At Last! reprovisions in Picton

We enter Picton Harbour by boat for the very first time, after seeing it from land countless times since the early 1990s.

Click on any image in TomCat Tales for an enlarged view.

Unexpectedly, we encounter At Last again, as the owners depart as we arrive. The weather must have forced a change of plans as they told us Cobourg was their destination when we met in Trenton a week earlier.

Picton Harbour Inn, our home away from home during The Great Canadian Cheese Festival on the first weekend in June.

The Captain’s heart always skips a beat at the sight of a trimaran, this one called Sulis docked in front of the town houses at the head of Picton Bay.

Home-made Amberjack catches our eye: Maximum of space in minimum of length.

The self-important captain of a visiting tall ship figured he did not have to pay overnight docking fees at Picton Harbour Marina as he was doing interviews with local media.

At Last! all alone in Tip of the Bay Marina on the eve of Labour Day weekend.

A visit with Jamie Kennedy and his mom

It was wonderful meeting the artist mother of Chef Jamie Kennedy at a 50-year retrospective of her painting at Jamie's farm in Prince Edward County. We were especially taken by Patricia Kennedy's Chinese paintings.

She has been painting most of her life but until this weekend had never formally shown her work. For the occasion, Jamie created a gallery in one of the barn buildings on his 42-acre farm in Hillier.

As we're holidaying in the County on our boat, without a vehicle, we were fortunate to meet John Thomson of the new County Cheese Company at Waupoos Marina and hitch a ride to Hillier.

Photo: Jamie Kennedy with his mother, Patricia Kennedy, at a retrospective of her painting. Click on any image in TomCat Tales for an enlarged view.

Yes, we find local fresh fish!

As we cruised east on the Bay of Quinte, every time we consulted our Ports Cruising Guide we were reminded how excellent fishing is in these waters. By the time we turned south on Long Reach and into Hay Bay to anchor behind Ram Island, we were salivating for local fresh fish.

Emails to several friends in Prince Edward County came back negative. No one seemed to know where local fish could be had, no one except Peta Shelton in Picton. She suggested we try Kendall Dewey.

Eureka! Kendall tells us on the telephone he has pickerel and yellow perch available. A $30-cab ride later we have in hand a pound of pickerel for one night, a pound of yellow perch for the next.

Here’s Kendall with our fillet of pickerel, which we grilled for about 15 minutes on medium heat along with red peppers and zucchini. Just salt, pepper and a splash of olive oil on the fish. The Admiral had hers without butter, the Captain tried his with butter. Either way, it was divine. Chilled estate-bottled pinot gris from The Grange of Prince Edward was the perfect beverage for the feast.

When we leave Picton Harbour this morning for Waupoos and head east on Adolphus Reach, we’ll watch for black flags marking Kendall’s nets where the pickerel was harvested.

We tried the yellow perch, first with butter on a pan on the grill (rather than the stove which would have heated and smelled up the interior of At Last!).

Then we tried the perch on a seafood tray on the grill. Both ways with salt, pepper and a splash of olive oil. The Admiral preferred the light grilled flavour while the Captain liked his pan-fried in butter. It was hot day with the temp still at 29C at seven o’clock in the evening so the Captain poured delightful Sullyzwicker Red from Rosehall Run Vineyards on ice.

So, if you’re boating near Picton, or live in the County, Kendall Dewey is your source of local fresh and frozen fish. Call him at 613.476.7546. He’ll give you directions to his camp on Elmbrook Road near Picton. Kendall supplies fish to local restaurants such as Blumen, East & Main and the Picton Golf & Country Club.

Cheese at last on At Last!

Ram Island, Hay Bay

29 Aug 2012 @ 1430

Cheese at last aboard At Last!

It was only Compliments Camembert but creamy, in a generic sort of way, yet pretty good for mass-produced cheese. Wonder who makes it for Sobeys et al? Must be someone in Quebec.

Eating well aboard At Last!

As usual when we cruise, we’re enjoying fine meals aboard At Last! such as this plate of grilled shrimp with red peppers, zucchini and cremini shrooms.

We’re still trying to perfect grilling steak on our small Magma. With this T-bone we tried 3 and 3 minutes, with the first minute at high heat and the rest at medium. Liberal use of Barberian’s Steak Seasoning added a nice touch. Next time we’ll try 5 minutes in total to deliver the beef a tad less than medium rare.

A special treat was this fabulous butter tart made by Mary Wood, the pastry chef at Jamie Kennedy Kitchens in Toronto. We warmed it on the barbie wrapped in foil.

Sunset ends a wonderful day on the hook in Sandy Cove on the Bay of Quinte near Belleville, Ontario. Our plan is to slowly cruise around Prince Edward County where, every June, we organize The Great Canadian Cheese Festival.

At Last meets At Last!

We couldn't believe our eyes as we entered Fraser Park Marina in Trenton at the start of the Trent-Severn Waterway. There was another At Last docked just ahead of us.

The bigger At Last is a Meridian 37 owned by a couple from Manotick, en route to Cobourg.

What a nice surprise to begin our Bay of Quinte 2012 cruise!

On the hook

A cormorant gives At Last! the once-over. Click on any image for a larger view.

As much as I like leaving miles in my wake and arriving in a new destination, going nowhere in an anchorage suits me fine, too.

At Last! is anchored in 20 feet in a lagoon on the Leslie Street Spit within sight of downtown Toronto. Although the skyline is visible, all is quiet in the anchorage as the sun begins to set.

Two muskrats, looking fat and ready for winter, cruise by. A lone cormorant, from the colony that calls the place home, comes by for a look-see. Four men sweep into the lagoon for a rest before continuing on with their at-dusk workout in a coxed four. Through the trees, I can see a large ocean-going ship, all lights lit, entering Toronto Harbour from who knows where.

I sit still and watch the reds and purples in the sky turn deeper and darker. I sip a Kilikanoon Shiraz, content to wait until the scene disappears in darkness before I turn on the cabin lights and start supper.

Sausage three ways is on the menu: Mediterranean, Sweet Tuscan and English Banger.

In the morning, I’m reminded that might makes right. A rude tugboat captain forces me to raise anchor and move 50 yards so he can have easy access to another lagoon where some sort of construction is taking place.
Muskrats on a cruise.
Rowers working out at dusk.
So close yet so far.
Tug William Rest.