Woke up at a very respectable hour of a little before 9:00. Everyone seemed nicely rested and ready for the next lag of the passage to Kingston. The bridge staff started work at 9:00. While waiting for them to open another sailboat arrived. We had a nice chat about boat stuff with it's owner who was also called Dan. The once the staff arrived we paid a small dockage fee and they opened the gate and let us through. We followed my namesake through the canal.
It was some nice practice for me to try canal sailing as there is a strange complication about it. The normal protocol is that one passes red buoys to port and green buoys to starboard yet there is a catch. One well known one is when entering a port that same rule applies yet leaving a port it is the opposite. Well thee strange twist is what is considered coming in and what is considered going out in a canal like situation. It turns out that the direction of the current dictates such things. So if you are not familiar with the area only by looking carefully at the charts will you know how to consider ones direction; in or out.
That practise will come in handy when on my own going through the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Once through this smaller canal then the waters widened out and we were able to put up the sails. We continued to motor sail for some time in order to try to meet out schedule of Kingston by Friday.
However we eventually picked up enough wind that were able to turn off the engine and let Makina show us her stuff. She performed beautifully. We took the opportunity to throw out the life ring on a rope and both Jason and Lori jumped in and were pulled along behind Makina. They eventually climbed aboard totally refreshed. The only reason that they were not photographed was that my hands were pretty tied up while sailing Makina solo.
We had a very nice sail yet the wind eventually died later in the afternoon so we began motor sailing again. We then took turns at the helm. First Jason and then Lori.
For the final stretch of the voyage to tonight's slip in a lovely little port. The slips are offered by a smallish Inn and it was a very nice setup.
We had a great vegan supper cooked by Lori. They then went out for an after dinner walk around the small town while my attention was given to my laundry. We expect to make Kingston tomorrow at which time Pierre, my new crewmate, and myself will have our first face to face meet up.
Jason and Lori will be heading home from there and Pierre and myself will continue on the passage to Nova Scotia. There is another potential crewmate that Pierre and myself will have a video conference with about him joining our passage.
Feel much more confident than from setting off from Scarborough. Jason has been a great help in so many way, yet it will be another milestone to step out from under his competent wings.
That milestone will begin tomorrow afternoon.
May the wind be at your back!
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A chronological listing of my sailing posts:
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