Leaving Brighton, I paid very close attention to Ray, and kept to the narrow track based on a combination of depth reports on the Raymarine plotter and the navigation buoys. After the collision yesterday it was a nailbiter but I didn’t hit the ground at all.
There is a government dock at the end of the canal that has bollards or cleats attached to massive concrete blocks. All three of us boats in our tiny flotilla stopped there for the night. The other two boat crews went to the motor racetrack which is about a 200 meter dinghy ride followed by almost a kilometer walk through the bush.
Pierre and I did not go to the races. We made dinner and played Rummy, and before we turned in for the night, I turned the anchor and spreader lights on in case the kids were late and lost in the pitch dark. They didn’t mention that they got lost, but they did acknowledge that the lights were a help.
Just before Presqu’ile Point my Raymarine plotter went wonky and displayed a test pattern of drivel. (We called the Raymarine, “Ray” and the Autopilot, “Otto” so Ray and Otto guided us most of the time.)
I turned it off and on many times and pulled out my phone to message my brother who is a guru when it comes to such things. He messaged me back a few minutes later. I had already pulled up Navionics on the phone and would have done just fine without Ray. His advice was “wiggle the wires in back of Ray”. I did this and Ray was fixed, in time to show me that I should go way out into the lake before turning right towards Cobourg.
It was a relatively easy upwind motor to Cobourg.
