Benjamin's to Shanly Island 8/30/17

Little Detroit

Jennifer bought me a navigational aid reminder.  I'm really impressed it works perfectly with no set up required!!

Enticer (the yacht) pulled out this morning and went right by our bow.  We awoke to another day of mixed sun and cloud. Heading north we left the Benjamin's and headed for Little Detroit cut.  It's quite narrow here (but nowhere near as narrow as some places on the Trent and Rideau waterways) and the common practice is to call a Securite before passing through. We passed through uneventfully and decided to anchor for the night just west of Little Detroit at Shanly Island.  The wind had picked up and was from the west clocking through the night to north and we would be well protected here.  There was a couple fishing in the anchorage and we asked what they were fishing for and if they wanted to sell any of their catch.  Unfortunately the answer was negative so we had meatloaf and garlic mashed with corn on the cob for dinner.  Debbie and Jennifer worked and finished off a jig saw puzzle and started a new one during the afternoon.  I worked on a nap and Abby and I were very successful at it.  I think Bill had one too as there were reports of some purring coming out of the salon on Seas the Day!

Finished the day with Homeland and then off to bed.

Off to the beach for some excercise

Abby's playground.  She ran around and around 

Sunny morning in the North Channel

Benjamin's South Side 8/29/17

We awoke in the central basin at the Benjamins.  Normally this is the preferred anchorage here albeit usually very busy.  We felt lucky to have had the place almost to ourselves but the wind was from the east and we were only partially sheltered.  I took the dingy around to the other side Benjamin south for a look see and it was very calm with only one other boat in the anchorage, so we decided to move the boats around.

There were even three little (24 footers)really tucked in in one spot and according to the depth sounder we could have got the boats in there but it would have been very risky so we stayed in the main south bay.  Tied to shore gave us a great sunset and the day was spent with dingy cruises and kayak tours by Bill and Jennifer.

The granite outcrops here are some of the prettiest you will find anywhere and this year's visit did not disappoint.

We had dinner aboard Seas t he Day and as has become our habit turned in early.  Boaters midnight hits around 9:00 PM and tonight was no exception.  We stayed up a little later to watch another episode of Homeland.

Bill has been downloading movies and TV shows onto a hard drive for us to watch as we travel down the rivers to Florida.  Debbie also ordered all of the seasons of Downton Abbey so I guess that will be our next entertainment fix.  Beats the hell out of watching the news.  Speaking of which that is one of the things I like the most about travelling by boat is the absence of political news and its unimportance to us at this time in our lives.

We heard that Sylvie on C'est la Vie had taken a fall and bumped her head and chipped a bone on her hip in rough seas heading to the Welland Canal.  Sylvie we are thinking of you and wish you a speedy recovery.  Maybe the captain will choose to wait for better weather next time!!  Take care of yourself.

The beautiful Trumpy named "Enticer" in the photos below is an 85'  yacht, built in 1935 and totally rebuilt in 2002.  She was restored at the Philadelphia Maritime Museum.  She is now fractionally owned  the same way you might buy a time share at a resort.

According to Capt. Bill Seiden, a 5 percent ownership stake in Enticer gets you at least eight days aboard for charter at $2,500 a day, as opposed to the public charter rate of $4,000 a day plus expenses.

Enticer carries three crew at a weekly base rate of $28,000, or about $5,800 per person for six guests with 25-percent expenses included. McMillen Yachts also has certified her through the U.S. Coast Guard to offer day charters for 50 to 80 people

Gorgeous Granite outcrops.  You probably need to see it in person to appreciate the natural beauty here

Seas the Day and Drift Away at anchor

A beautiful sunset for our cocktail hour

The "Enticer" A beauty restored to her former glory

Cruised by about a half hour ago

Little Current to the Benjamin Islands 8/28/17

We got a late start with Debbie going up the hill to the pharmacy and Sandy and Jennifer back to the grocery store  Our first stop was Wally's for a $1000.00 of diesel and a free pump out  and topped off with water.  Debbie and I are probably at one of our last places to spend Canadian cash and change so we gathered up all of the loonies, toonies and other loose change and converted it to diesel fuel. Jennifer and Sandy swore they saw a full moon at Wally's compliments of Wally and were not impressed.........

