The next few days are pleasurable. The days are spent doing chores and going for walks and blogging. There is a steady stream of boats that come and go. Some we have seen before and some that are new to us. I did see a few boats sporting the looper burgee but did not manage to meet the crew. No worry there will be time down the line, for we are all heading in the same general direction.
On the 11th the wind pipes up to about 25 knots in the harbour and we have a rocking rolling day. Even though we are tied to the dock the boat lunges on a regular basis, but this too shall pass. There is a Catalina 30 sailboat that has arrived and I helped them dock and get settled. They are completely unprepared for the docking maneuver. Their docking lacks style. They are a family of 6 including grandpa. They keep very much to themselves which is fine as I enjoy my privacy as well. At the height of the wind storm, at around 1600 hours, they depart the dock and head north into the teeth of a 25 knot North Westerly. The ODAS Buoy in the North Channel is reporting seas of up to 6 feet and wind gusts of up to 32 knots. They leave the harbour as unprepared as they had arrived. The front hatch is wide open and they round the point with their sails still stowed and wearing no life jackets. I give them 30 minutes to be back at the dock. I was wrong for it took them 2 hours to admit defeat. When they return they take a different dock and I didn’t get a chance to discuss their adventures with them. Something tells me that it wouldn’t have mattered.
GORE BAY MARINA
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| IT WAS SO WINDY TERRI MADE ME TIE HER CHAIR TO THE DOCK BEFORE SHE FELT SAFE |
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| RICK OFF OF DESTINY AND MARK CLOWNING AROUND. RICK GAVE ME THIS HAT TO REMEMBER CANADA! |
That night there is a Country and Western band that is the promised entertainment at the harbour side restaurant. I am a sucker for live music and Terri concedes that it will be pizza and Johnny Cash tonight. When we arrive I was surprised to see only 2 other tables occupied. Later I found out that one of the tables was with the band. This band is a local band and I am sure they don’t get a lot of gigs. They try very hard and some of the band members display some raw talent for sure, but the wind is howling and overcomes the sound system. It is very hard to hear the instruments or lyrics. However the pizza is very good and the waiter is on the ball and knows his craft. Though when the bill arrives he only charges for one beer when there should have been two. I bring his attention to this error and he disappears into the back room to make amends. When he returns I notice that there is now only one glass of wine on the bill and there should have been two. I again query him on the bill and he said that the first glass of wine was not full so he will not charge us for that. His tip has just increased. We head back to the boat and prepare for bed and spend a few minutes reviewing charts and starting to plan our next move.
Mark
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