Sunday 2 September 2012

Trenton to Jemmett's Landing

August 29: The winds were rather fickle today. Although we had replaced the cocktail jib with the number 1, it was still hard to find enough to keep us moving, so we motored much of the way to Picton.

The yacht club looked full, so we decided to try the cruising club and pulled into one of the slips that wasn't marked "reserved". It turns out the process for docking at the cruising club is a little more complicated than it says in the Ports guide, and you really need to call Ted in advance. Any how, having talked to Ted he assured us that the slip we were in should be fine overnight, although slip 2 was the usual guest slip, and we went up to the top of the hill and paid at the spa.

Slip number 7 belongs to John and Carol Carruthers and Kaihuna. They returned early from the islands to beat the next day's wind (foreshadowing) and found us in their spot. They graciously pulled in to number 2 and we spoke at length about appropriate ways to get even with Ted ;-) Next morning they gave us a much appreciated ride to and from the grocery store, allowing us to stock up on heavy things so we remain very well supplied for the final leg.

August 30: With groceries stowed we motored just long enough to clear the harbour, then unrolled the #1 to take advantage of the forecast breeze. We made good time down the reach with the wind almost dead behind us at 10 to 15. Things heated up a little in the gap at the end of the county and Laura and I took turns having the fun of steering. After clearing the Brothers we were able to come up a little, but the confused sea state took the fun out of it for about half an hour, as we transitioned from the channel to the lake waves.

By Carruthers Point everything was predictable again and the wind was over 20. Our speed picked up and we started getting blasé about 8 knot surfs. We peaked at 8.8 multiple times and managed to sustain 8 for over a minute down by Oak Point. Not bad at all while dragging a dinghy! By the time we rounded the corner towards Jemmett's Landing, the wind was 25 to 30, but our peak speeds had come down with the smaller waves. We pulled into the dock about 1730 making it about 7 hours from Picton, averaging well over 6. The Masons were there on Dancing Spirits to catch our lines and share some snacks.

Truly a glorious and exhausting day, and a great welcome back to Kingston wind!


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