When we arrived off Chester Yacht Club we discovered the crowded mooring field limited the available anchoring spots so we elected to anchor across the harbour in a secluded bay off Meisner Island. We were unable to go ashore on this private island but we had a great view of the Chester waterfront and settled in to watch the Thursday evening races. Unfortunately, this was the calm before the storm and the racing fleet drifted around for an hour before calling it quits and heading to the bar. We enjoyed a quiet evening watching a trio of deer feasting on the fresh cut hay while 2 pairs of loons swam around the anchorage. It was the perfect end to another great day.

We had made plans with Whitebird to head into Chester for breakfast on Friday morning but then the rains came, and rain it did. From 11 a.m. Friday until about 2 Saturday morning we received 220mm of rain and the thunderstorms never let up. Whenever we looked at the radar there was a long line of storms continually moving up the coast, every once in a while the rain would abruptly stop for 10 minutes, then the heavens would open again. Luckily our anchorage offered great wind protection and despite the pounding rain we were nice and secure. However, one crack of lightening certainly got our attention, the whole inside of the boat lit up as if someone shone a huge spotlight on us and about a minute later we could actually smell the after effects. Needless to say once things settled down we all had a chance to catch up on our sleep. There were numerous alerts on our cell phones during the night and the following day and as news reports started coming out we realized just how bad it had been.

We were eager to get off the boats and stretch our legs but didn't want to wander around town until they had a chance to assess things. Quaker Island is a day park supported by the local parks authority. The short dinghy ride took us to a nice beach where we found a trail leading to a small lighthouse perched on the hilltop. From there we had a great view of Mahone Bay and the surrounding islands, the descent took a little longer as we took time to feast on wild raspberries and blueberries.

Today's picture is of a loon at a Meisner Island