Departure from Shediac, NB
It is interesting how originally we sort of had it in our minds that once we were in the water we were essentially set to go. Obviously there would be but a few things, but really once afloat, why not be afloat but on the move? Classically this turned out not to be the case, but it probably worked out for the best.
There was the obvious first task of acquiring the tall and pretty important aspect of a sailboat, the rig. Of course this turned out to be a whole fiasco but overall was pretty smooth. Up in a day, it turned out there were a few things to get right before we could leave. We had to modify ever so slightly the size of the holes in the chainplates such that the cap-shroud clevis pins would fit. Due to our exorbitant amount of tools on board turns out we had the right drill bit. A few calls around Moncton found us with the correct size pipe to make some sleeves for the forestay and we were ready to go on the rig front.
A big item to check off was the sale of Buela, the trusty Volvo 240 we had driven from Guaymas, MX all the way up to Shediac and used as the commuter during the refit on land. There is also probably a whole blog to be written here so lets leave it at there were a few logistical things to solve and mechanical issues to rectify as well as the actual selling in a foreign country, but overall was also a pretty dang smooth process.
Another blessing in disguise here, much like our time aboard Karma 1 without the mast, was some time aboard just getting to know the boat on the water and at anchor. We spent some calm nights aboard and some windy ones learning to trust the anchor, get to know the sounds, practice with our new fancy electric windlass, and doing short motor trips around the bay to get over the initial excitement and semi daunting feeling of driving around with a new, larger boat. We also got more familiar with the sounds and workings of the engine such that when we did leave we did not have any surprises and it was more like just another trip, happening to be further this time around.
One of the final and arguably most important things which had to get done was the taking the many kind and helpful souls who we met during our time in Shediac aboard for a sail. We had some great day sails out and around the bay which allowed us to share what we had made with the help of the many people we got out as well as work out some of the kinks and find further small issues we still had to fix before the boat would be “done” so to speak. Looking back it was great to have the line handling and some storage things done before instead of doing the whilst bouncing around and heading out for the final time.
Exactly 4 months to the day from our arrival in Shediac, September 8th we left at around 10h30 from Shediac bay heading for Summerside on Prince Edward Island. We said goodbye to the two Alexies on shore before heading out between the now familiar buoys under motor. The sail was to be a good one. Pretty mellow with wind in the correct direction and with the Northumberland Straight being not too huge the waves should not be too much to contend with.
Originally we were thinking of going straight to Charlottetown but decided against it not wanting to do an overnight on the first go round and also as the autopilot needs some tuning to not drive us only in circles. Summerside is easily reachable in a day. The sail was a good one. We now knew the boat a bit more and had fun dodging the 1 million lobster pots which are out in the straight this time of year. There must be some strange currents in the area as we had some awkward wave patterns which tossed us around a bit as we got further from the western edge and the fetch increased. All being said, we were able to sail the whole way up to the beginning of the Summerside entrance buoys. Now having been we could have sailed onto anchor but the buoys are rather close together and going off just the chart we thought why risk it. The entrance was easy, around a cute spit with a classic east coast martitimes light house and we were able to anchor just off the marina along side another cruising boat!
Summerside ended up being a neat town, though a town nevertheless. I think we are looking forward to being back in more remote areas where the activities hiking, reading, and coming up with elaborate meals instead of the walking around a town and inevitably spending money on a craft beer. We are glad we stopped though it was a nice spot to see and a friendly spot to have as our very first aboard the new yacht.
They also have what we have decided as the best ice cream we have had out cruising, do not let Cows in Charlottetown fool you, Holmens is significantly better and it is in an old mansion with an ice cream garden? What is not to like
