Day 4 - What a Great Day!!!

We laid over for 2 days waiting for a good weather day. The weather was to change around midnight with the winds decreasing from 20 to 10. Got up at 1:30 am. I made coffee while Peter got his toys aligned and setup. We needed to take advantage of the window of opportunity that the weatherman said was at hand.

We had till noon to get to Wingfield Basin.

After 2 hours of preparation the radar was on and we set out in the dark. It seems like the waves were just as high as the previous day but we could not see them so we proceeded. What we originally thought was some kind of beacon light on Hope Island, was flares over the western shore somewhere. We were entertained by the flares for the first 2 hours of our trip.

I let down my guard for a mere half hour and got some sleep, and woke to find our new destination was Heywood Island in the Killarney/Manitoulin area. A mere 77 miles more. We should get there by 5 or 6 pm. Peter has always talked about an overnight trip to Killarney for fish and chips.

What a romp. The weatherman said the wave height would be 1 meter or less. Someone should get the weatherman a new measuring tape. One of those 1 meter waves splashed over the cockpit. It was a great day. The sun was shining, and we were sailing up the center of Georgian Bay on our way to Killarney. It doesn't get any better than this. We couldn't have chose a better day if we had planned this for a lifetime. Waves and wind on the beam and then falling to the back corner of the boat. 5 hours in; auto was doing a mighty fine job - only 1/3 of a mile off, course. Technology is wonderful.

As we approached Manitoulin, but still 3 hours out, the waves and wind began to change and come more forward of beam and the wind was picking up 25 plus. The rail was in the water more often, and the ride was not as comfortable. My skipper agreed to furl some of the sail and approach closer to Manitoulin. He is trying to keep the cook happy. He will have to spend a lot of time with me and it is more fun when I am not terrified.

On a wild chance we radioed for friends George and Dorothy on Lucretia. They had spent the summer in the North Channel. We didn't expect a response. To our surprise, they were sailing on the south side of Badgely Island within sight and planning to spend the night with friends at Covered Portage. We joined them. Harold and Sue Darch on Vision; Rod and Marcy Miller on Windmiller; Quintessence all from the Midland Bay Sailing Club.

Arrived about 6:30pm Visited, had dinner and now time to tuck in for the night.