Little Current to Killarney
Trip Start
Jul 21, 2001
1
3
45
Trip End
Apr 22, 2002
Killarney,,
Ontario,
Canada
Saturday, July 21, 2001
After years of dreaming about this cruise and spending the last few months in a hectic rush to prepare the boat and ourselves, our final day as landlubbers arrived rather peacefully. Once the house was winterized and the last stores put aboard, we actually had time to relax before dad and my brother Roger and his family arrived to see us off. Roger treated us, Margaret's mother Ann and Margaret's friend Joanne Wade to a lovely lunch. He also presented us with a beautiful print of the Little Current bridge to remind us of our home port. Then it was off to Spider Bay Marina to leave for a 10 month cruise and winter in the Bahamas.
It was very nice to have not only our family but our neighbours Dave and Dorothy Stephen and fellow cruisers the Stevensons to see us off properly. While Joyce Stevenson took pictures of the event, her husband Clayton gave us a large bottle of wine to "get you to Killarney peacefully".
We managed to achieve our first goal as we made the 2 pm bridge opening with (hard to believe) several minutes to spare. Accompanying us were John and Heather Hancock aboard Spindrift and Bruce, Jan, Laura and Carol Cunningham aboard Enchanted Summers. We were blessed with a beautiful sail as Spindrift, a 32' Carver went on ahead to pick out an anchorage in Snug Harbour.
As we entered the narrows of Landsdown Channel, the wind died and it was time to motor to our anchorage. That was when "the SILENCE" entered our lives. It was the first time in 17 years aboard Mystic Loon that I turned the key to the engine and nothing happened. We continued sailing at about 1 knot and kept trying. Finally the engine turned over and it was on to the anchorage.
The next morning, that same terrible "sound of silence". Thankfully we were tied up beside a self-taught master mechanic and soon John had found the problem. The starter was gone.
Today, the fourth day of our cruise, we have made it only as far as Killarney. Enchanted Summers has just left after saying goodbye with presents and passing us with each crew member waving immense long streamers as they waved goodbye and returned to Little Current. Its great having such good friends.
Hopefully the next installment will have much better news but, until then, here we wait in the little bay across from Killarney Mountain Lodge waiting for my every so kind brother to bring a rebuilt starter and new solenoid from Sudbury.
