Day 299, June 8th, 2010
The alarm went off at 5:00 and we'd slept well. Oh! I didn't want to get up! I was safe and warm there in bed and didn't want to face the day! But home was so close - only 3.5 hours!!!
We listened to the forecast again. Still strong winds but it sounded as if the worst of it would be coming the following day, Wednesday. Meanwhile the wave height at the buoy in the south of Georgian Bay was reported as 0.3 metres. with winds of 10 knots out of the west. The barometer was rising. This was an improvement. The wind had dropped by 5 knots and the wave height by 0.6 knots. I didn't like the idea of the wind coming out of the west though, knowing it would hit us broadside as we crossed the Bay. We got all our gear on again and set off.
The day was clear - we could see right across the Bay. The tiny pinpoint of white which is the elevator and those dear ski hills on the Niagara Escarpment.
It wasn't fun. The waves seemed higher than 0.3 when we got to open water. Back to the wallowing motion. Back to my imaginative thoughts as I white knuckled it at the helm. I'm not much of a conversationalist when I'm nervous so poor old John didn't have anyone to talk to! The good thing was, that I didn't hear any creaking from the wooden frame and dear little Periwinkle was as desperate to get home as me. Somehow or other she chugged along between 6.1 and 6.5 knots all the way across the Bay. I swear she could smell Slip #10, her little spot at the Collingwood Yacht Club. Slowly, slowly, we watched the "distance to waypoint" diminish from 15 nautical miles to 0. With each milestone there was comfort - we're halfway; less than 5 miles; less than 3 miles; less than 2.5 miles; we're almost home!!! We watched the elevator and the ski hills get bigger and then we could even see the houses. Finally, we were in the channel approaching the dear old elevator. What a wonderful landmark it is. As we turned the corner into the Harbour, we were surprised and excited to see the building at the "Shipyards" housing development on the waterfront.. So much has changed since we left home. We can't wait to explore.
I was glad there were few people about. It was lovely just to have a few moments to take in the moment. 4,100 miles and we'd closed the Loop. How lovely to be home again. What a trip, what an adventure!
The alarm went off at 5:00 and we'd slept well. Oh! I didn't want to get up! I was safe and warm there in bed and didn't want to face the day! But home was so close - only 3.5 hours!!!
We listened to the forecast again. Still strong winds but it sounded as if the worst of it would be coming the following day, Wednesday. Meanwhile the wave height at the buoy in the south of Georgian Bay was reported as 0.3 metres. with winds of 10 knots out of the west. The barometer was rising. This was an improvement. The wind had dropped by 5 knots and the wave height by 0.6 knots. I didn't like the idea of the wind coming out of the west though, knowing it would hit us broadside as we crossed the Bay. We got all our gear on again and set off.
The day was clear - we could see right across the Bay. The tiny pinpoint of white which is the elevator and those dear ski hills on the Niagara Escarpment.
It wasn't fun. The waves seemed higher than 0.3 when we got to open water. Back to the wallowing motion. Back to my imaginative thoughts as I white knuckled it at the helm. I'm not much of a conversationalist when I'm nervous so poor old John didn't have anyone to talk to! The good thing was, that I didn't hear any creaking from the wooden frame and dear little Periwinkle was as desperate to get home as me. Somehow or other she chugged along between 6.1 and 6.5 knots all the way across the Bay. I swear she could smell Slip #10, her little spot at the Collingwood Yacht Club. Slowly, slowly, we watched the "distance to waypoint" diminish from 15 nautical miles to 0. With each milestone there was comfort - we're halfway; less than 5 miles; less than 3 miles; less than 2.5 miles; we're almost home!!! We watched the elevator and the ski hills get bigger and then we could even see the houses. Finally, we were in the channel approaching the dear old elevator. What a wonderful landmark it is. As we turned the corner into the Harbour, we were surprised and excited to see the building at the "Shipyards" housing development on the waterfront.. So much has changed since we left home. We can't wait to explore.
I was glad there were few people about. It was lovely just to have a few moments to take in the moment. 4,100 miles and we'd closed the Loop. How lovely to be home again. What a trip, what an adventure!
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