Day 1 - Yarmouth NS - Beverly MA
Magic Friday
Phil, Di and Annelise
Tue 31 Jul 2018 17:57
Up at first light, quietly slipping the lines and away, past trawlers unloading overnight atches..time to sail back to the U.S. coast. Hoping to arrive before dark the next day. Thankfully, no early morning mist -we could see our way around the twists and turns of the harbour and the rocky inlets, passing Bunker Inlet and then Cape Forchu's lighthouse, marking off the bouys just in case a mist descends..finally out to sea. straight into a mist bank! Fog-horns on hand. Was that a fog-horn astern? The Boston ferry - travelling at 33 knots! A quick call The "Alakia" confirming they have seen us on radar and AIS and will stay north of our (somewhat slower) course!
Light winds, motor sailing under full canvas over a silky smooth sea surface, expecting to pick up a stronger southerly wind sometime in the forthcoming night. A couple of trawlers, some strange bouys (weather markers?), a reapir of the Canadian courtesy flag 9the second one!), and a northward leeway as the tide flows into the Bay Fundy were the only things to occupy the watch - no sunfish tail fins to sight this time!
Traditional sundowners and a hearty evening meal (pre-cooked) set us up for the approaching night. Before the moon rose the planets once again command the night sky: Mars (south east) burning red and casting shimmering light across the dark water, Saturn (higher in the sky to the south), Jupiter (south west) bright and alone and Venus (western horizon) quickly following the sun. The Milky Way "dust cloud of stars" arcs across the sky - south to north-east. The Plough (Big Dipper) points out the North star (Polaris). Then the moon rises and takes command of the night sky, a bright light to guide our way across the Gulf of Maine.
Phil and Di
