Kincardine June 29, 2016

Peter and I agreed we would meet at 6:00 AM this morning to look at the sea and decide if we should travel early. The forecast was to be lower waves later, but we wanted to get to Kincardine early since we would only be staying one day. When I walked out Peter had already looked at the sea and decided to travel. Marianna had sent him out at 5:30 to check as she was anxious to get going.

We left at 6:10, a little after Peter. The trip initially was 31 miles due North to Point Clark, and then it was NE. Waves were 3-4 feet to start. Fortunately they were just off our nose, a point of impact that Annie handles well.  

For breakfast we had a delicious banana crisp that Marianna had surprised us with yesterday afternoon. It was still warm when she gave it to us. It was organic and had homemade granola as a topping. Delicious!

I suggested Kerry take a Dramamine and that was the last I saw of her until we arrived in Kincardine at 11:15. The trip was exactly 40.0 nautical miles, and waves were down to 2’ when we arrived. All in all it was a pleasant trip. Average speed was 7.8 knots. We carried our kayak on our top deck for its initial trip.

Once we arrived, I put another coat of varnish sealer on the step, took a shower and had a nice lunch Kerry prepared lunch from our left over fish dinner last night. This was all before Brillig arrived – I still can’t get use to being the “fast” boat.

We agreed with Peter that tomorrow is the best day to travel out of the next three. Friday looks terrible. We have 70 miles NW to go, so we want the seas as smooth as possible. So we will only be in Kincardine for one day. We are sorry to miss the Scottish  Festival which is this weekend. We will get to hear a bagpiper though, as one plays at sunset each evening on the old lighthouse, shown above.

First order of business was laundry. Kerry packed up three bags, and Marianna two. We schlocked them five blocks to the laundry only to find it closed on Wednesday. Bummer. Laundry will wait for Tobermory. We hauled it back to the boats and then we spent the afternoon shopping.

We are getting together for cocktails at 5:00, and then going to an authentic Indian restaurant for dinner. Marianna quizzed the owner/cook for some time about his ingredients and cooking style. Apparently Peter loves Indian cooking, especially Butter Chicken, so he is all excited about the venue. It turned out to be very good.

On the way home we stopped for ice cream, and could hear the sound of bagpipes drifting from the direction of the lake. We followed the sound and discovered the Kincardine Scottish Pipers practicing. We listened to several songs, then walked home along the riverfront. Peter said they had about 30 piper bands competing in the Scottish Festival last year.

I imagine we will leave early tomorrow. It’s about 9 hours for us and 11 for Brillig to Tobermory. We plan to do some trip planning on the way tomorrow. We do need to plan to head somewhere after Tobermory. Before we turn in, we will sip some Sambuca together as we listen to the piper saluting the sunset.

As it turns out, the piper did not show! I had gone over to Brillig with my binoculars and camera, looking like a real tourist, and its a no show. We guessed the piper must be piping with the group practicing. We did enjoy the Sambuca though.