Wonders never end in Westport

In preparation for the next day, the Admiral studies the Ports guide to the Rideau.

4 June 2009, 1030 hours, Westport

When we find there is WiFi in the laundromat, we love Westport even more. While laundry is drying, we check out Church Street Bakery which just happens to be two doors away.

Back to the boat we haul, with our laundry, a loaf of the Maritime Brown bread, home-made sausage rolls, morning glory muffins, berry mix muffins and two types of tarts: pecan and raisin butter tarts.

It’s impossible to say which of the two bakeries is our favourite. They are both excellent. Westport Bakery is more European, Church Street Bakery is more Canadian with Eastern Ontario and Quebec influences. Both are run by young couples who have decided to carve a livelihood for themselves in a quiet village that bustles with visitors during July and August.

As we head back to At Last! we notice Janbarree II, a 42-foot trawler yacht built on a lobsterboat hull, that has arrived in the harbour. Jan is wearing a Nordhavn Atlantic Rally T-shirt. (NAR was the first powerboat rally across the Atlantic. The Captain was the only journalist to crew on all three legs, while the Admiral flew out to visit him during the Bemuda stopover.)

We discover that Jan was on the Nordhavn 46 Envoy on the leg to Bermuda while her husband, Barrie, crewed all the way. The four of us were together on the same dock and same parties in Bermuda five years ago—only to meet in a village dock on the Rideau Canal Waterway. Talk about a small world, eh?

After a short hike, at Salmon House, we pick up take-out walleye fish and chips for a delightful dinner with Jan and Barrie.

Succulent smoked salmon and an outstanding French baguette make for an exceptional lunch.