Leamington to QCYC

September 9, 2012

Pat's express arrives at about 5 in the afternoon.  The winds have been light all day so we decide to take off immediately to Port Colbourne.  We say goodbye to Pat and Belinda and cast off the lines and motor out of Leamington harbour.

We point Sansei towards the Pt. Pelee light.  After 2 hours we finally arrive at the light.  14 nm out and still in 25' of water.  Last time I went by this light it was dark so really could not see what it looked like.

As we rounded Pt. Pelee light the wind picked up from the N at about 10 to 15 kts.  First couple of hours were fine, we unfurled part of the headsail to steady the boat and we motorsailed along at 7 kts. After midnight the winds had built to about 20 kts and the waves have built to 1 to 1.5 meters.  I was up in the V berth and with each crashing wave would be jolted out of any slumber that I was having.  I tried to move aft to one of the settees but each time, I started feeling nauseous so I quickly went back to the nook in the V berth.  The deck prism over the V berth now leaks to water from the waves ws dripping down getting everything wet. After going back on watch, Robert and I watched the sunrise through the clouds.  Excellent.

In the morning the winds subside and the waves flatten out.  We have a more comfortable ride towards Long Point.  For the next several hours we kept seeing Long Point.  I guess there is a reason why they called it Long Point.

As we approach Port Colbourne, the winds pick up from the west.  We hoist the main and pick up a little speed. In a short period of time, the waves have built again to about 1 m. We drop sails and then head into Port Colbourne just as the sun is setting.  26 hours and 188 nm we arrive at the mouth of the Welland Canal.  We tie up at the Municipal dock and call in to the Seaway requesting passage.  There is 1 other sailboat there and we are told that we will be transiting the canal with Zingara, but no earlier than midnight.  I recall that a friend from Star sailing usually sails on a boat called Zingara.   Sure enough Brian M is delivering Zingara back from the Beneteau NA Regattta in Cleveland.

At 2am, Zingara gets the call and is informed that once a Coast Guard boat exits the canal we are to enter and proceed to lock 8. Lock 8 has a drop of about 1' to compensate for the locks and the height of  Lake Erie.  No need to tie up to the side, just stop the boat, locks close and then the front lock opens and off we go.  Its about 14 nm from Lock 8 to Lock 7. The temperature has dropped to about 8 deg C and as a result, there are some heavy fog patches.  Our instructions are to stay with Zingara so I am following the stern light and trying to keep pace.  Hard to do when going in and out of the fog patches. The light goes dim so I throttle up a bit and then all of a sudden the light brightens and we are only a couple of boat lengths away. Time to throttle back.  We approach Lock 7 and there is a Big Black Boat in the lock coming up so we have to wait until it has passed us.  As I approach the wall the throttle lever falls off and I have no way of throttling or changing gears. O Oh! We are going pretty slow so we are able to tie up and Paul goes to work and quickly repairs the lever.  The connecting bolt had loosened so it just needed some tightening. The boat had been making a funny noise starting in Lake Huron and then across Lake Erie.  We could not figure it out. We now believe that the lever was loose so the transmission was not being fully engaged and the noise was the clutch plates vibrating.  After the repair, the noise has gone.   I will change the transmission fluid and hopefully did not damage the clutch plates.

The most impressive set of locks are Locks 6, 5 and 4.  These locks are back to back and drop about 50' each.

Going down the canal is way easier than going up.  As the water drains from the lock, there is very little turbulence.  Going up, there is lots of turbulence and it is very difficult to hold the boat in place.  Going down, it is very relaxing, a little push here and there to keep the boat steady.

I had paid for the transit online and filled out the necessary forms electronically.  We arrive at Lock 3 where I have to pay.  I give them the Seaway receipt that I had printed out.  The lock guy taking the receipt insisted that I manually fill out the form with all the information. Some day, the modern electronic age will catch up with the canal staff.

We arrive at Lock 1 and there is another BBB in the lock so we have to wait until it has exited the lock.

We exit Lock 1 at 1030 and go and tie up along the wall.  Jim T makes breakfast.  Hard to tell what meal one should be eating since we have been on the go for almost 2 days straight and have been awake for 8 hours already. Food is good and it hits the spot.  We cast off the lines again and exit the Canal and point Sansei towards Toronto. 

The wind picks up and we are able to sail.  It was a welcome change from the droning of the engine.  Jim T has crashed in the aft cabin so we turn off the depth sounder which continuously beeps in a strange pattern.  Hopefully Jim appreciates our efforts to provide a quiet passage across Lake Ontario.

After 4 hours, we sail into Toronto Harbour and then drop the sails and motor into QCYC to the dry sail dock.  Belinda and Pat greet us. After a quick unload of fender boards and jerry cans, we move Sansei back into her slip for the first time in 2 years. Its good to be home. We celebrate with a bottle of Glenmorangie and a bottle of El Dorado.

Ready to Leave Leamington

The weather has finally changed to light winds.  No strong wind warnings or gale warnings.  The dinghy is packed and stored below; jack lines are on; running and steaming lights checked; fuel is topped up. We are ready to leave.

The plan is for Paul H., Jim T. and Robert C. to drive down from TO courtesy of Pat's express.  Belinda will drive back to TO with Pat and me and the crew will depart for Pt. Colbourne later this afternoon.

