Underway
June 18: It’s a foggy, rainy day in Cobourg Basin…good time to send an update.
Our departure from Wiggers at Port Darlington on Wednesday was rather uneventful; our anxieties heightened as we waited for Robert, our “pilot”. We took many photos and paced the dock. Received many messages from family and friends:
Bon Voyage
Take Care
We will miss you both
I’m with you every mile
Fair winds and following seas
Bittersweet as we head to the new and leave all we know behind
We ate the sandwiches I had made for the journey, with Dad in the cockpit, under a very sunny blue sky. A bit cool at 18’C. He is ready with his iPad to videotape our departure through the 4’ deep channel. (We need about 6 more inches to clear the bottom)
Robert guides us out to where we nudge the sandy bottom, then takes our halyard and secures it to his small runabout while Wayne takes a bow line and secures it to his boat. He guides us off the rocks and Robert initiates the heel. From the cockpit it feels about 20 degrees. The rocks on the port side seem more of a danger. But we have watched these two execute this maneuver a few times and are confident in their abilities.
The maneuver is complete and the anxiety diminished in just 10 minutes. We have the sails raised, with a 10-15 knot breeze from the south west. The air is cool and the water only 9’C. Biscuit visits the cockpit briefly but quickly retreats to the protection of the cabin. We will be sure to dig out our toques before the next day on the water.
The sky is overcast and the swells are building to 1 metre as we enter the Cobourg channel after an easy sail. (Lazy jacks will need to be installed, as well as a clutch on the mast if we plan to keep the main halyard operable from there.) Happy to report we only motored leaving and entering the channels.
There are no other boats anchored. Some dredging taking place along the west shore. We install the enclosure and settle in with champagne (thanks Deb and Angus!) and dinner of chicken, rice and asparagus, after a FaceTime chat with Ethan who provided the artwork for our galley. He seems proud to see it hanging.
The artwork, the hanging bon voyage cards, the book collection and our favourite warm slippers - all bring comfort and familiarity as we settle in to our “new” home. Without our usual weekends for shakedown and organization, we were somewhat plunged into life aboard so these next few days at anchor will be to rest and establish order. To once again become one with Seabiscuit.
Thursday brings sunshine, bacon and eggs in the cockpit and a day for sorting the aft cabin and cockpit storage, wrapping the mast boot, securing jerry cans and fenders, flaking the sail and scrubbing the cockpit. All this while surrounded by Canada Geese, Caspian Terns, and Little Gulls - a swirl of activity.
Friday brings rain and a very early morning for Harald. I wake to find him reading in the aft cabin, after my own short sleep - thank you Mrs Goose who honked incessantly until 2:00 am.
By 4:00 the rain eases and the sun burns off the fog at the channel entrance. Harald lowers the dinghy and we paddle to shore for the walk we’ve been craving. After a stop for ice cream and garbage disposal, we have a chat with Brad from Breezeaway, another Wiggers sailor we met on the hard.
Plans are established to depart in the morning for Presqu’ile Point. Another short 25 mile day.
Saturday June 19. Now it’s my turn to wake with the sun, so I take advantage and capture some photos and watch the little black bird clear our decks of dead bugs that descended over night. His little claws tap overhead as I enjoy the quiet, some tea and my thoughts.
