Getting ready
Monday morning I was woken up by Peter. No, he did not come into the bedroom. He started fishing. First we heard the stomping. (How can a not-so-big person stomp so loudly?) Then there was the sound of the sinker hitting the deck. Stomp, stomp, stomp. BANG. The fishing resulted in a tangled line, but not in any fish being caught.
During the breakfast Mark successfully contacted the US consulate in Halifax who told him to send a request for an appointment by email. Within an hour his appointment was scheduled for Wednesday, so the only thing he had left to do was to explore Nova Scotia.
The guy at the marina gave us permission to pull up to an empty slip and fill up with water. He didn’t want to charge us for it. Some things in life happen to be free. While the water tanks were being filled, Mark and I started to get the table into the salon back up. We made a huge bed for Peter to sleep on, but he agreed that sleeping on half of it would give him sufficient place. Having a table in the saloon is nice in any case. However, the table top came off and the support structure stayed in place.
Alla scrubbed the cockpit, so that it looked new! In the meantime, Irina, David and Peter went to a nearby hardware store to get a new rod and fishing line. They also picked up a Brita filter for water. The PUR filter that is attached to the galley faucet developed a crack which I should have foreseen in Portland. The water is safe to drink, but it has the plasticky taste from the tanks. PUR removed the taste completely. Brita doesn’t quite measure up to the task, but no alternative existed in Lunenburg.
The last important mission accomplished by Irina was to buy scallops at Adams & Knickle. Scallop fishery is probably the biggest seafood business in Lunenburg. The ship goes on two-week trips and most of the scallops that they get are processed and get frozen while at sea. Early Tuesday morning the ship was scheduled to be back and while it would have been interesting to look at the line of people looking to buy freshly caught scallops (mostly local restaurants), we have and agendaless goal to explore the Mahone Bay, so we will enjoy the frozen ones.
Having taken a picture of the crew on deck we departed in practically windless conditions.
Seals and puffins
I went back to the logbook and refreshed my memory about the places where we could see wildlife. First designation: a narrow passage between Cross Island and the rocks to the north of it. I remember being rather anxious navigating there 7 years ago, but watching the colony of seals was fun. The seals are still there and I felt a lot more confident navigating between the rocks. The nearby rocks that are awash at low tide were covered with water, so we had to look through the binoculars to see the animals with some detail. Some of them popped their heads a bit closer to the boat but still kept a distance.
On the eastern side of the island it was time to raise the sails. I looked at the wind instruments: 18 knots. We were going downwind, but I thought that a more conservative sail plan would be welcomed by the crew for the first sail, so we kept part of the mainsail rolled in and reduced the Genoa to a jib. Ultimately I let the Genoa out fully and we sped towards Pearl island in search of puffins.
About 3/4 mile away from the island the first puffin showed itself. It dove when the boat got too close and its friends didn’t want to show themselves until we were under motor on the northeastern side of the island, which sheltered us from the ocean swell. The birds flew by the boat, rested on water, dove or flew away when Salty Ginger came too close. I find them very cute and thus coming back to visit the colony a worthy experience.
Sailing in a heat wave
The heat wave advisory is still in effect, so we took precautionary measures and dressed ourselves up while sailing. Surviving the heat wave sailing in sea water at 14C is a different way to experience the heat wave.
David and Alla cooked quesadillas while we were at sail on the way to Pearl island. Everybody was in for a second one, so on our way from the island I only set the full mainsail and pointed the bow west. Close reach at 5 knots, but with minimal heeling. Once the crew were done eating and dishes stowed away, it was sailing time.
The jib was conservatively unfurled and we sped up to 7.5 knots in 18-20 knots of wind. The boat was balanced, but the heel angle was at least 25 degrees. Spray flying from the bow hit the people on the windward side a few times. Those who remained on the leeward side were protected by the dodger which got solidly covered in salt.
Peter wanted to steer. His first attempt exhausted him pretty quickly and he gave the wheel back to me. Then David took the helm and found driving exciting. Peter wanted to be back at the wheel. By this time we were partially shadowed from the ocean waves, so it was easier to steer, but there were still a few moments when the wind gusted into low 20s when he had to work to keep Salty Ginger from heading up into the wind.
Once the landmass was to the north of us, the waves decreased and the air became warm. Back to shorts and T-shirts.
Beckman island
Margot and I spent a night at the island during the last trip and found a lot of chanterelles. We were ready to try our luck again.
The mooring situation has changed: most of the mooring balls are private, but one was labeled as public. We asked the locals hanging out in a motor boat if our understanding was correct. Just like the last time here, one guy said that he owned a mooring and we are welcome to take it, but the public one will work fine as well. Mooring line secured to the cleat, dinghy quickly lowered into the water and all 6 of us fit into the dinghy to go ashore.
This time around our mushroom luck was much more modest. The island is very dry. We did find a handful of chanterelles, just enough for an omelette for breakfast. Irina scratched her legs on the dry branches that line the forest ground, so the price measured in kilos per injury is way higher than it was 7 years ago.
Back on Salty Ginger, Peter started to cook shrimp scampi, I was getting ready to go for a quick swim and then we saw a group of 3 dolphins who swam by very close to the neighbouring boat, then turned around towards us, went by and swam away from the bight. Peter and Irina tried to fish, but alas didn’t succeed in catching anything.
After dinner we played a board game (Mark is onboard!) and called it a night before 11pm.
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