September 8, 2012

Yesterday we spent a quiet day.  The marina was having a Customer Appreciation BBQ so we went for a beer.  After the beer we walked to the upper downtown about 40 minutes and had lunch at Taco Tony's.  It's very much like being in Mexico; the waiter did not speak much english so my 2 tacos and nachos ended up as 2 tacos and fries. Belinda had the chicken flautas which took awhile to arrive.

The Heinz plant is right in the middle of town. There's tractors with tomato trailers driving all over town.

We also saw a wedding party go by. They went down to the Marina for photos.

Stayed onboard and made dinner for a change. Had the last bottle of Kenneth Volk Chardonnay that we bought in Mentor, OH.  Quiet evening.

Sarnia to Windsor to Leamington

September 4, 2012

We are startled by the sound of thunder in the morning.  That changes all the plans.  We are staying put.  After breakfast, its still raining with the sound of the occasional thunder.  We all pile into Bonnie and Jim's car and drive into downtown Sarnia.  As we tour the sites of Sarnia (refineries) we end up downtown.  We find a mall which is pretty much empty, most of the stores are closed. We end up at a pub and have lunch.  For dinner, I make a pasta with sausages and we have a great dinner on the boat.

September 5, 2012

The rain has passed so we are off to Windsor.  Bonnie and Jim stay on board and Belinda drives the car to Windsor.  It is pretty exciting to motor under the Bluewater bridge, with the current we are doing 9 kts.  The winds are light from the SSE so we motor all the way.  Downhill is definitely easier than uphill.  Apparently there is a 30' drop between Sarnia and Windsor.  We pass 3 big freighters during the day with 2 of them passing at the narrowest part of the St. Clair river. We are careful to stay on the Canadian side of the river so that we do not have to report into border services upon arrival at Windsor.

As we motor across Lake St Clair, we come across a regatta. They are sailing Etchells, a 3 person sail boat.  There are several Canadian boats.  I thought that one boat was Hans Fogh, which was later confirmed.  Apparently, the regatta had not yet started so this was a practice race.

We arrive at Lakeview Park Marina and tie up on the Federal Wall.  The marina does not have WiFi so we have to go to the local restaurant Lilly's Kazzillys to get onto the internet.  Before dinner we drop into the Windsor Yacht Club for a drink.  The one server remembered us so we had no problem getting a drink.

September 6, 2012

Bonnie has decided to drive around to Leamington with Belinda.  Jim and I leave Windsor and motor down the Detroit River.

Its Navy week in Detroit and the brig Niagara is tied up in front of the Ren Center.  As we motor down the river, the US Coast Guard radio informs us that the Niagara will give a cannon salute to commemorate the war of 1812.

As we get down to the south end of the Detroit river we start seeing black clouds in the west.  The US Coast Guard radio indicates that the line of thunderstorms are moving north east.  After a couple of miles, the sky clears for us so we are OK.

We exit the Detroit river doing 9 kts. again (mostly 7 kts. along the way).  We have seen only 4 freighters all day.

Lake Erie is flat so we motor eastward towards Leamington and make very good time.  We are tempted to continue on but there are no ports to stop 10 to 20 miles past Leamington. We arrive at Leamington marina and Belinda and Bonnie have just arrived to greet us as we refuel and pump out.

We tie up behind another Tartan 4100 Excalibur.  We had seen this boat in Vermillion and Putin Bay, Ohio, earlier this summer.

The original plan was for Eriks R. and Jim T. join us as crew and we would sail the length of Lake Erie to Pt. Colbourne (about 180nm), the entrance to the Welland Canal.  The forecast included a strong wind warning so we decided to stay put and Eriks and Jim stayed in TO.

For dinner we went to Ray's Ribhouse. Great ribs and chicken wings.

September 7, 2012

Checked the forecast this morning.  Not just a wind warning but a gale warning. I let Eriks know that he should wait another day. Organizing crew's schedules with weather is a very difficult thing.   We will take it day by day to see if we can get crew and a weather window.

Jim is checking on the hurricanes that are travelling up the Atlantic coast headed for Newfoundland.  Bonnie is getting annoyed at us for obsessing about the weather and storms.  Despite the wind warnings, the winds are light here.  Very tempting to leave and head off to the next port.  Over night the winds had been light so the lake is flat. But the distance to the next port is much.

Bonnie and Jim leave to start driving back to Holyrood, NL.  They will stay at our house in TO on the way through.  Jim will give Princess a big belly rub so she will be very happy. Thanks to our neighbours Mark and Anita who will be away allowing Bonnie and Jim to park in their driveway.

We spend the morning cleaning the boat up. After lunch we head off to the Walmart and Metro for some reprovisioning. The gale warning has been downgraded to strong wind warning tonight. Some really ugly clouds went south of us today.  Glad that we stayed put. Still not looking good to leave Leamington any time soon.

Its Friday and its Happy Hour.  Enjoying a martini and the weather seems to be clearing, now waiting for the strong winds to start blowing.

Tobermory to Bayfield to Sarnia

September 1, 2012

Winds have finally subsided and then switched around to NE.  No wind warning in the forecast so we are off to Kincardine.  We take the Cape Hurd Channel rather than the Devil's Island Channel which shortens the distance somewhat.  Cape Hurd is narrower but no worse that other channels around here. We are able to sail on a broad reach doing 6-7kts. but after an hour the wind drops a bit which puts arrival into Kincardine rather late.  We started the motor and kept the speed at 7 kts.  The wind shifts more N so we furl the headsail and motor sail with main alone. We are following a trawler out of Sarnia yacht club, Mary Rose, with Ken and Leslie.  All day we slowly close the gap.  We talk on the radio with Marty on Queen's Ransom who is ahead by a couple of hours. As we approach Kincardine, the waves have now built to 1 to 2 m so we are surfing down the face at 10kts. What a ride.

