On the last day of June, 2015 we untied the lines and headed from Meldrum Bay to Drummond Island. We were very excited to be returning to the USA, but neither of us could put our finger on exactly why. The weather was chilly and fair, but with a lake haze that washed out distant shores. We were motoring due to some sail problems, but our passage was uneventful, with nary a hiccup from Perky, our diesel. We were happy to have those problems finally behind us.
At Drummond Island Yacht Haven we were directed to come into the fuel dock to clear customs. The wind was blowing us off the dock hard, so Kristi threw our midship line to the dock hand with instructions to tie us off to the cleat at the end of the dock. Normally this would give us a spring line and we could use the engine to snug us up to the dock. The dock hand just stood there and pulled on the line. Did this 100 pound girl really think she was going to muscle in a 35,000 pound boat? We did manage to get tied up with a little drama after being pinned to the pilings in the middle of the slot.
Our main reason for stopping here is because US Customs has an officer on site. The Customs agent was very nice and even printed out a form we thought we didn’t need. Importation with an old boat that was built in the US was a non-event, and we were back in the USA! The friendly folks at the marina decided that with the problems we had docking, and the wind increasing, we could just stay there. After a short rest it seemed like a good reason to celebrate, so we took one of the $12 rental cars and went into town for dinner and drinks, and even a game of pool. It felt good to be “home” again.
The evening was cold, but we were excited to be getting closer to home waters.
Hey. I’m glad Mike and I got to see you before you left Canada.