July 29 – Sunday
The morning weather was coolish but sunny and pretty, I (RCB) had slept late to 06:00. I made the usual coffee on the boat because I couldn’t wait for the marina coffee service time. When Polly got up, soon after the coffee was made, we had the remaining muffins Kate & Matt had given us the day before. She then took advantage of the convenient washer and dryer and left with a bag of our white things. I took advantage of the time alone, to open the engine compartment hatches and check things down there – all was fine, just needed a half pint of oil to top off the Cummins after the recent oil change. When filling the sump with new clean oil it is so transparent that you can’t be sure exactly where the level is on the stick. I also wanted to re-check the strainer bowls for leaks since I had things apart for cleaning. I also studied up on the procedure for doing a “system re-set” on the autohelm controller. Using it for the first time in 2 weeks yesterday, I discovered the flux gate compass wasn’t agreeing with the magnetic compass or the COG display on the GPS. The re-set should allow the flux gate to join the party and put the little boat symbol in the correct heading relationship on the plotter display. No worries mate – just some buttons to be pushed.
The Weiland’s, a cruising couple from FL we met on the Rideau, had emailed a recommendation for the “Bar-B-Que” at Montebello, so we made a 6:30 dinner reservation. It was fabulous! Outdoor seating in a beautiful setting and 5 or 6 stations where chefs would grill to your order, a variety of fish, scallops, shrimp or at another, steak, quail, lamb and sausages. Still another station would whip up a stir fry using just about any combination you could name. At the other stations you could find cheeses, salads, breads (notice I am using the plural in all cases) and a variety of steamed vegetables. It was a grand feast accompanied by a nice bottle of New Zealand Cabernet Sauvignon and we topped it off with dessert(s) and coffee. Of course we both over indulged. It was a perfect evening.