As we approach Kincardine, there is an emergency call on the radio and Mary Rose goes out to investigate.  No distressed boats are located.  We go to the fuel dock and top up with diesel.  The dock hand says that the emergency was a laser type boat that had capsized but had managed to get ashore. All good.

After a shower, it is off to see the parade.  Every Saturday night during the summer there is bag pipe parade which goes down main street and turns around and comes back.  By the time we get there the parade has already gone down the street.  There does not seem to be any sign of them coming back so we head off to the Bruce for dinner.  As we are having our drinks, the parade comes back.  A pipe band followed by the entire population of Kincardine.

September 2, 2012

We leave Kincardine at 0810.  We again wake up at first light to the sound of Bliss starting her engine, doing the chart plot beeping and then operating the bow thruster. Bliss is the C & C 51 that we saw in Gore Bay earlier in the summer.  They left Tobermory at first light.

The other boats, Queen's Ransom and Mary Rose, left early but were headed directly to Sarnia, about 80 miles. We are headed to Bayfield, only 45 miles so we do not have to leave as early.  We are off the dock by 0810 and sail south along the west coast of Ontario. Once we turn southerly, we are able to broad reach in 15 to 20 kts of wind.  We sail along at 8+kts but got a little overpowered so we furl in the head sail and slow down a little to 7+kts. We cruise along all the way to Goderich when the wind diminishes.  We have to motor the rest of the way 10 miles.  We get into Bayfield and the dock hand Ethan remembers us from our June visit.

Terrence, who was crewing on Stella B back to Goderich came by to say hello.  We had a couple of beers and got the gossip and news of the local boaters.  They had a 13 hour sail from Tobermory back to Goderich.

Bonnie and Jim drove in from St. John's via the James family reunion, New Brunswick and bee lined across Ontario.  We head off to the Black Dog for dinner.  I had pork tacos to make up for the missed Pig Roast at QCYC.

John and Heather H, former QCYC members also came by to say hello.  Also Reynold from China Rose, dropped by to say hello.  We last saw China Rose in Mary Ann Cove when we had Pat and Paul onbaord.

Tragedy in Bayfield today.  Two boaters went swimming and 1 could not be found.  (http://www.lfpress.com/2012/09/02/one-person-pulled-from-water-without-vital-signs-another-missing-in-lake-huron-near-bayfield)

September 3, 2012

Jim and I departed Bayfield, while Belinda and Bonnie drove around to Sarnia via Grand Bend.

We had light ESE winds so we motored sailed for several hours until the wind died and furled the sail in.  After lunch, the wind picked up again from the NNW and we were able to motor sail again.  As we approached Sarnia, 3 freighters we upbound and lots of boats sailing up the shore.  We entered the outer harbour and there must have been 15 power boats anchor and backed into shore. After a $3.50 pump out we tied up in our assigned slip.  The Valiant that is normally tied up here has left for the sunny south.

I stop by Queen's Ransom to say hello to Marty. Ken from Mary Rose also welcomed us. Its Happy Hour.  Sorry no photos as the internet connection here is slow.

Still In Tobermory

August 30, 2012

The winds did not subside so we stayed for another day.  We had breakfast with David H. at the local greasy spoon and after that David left in our car to drive back to Toronto.  Since we weren't going anywhere, we decided to go for a walk to the Visitor Center for the Bruce Trail. It's not very far but technically we did walk along the Bruce Trail. Only 742.5km to Niagara.

We ran into Wade from Stella B.  We last saw Stella B in Gore Bay.  Stella B had the intention of hauling Gore Bay and taking a seasonal slip next year.  Apparently the 5 grandkids ganged up on Wade and in no uncertain terms demanded that he return the boat to Goderich so he is delivering the boat back to Goderich.

Wade's crew is Terrence who has a Bayfield 36 in Bayfield.  He is an old friend of Dwight and Carol, who are now on their journey south.  Terrence used to work the boat show at Dwight's booth. He was very happy to hear that they were journeying south again.

For dinner, we went back to the Fish & Chip Place for the famous Tobermory Fish Taco.  We shared a table with Wade and Terrence. The tacos did not disappoint. Excellent as ever.

Belinda and I ended the evening with a nightcap at the Crowsnest Pub.

August 31, 2012

The wind eased up slightly overnight but today's forecast was for 20 kts of wind from the SW veering to the W at 20 kts and then backing to NW 20 kts. We decided to stay put for another day. One power boat left this morning but returned a couple hours later.  They had encountered 6 to 8 ft waves and the occasional 10 ft wave.  Its nice to have one's decision confirmed.

We went for a walk around Bug Tub Harbour over to the Big Tub Resort. We ran into Eva and Mark from Liberty's Reach, a Tartan 3500.  They had also returning south along Lake Huron and decided to stay put for the day.

This is the view from patio of the Big Tub Resort.  Lunch was good and beer cold.

We also had a visitor joining us for lunch.

After lunch we walked out to the Big Tub lighthouse.

The big news for the day is the blue moon that is happening tonight.  This is our 4th full moon of our adventure this summer. We are hoping that we will be back at QCYC before the next full moon. It's Pig Roast weekend at QCYC.  This the first Pig Roast that we will miss in the 17 years that we have been at QCYC.