We cruised up the channel towards the Benjamins on a somewhat overcast and dreary day with a fair amount of a tail wind.  We were able to pick our spot in the Benjamin's as there were only two other boats off in one corner of the main anchorage.  This is so rare for here and often there are 50 boats or so anchored here on a busy weekend in the summer.  We anchored and stern tied to shore. Abby is getting really good at following the dingy on an island.  I let her off and then drive along the shore  while she runs from rock to rock following me.  Good exercise for her and makes her happy.  Her latest trick is to find a pool of stranded water that she lays down in and splashes around in her own personal hot tub.

We all had a long nap in the afternoon and dinner was left overs aboard Seas the Day

The morning or evening walk

This is a borrowed photo showing a busier Benjamins, but still not super busy.  Probably warmer too!

Covered Portage Cove to Little Current 8/27/17

We departed around 9:00 AM for Little Current.  We touched into Baie Fine but wanted to make the swing bridge opening at 2:00 PM so we didn't go far.  Once through the swing bridge we tied up along the wall at Little Current for the night and Jennifer, Sandy and I headed up the hill to the LCBO and grocery store to stock up.  I rode Debbie's bike up the hill and came back down with 4 bags of groceries hanging off of the handlebars.  I'm glad I didn't take my bike as the brakes leave a lot to be desired and I'm sure I would have wiped out with all of the weight on the bars.

Bill made reservations at The Anchor Hotel for dinner and we had an enjoyable meal out after cocktails aboard Drift Away.  Abby stayed home and guarded the boat.

As usual after dinner we watched another episode of Homeland and off to bed.

The "Indian Head" at Covered Portage Cove

Gotta watch these two, they have eyes on dognapping Abby

And I don't think she would mind!

The Grande Heron at Little Current from our cockpit

Thomas Bay to Covered Portage 8/25/17

Yesterday Debbie and I stopped at a roadside blueberry stand and bought a quart of wild blueberries.  This morning Sandy made blueberry muffins from scratch and after I took Abby over to the nearby island for her morning run I was summoned for the fresh baked muffins hot out of the oven for breakfast.  Nice way to start a beautiful day.  Last night the stars were awesome, the Milky Way was clear and I saw a few satellites and shooting stars.  There are few places as good as Georgian Bay for star gazing.  Now if I can only get the Northern Lights working my day/night will be made!

Our anchorage in Thomas Bay  Great Pink Granite all over

The big bonus of Debbie finally getting her cast off is my dishwasher is fixed!!

Yes shes back

Now sporting a brace for another month and doing painful exercises to get her range of motion back

And the vacuum cleaner works too

Abby running around the island at Thomas Bay.  She blends in well with the granite

We pulled anchor mid morning and cruised back down Killarney Channel.  Seas  the Day went straight through and Debbie and I stopped to fill up with water at Killarney Mountain Lodge and to get some groceries at Pittfield's store.  Seas the Day had .already made their way to Covered Portage Cove and we rafted up for the evening.  Previously I had stayed inside the cove but we choose to anchor just outside the cove and dingyed around for a tour.  Now that we are getting late in August the crowds are gone and there were only three boats inside so I guess we could have stayed inside.

