He's finally here!

Sept. 6 - Today is the day! I feel like a contestant on the reality show "Survivor" who is getting a visit from a loved one back home.

With Michael arriving tonight and our guest cabin piled high with stuff, we were highly motivated to get things organized. After one day short of six weeks cruising, believe me, it had to be done. So we stashed away things we aren't using and found better places to put other things. This boat has a tremendous amount of storage.

I wanted to explore Charlottetown, so Wayne sent me on my way while he stayed behind to do laundry and get some boat things done. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island is a lovely small city with many historical buildings, and the marina is conveniently located near all the amenities of the downtown area. I walked around town and browsed through the shops for a while, then Wayne and I both got badly needed haircuts, went to the grocery store, and had ice cream.

Back at the marina, we finished up the laundry and caught up with email. A shift in the wind made our dockage less than ideal, so the dock master suggested that we move our boat to a more well-protected slip. This would give us the added bonus of being farther away from the party-ers that kept us awake last night. Although there are a bunch of fishing boats at Charlottetown Yacht Club, none of them are used for fishing any more; people buy retired fishing boats, fix them up (or not), and use them as recreational/party boats.

Michael's flight got in at 9:00 and he took a cab to the marina. We had told him where to find us before we knew we would move, so when he found a 150' yacht tied up where we were supposed to be, he thought we had upgraded!

Michael hadn't eaten dinner, so we went out to a local pub and had steamed mussels, nachos, beer, and Michael ordered tuna. It is so good to have him with us. Thanks for letting him come, Amy - you get the daughter-in-law of the year award in our book. We wish you could be here too, of course.

Sept. 7 - We left at 9:00 and had to motor because there was no wind. On the plus side, calm water made it easier to spot whales, so Michael got to see a few on his first day out, as well as quite a few dolphins. We docked for the night in a lovely little place called Ballantyne's Cove, Nova Scotia, just south of Cape George Point.

Sept. 8 - Yesterday and today we've enjoyed warm, sunny weather with calm water and little wind. What a change from the 7-8 foot waves and 30 knot winds we experienced earlier in the week! I guess the variety of conditions keeps us from getting bored.

Later...We maneuvered our way through the buoys of St. Andrews Passage, which would have been scenic had it not been foggy. We saw a lone seal swim by the boat. The open water of the Atlantic Ocean welcomed us with more fog and waves. We anchored in a secluded cove with lots of little islands - Yankee Cove, in Whitehead Harbor. As we sat in the cockpit chatting, we were startled to hear voices; we looked out and saw another sailboat emerge from the fog and come in to anchor. I think they were as surprised to see us as we were to see them. The fog lifted as we ate dinner; it’s very pretty here.