Tobermory II

August 29, 2012

We arrived back in Tobermory to meet up with David H.  After dropping off Dawn and Steve in Killarney, David sailed Sansei down and then sat at anchor in Big Tub Harbour for 2 nights. We went to the Grand View restaurant for dinner and watch the sunset.

During dinner the moon was rising.  It is almost full, so this will be our 4th full moon of the trip and the last blue moon until 2015.

We arrived back from St. John's after a week of fun going back and forth across the island.  Belinda's family had a reunion at the Humber Valley Resort near Deer lake NL.  31 family and significant others showed up.

We did bus trips, boat rides, golfing and a couple of bottles of wine, beer and other spirits disappeared.  The highlight of the weekend was the progressive dinner. Many surprises and excellent food.

On the way back across the island we spent a night in Brigus. The blueberries were in fine form.

We walked Belinda's land to see if the proposed plans would work.

 

The forecast for tomorrow is for strong winds from the SW.  It does not look like we will be leaving Tobermory tomorrow.

Toronto

Back in Toronto to attend a Going Away party for 3 boats leaving QCYC for the sunny south and avoid the Canadian winter.   Rick and Wendy on Silver Fox II, Carol and Dwight on Tapas and Deanna and Ken on Allure are heading off to Oswego, NY, through the Erie Barge Canal to the Hudson River and then to NY City. Bon Voyage.

We left David H. with our boat in Killarney, Dawn and Steve are joining him Saturday.  Other friends from QCYC Stephanie and Chris are staying at the Killarney Mountain Lodge for a family gathering.  The group went for a day sail on Sunday.

We are now off to St. John's NL and then drive across the island to attend a James family reunion.  Should be fun.

Snug Harbour II

August 14, 2012

After running some errands, we left Little Current and made the 11am bridge opening.  We have been exchanging emails with Jonathon and Nina on Blue Hour, a boat from our club who were up in Lake Superior all summer.  We have been trying to meet up with them on the way up north and since they got back in the North Channel.  They were coming into Little Current, reprovisioning and then meeting up with us in Snug Harbour.

We arrived in Snug Harbour and there was 1 other boat anchored in the corner.  The winds were expected out of the SW so we dropped anchor in the SW corner.  During the rest of the day several other boats arrived and anchored.  A trawler anchored in the corner and then proceed to to turn on and run his Honda generator.  Very annoying.

Jonathon and Nina arrived late in the afternoon and invited us for dinner.  We had an excellent dinner of pizza and corn on the cob with Joanie and Jonus. Jonas told us about the pike that he almost caught. They told us about their travels in Lake Superior and how disappointed they were about not seeing very much wild life.  Good to catch up with them finally.

August 15, 2012

Blue Hour hauls their anchor early.  They have decided to go to Tobermory in advance of the bad weather forecasted for Thursday.   As they left Joanie and Jonas are screaming: "We are going to Tobermory!"

We watched a beaver swim across the harbour back to its lodge.  It actually looked like 2 animals swimming together.

The forecast for today was chance of rain and thunderstorms.  All day we watched thunderheads go north and south of us.  It stayed sunny all day and then cleared up in the evening.

The trawler ran the generator only 3 times today, the longest for 3 hours.  Very annoying.  A charter boat came into the harbour and anchored right next to us.  Once the wind changed direction, it became very apparent that they were too close. They moved into a spot that had been vacated, closer to the trawler.

I finally brought out the fishing rod and did some casting (not fishing since there is no hope or intention of catching any fish). Great way to spend an afternoon "fishing" and drinking beer.

After sunset, the stars came out.  First time that we had clear skies and a new moon.  Belnda and I sat on the foredeck and watched the stars. We sat there until it became apparent that we had had a few drinks which made being on the deck a little dangerous. So back to the cockpit.

August 16, 2012

We haul anchor after the Cruisers' Net and head to Killarney.  We get a slip on the Killarney side so that we don't have to ferry back and forth across the channel.  Fuel and pump out.

We head off for lunch at the Gateway restaurant, the home of fresh baked blueberry pies, cinnamon buns and blueberry scones. We are sitting there and Cathy Ballantyne and Steve Atritis walk in. Apparently Cathy's family has a cottage across the Killarney channel on George Island. Belinda thought Cathy's cottage was on Lake Huron.  Apparently not.  We are going there for drinks later this afternoon.

We are waiting for David Hartman to arrive from Toronto.  David is going to use our boat while we are off to St. John's NL for Belinda's family reunion.  Steve Hills and Dawn Brennan will be joining David on Saturday.

Heywood Island

August 8, 2012
We left Killarney and motored out the Lansdowne Channel.  After clearing the channel, we unfurled the sail and had a quiet sail to Heywood Island. Lansdowne Channel has 2 narrow spots and I prefer not to sail through tight spots. The main harbour at Heywood is large and has good holding but is very exposed to north winds, which is what was predicted.  We motored around Browning Island to a well protected cove behind Shoal Island. When we arrived there was 1 other boat there anchored so we anchored beside, well protected except for the occasional wind that wraps around the island.  During the afternoon, several other sailboats arrived and anchored.  Great sunset.

