1 Aug 17

We actually had the air conditioner on last night; it was hot and windless in the marina. We were up at 07:30 and enjoyed breakfast in the solarium. The Admiral made another quick run up to the grocery store and I washed the boat down, again, and got it ready to go. We pulled away from the dock at 10:00 and moved over to pump out the HTs and fuel up (the diesel pump was finally repaired late last night). As we pulled out of Gore Bay to head NE to the Benjamin Islands, the wind was SW 8 - 10, so we cut the engine and got the A-sym spinnaker up. It was a lovely down-wind spinnaker run of 15 miles all the way into the Benjamins, including a well-executed jibe. We anchored in Benjamin Islands - I anchorage, along with about 34 other boats, just before 15:00. Even with this many boats, there is still plenty of room, but this is the most “crowded” anchorage we have been in this year. We rowed ashore to North Benjamin Island on the north side of the anchorage to gather a few blueberries; they were pretty picked over, but we got a cup or so. Back to the boat for a swim (72.7 F), happy hour and dinner aboard.

46-05.385’N, 082-15.203’W; Log = 15.5, Sum (2017) = 1476.3

2 Aug 17

We had a bit of rain in the early hours, and as a result thereof, we slept in until after 09:00. It’s a hard life, I know. After breakfast, we rowed over to South Benjamin Island and scaled the summit, and picked a bunch of blueberries. The views from the top overlooking the anchorage, Clapperton Island and the Main Passage to the south and Darch and Innes Islands to the west, were spectacular.  Arriving back at the boat at 13:30 just as is started to rain, we settled in for a quiet afternoon. At 17:00, Joe and Brenda, with son Jaydon, from “Northwind” and Stacy, Helen and Casper, from “Watermark“, a C&C 33, came over for cocktails and a nice chat. The wind died down and the rain passed on and it was a lovely evening.