Honest to goodness, we have motored far more than we have sailed lately, and I am sick of listening to the sound of that engine.

We paid attention to the current (in the right place) and timed our departure from Cape Negro Island for 2 hours before high tide in Saint John, when there would be no current against us. It worked, but there was also no wind so with our mainsail up just for looks we motored along. The weather forecast called for SW 20 with gusts to 25, and seas between 1 and 2 metres, dropping to less than 1. We planned alternate places to pull in if it was just too rough out there. Well, I don't know where the forecasters live, but it wasn't around here!

We motored in very light wind for 7 hours under overcast skies and occasional showers. I knit, Jim edited his waypoints list and customized a page or two on the chartplotter; we read books and watched the horizon for signs of other travelers. A seal popped up here and there to have a look at us, but those were pretty empty waters.

Last year we came upon Carters Beach at Port Mouton in the fog and rain. This time it was minus the fog. It is a beautiful spot with beaches for walking, hills for climbing and rocks for scrambling over. We anchored really close to the shore and still had 25 feet of water below us. We saw a couple of trawlers anchored nearby, but by the time one of them cruised by and I realized it was Brown Eyed Girl, it was too late to say hello to Ken and Sherrie whom we'd met in Shelburne last year.

The thunder cracked, lightning flashed and rain beat down for several hours during the night, but the sea was calm. This was a quick stopover and we'll have to return to roam the shores. (How many times have I said those words on this trip?) We shall return!