Decisions...decisions.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Morning came and the skies were clear and blue so we had to decide whether to tackle rough seas or stay put.  The weather forecast was for 15-20 mph winds, much like the day before.  The gypsy in our souls ruled.  We raised the anchor and it was so caked with mud I had to raise and lower it quite a few times to get it clean.  But mud equals good holding, remember?

Out in Georgian Bay it had calmed down a bit since yesterday so we were all glad we decided to head for our next anchorage the "Flower Pot".  The turns to the northeast off the marked channel had  no aids to navigation so we had to really watch our depths. There are huge rocks everywhere.  It is an absolutely gorgeous spot though and we got there just fine.

Dave tied the stern to a big rock on shore.

 

Here's me on the boat.

 

 

The guys and Karen had a monument building contest.  You see these little rock creations all over the 30,000 islands here.  Benji had to help of course.

 

 

 

 

Once we got settled we all agreed that about 4 hours of travel a day with such intense navigation and chart watching is enough.  There is a bit of anxiety going through the shallow, narrow passages

where you can practically reach out and touch the rocks on either side of the boat.

 

John and Benji caught the first pickerel (walleye) and we made it for dinner.  Delicious!

 

 

Later we had a fire on shore.  There are bears in the area.  We saw huge piles of bear skat.  John saw a giant beaver too.  We've seen bald eagles and loons.  Still no Missauaga rattlesnakes and that's just fine with all of us.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow is kind of a big day.  The last of the 30,000 islands and onto the North Channel.  We are heading for Killarney and the Sportsmen's marina.  To get there we have to pass through Collins Inlet.  It is notoriously shallow in some spots so we called ahead to see if our boat could make it.  They said that sailboats make it through so we should be just fine.  There is a 15 mile of open stretch in the big bay again.  Hope it has calmed down!!!

 

 

 







 



 

 



A "Fresh Breeze".......not!

Tuesday, August 14, 2013

We left Parry Sound, fueled up, pumped out and  went in search of the next anchorage and it was pretty grey outside.  A high of 60 was all we could hope for!  Glad we all brought warm clothes.

The inside passages were gentle and gorgeous as usual but the outside(Georgian Bay) was howling with 20 mph winds and 5-7 footers tossing Blue Moon around as we made our way north west to our anchorage.  The boat handles amazingly well in high seas and that was really her first  big water since we've had her.  Dave looked up our wind speed and conditions in the nautical dictionary and it described it as a "Fresh Breeze". I don't think so!  It was fierce and unfriendly!   Later Brandon looked  at me and said "We didn't die Mrs. Tufts!"   The anxiety on my face must have shown or he was just as surprised as me that we made it o.k.  I'm not sure which.

Dave had to navigate through some beautiful but narrow passages again.

 

 

 

 



 





We found another pretty, protected anchorage, tied the stern to a tree and Benji wanted to ride the zip line.

 

 



 

 

We watched some more Duck Dynasty and a silly Will Farrell movie and a dvd that helps us look for the next day's anchorage.

 

The night was pretty windy and I was glad we were also tied to the tree onshore.   Our bedroom is located in the bough of the boat where the anchor is and through the night it makes spooky banging noises and water slaps against the boat.   I think I'm doing amazingly well with all this rugged stuff!  Dave even complimented me today!  Tomorrow we have to decide whether to brave another 10 mile open stretch of rough seas or stay put for the day.



 

Breaking Bad...but only my butt!

Monday, August 13, 2013

Today John, Karen and Brandon arrived. Robbie dropped them off in Parry Sound and then headed back to Pt. Breeze.  Robb will be a freshman at Niagara University in a few weeks!

Unfortunately, the thermometer took a downward turn and it was quite cold.  We walked into town for dinner and plotted out tomorrow's journey.  Benji helped Brandon with the maps:

 

We watched some more Duck Dynasty and then I fell down the six steps from the salon into the galley area.  Bang-Bang-Bang!  As very good fortune would have it, I did not rebreak my elbow but I do have an epic bruise on my butt and a pretty good size Jennifer Lopez derriere working until the swelling goes down!  Dave kinda likes it...

 

Last night was the long awaited season opener of the final season of Breaking Bad.  Since we have no tv I missed it.  Breaking Bad fans can surely feel my pain but the rest of you can stop rolling your eyes now please.

12 Mile Bay Anchorage

Saturday, August 10th.  Georgian Bay was a bit rough on the way to 12 Mile Bay. The waves were around 4-5 footers but it was only a 2 hour ride to the very well protected spot we were going to anchor in for the night.  When we arrived, there were already 13 other boats anchored.  Lucky there was room for us!

We dropped anchor in the super clear water into a nice mud bottom.  Oh god, I sound like an old sea salt!  It has been pretty easy anchoring so far.  Mud, apparently, is the preferred bottom.  Last night in Go Home Bay the wind was pretty gusty and the boat did some spinning.  I was trying not to think of the anchor slipping but of course I was.  Dave reassured me often that we were o.k.  I eventually fell asleep but had my mom ears working.  We were fine.

Dave already had the second anchor pulled, washed and put away and coffee ready when I finally threw the covers off to a sun filled morning and a very docile bay.  We made breakfast and then moved on thru some very tight channels.

 

 

12 Mile Bay is very pretty and I love having other boats around us.  Some of the boaters came over to visit in the kayaks and dingys.  I can hear children squealing as they jump from their boats into the cold water.  Happy sounds.  I loved hearing my kids yelling Marco Polo as they played in the pool.  Miss those years.