August 9, 2012
The next morning, the first boat had hauled anchor and left.  Good thing because she ran her engine 3 times the day before each time for an hour.  Several of the boats that were more exposed to the wind moved into the open spot. The morning weather report was for strong northerly winds, continuing for several days.  Looks like we would not be going anywhere for several days. Good opportunity to change the alternator belt and put some straps on the exhaust hose.
In the afternoon, Dave from the original Swallow, rowed over and invited us for cookies at 4pm.  Dave and Donna are from Delaware and brought their boat up through the Trent-Severn Canal. It was their tradition that on the trip back at the last anchorage they would invite everyone in the anchorage for cookies.  Since they decided to winter the boat in Little Current, Heywood would be their last anchorage. At 4pm we dinghied over to Swallow and met several other of the boats at anchor.  Renate and Bruno from Champagne III said that they bought their boat from a QCYC member. Ann and Bruce on Okaga, an Aloha 32, live in the Yonge and Lawrence area in Toronto.  Barb and Peter from Blue Corona, a catamaran powered by duel outboard engines and solar panels. Good times, good cookies.

August 10, 2012
Winds were strong all night but stayed mostly out of the NE so we were well protected.  Sansei seems to swing on her anchor more some other boats.  Probably a combination of being relatively light and a short keel. One thing that I will have to fix is that the anchor roller is slightly narrower than the bow support.  So as the boat swings, the roller will hold until the end of the swing and then snap across and bang against the other side.  Good thing about the bang is that it indicates that the anchor is still holding but it does take some getting used to.
Weather report is for rain and continued strong winds from the N so not going anywhere today. Quick swim since the water temperature seems to be a little cooler than Mary Ann Cove. We settled in for a rain day.  There had been some talk about happy hour being on Blue Corona but it started to rain hard at 3:30pm so that got rained out.

August 11, 2012
Still strong winds from the NE but backing to N.  No sense going anywhere. Except for the visit to Swallow, we had not been off the boat and had not touched land in several days.  41' does not provide much distance for a walk or exercise. Belinda was doing some pilates in the aft cabin. We dinghies over to the main harbour in Heywood.  There is a big sandy beach there which would be the reason for its popularity in a SW wind. Did a short walk on the beach.

Peter from Blue Corona came by to invite us to the happy hour. So we rowed over to Blue Corona at 4pm. The same crowd as the day before arrived.  We were joined by Jill and James from Joshua. More good times.

August 12, 2012
Winds have eased so we haul anchor and head for Little Current.  The anchor is caked with mud/clay and takes a while clean the anchor.  After leaving Heywood, we motor up to the Strawberry lighthouse and then across to the bridge. We are going to be close for timing for the bridge so I throttle up and cruise at 6.5 kts. We make the 11am opening and then tie up at the end of B dock.  After 4 days of strong winds, there was a mass exodus from Little Current.  Most of the docks are empty and the dinghy poker run has to be cancelled. We decide to do some laundry and then go for a walk to the beach.  When we return to the laundry to put the wash into the dryer, the manager informs us that he ran out of propane so the dryers are not hot.  He expects a propane delivery later in the afternoon. We hang some of the laundry on the lifelines to dry but after the propane delivery we put the stuff in the dryer and make our way to the Anchor Inn to watch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. For dinner we had take out fish and chips from the Dock Side. Good but not as good as the school bus in Killarney.

August 13, 2012
Not much scheduled today except for some boat cleaning. Sunrise in Little Current.

Cruise ship Yorktown arrived this morning. 

Pat and Paul

We left Little Current after some provisioning.  We made the noon bridge opening.  The winds were calm, so we motored all the way to KIllarney.  After docking, we met up with Brenda and Arleigh, on Winter Whim, new QCYC members and our longtime members of our curling team, who were also docked at the Sportsman Inn. We had Happy Hour on our boat.

Paul had gone over to the Killarney Mountain Lodge to get the car.  As he was walking over, he spotted what looked like a large dog, but was a black bear on the dock. Paul decided to walk around rather than walk over the bridge to meet with the bear.

After he got back, we took the dinghy up to look for the bear but he had left.  When we told the dock hands at the lodge, they said that they saw the bear in their backyard.  They also noted that this year there has not been a racoon problem.

Pat, Paul, Belinda and I went for dinner at the Pines Inn and had a feast of wings and pizza. Hard to make this stuff on the boat so it was a good diversion.  Brenda and Arleigh joined up with us after their dinner at the Sportsman Inn, which they said was very good. We then headed off to the Killarney Mountain Lodge to see Andy, the entertainer. He played "bottle of vodka". We've been singing that all weekend.

This morning we had fresh blueberry scones and cinnamon buns. Delicious.  After breakfast, Pat and Paul left to head back to Toronto in time to make it for racing tonight at QCYC. It will be a little quieter on the boat now.  I am happy that they joined us for a couple of days to share the beauty of the North Channel.

Frazer Bay and Mary Ann Cove

Pat and Paul arrived in Killarney, a little tired after driving from Toronto, and going a little bit further missing the new cut off from the highway.  After a couple of happy hour drinks, we headed over to the Fish and Chip bus for dinner. It really is some of the best fish and chips around.

After a short walk, we went back to the Killarney Mountain Lodge for drinks at the bar.  I had met a guy who used to work for Magna at the lodge.  He was there with his family on a boat and had met up with another boat from Parry Sound.  The whole group was at the bar and had been at the show every night, except for Monday because there was no show.  They were having a great time singing along with Andy.  They shouted out a title "Bottle of Vodka" and Andy proceeded to sing I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers.  We could not figure it out until the the background vocals on the chorus sounds like "bottle of vodka".  It was a great evening of music.

