Playing with Playfair
I set my alarm for 7am. Mostly because we didn’t take Kona to shore last night before Last Post and we couldn’t manage taking her afterwards. She was in desperate need of a reasonable time potty excursion. It was much cooler this morning with a nice breeze so the mosquitoes had been thwarted for the time being. I also knew that Playfair was most certainly going to hike to Topaz Lake today and I wanted to be up and watching them for when they woke. No signal here in the Pool meant I couldn’t text the captain, or visa versa. Technically her radio was on, but I wasn’t sure how monitored it was at anchor.
I enjoyed writing my blog up on deck and enjoying the quiet morning with the Loons. Captain was going to make some breakfast but the crew of Playfair was starting to look like they were all up and maybe even done with their breakfast so Captain and I headed over there to chat with them. All the kids gathered around on deck as we approached and we asked if we could join them for the hike with Kona. They were thrilled to have a dog for the day and that meant they could deal with some extra grown ups along. I gave Christine a Ciara Madeline shirt and also got sizes for her two mates. She gave us crew shirts as well! Our first crew shirt exchange!
We headed back to Ciara and got Cory up and moving. We packed our swimsuits, swim diapers (life jackets that we wear upside down), snacks and water and headed back to Playfair. They are bow tied to the rock face and invited us to disembark from the bow sprit with them which was a cool invitation. We climbed the later from our dinghy to the tall ship. We lifted Kona up. The kids loved having Kona on board. Kona loved sniffing the deck for any crumbs the teenagers may have dropped. The kids asked about our signal flags. They were very interested and said they had even pulled out their books and deciphered the letters and numbers. I was very impressed. They were looking for a known nautical signal so they weren’t sure if they were random or didn’t understand. I told them that it was just where we stood…politically. There were some “ah! I get it” from the older crew and lots of smiles. Almost like they wanted to hug us. When it was time to disembark all the kids headed to the bow. Kona went eagerly but one look said she would have to go back to the dinghy and then swim to shore. The bow sprit is one long wooden pole with a bow sprit net which was very wide weaved. It would have left Kona hanging from her belly looking like she was ready for a nail trim for naughty dogs.
On shore the kids showed us where Playfair and Pathfinder (their sister tall ship) had all marked the years dating back to the early 90’s on the rock and we began our hike. I was able to hike today like a normal person. My knee/leg is really only sore in the morning but it was still evident that 97% of our group was under the age of 18. The Captains and I as well as one or two slower kids kept up the rear while the rest hurried to the lake.
We had a great time at the lake. I watched all the kids jump off the high cliff and pick a bucket full of blueberries. Kona got lots of swimming time from her lower jump and I was able to get in and float for a while. Cory opted out. Captain showed Christine how to fly his drone as she just got one as well. Swimming felt a little odd on the knee so I was careful to rehab and build strength while not hurting myself. The cook from Playfair made a small cooking fire and the crew had a picnic at on the white quartzite. We ate our snacks and talked with the kids while enjoying the Lord of the Flies vibe.
The hike back was quick and uneventful. We spent five hours from shore to shore enjoying the day with them and as soon as they were all accounted for and back on board we watched as they untied from the shore and heaved their stern anchor much like our three kids do, except there were 7 kids on the line pulling up a much larger anchor. Christine radioed over and bid us farewell and many thanks that went both ways. I blew my conch and they returned the call on the horn before they set the sails and quietly sailed out of the Pool towards Little Current.
Cory made us a cheese plate accompanied by spicy pickles and sausage. It spoiled our dinner, but we didn’t mind. We had such a great day with Playfair that we were just so happy to sit on deck with the amazing weather and read and chill out.
The boat next to us was having happy hour. We met one of them yesterday and they are all traveling together (unexpectedly, they had met down in MI and turned out they all had the same time and winds to stay together). As they left one of them came over, now knowing our names and said how much they truly loved the trumpet last night. They had a debate if I was playing Taps or not and I informed it was Last Post, a Canadian equivalent end of day call. The assured me they were coming back in an hour (yes it was already 8pm!) to get a front row seat.
Captain and I enjoyed reading on deck for a little longer and took Kona to shore BEFORE Last Post as we learned our lesson from last night. The sky turned the most amazing pink and purple for a stunning cotton candy sunset that matched my sweater dress. Last Post was beautiful and well received. I never know how to respond to all the applause but I am grateful it means so much to many.
The mosquitos came out a little later, but they did, so we shut down the hatch and came down for the night. We made a little snack and watched a little TV with Cory and called it a night. Totally sleeping in tomorrow and having a relaxing day.