 

 

Casting shrinkage concerns aside, Dave went swimming.

 

 

We took a little dinghy ride but there wasn't as much to explore as in Go Home Bay.  Pretty windy too.  I hope all the boats around us are firmly anchored for the night!

 

Tomorrow we are going to Parry Sound to a marina for a couple days.  We need to re-provision and I need some retail therapy.  On Monday John, Karen and Brandon are going to meet up with us there.  I can't wait to share this amazing place with them.  It is a giant boaters playground.  They are gonna love it!



Go Home Bay--day 2.

Friday, August 9th.  We like it here so much we decided to spend another night.   We took Little Moon around the bay to explore.  We found a perfectly engineered beaver dam.

 

We passed through this narrow passage to another inner bay.

 

I am starting to have serious Georgian Bay cottage envy...

NO-Robyn-NO

 

Benji likes to help me with the charts.

 

 

Dave worked on the varnish some more while I hemmed a couple of comforters for the guest room.  I re-organized my pantry and every now an then would stop and look out at the scenery.  It just takes my breath away.  All this with CSN music playing in the background.  I'm in old hippy heaven here!

 

Tomorrow the plan is to anchor out in "12 Mile Bay".  Love the names of these little bays and coves.  I'm sure there is a story behind each one.  One is called Starvation Bay.  That's an easy one to figure out.

 

 

I'm reading a book (yes Adrianna-he is letting me read!!!).  The ttile is "Empire of the Summer Moon" by SC Gwynne.  It's a fascinating historical narrative about the Comanches who were the most powerful tribe in American history.  I have tried to read similar books but they were too text booky.  This one is more like a factual novel and is skillfully written to hold your interest.  Highly recommend.

 

Last evening Steve was sending me texts from Aja.  Funny stuff!  I think Steve has been getting into Aja's catnip.

 

So, I'm trying not to think of the weeds growing at home and the dust falling on the furniture and the mail piling up at the office (thanks Denis and Linda for helping us out with that).  It is actually getting easier.  I have had a more difficult time adjusting to this new c'est la vie lifestyle than Dave.  Who woulda knew??  But it's pretty cool and we are so lucky to be taking this amazing journey and we know we are truly blessed.

 



 

THIS is what we came here for!

Thursday, August 8th.  We left Midland this morning after we waited for the boat stereo guy to show up to install a new Fusion unit.  After all the old one was 6 months old!  Have to deal with the warranty stuff when we get home.  The unit is also the dvd player and there is NO way we could be without movies in the evenings or on rain days.  So, all is fixed and we have tunes and videos again.

My apprehension about being able to help Dave get us through narrow passages with boat breaking rocks and shallow water all around us was for naught.  We handled the 2 hour trip to "Go Home Bay" like old Georgian Bay veterans.  Sea Tow did not have to be called!  We arrived at our beautiful, impossible to describe anchorage but this is what we saw on the way.

 

We chose to take the more challenging route through the small passages so we wouldn't miss the incredible scenery.  There was a more straightforward, easier route but I'm glad we chose the scenic route.

 

Dave is really surprising me.  Mr. "Type A-gotta go now-no matter what the weather or water conditions :("   is actually slowing down and dare I say relaxing??  He so deserves this trip.  He worked intensely getting the boat ready and I wasn't really sure it would be worth the hassle.  So far YES--It's worth it! 

 

This is what we see off our anchorage in Go Home Bay:

 

YEP!  Worth it!

 

 

Back at the Helm--Rain & Repairs

After a near 2 hour border crossing (due to Canada's Civic Day holiday) and tremendous amount of traffic on the QEW, we got back to the boat Monday night.

The next two days were dedicated to boat maintenance, oil changes and such and rain.  Happy to be at a nice marina with skilled boat techs so we can get this necessary stuff out of the way before we head out again tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to improve too so it all works out well.

Benji helped Dave change the oil.  Can't believe we've put over 100 hours on the boat since last oil change in Rock Hall, Maryland.

I'm sitting here buried in paper charts, cruise manuals, strip charts, an Ipad with Navionics and the boat's gps/plotter trying to get a handle on these 30,000 islands we are in.  Dave calls it Thousand Island on steroids here. (sorry A-Rod).   Looking for the next anchorage.

Our goal is to be somewhere east of Killarney next Monday so when John, Karen and Brandon meet up with us to join the cruise, it will be easy for them to get on the boat.  So happy they are coming with us!!

But, having been spoiled by the easy boat electronics through the years, I have become very complacent with old fashioned paper charts.  Time to get on it.  They never fail you.

That reminds me of 11 years ago; we took our boat from Boca Raton, FL to Pt. Lucaya in the Bahamas.  Beautiful trip.  On the way back to Boca our electronics lost their fix and went dead.  They refused to come back on.  As we were out to sea and could not see land yet, Dave and John got us home by using the old fashioned compass.  Lucky for us they did their homework each night and plotted out the next days journey on the gps AND the paper charts.  Very good habit.

We got back to Boca and there is a very small inlet there.  We had to literally surf back into the harbor.  Pretty scarry but we made it just fine.

A few weeks later, back home, we were watching a Discovery Channel show on the Bermuda Triangle.  They showed a map and darn if we weren't in the Triangle when we lost our electronics!  I'm glad I did not know that at the time!!  Lucky we didn't join the number of lost ships and airplanes there.