Is it a month and a half since this journey began? It seems more than that yet that was one motivation of beginning this process; to fill time with more varied activities and give the illusion of time passing slower. My feeling is that that is exactly what has happened.
However long it's been today we set sail on that passage to Halifax.
We decided to head out early. My internal alarm clock awoke me at 4:00. Jason and Lori rolled off thier bunk a half an hour later. We had breakfast out of the way and all items stowed securely by 6:00 and cast off from our slip at 6:15.
The wind was not very gracious being very close to doldrums so we decided to motor sail.
As the morning progressed the wind became a little stronger and we had Makina moving at an average speed of 6+ knots. It was hard to believe the dream had come alive and Makina, skippered by me, was in the open waters.
This was technically a sea trial, where you are testing the vessel for sea worthyness.
The engine acted like a champ. It never missed a beat. We sailed for approximately 12 hours covering approximately 70+ nautical miles. The auto-pilot who has been named the Ghostly Helmsman worked like a charm as well.
It allowed us to have a comfortable lunch while the Ghostly Helmsman did the driving.
Only miles from the entrance to a canal we would be taking some strong and gusty winds finally came up. Makina drank it in and even took on a slight heel. Then we all heard a noise on deck like something hitting metal. We could not decern what it was until going forwsrd to drop the sails once entering the approach to the canal.
There is a track on the upper sode of the boom that one guides fasteners on the sail down. They then attach the sail to tge boom. There is a similar track on the mast that the same kind of fasteners affix the sail to the mast.
Well that sound we had heard wss the very ladt fastener to the boom tearing away from the sail and likely hitting the boom. While going forward to drop the sails due to approaching the channel to the canal four more of the fasteners at the end of the sail let go.
We wuickly dropped the sails and continued up the canal on engine power.
The only thing that stopped us was a swinging bridge at the beginning of tge canal which had closed down for the day, so we docked at a small wall/warf which the government supplied for boats as ours.
We will need to visit a sailmaker in Kingston for repairs.
We will probably get to sleep in tomorrow until the swing bridge is open for business. We can all do with the rest after such a long and eventful day.
May the wind be at yout back!
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