We had considered anchoring, but the bay was not very
protected from the wind. It meant things were a bit bouncy on the pier during the
day as we were exposed to the wind and the wakes of passing boats, but the wind
died down in the evening and we had a comfortable night’s sleep both
nights.
There was a bit of drama on Sunday afternoon as two
ambulances arrived at the pier and the fire rescue boat and a police boat
pulled up. A power boat had hit a rock off Clayton and began sinking. Luckily
the four people on board were all safe. It does remind one how quickly a fun
afternoon on the water can turn dangerous.
There was a lot of
rain on Monday morning so we stayed in the cockpit and read our books. Later in
the day we went out for lunch, picked up some provisions from the grocery store
we had scouted out the day before and dropped by Scoops for some yummy ice cream.
On Tuesday morning we visited the Antique Boat Museum. This
is a great museum located right beside the municipal pier. They have a large selection
of boats on display. The highlight was “La duchesse”, a house boat originally
built as a summer home for George Boldt, of Boldt Castle fame. The boat had
sunk in its berth at the end of the war and the first floor was submerged for
four months. The boat was salvaged and restored by Mr. McNally of Rand McNally
fame and he used it as his summer home until his death in 2005.
For a wooden boat that is 100 years old it is in remarkable
shape. The interior is almost all mahogany and absolutely beautiful. It has several guest rooms downstairs and
bathrooms with claw foot tubs, several rooms for servants quarters, a dining
room, large kitchen, and upstairs a master suite, parlour, office and outdoor
patio. Several of the ceilings had gold leaf decoration. There is a lovely Steinway
piano aboard and a lovely antique pewter collection.
The boat has never had a motor and has always been towed
from location to location. Standing on the deck you could almost imagine the
boat filled with visitors and Mr. Boldt or Mr. McNally holding court.
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