What Georgian Bay is all about

Killarney to Thomas Bay 8/24/7

We were up at 6:00 to get to the hospital in Sudbury as early as possible without freezing our asses off getting there.  Its about 70 miles and its cold early in the morning on a motorcycle doing 70 MPH. When we arrived Debbie went in and registered.  There are no appointments per say and the hours are 8:00 -12:00 but everyone gets there at 8:00 and waits to be taken care of.  I went over to Tim Horton's for the free Wifi (do you believe that) and went back over to the hospital about an hour later.  Debbie was just going in to get her xrays taken and I sat in the hall because seating was rare. There were about 60-70 people waiting to be seen. She saw the Doctor and they removed the cast and pronounced her good to go.  I had to cough up cash for the visit and pay the Doctor directly.  He was funny about it saying this is unusual for him and we got somewhat close on the change he needed to give me.  We needed to get off of the docks at the Mountain Lodge so we would not be charged another day, so we hightailed it back to the boat with a brief stop to pick up local wild blueberries and Ontario peaches.  We made it back without getting a speeding ticket and had a quick lunch before our departure for Thomas Bay just around the corner from Killarney.

Bill and Sandy had babysat Abby for the morning and spoiled her with petting and cookies. We anchored and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and had a nice dinner of Bill's apple,ginger, cranberry, garlic stuffed pork chops and new boiled potatoes and sugar snap peas.  Dessert was Bailey's on the rocks and an episode of Homeland.  That Carrie is one crazy bitch!!

Not the channel we came in but close to the same

Thomas Bay anchorage

Bad River to Killarney 8/23/17

We left Bad River around 10 to head to Killarney.  The wind had died down somewhat but the two sailboats that we had shared the anchorage with for the last two days both headed out and both returned shortly after.  I motored over and asked them what their experience was.  They replied that it wasn't that bad but more than they cared to travel in.  We needed to get to Killarney today so I could take Debbie to the Sudbury Hospital to have her cast removed.
The going was fine and we traveled up to Collins Inlet and took the quieter and very scenic route to Killarney through Collins Inlet.  There was one portion that was supposedly shallow and since I draw less water than Bill he asked me to go first.  Never saw less than 3 feet under the keel and it was a non event.  As with most cruising up here read the charts and stay between the markers. You are not the first to do this....
We made it to Killarney around 2:00 PM and had planned on staying at the Sportsman's Inn. They have some docks on the north side of the channel but the majority are located on the south-side.  I guess due to the fact it is getting quieter up here and the traffic is dying down the south-side docks were not in use (because they have to run a ferry service) and the north docks were full.  We called the Killarney Mountain Inn and they arranged dockage for us.  There is a wind driven current through Killarney Channel and also the wind doubling up the cross current effect.  Bill went in first and almost made it by a boat he had to go around to get to his spot.  I tried the first dock I was assigned but was not successful and was assigned another dock.  I made it in but could not hold the bow from swinging in the current and wind.  I finally made it in with lots of help from 4 dock hands and other boaters.  Once we were in and tied up safely we had a few cocktails.  Our original plan was to dine at the Lodge but when we finally made our decision the only available time was 8:00 PM.  A little too late for us old boaters.
I off loaded the motorcycle for our trip to Sudbury in the morning and when it was down I went over to the LCBO to replenish our inventory.  We also made an empty bottle run with 5 cases of empties between the two boats.  Bill came up with the idea of dining aboard and getting take out fish and chips from Herbert's Fisheries.  Once we all met for dinner and had our wine cooled off I took the bike over and picked up a 12 piece box with two large fries for dinner.  Tonight's fish was pickerel and it was very good.
Years ago I stayed at the Sportman's Inn on a snowmobile trip with Steven Gruenwald where we traveled from Montebello to almost Sault St Marie and back on snowmobiles.  A trip of 2870 miles in ten days with two major snowstorms. We were both younger and tougher at the time.  Anyways we ended up meeting Ted the old owners son who ran the Sportsman at the time and had a liking of all things alcoholic.  We met him in the Pool and followed the trail by Topaz Lake and down into Covered Portage Cove and then back over to the hotel.  Much later that evening Ted told me that Herbert's secret recipe for their fish was Aunt Jemima's pancake mix and lemon pepper, as that was the only thing they ever ordered from the food supply company that they did not have an account with but Ted did.  Whatever it is I always enjoy the fish from Herbert's.

