Farewelled Gerry, our wonderful OCC host at St Peter's Lions Club Marina in THICK FOG but in good time for the bridge opening and transit through the canal. Fog gradually cleared and the sun shone through as we motored with very little wind out to the Canso Strait.
We wished that we'd had more time to explore Isle Madame and the Lennox Passage, but onward we must press!
The wind picked up as we crossed the Strait and we hoisted the mainsail, rolled out the furling jib and WE WERE SAILING:).
It felt good to have the wind in the sails once again after our time on Cape Breton Island. I look back at the ship's log and see that there had been RAIN every day of our two week cruise. Not that it rained all day, nor was there fog every day, but it was damp enough and cold enough to really wish that we had a heater on board. Sometimes the sun appeared from behind the clouds and we rejoiced! There were some good sails in Bras d'Or Lake as we scanned the chart to find another peaceful scenic anchorage for the night. Despite the cold, the bugs still came out to play, but we were ready for them;
Today were beating into the 15knot SW breeze in 1m seas which gave us some speed and comfort. Dover Passage is mentioned as tricky in both of our guide books, but the visibility was good so we decided to enter at Dover Head on the eastern end of the Passage. Entrance was clear except for a couple of rocks well above the water level. There was a huge spring tide, the Blue Moon having occurred the night before, and so we felt we would see everything there was to see! There was a slight current as we traversed the Passage and we had slowed down to a minimum, constantly checking the depth. As we approached the narrowest part at the western end, Bob was on deck watching for rocks and I was steering, watching the depth and making allowances for the current which had increased in this narrow part. BUMP bump bump - we had just touched - perhaps moving sideways with the current, but not enough to stop the boat. Bob called to take the boat forward with the throttle and we were clear! Not something that happens on the good ship, Kinabalu and truly the first time for me. Bob assures me that there would be no damage, just a little scrape, but I will relive the experience over and over, I am sure.
Now we are anchored in a beautiful peaceful cove on the north-east arm of Port Howe, surrounded by spruce trees and listening to streams of water as they enter the cove from the hillside, with the day's events behind us....ready to meet the challenges that tomorrow will bring us.
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