Thursday, July 19, 2012

PEI

After leaving our anchoring spot by Portage Island, we made the short trip across the bay to Escuminic to get fuel.  Ke 'Ola Kai had stayed there the night before and confirmed they had fuel, and we were due for a fill-up.  But when we arrive the harbormaster told us that since the Lobster season was over the fuel was only open from 11-1 each day.  Uugg.  We had a long day ahead of us to get to PEI and were hoping to make full use of our early start.  No problem, though, he'd be happy to call to see if the lady who runs it could come down.

While we were waiting, a couple of lobstermen came over and after seeing our boat was from Mass, started asking if we know anything about the lobster boat in Maine that could go 58 MPH?  They had seen a video on youtube, and were wondering what engines it had in it.  Then sure enough, about an hour later the fuel lady arrived.  I just love small town life.  Everyone is your neighbor, and this is just what you do for neighbors.  And gladly we were not the only people waiting for fuel by then.  Another guy had arrived in his tractor to fill it up, and another boat had pulled up too.

Fueled and ready, off we went to PEI.  On arrival, we put in to Summerside at the Silver Fox Curling Center and Marina.  Apparently the seasons are too short for either enterprise to run all year, so why not combine them?  All kidding aside, I think this was the most accommodating place we've been the whole trip.  The club members and staff were incredibly friendly and helpful and made for a great stay.

I've been battling with the charger for our Macs which started getting flakey about a week ago, and got progressively worse until it would no longer work at all.  I've been searching and searching for a place to buy one, and you would think nobody in Eastern Canada uses Macs.  I finally tracked down "The Little Mac Shop" in Charlottetown, PEI, so the day after we arrived we rented a car to tour the island and get a charger.  Well, when we arrived at The Little Mac Shop the proprietor informed us that they don't have chargers.  WTF?  You're kidding me?  Nope, he doesn't stock them but he was happy to order one for four days from now.  WTF?

Later that day, back at the Curling Center and Marina, I was chatting with Bill, one of the members.  Just for kicks, I asked him if he knew where I might find a charger.  "Don't you worry, we'll take care of you" was his response, and off he went with phone in hand.  OK, great, I've got nothing to lose, I thought, and off I went to also investigate having John FedEx one from home, what the cost and delivery time would be, how customs would work, etc.  Somehow, I HAD to get a charger.


The next morning, guess who comes walking down the dock and guess what he has in his hand?  Bill, you are a God!  He had a charger to loan me, and had found a place in Charlottetown that had them - in fact the very store that The Little Mac Shop owner told me didn't have any.  Rat Bastard!  Bill said he knew someone who worked in Charlottetown and they would be happy to pick it up and bring it back to the yacht club that evening.  Wow!


We still had the car that we had rented, and I was in the mood to spend a little more time on terra-firma, so I called to confirm the place had the charger and to have it put aside, and off I went back to Charlottetown.  As soon as I had the charger in hand I texted Bill to let him know we were all set and to arrange to return the loaner.  No problem, he said he'd stop by the boat later to get it.  When I got back to the boat, Laurie said Bill had stopped by to pickup the charger, and dropped off a Rubarb Pie as a gift.  Wow! Problem solved, loaner returned to Bill, gifts flowing in the wrong direction, and blogging can continue.

2 comments:

  1. Are those the chargers that attach magnetically to the macbook? Olivia has had trouble with them too.

    What is the approximate range of the boat with a full load of fuel?

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  2. It's a well know problem with the mac chargers, acknowledged by everyone except Apple.

    With a good reserve, range is between 200 and 800 miles depending on how fast we go. The challenge is that ports are few and far between, often with 50-100 miles between fuel availability.

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