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.