Killarney Light House.  Equipped with a user activated Fog Horn

Killarney Mountain Lodge.  New buildings, docks and they are building a brand new larger facility to the right of this lodge.

Bad River Day Two 8/22/17

Today was another lazy day of waiting for the wind to die down before we ventured back out into Georgian Bay. Abby and I went for a dingy ride and her latest amusement and mine is to find an island and I drop her off.  Then I go with the dingy around the island slowly and she follows to every point where she might be able to get back on.  Now it's game time and I go as fast as I can in the dingy calling her as I go and she still goes to most of the points but after a couple of laps starts taking shortcuts to beat me around.  It's good exercise and she seems to enjoy the run.  When she is finished she drops herself into the water and sticks her head under the water.  Still not a swimmer, hot tub is probably more her style.

Dinner was clam chowder with an appetizer of bruschetta, but somebody burned the bread so there was no bruschetta.  Oh well I was trying to multi task, washing dishes at the same time as I was toasting the bread in the broiler.  It didn't work out so good.....  Speaking of washing dishes my dishwasher gets fixed tomorrow and I'm very excited.

Devils Gate

Not us but a borrowed picture from Google

Bustards to Bad River 8/21/17

I love the Bad River.  A little tricky to get into but worth it when you are anchored and set. I had not been here for 25 years or so and when we were last here we had sea-doos that made going up and down the chutes to the main river easy and fun. No Sea-Doos this time so we unloaded our old Avon with a 15HP Merc and headed off. Bill and I went the long way around first to get to the chutes that lead up to the river.  You go back out towards the main channel and then cut through to another fork of the Bad River.  There was a fisherman there and we inquired as to whether there were any special instructions.  His answer was short and to the point "keep right", so on every decision we stayed right and made it up to the Devils Gate.  The last finger we were going up had a strong current and we barely made headway against the current.  We went past the chute with the "no swimming" sign which is the down chute and looked at the next finger which is the up-bound chute.  Thinking it sounded like a good idea but might not be, we passed on trying to go up.  We would have had to get up a plane and maintain speed through the narrow winding channel and that wasn't going to be easy with two of us in the dingy.  We had a nice tour in the calmer waters and didn't see anybody else up or down bound.  The passage through Devil's Gate looks worse than it is and we were shot out into the pool where we were anchored.

There were two boats tied against the rock wall on the northeast side of the anchorage and we stopped and talked with the self proclaimed "fishing widows".  Both of their husbands were very serious about fishing and the girls were left for most of the day to entertain themselves and do some kayaking.  The boys however usually brought home, cleaned and cooked their catch.

The wind was fairly strong and building through the night.  We were protected from waves but we were still pulling hard on the anchors with rocks astern.  Not much to be done except keep a watch and hope both anchors don't drag.

Dinner was steaks on the BBQ with boat potatoes and broccoli.  Boat potatoes are thinly sliced potatoes with onions, butter and some parmesan cheese for me.  I thought Sandy was making baked potatoes for Bill and her. But I quickly found out that I was wrong and we shared our two portions with the four of us.  Dessert was the remaining peach crisp from the night before and then off to bed.

Heading out of the Gun barrel at the Bustards'

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I love the way the background reflection works in these pictures 

That's the Devils Gate in the background.  Doesn't look like much but the water is moving through there

Not much of the eclipse up here, not sure if I missed it but this is what I got

Bustard Islands Day 2 8/20/17

Another Beautiful day in the Bustard Islands.  Bill cleaned his dingy today with Scrubbing Bubbles (with chlorine).  Does it ever work well.  He even cleaned part of mine in hopes of shaming me into doing the rest.  It hasn't worked yet but maybe tomorrow. We had somewhat of a lazy morning, I did clean out the master shower sump, never one of my favorite jobs. It requires taking out all of the hanging clothes in a locker and then removing three panels to get into a cramped space and take out the filter drain and clean everything with soap and bleach.  Anyways its done and all is well in the world.

