It was a fine day for a sail

After a quick breakfast, with the sun shining, wind blowing 15-20 knots, we departed Ch'town (aka Jelly Fish Harbour). We set two reefs and watched the boat ahead of us round up a few times. Out past St. Peters Island, the wind was gusting to 25 knots and the rollers were enough  to make us reconsider our breakfasts. Making good speed by sail and a bonus 2 knots with the tidal currents, we registrated 9.2 on the GPS. This was looking real good for the 40 mile leg of our journey.... but as we rounded Caribou Point towards Pictou the wind gods thought we needed more on the nose to finish off the run. Let's say 35 knots of wind is just a bit more than we wanted to play with. A little wind blown and our hair messed up we arrived at Hector Quay Marina in Pictou unscathed. We enjoyed a lovely seafood casserole at a local restaurant and  outdoor music entertainment at the marina park. 

Contributing to Charlettown Shop Owners Association

Beth is evil, she made us shop until we dropped. (d)

I protest! It was a cloudy day so we contributed greatly to the local economy. Doug was very excited when he found the Scottish shop...(b)

OMG - Doug in the Tartan Shop was like a kid in a candy store...(j)

Lunch was a highlight in the Italian pizzeria wood fired, fresh nan-bread crusted with goat cheese, carmelized pears, prosciutto ....  Mmm good. (d)

We went to Province House to learn more about Confederation and the building was closed for renovations so we viewed some historic churches and buildings instead.(b)

What would a visit to Ch'town be without checking out the "Cow" store?? (j)

I had stepped on a rock covered with sharp barnicals at Victoria Harbour but I had it well bandaged so the 40 miles of walking was beerable. (d)

The day was ended with a gourmet meal aboard Summer Wine 11.😊

Canada Day in PEI

        Scenic route sign on the island.

We woke up to a brilliant blue sky and decided to seize the day! We rented bikes and biked on lovely red roads alongside potato farms and lupins. We  discovered "Island Chocoates" in Victoria and since it was still early morning we could not justify chocolates. We had Factory Coffees- a coffee chocolate concoction that another patio patron described as "heaven in a glass" We jumped in the ocean and had a refreshing swim.  We left Victoria under a sunny sky to motor to Charlottetown. Near Charlottetown we dropped the anchor amid many boats of various descriptions loaded with people celebrating Canada Day in brightly decorated boats.  There were also a few jellyfish so the swims were brief.  We navigated through the busy entrance to Charlottetown and found our slip at Quartermaster Harbour.   The Canada Day party was already in full swing at the harbour.  We relaxed on deck and went for a nice dinner in a historic building and went to watch the fireworks. Another great day!

 

Victoria Harbour

We wound up our stay at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club with fresh blueberry pancakes for breaky. Not much wind today but no rain so all is good. We crossed under the Confederation bridge and ended up at a quant title village called Victoria. Cute little harbour nestled along  the rolling hills of PEI, with restaurants, bars and ice cream stands on the pier. We shared a bowl of mussels and all had the wharf platter. I went for a dip to freshen up and the gals fixed the mosquito nets. We had a few of the buggers buzzing around the last two nights. Another grrrreeaatt day!

   

Shediac to Summerside

Introducing Beth. We met Beth on a Celebrity Cruise trip we made around South America in 2011. She is a fun loving traveller that is game for adventure. 

Today we were up at 5:45 AM and en route to Summerside with 10 knots of wind by 6:45. It rained a little but other than that we sailed on a beam to close hauled reach all the way at 5-6 knots. We tied up at 2:00 and walked the waterfront trail. We ended up at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada where we enjoyed a rehearsal of the "Highland Storm" and checked out the gift store (who would have thought???). The gals cooked dinner while I played Chase the Ace at the Silver Fox and Curling Club. It was a grrrreat day.

Joann and Beth join the tour

Joann has been on board 5 days and Beth arrived yesterday.  We have been enjoying the Shediac area-  taking in local activities, eating world famous lobster poutin, cycling, and walking. We attended a wonderful farmers market, enjoyed lunch from the Bangkok food truck,  a live band and lots of people to watch. We been to three beautiful beaches all with sand dune back drops. We visited all the arts and craft shops and took pictures at all the Kodak picture spots. We had planned to sail on today but the wind was blowing 20- 35 kn all afternoon so we will being heading to Summerside tomorrow. 

Shediac, yes I'm still here

June 25 +-

I woke up at six, pulled the hatch cover back and there stood the oldest great blue heron I'd ever seen. Just look at his whiskers. This picture I down loaded but that was it.  

The next time I got up, there was a 34' Tartan on the crane, the prettiest I'd ever seen. (The Tartan not the crane.)

The alternator is working, the guys from Romeo's rebuilt the sea water pump and I cleaned up the boat and changed out some lines and picked up some additional  water storage tanks. Fresh water is at a  premium in Ile de la Madeleine.  We are fully loaded and  ready for the summer.

Looks like Summer Wine II  is staged to sell - I mean sail...  

Tomorrow is a big day.  I am taking Jon's parents out for a sail midday and Joann is arriving at 4:00. I know Jon from Bikes and Beyond and his parents Hans and Rosita Iive in Bathurst but are in the area, so it all works out prefectly.

I found some single track bike trails in Dieppe at a Rotary park and killed a couple of hours there. Met up with Sailor Jerry and the day was done.