In the morning we left for Frazer Bay.  The destination was an unnamed little crescent shaped island at the bight of the bay.  As the crow flies it is 4 miles but we have to go around the peninsula. We arrive at the island and there is no other boats there.  We anchor in the middle of the bay in 10' of water and had the whole bay to swing.  3 power boats anchored in a small cove, too shallow for sailboats. The island is well protected from any direction except SE.  The wind was from the SE most of the day but not very strong. Winds were predicted to go N so we were OK.  Winds calmed down until about midnight.  Beautiful night.

Belinda and I rowed to shore and walked on the rocks.  We found 1 blueberry and brought it back for Paul.  Pat and Paul rowed around one of the adjacent islands. We could hear them laughing all the way around the island.

In the morning, the wind was blowing from the SE so we had to haul anchor and head off to our next destination, Mary Ann Cove, another unnamed place on the charts. We got out to the bay and we able to sail up the bay. Beautiful.

We arrived at Mary Ann Cove and it looked pretty busy.  We managed to find an open spot, drop the anchor and fall back to tie off to shore.  What a team.  First attempt and tied up in under 5 minutes.  A thing of beauty.  At Happy Hour, Paul made martinis before the pork roast BBQ dinner.  Another great night and the winds calmed completely for a very quiet night.

In the morning, we listened to the Little Current Cruisers' Net since we could not get a weather report. The predicted winds were out of the WNW at between 15 to 25 kts. With heavy winds, it was unlikely boats would leave Little Current so our guess would be that it would be very crowded so we decided to stay in Mary Ann Cove.  Turns out that it was a good decision as the winds were into the 25 to 30 kt range.

One of the attractions of Mary Ann Cove is a short hike up the hill for a view of Baie Fine and Frazer Bay.  Belinda, Paul and I dinghied over to the dock.  We looked around for the trail but could not find one so we started to make our way up the hill until we got to a rock look out point.  Nice view but not really the one that we heard about.

Belinda and Paul did not like the route that we had taken up so we went another way down, along the rocks. The rocks had a steep drop off so we wandered around to look for a path down.  I found a tree growing beside the drop off that could be used to shimmy down.  I grabbed the tree and got some footing on the rock wall, but slipped so I did a fire pole drop to the bottom.  A couple of scrapes on the belly and arm but otherwise no damage. So now I am down but Belinda and Paul are still up the rocks.  They did not like the slide down the birch tree idea.  I walked around the base and found an easier way down but also found the trail that we were supposed to be on, along a dried up river bed. The trail looked easy for a 20 minute walk up.  Too late now so we just headed back to the dinghy.

By now, the wind had increased and shifted a little north.  Mary Ann Cove is well protected but we occasionally got a gust blowing in and swirling around the cove.  After a while, we decided to set a second anchor.  After we dropped and set, the wind calmed down. Better having it just in case the winds come back.

In the morning, we hauled both anchors and let go the stern line and left for Little Current.  The winds were picking up again to 15kts and on the nose, so we had to motor. On the way we passed Brenda and Arleigh (from curling and now QCYC) on Winter Whim.  They were off to Mary Ann Cove. We slowed the motor down to time our arrival at the bridge opening.  We followed the tall ship, Plairfair, into Little Current.

During Happy Hour, Belinda did a little fishing to catch dinner.

We headed off to the Anchor Inn for dinner, since Belinda did not catch our dinner, despite some expert training, direction and worms from a local first nation lad who fishes here every day.

We had dinner on the patio, whitefish special.  On leaving, I noticed a guy sitting there with his wife having dinner.  He looked familiar.  Turns out he was the marina manager at Outer Harbour Marina in Toronto.  Chris Collins was originally from Manitoulin and was staying at a friend's cottage.  After Outer Harbour, he was the national sales manager for C & C Yachts just after Tartan bought them.

After dinner, we walked over to the ice cream stand but they closed at 9 pm even though it was not yet 9 pm. We had sent Paul ahead to see.  He was walking back with some locals who were also disappointed at the early closure of the ice cream stand. One of the guys was with the local Coast Guard Auxiliary and was telling some local information on how the bridge was built and the reduction of buoys.  More importantly, he said that there was another ice cream place over by the motel.

We walked over and found the place and had some ice cream, Farquhars, locally made. Worth the walk over.

In the morning we went to the Anchor Inn to watch the Cruisers' Net broadcast live.  We had audience participation as we had to applause when the announcement of an anniversary.  Lots of fun.  If you are in Little Current, fun thing to do.

Snug Harbour

We managed to get most of our errands that we needed to get done in Little Current and make the noon bridge opening.  It was a good time to leave as the current seemed to slack making it easier to back out of the slip.  We headed off to Snug Harbour on the Landsdowne Channel, about 10 miles, leaving about 5 miles to Killarney to pick up Pat and Paul from QCYC.

We motored into Snug Harbour and tried to locate the shallow anchoring areas that are marked on the chart.  All of the areas that we found we 25' to 40' deep, not real convenient for anchoring.  We motored around and found a spot that was 17' and would give us swing room, except for a south wind. We decided to stay put, have lunch and see how she swings on the anchor. The wind changed directions SW to SE and we had plenty of room to swing. OK to stay.

While eating dinner there was a black thing on the shore.  Belinda picked up the binoculars and declared that the black thing was a garbage bag. I watched the garbage bag for a moment and noted that the garbage bag was moving.  I picked up the binoculars to see a porcupine.

After dinner, a full moon was rising.  This is our 3rd full moon of the trip.  Time is going by quickly.

