No corkscrew!

Friday, September 19

Walt lowered Coracle, our inflatable dinghy, from its davits in Braesail’s stern in the early evening of another delightful autumn day whose activities included motoring from Reid Harbor to Ganges Harbour on Saltspring Island,

reading, writing, working on German lessons, watching sailing and cooking videos, reading cruising guides, and beginning to plan our travels for the week ahead. Wind was absent, the sunshine in Ganges harbor was bright,

the busy harbor contained a large number of watercraft of all types and sizes, and seaplanes zoomed away and back from a nearby dock. Walt wanted to prepare a particular fish dish that required capers and kosher salt, of which we had none on board the boat, and so he decided to take Coracle to the dinghy dock and do a bit of shopping at the grocery store near the docks. I reminded him that we needed a corkscrew (see Thursday’s post about Wednesday’s wine cork-removal adventure), and he added that item to his mental shopping list. When, however, he returned to Braesail following his excursion, and I brought his shopping bag aboard and began to unpack it, I saw that it contained kosher salt, capers, bananas, clementines, etc., but did NOT hold a corkscrew! Since a display of kitchen utensils that included this tool was not apparent as he shopped, it had faded from his memory! Fortunately, we had part of a previously-opened bottle of wine available to accompany our dinner, and Walt wouldn’t have to blast the cork out of another bottle using our boat fender inflator!

It was soon time to wiggle into bed; Saturday’s activities would include a dinghy-ride to shore, a walk to the town’s central park and shopping area, and a visit to the famous Saturday Market to which some 100 local vendors contribute their wares, among which will probably not be corkscrews!