7 Aug 15
The wind and forecast was fair for Charlottetown, so we slipped our dock lines at 08:00 and were away to the west, sailing and motoring without incident to the Charlottetown Yacht Club. Our old dock partner “Aurora” (from Quebec City and Tadoussac) was waiting for us at the YC. We found out that this yacht is owned by Stephen Wang (owner of Wang Computers, etc.); he still has not invited us aboard for a drink. EPIRB, life-raft and replacement macerator pump were all awaiting us at the YC. We walked into town for a pint and on the way recognized the office of Daphne, friend of a friend, so stopped in for a quick “hello”. Then, it was on to the Churchill Arms on Queen Street. Within about 5 minutes of entering, we were old friends with everyone in the place. I got an invitation to play tennis in the morning and we got lots of advice on where to go and what to see in Charlottetown and on PEI. We also had an excellent chicken tikka masala curry for dinner. Charlottetown is a small, but lively, happening place and everyone is SO happy for summer to finally be here that they can barely contain themselves. Not sure when we got back to the boat, but one of our dock neighbors (“Blue Moon”) is from Bristol, RI and came over to chat for a while about our cockpit enclosure.
http://youtu.be/N4trJk2FY0Q
46-13.793 ’N, 063-07.455 ‘W
8 Aug 15
I was up early for the promised game of tennis; 4 quick sets with 15 other guys of about the same skill level (won two, drew one, lost one), so it was a very enjoyable morning. I’ve been invited back for another pick-up match on Monday. When I got back to the boat, the Admiral was in a conversation on the boat with a local couple, Christine and Paul (she is a graduate of Texas A&M and recognized our Texas flag at the yard-arms; he is building a 50’ fiberglass catamaran (“Misfit”) in their garage). They ended up very graciously loaning us their car for the day, so we went on a lovely driving tour of PEI (including the world’s best fish and chips at Richard’s on the north coast) and got in a bit of grocery shopping as well. After we dropped their car off in the evening and had a tour of the boat project (amazing), we stopped in at the Old Triangle for a pint and a bowl of excellent soup and a few minutes of live Cuban music before we returned to the boat worn out from the day’s exertions. Unfortunately, there was a wedding going on at the YC and they carried on loudly until the not so wee hours of the morning; they finished with a very lively rendition of “O, Canada” at about 03:15.
9 Aug 15
After last night’s party, we slept in until after 08:00, then went for an excellent brunch at the Dundee Arms. Afterward, we spent 2 hours at Starbucks catching up on WiFi related activities. Then, it was back to the Old Triangle for a meeting with Daphne and a listen to the Irish jam sessions hosted by noted local fiddler Roy Johnston. Afterward, the Admiral and I had dinner at Terre Rouge, well-regarded local bistro.
10 Aug 15
Too much rich food or the cold front that blew through last night; but not a good night’s sleep. Tennis was rained out. I went up for a haircut first thing and arranged for a diver to come round and install a new prop zinc just after lunch; just in time, too, as the old one was nearly completely gone. Then, it was time to tackle the macerator pump. This one (in the aft head) was even more difficult to install than the other one; it was impossible to get more than one hand on it at a time and everything had to be done by feel, as it was impossible to see what you were doing once your hand was inside the compartment. Altogether, it took better than 4 hours; although, to be fair, 1 hour of that was spent repairing the toilet seat cover hinge that got broken during the process of wedging myself in and out of the head compartment. Whoever designed this layout should be condemned to perform the repairs/replacements in these boats for the rest of his life. After I cleaned up, we had dinner at a new place in town - “Local 343” - and it was excellent, and very good value.
11 Aug 15
After breakfast, I got the EPIRB installed (temporarily, anyway) on the davits; I need to find a couple of aluminum or St. St. or fibreglass plates and 4 panhead bolts to make it into a more permanent installation. Today was a touristic day, so we trotted over to the tourist board to get a bus schedule. Then, walked over to St. Dunstan’s Basilica to have a look; beautiful inside and out. Beaconsfield House, built by James Peaks, who was a very influential ship-builder here in the late 19th century (until he went bankrupt), was next on the agenda. Then, onto the Lieutenant (pronounced “Left-tenant around here) Governor’s Palace and grounds, which includes a beautiful garden. We have now seen the bed (and collected a photograph) where Prince William and Kate Middleton slept on their visit to PEI; makes me all giddy just thinking about it. After a late lunch, we rode the bus out to the grocery store, Atlantic Superstore, to stock up for our run to Bras d’Or Lakes. Just after we got back to the boat, John (tennis buddy we met at the Churchill Arms on Friday) and wife Gayle dropped by for a chat and an invitation to tennis tomorrow morning, although the forecast does not look good. Then, it was off to dinner with Daphne; we went back to Local 343 for another excellent meal and a fun evening.
12 Aug 15
As forecast, it was raining when the alarm went off, so no tennis this morning. We hung out on the boat and it rained harder and harder as the morning progressed, with the wind gusting to SE 22; this is a rock and rolly marina when the wind is in the south. Using the boxes that our supplies were shipped in, we made up and finalized a cardboard template for a binnacle storage tray I plan to build this winter (using teak or some hardwood); it will house binoculars and the hand-held VHF along with a couple of drinks when we are sailing, or 4 or 5 drinks when we are at the dock. It finally got so rolly at the dock that we braved the rain and made a run up to Starbucks. Later in the afternoon, we walked back up to the Churchill Arms to say goodbye to all our Charlottetown friends. We shared a curry meal with John and Gayle and got back to the boat about 21:00.