In boating a saying we hear often is “sometimes you watch the show, sometimes you are the show.” Well, we were the show!
The cruise to Little Current started out foggy but oh, so pretty! Once the fog lifted, the ride was nothing spectacular and once we were arrived in Little Current, things quickly went down hill!
It should be called Big Current
As we passed through the 100+ year old Swing Bridge, we were immediately upon our marina, but we were prepared with fenders and lines to handle our slip once it was assigned. Although we prepared for current, we underestimated its strength as it wouldn’t allow Three Sons to maneuver the turn into the slip. Thankfully, lots of friendly and strong boaters gave a quick push and pull to allow our stern to get sucked into the slip with the current. No damage to the boat, just the crew’s pride and another lesson or two learned for the next time.
Unfortunately, once we were safely tied up, the worst wasn’t over. An exiting boat could not power through the current quick enough to prevent a collision with another docked boat’s anchor pulpit. We learned later that significant damage occurred to the pulpit. Minutes later a sailboat attempted to leave their dock along side Three Sons. While they seemed to back out successfully, the minute the boat turned into the current it immediately pinned up against Three Sons. While we were able hold the boat in place while their crew tried to push off, there was a series of bangs as the boat slowly pivoted off our bow. At one point, the tip of the anchor pushed through their canvas top. When they were almost clear, their mast stay cable caught our anchor and the anchor spun in the pulpit to allow the cable to free. Unfortunately, one of the sailboat’s crew appeared to catch the brunt of the spinning anchor and really hurt his hand. They quickly turned the boat and slipped away from the marina before we could learn how badly he was hurt or the extent of the damage to the sailboat. Thankfully, Three Sons and Bob avoided any harm from the sailboat.
The next day started windy as predicted, so we attempted to get chores done. One load of laundry done, second in washer and first in dryer and we were doing route planning when all of a sudden, it got quiet. Oops, we popped the electricity. Upon further investigation the whole town was out. While we never learned the cause of the blackout, we did learn that was very significant, extending miles and miles beyond Little Current. The barely used generator was fired up to complete the laundry. After our fun-filled stay in Killarney, we were due for a few home cooked meals aboard the boat, so missing another restaurant meal was probably for the better. It was a bit eerie to walk the small town in the middle of the day with all the shops closed up “due to power outage.”
The next morning, we decided to push off the dock but, yikes, we were not expecting to wake up to 60 degree weather. Yet again, Little Current threw us a punch. We formulated a plan to get Three Sons out with the current working against us. Our friends, met us on the dock at 7AM to help with lines and pushing. With a great captain, a good plan and timing, help from others and few prayers Three Sons made it out of the slip, up the fairway and into the open water. As we looked back and saw 6 folks who were a great help raising their hands in celebration, we were humbled by the boating community. It was certainly all hands on deck and was heartwarming to see folks come together to support us. They say, it is not just the destination you explore, but the people you meet along the way. We could not agree more!
Good Bye Little Current, we will never be back!
