Sail #25: Cruising...Finally!

35 nm, approximately 6 hours

We've had a busy August aboard Exploits with a busy racing schedule and our repeated attempts to go cruising while we were on vacation.  An unfortunate turn of events for Silver Sea which delayed their trip to PEI allowed us to join them for a Sunday departure after the Amet Island Race. 

Winds were light and on our back as we made our way out of Tatamagouche Bay at noon.  What little wind there was completely disappeared by the time we were at the mid point of our first leg.  I did fill the canvas shower bag while under sail and hoisted it up the spinnaker halyard so Jude and I could enjoy a "cool" shower.

We decided to motor sail for a couple of hours until we found a very nice breeze in Hillsborough Bay.  We cruised into Charlottetown at a comfortable 6 knots under sail, arriving at the QuarterMaster Marina at just after 1800.   Skipper Greg from Silver Sea poured me a shot of rum which was a mix of Black Strap and Amber, as we toasted our arrival.  Aftre we got settled, we opted to dine out at Gahan's Brew Pub, a favorite of Daniel's when he was here.

We woke the next morning to the sound of a pile driver constructing a new water front convention facility next to the marina.  After 2 hours the pile driving stopped minutes before a group of cadets fired off 15 canon shots to celebrate the changing of the Lieutenant Govenor of PEI.  Judy and the ladies from Silver Sea spent the morning exploring Charlottetown while Skipper Greg and I caught up on some reading and relaxing dockside.  It was Acadian Day in Charlottetown so we were entertained by some french Canadian folk music and dancing.

That after the ladies joined Jude and I aboard Exploits and we made our way out into Hillsborough Bay to enjoy an aftr on the hook swimming, followed by cocktails on deck.  As our drink and mix supply diminished, we debated the likeihood of having Greg bring us addition supplies, opting instead to make our way back to the marina.

Judy and I enjoyed a wonderful meal of BBQ'ed beef tenderloin from Meadowbrook Farms, complete with a fresh salad.  We finished off with a great hot chilli chocolate bar for dessert.  It was the first time I used our new Sea-be-que on the boat.  It worked great!

It rained hard through the night and woke to steady showers on Tuesday.  Given the forecast of high winds in the Strait we opted to delay our 0900 scheduled departure west and monitor the weather.  Plan is to get to Victoria tonight or wait until the morning and head for Summerside.