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So, the voyage is over. Back in Ontario. Back on land (which continues to rock, gently.)
The Mist of Avalon is tucked away at Snyder's Shipyard for recaulking and winter rest. A couple of guys were pounding away at the hull, digging out the old oakum before we'd even left the yard.
But I've skipped a few days, so I'll step back to one memorable day and evening, to be less foggy about it: the highlight of this adventure was without question Lunenburg's "September Classic". Classic as in a good sized fleet of wooden vessels of all ages, shapes & sizes (but tending toward "old" and "schooner") which converge on this Canadian maritime mecca for an annual race & shenanigans.
Long story short: A hastily assembled bunch of young sailors/enthusiasts unavoidably snagged at the skippers meeting like so many lobster pots on the rudder crewed the Mighty Mist (...and they quickly and competently had the ship tacking at the level of performance art within three or four turns).
Winds were light. 2nd over the starting line among the 3 big boats. (We need practice jibing in a timely fashion, but we're getting better - in PEI we were 5th out of 5 boats across the start. One more race under our belt and we'd be vying for the best start, without doubt). First at the start is about all we can hope for: DFL in the entire fleet in a dead & dying wind by the end of the race (but only because the two other boats we were able to overtake quit - QUIT! - before the wind stopped completely).
But it seems the sailing race wasn't really the point of the event (though the skipper *was* bestowed with the Giant Brass Nut trophy for irrational determination or something like that - "We may not be fast, but we're slow!").
No - FAR more preparation actually went into the storied "tiki torch dory race from hell" after the BBQ and sailing event. Long story shorter: Cap'n George and still-hasn't-climbed-the-mainmast Darin were seen flailing about the course in the ship's dory, breaking oars and spectacularly, repeatedly failing to keep clear of other vessels.
No hope for us, but senior Mist of Avalon crewmember Cloe in her own dory avoided the mayhem and delivered her torch-bearer to a commanding first place finish for her second year running! Congratulations, Cloe.
There was highly entertaining speechifying & awards-giving, rum, good food, great music, comraderie, etc, and rum. And a warm feeling in the gut which I interpreted as a desire to do it all over again next year. Or maybe it was just the rum.
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