In the morning, there was a heavy downpour with a south wind.  The location that we had anchored was susceptible to a south wind.  However, the wind would come around either end of the harbour and cancel out making our location devoid of wind, only a gentle breeze that pushed us back and forth.  Could have stayed there in a gale. Weather report was severe thunderstorm warnings.  On the North Channel cruisers' net, it was announced that most of the severe weather was south and that some rain would arrive by about 11am. We decided to haul anchor and go quickly over to Killarney.  It did rain a bit on the way but we slowed down to let the black clouds pass as we seemed to be catching up to them.  The storm had quickly formed 1 meter waves in the bit that is open to Lake Huron.

We had made a reservation at the Killarney Mountain Lodge.  Good choice since many boats had not yet left because of the weather.  It is clearing up now so we may still be able to use the pool.

Oak Bay and Gibson Cove

For our last night in Gore Bay, we were invited for a BBQ with Alan and Margot from Windwalker, a Tartan 4100 just like ours.  A small world moment was that Alan and Margot were having guests, Barb and Rick, for the weekend, who are the next door neighbours to Wendy and Rick from our yacht club. These are the neighbours who took dancing lessons with the other 13 couples from QCYC last fall. We were also joined by Barb and Dick from the boat Pot O' Gold.  Great evening of sailing adventure stories.

Before we left Gore Bay we tried to get a Globe and Mail.  According to the store owner, Gore Bay is too far into the sticks to get the paper in the morning.  The Globe arrives at about 1pm. Would have been nice but we could not wait until 1.

We finally left Gore Bay and headed up to Oak Bay, just north of Hotham Island. Alan gave us one of his secret locations for an anchorage, which is not in any of the cruising guides.  Behind an island and having 8' of water throughout. We got in and there was only 1 other boat anchored.  Perfect.  We dropped anchor and then went for a walk and then a swim.

Only 3 boats in the anchorage the first night and 2 boats the second night.  Great spot. Would be perfect except for the numerous deer flies.

Both nights, the wind was calm and in the morning, the water is glassy smooth.

We left Oak Bay and went to Gibsons Cove on Fox Island.  As the crow flies only 1.5 miles.  By boat about 10 miles as there are several rocks in the way.  We arrive in Gibsons Cove and there are 3 boats anchored.  According to the charts, there is room in about 10' of water in the corner that will be well protected from the west winds expected overnight.  We motor in and the depth is 25' right up to the shore.  We drop the anchor and settle back.  We have lunch watching the swing but it becomes apparent that we cannot stay there and must haul.  By this time, the third boat has left so we pick up and move further out to get better swing room.

Fox Island is relatively flat so it is easy to do a little hiking.  On the other side of the island, Belinda can get cell service and pick up messages. For happy hour we are watching a loon swim around the cove.  There are 2 beaver lodges at opposite ends of the cove but no beavers out today.

At about 11pm, the lightning show begins off in the horizon.  Then the rain starts.  Thankfully the lightening stays off in the distance, but the winds stays up until early in the morning. It is a good thing that we moved from the first anchor drop site as we would have been on the rocks or bashing into the other boat.

We haul anchor and head off to Little Current.  As we motor past East Rock, Belinda notices that there is a big bird sitting on the rock.  With the binoculars, we can see that it is a bald eagle.  I get the camera with the telephoto lens to get some photos.  We turn around and go back to get a closer shot.

Truly majestic.

Getting Ready to Leave Gore Bay

Today is Gore Bay Market day.  There's a Farmers' Market every Friday during the summer. More importantly, it is the only day that there is fresh fish available.

I thought that the Farmers' Market would have a fish stand but no, the fish is sold at a parking lot in town, out of the back of a truck.  I go into town as there are rumours of long line-ups and limited amounts of fish.  I got some fresh lake trout, a chunk of smoked whitefish and some smoked fish dip. When she said a chunk, either a tail or middle, I thought a nice filleted piece.  No it was a chunk.

Changed the oil yesterday. It took longer than expected.  The oil filter would not come off.  I used the oil filter wrench that I had but it would not budge.  I walked around the docks and asked if anyone had a good oil filter wrench.  Got a couple of wrenches; they did not work.  I asked Wade from Stella B and he gave me a pair of plier like tongs and had big teeth to grip the filter.  Worked like a charm and got the filter off. New one on and re-fill with new oil.  Just took the extra filter time.

We had Wade and Marie over for drinks at happy hour.  Learned a little more of Wade's career in security; very interesting.  While we had a drink, the weather changed and all of a sudden it was summer again.  They left and we had dinner, although it was a little late as I was chatting with the boat that had tied us next to us.  Power boat from Chicago.  The skipper had sailed the Chicago to Mackinac race and then joined his own boat for a cruise on the North Channel.   

The local restaurant Buoys Eatery has a singer playing in the patio on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  So we had some music for dinner.  After dinner we went over to have an after dinner drink.  Wade and Marie were there after stopping at other boats. Music was good. The guys from Chicago power boat arrived after the restaurant technically closed but they were served beer and pizza; great service.

After the market, I took the old oil into town for disposal at the local Shell station.  No problem but had to pay the disposal tax.  Another trip to the LCBO, Home Hardware (2 times).

After lunch I got the bikes out and we went for a ride out the Lighthouse Road to see the lighthouse at Janet Head.

Beach seems to be a lot larger these days, as the water levels drop.  It is very dramatic.

