Yesterday morning after a calm anchorage and a great night’s sleep, we left Bay du Vin Island early, knowing we’d have to beat upwind about 60 nm to our next stop. It was a long day, and not easy.
The wind got up over 20 knots on our nose and the swells got over 6 feet high. Pounding into those conditions was noisy and slow. With the engine at max cruising speed, we were moving at about 4 kts. The bow would sail up a wave and then smack down HARD on the following trough. The sounds were not for the faint of heart! Nothing broke, nobody got hurt, and we just ground it out.
We were delighted to arrive at the marina at Sawmill Point Boat Basin in Boctouche. After the 12 hour day we had, ANY Marina would have been a welcome sight. How delightful that this was our best marina yet on this trip! The harbor master, John, helped us tie up and then urged us to hustle into town for dinner. He drove us to the restaurant (an Acadian one) because he knew it would soon close, and he didn’t want us to miss it. He was deeply kind and helpful throughout our stay. The Marina clubhouse itself is gorgeous — original wood flooring from the sawmill building in the 1900s, with new walls and windows in the early 2000s. It reminded us of a north woods resort.
This morning, some of us ventured into the local arboretum, and then we all went out for coffees and a visit to the weekly farmers market. We would have enjoyed staying longer, but we are eager to get to Prince Edward Island. We will be there by dinner time.
