Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Sailing the North Channel, day 2. August 21, 2012

It took us a while to get out of the harbor today... we walked the mile to the truck and trailer twice to return stuff that should not have been unloaded and retrieve stuff (like the first aid kit) that should have been stowed on the boat.

We motored out of the harbor around 11:30, hours later than we intended for this very long day on the water. As we were leaving we saw the ferry right ahead of us.


We put up the sails right outside of the harbor. We sailed for the first 30 miles of the 50-mile trip, which was a real treat. At one point the wind was so high we had to turn into the wind and change sails. We sailed past the scenic side of Flowerpot Island, so named because of the pattern of erosion. Below you can see one of the "flowerpots"!


After about 30 miles of brisk sailing the wind died and we had to start the motor. Alas, it is only a small outboard motor, noisy and slow.... it is never fun to motor. I took my turn on the tiller, and Bill laid down on the floor of the cockpit and took a nap. Erika and Toby were also passed out.... unfortunately I did not have my camera in my pocket at the time so did not get a shot of the captain laid out on the deck!


After miles of open water we finally came to the entrance to the Killarney channel, which is not visible until you are almost on top of it. Fortunately the entrance is marked by a lighthouse.


Soon we were being welcomed to Killarney. There were many marinas along the water but we were headed to the one our newfound friends had said they were going to. Jeff and Sandy were sitting on adirondack chairs on a rock and they hailed us as we motored up the channel--too bad we are not continuing on the same route. We enjoyed their company at Tobermory.


There is a general store here, several restaurants and lodges, and a church built and financed in part by Detroit Yacht Club back in the old days (1950).
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We walked the length of the street, opting not to eat at the famous fish place--a converted bus! Toby was disappointed, but we have a non-fisheater among us (Bill) and we all needed to eat... we ate instead at a little inn across the street. Erika and I had whitefish sandwiches, a local treat, while Bill and Toby had hamburgers.


After dinner we returned to the boat. Fortunately Bill had installed the new mosquito nets--there were a lot of bugs flying around. I was glad to see that the new nets worked--I made them last week after Bill gave me notated photos of the boat with the hatches open.


By the time Bill and I came onboard after talking with Jeff and Sandy, the lights were out and so were Erika and Toby. Wednesday we are not sailing, but staying at Killarney where Erika will remove Bill's stitches (long story) and we will all go for a hike on nearby George Island. Life is good!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm following. Beautiful adventure, gorgeous scenery.
d