Talk about a small world.  The neighbours in Toronto of Rick and Wendy, friends from QCYC, were going to Gore Bay this weekend to stay with friends on a Tartan.  It turns out that we had met the people on the Tartan because they have the same model as we do. So we are all going for dinner together tonight.

Still in Gore Bay, ON

We are still in Gore Bay.  

After a fun filled weekend, Monday's forecast was filled with chance of thunderstorms all day.  So we decided to stay put for another night.  Good thing since we watched thunderheads roll by all day and had a late afternoon thunderstorm.

Gore Bay has built a boardwalk most of the way around the bay so we went for a long walk.  With the dropping water levels, the head of the bay is drying out, but still marshy.  As we were walking back through town we noticed that the power was off in most of the town.  There was a hum of generators going.  The Shell station had one going to keep the gas pumps going. Some stores closed early.  It was pretty warm so a quick swim was in order. Very refreshing.

We were walking along the dock and some guy was wearing a golf shirt with an emblem on it.  I recognized it as a Royal Canadian Curling Club Men's Invitational Bonspiel shirt.  Turns out Peter Carter (Laurie) was a long time member at the Royals Curling, got married and moved up to Gore Bay.  I actually remember a sign at the club announcing that marriage.  It turns out that he is from St. John's NL and Belinda knew several common friends and family, including Bridgette and Wayne Hamilton. Small world.

We have sampled most of the restaurants around the marina so we decided to eat in.  We thought fresh fish would be nice.  After the Valumart and the yacht charter place, we could only find frozen.  We found out that fresh fish is only available on Fridays at the farmers market.  So frozen had to do.  We got a pickerel and pan fried it in some oil, herbs and flour. Very nice.  We also discovered that it was National Tequila Day so we finished dinner with a round of tequila.

Apparently the marina receives more than just boats here. We watched a small float plane taxi out and takeoff up the bay.

Weather is forecasted to be very unsettled for the rest of the week so we decided to stay put. (mal de port?) and let the weather pass.  We also realized that this is the longest we have stopped since leaving Mentor OH back in June.  So we will take the down time and I will do the oil change and fuel filter change.

Gore Bay, ON

I was up early and started to get the boat ready for departure.  Winds are expected at about 10 kts from the south west so it would be a motor over to Gore Bay.  We hauled anchor and brought up about 10 lbs of clay on the anchor.  We were set pretty good. There was only one other boat in the bay last night as the winds were pretty heavy from the south west, but had calmed down significantly by the morning.

We meandered our way through the rocks named Sow and Pigs to get into the main channel.  Once in the clear it became apparent that the winds were not going to be light; it was blowing 12-15kts. After about 10 minutes, I noticed a dinghy floating in the channel that must have come off of the boat ahead of us.  I backed off the throttle and Belinda came up to see and I pointed out the dinghy.  We managed to pick up the dinghy and tie it off our stern and then headed back on course to Gore Bay.  By now the owner had wheeled around and was heading back.  We made radio contact.  Since we were both headed for Gore Bay, I said that I would tow the dinghy there and return it at the dock as the waves ere now 1/2 meter high.

As we approached Gore Bay, the MacMan race leg 2 was just starting.  This is an annual race from Mackinac Island to Manitoulin Island via Gore Bay ending in Little Current.

As we turned into Gore Bay, I thought that we would get some shelter and the winds would diminish.  Wrong.  Winds funnelled down the bay and were steady at 20kts. Canadian Yacht Charters runs their charter business out of Gore Bay.  As we are approaching and trying to make radio contact with the marina to get a slip assignment, there is some guy tied up at the dock on his charter boat, calling the charter office asking where they put the table cloths. Then he came back again and asked whee the cutting boards were.  All this while there are 3 or 4 boats circling in the harbour waiting to get to the fuel docks for service.We skipped the fuel docks and headed straight to our assigned slip.

We made the dinghy exchange.  Marie and Wade from Stella B came by to thank us for rescuing their dinghy and invited us to their boat later for drinks.

Once checked in we found out that it was Harbour Days festival going on.  First for us was the ions Club beef on a bun being served at the tent at the marina.  Perfect.  We went for a stroll into town and got 2 treats: the last copy of the Saturday Globe and Mail and raisin bread.

After drinks on the Stella B, we were off to the Rotary Club Fish Fry. Fresh whitefish, corn on the cob, cole slaw,  potato wedges and to top it off: ice cream, chocolate or maple walnut. The harbour master this morning said that it was one of the busiest fish fries; if there were more that 20 more, they would have ran out of stuff.

After dinner and a stroll, I stopped at Windwalker, the blue Tartan 4100 that we had passed leaving Little Current.  Margot and Alan live in Michigan but keep their boat here in Gore Bay.  We exchanged some Tartan stories and experiences.  We were not the only ones with warranty issues.

Propane refills seem to be a problem up here in the North Channel.  Tanks can only be refilled in Gore Bay or Spanish.  Spanish does not have sufficient depth in their channel for sailboats, so Gore Bay is our only option.  I dropped off the tanks at the marina office; there would be a delivery fee.  No problem.  They were back this morning.  Total cost for filling 2 10 lb tanks with delivery $15.00.  That's less expensive than Toronto and I have to carry the tanks back and forth. We can now relax as we have plenty of propane for the rest of the summer for both stove and BBQ. We have been using the little green propane disposable tanks for the BBQ, but no more.

Lazy day today.  Raisin toast and coffee for breakfast over the Globe and Mail.  Caesars. General lazing around after the provisioning trip into town.

View from the patio of Buoys Eatery, overlooking the harbour and marina.