Morning came and we realized that while we were in close quarters, there was still some daylight between us and our neighbors. Our proximity was not even close to being like our earlier close encounter in Melocheville. We cleaned up a bit and prepared to cast off. Two dock hands came over to assist in walking us back along the 100 foot finger pier and avoiding its dagger-sharp point when we had to make a tight turn. As they approached, we commented that it looked as if some animal had been in the garbage overnight, a mere 15 feet from our boat. In unison they replied, "The bear was here." We both thought that was really cool and were sorry that we missed seeing his dining experience.
We passed quickly through Killarney Channel and entered the North Channel. It was a cool, damp, and hazy morning and the wind-driven waves produced a consistent two foot chop. An occasional wave managed to splash up onto the pilothouse windshield, erasing any plans of spending time on Fiberglass Beach. We passed two lighthouses early in the morning as the haze burned off and the sky cleared. By the time we reached Strawberry Island Lighthouse (below, right) it was a perfect day on the water.
We had timed our departure from Killarney in order to make the 11:00 bridge opening at Little Current. We arrived just a little early and joined a short line waiting to pass through the opened Swing Bridge.
Little Current was a busy place with many marinas, restaurants, and beaches. There were sailboats, fishing boats, Loop boats and cruise boats. We spotted a crew setting up a fireworks display to starboard and a lab playing in the water to port. The temperature had risen nicely and warranted another change of clothes. We ran until about 3:00 and then ducked into a cove on Clapperton Island with good protection from a predicted southwesterly breeze. I sat on the swim platform and dipped my feet in the crystal clear water. On days like this it is easy to forget how far north we are. The 70 degree water provided a quick reality check. Up to the bow I went and managed to finish two short books as thunder rumbled in the distance. I checked the radar, saw what was headed our way, and proceeded to prepare the decks for a typical afternoon thunderstorm.
I played around with trying to capture the lightning bolts on my iPhone. I caught a few -- more luck than skill. I deleted a lot of pictures where my timing was off.
The rapidly moving cloud formations were just as impressive as the lightning. The wind was the first to arrive and we could see it moving across the water as ripples. The ripples turned into waves as the wind gusted a good 30+ kts. We swung around a bit, but the anchor held firm. The rain stayed away for a awhile, but eventually dumped on us for about 20 minutes as we fixed dinner.
The skies cleared and both the temperature and humidity dropped. We should have a good day tomorrow to continue up North Channel towards Drummond Island. We made our flight reservations this morning. Just as we've caught up to a group of Loopers ahead of us and are being caught by another group behind us, we'll park Crossroads for a week and head home on Thursday.
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