It is now 10 pm and Phil was able to tune in - sort of - the CBC national news on the telly. Of course the first item is the pipeline shutdown in the US Alaska oil fields. Just terrific.

It has been an interesting day here in Gore Bay. We managed to get a sleep-in today but still were at the laundromat by 9:30. We have this little wagon we use to carry stuff so I headed out for the laundry while Phil went back to the boat to get the forgotten grocery list. Returning with the list he picked up the wagon at the laundromat and carried on to the grocery store across the street to get the items on the list - plus a few more. He took these back to the boat and stored them all away and then brought the wagon back up the street and back we all went with the clean clothes. The place was really busy and I was glad I had gone early. A few things still damp around the collar but they dried quickly when laid out in the sun on deck.

About 11 am we noticed a very large yacht rounding the bend into the harbour. It was to be the first of nearly 30 boats made by Hatteras or Tiara which were stopping in Gore Bay for a rendezvous. This is when owners of a particular type of boat or of a sailing club travel from wherever to a particular place and just have a get together. We spent some time walking along the very nicely laid out boardwalk along the waterfront and watching all these boats coming in. In addition, the wind was up this morning and we watched the waves crashing onto the point of land at the approach to the harbour. Some of the boats coming in were not much bigger than us and they were bouncing all over the place. We learned later that the waves on Lake Huron, where these boats have come from, were 2 metres high.

Lining up to Dock
The boats continued to arrive for several hours and at one point we were chatting with a fellow from the Canadian Yacht Charters who was also watching them come in. We had noticed on the main dock of their establishment a very large trawler in very bad condition. I asked him if that was the trawler that was hit by the tornado and sunk and he said that it was. Apparently they left it at the dock for a couple of weeks so people could see what can happen to their boats but he says they are going to move it soon. The yacht is a mess, covered in dried mud, broken glass, roof and radar arch torn off, just like you see in the photos of Florida boats after a hurricane. Apparently there was a family of four on the boat and they had heard the storm warning and were on top of the boat in their lifejackets when they saw the storm coming and were able to jump safely into the water in the anchorage.

He told us some other tales of people in the storm and it is an absolute miracle that noone was killed.

After lunch we continued to watch the boats docking and then took a short walk to town to Betty’s - a small convenience store - for a newspaper.

Dinner was followed by showers to get us clean and watching the sky cloud over and the wind, which has been running about 20 knots all day is now picking up and the boats here are just rocking all over the place. Phil says he’s going to bed before he gets seasick. As I am watching the computer screen I am bobbing back and forth and things are going in and out of focus. Where’s the gravol? Possibility of rain tonight with winds up to 35-40. And we are hoping for a calm morning to head out of here. Maybe not.

Our plan at the moment is to head about 15 miles due north to Eagle Island which has an anchorage on the north side. If the wind is from the north or east we will probably carry on about 2 more miles and tuck into McBean anchorage for a couple of days.

Sunset in Gore Bay