After our filling meal at Bob's Chowderhouse, we moved Sea Sharp to the mooring he assigned us just off his fuel dock. There are only three moorings, a powerboat, well off and a smallish sailboat, fairly close. The mooring ball was an absolutely huge (probably three feet)cylindrical hard plastic buoy. Judy and I retired early and settled in for what we thought would be a quiet evening. Heard a couple of bumps around midnight but they increased in frequency around 1:30. For non-boaters, a fibreglass sailboat is like a large Tupperware container and any slight bump resonates with a sound that conjures up major damage. The tide was shifting and Sea Sharp was sailing around on the mooring, bumping the aforesaid mooring ball then drifting dangerously close to the smaller sailboat. So Judy and I get dressed, figure our options (given the surging tides, it would have been a real chore coming back to Bob's dock). Ultimately we simply pulled all the kelp encrusted line on deck and put on a short bridle. Had a couple more small bumps but pretty well cured it.

Up early and underway about 6:30. While the tides were foul we did get a real good flush out of Head Harbour Passage making up to 10 knots for a while. But alas it was not to last. Once we rounded Campobello, we got hit by the worst of the Grand Manan Passage tides and charged along at a thrilling 3 knots for several hours. It was a very pleasant day, however; clear for the most part and only got lumpy after noon. Our plan was Cutler but when we got along the entrance we decided to push on to make for a shorter trip tomorrow. So we went to Roque Island. This is a very special place. If it weren't for the frigid waters it could pass for a Caribbean beach. Seems to me I read somewhere that this is a very unusual phenomenon; a crescent sand beach tucked away among the rocks and knubbles that make up the Maine Coast.

Now we're in lobster fishing areas and there are certainly more traps than lobsters. You have to keep a constant vigil so as not to run over one and snag it in your prop. All of us Maine cruisers have tales of wrapping lines around our props, disabling the boat, always in the worst conditions. Anyway, we worked our way up a fairly intricate passage to Roque, took the cat ashore, went ashore for our own walk, tidied up the boat and now doing chores.