insisted on re-tying the Blue Mist painters with some esoteric
concoction he thought we should all learn.
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Breakfast al fresco: boats lit by a bit of sun from the east...
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... but the western sky promises something less idyllic!
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But we lucked in - no more rain.
Only half an hour later, as Ed and Al model the beautiful W gear given
them by Dick T., the sky in the all-important western segment is blue!
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Starting out around 1000, we decided to stay outside of the
Lansdown Channel in hopes that the westerly breeze would give us less of
a beat that way. In fact, for the first part of the trip, it was long starboards
angling slightly off shore plus a few ports angled almost directly at the
shore.
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A glorious morning as Ed steers W4105 - to be named The Rocket
Ship after her performance this week -
away from Tim's Cove and Killarney Harbour.
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The hills of Badgeley Island and frequent hiking-strength puffs...
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... kept life interesting as we dug out the munchies and settled
in to enjoy the cruising life.
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About an hour later, we tacked around the west end of Partridge
Island and entered the south end of Frazer Bay. As the day warmed up, the
increasing breeze backed more and more towards its apparently typical lake-breeze
direction of SW...
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... and by the time Ed steered us into McGregor Bay early in the
afternoon, we were almost running in winds that were gusting over 15 knots.
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After only one minor navigational screw-up by Uncle Al, the Cantwell
island appeared dead off our bow.
No sign of life when we got there but Rick had left "our" guest cabin
unlocked so we knew we were welcome.
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After docking the Rocket Ship, we went around to the "front"
of the island to scan the seas for Blue Mist whose crew was planning
to make a GPS-assisted landfall. The water was still nice and warm, so
Ed and I topped off a beer with a nice swim.
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June seems early in the season for the cottagers up in this area,
so we knew the sail we spotted at last was Blue Mist.
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She made a lovely sight on the sun-sparkled waters...
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... reefed in the winds which were now frequently gusting well
over 20 knots. Since Uncle Al is taking this picture from the Cantwell
Island, and the Blue Mist bow should be aimed at the camera, the
GPS does not seem to be doing a perfect job.
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The final approach
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a nice, easy gybe...
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... and Dick & Dick glide up to a nicely sheltered but obviously
winter-ravaged dock.
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A couple of runs with the wheel barrows and soon our gear is in
the guest cottage and we can relax and enjoy the view.
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While Ed is cooking up a delicious dinner, Dick Tyrrell programmes
the GPS for further adventures...
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... and Uncle Al captures the island to the south of us in the
setting sun.
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As the evening wears on, the winds die down and - glory halleluia!
Rick and his family arrive. Uncle Al was so busy socializing that he never
did get any photos of this year's Cantwells. My apologies.
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