After lunch Debbie, Bill and I got in his dingy and went for a dingy ride around the Bustards and then over to the channel that goes by Obstacle Island.  I had wanted to do all of the small craft route through here but after passing through in the Dingy I saw why it's not recommended. Take a look at the accompanying pictures and you will see why.

That's the channel straight ahead

There is not a lot of room and it would be very difficult to swing the boat through here without hitting bottom or the rock

 

Great scenery around here

We made it back to the boats around 4:00 PM and agreed to meet for Pina Colidas and dinner on Seas the Day.  As we often do, we made dinner a joint effort.  Bill and Sandy provided the venue and the Weissworst and I provided the veggies and garlic mashed.  Sandy made Caesar salad and Debbie and I made peach crisp for dessert.

Hopewell Bay to the Bustards 8/19/17

Departure was in the rain at 10:00 AM.  We had Hopewell Bay all to ourselves last night as we scared off the only other sailboat in the bay.  It was raining as we worked our way down the channel past the Ojibway Club to Pointe au Baril. The wind was blowing pretty good and we had already decided we would go outside as it was not a day to go through Hangdog channel which is much better negotiated in a smaller boat on a clear day with good lighting so you can see the rocks before you hit them!!

We exited Pointe au Baril and Debbie got some photos of the lighthouse and the original Barrel that gave the point its name. There was another large cruiser heading to Hangdog and I hailed him on the radio and asked if he knew where he was going and did he really want to risk going that way.  He turned around and followed us, which I think for the conditions was a good idea. It was rough and things were moving around inside the boat.  I went down and tied the fridge shut but some liqueur bottles had already escaped from their cabinet but had not broken.  Debbie and Abby were not moving and I also had to re-tighten the straps holding the motorcycle as it was getting loose.

Dinner aboard Seas the Day

Pointe au Baril Lighthouse

We arrived at the Bustards around 1:30 to an empty anchorage and picked a spot that Bill liked and tied stern-to to shore. A little dingy exploring and Abby walking and it was time for cocktails.  We had yummy lamb chops and asparagus aboard Seas the Day with a couple of bottles of wine.  I have been a fan of NASCAR for many years now and my favorite race of the year is the night race in Bristol.  Bill has satellite TV and offered to turn it on for me.  Bill (somewhat of a fan, no not really) stayed up and we watched the race till the end.  Kyle Busch won for a clean sweep of the weekend at Bristol.  He won all three races, and is the only person to have ever done that, now twice.

Jim and Bill rigging the stern tie line at the Bustard's

Sandy and Abby pulling us to shore while Bill is backing the boat remotely with the Yacht Controller

Parry Sound to Hopewell Bay 8/18/17

We left Parry Sound at 10:00 and made our way to Hopewell Bay. It was a short run and we were anchored by 2:00.  It was cloudy and a little dreary.  Bill suggested a ride in the dingy to the Ojibway Club.

The Ojibway is a large wooden hotel built in 1906 as a summer resort for affluent tourists. it has since been turned into a club and is maintained by its members.  Membership is $5000.00 a year for a family and seems to be doing very well as witnessed by all the kids playing in the water and participating in water activities.

Debbie, Bill and I toured the hotel and looked at the many exhibits on display showing the way things were back in earlier years.  They have scheduled events every week from Yoga classes to gourmet dinners and they seem to be well attended.  There is a gift shop and a grocery store that was surprisingly well stocked and we left with two bags full of discounted groceries as they are preparing for the end of the season.  Many items were 50% off

A very narrow passage in behind the Ojibway Club

Where people come to climb the cliffs and jump off.  This young guy was much more apprehensive than his sister and then Dad had to jump too

The exit of the passage.

The Ojibway Club

Lots of history here since 1906

Echo Bay to Parry Sound 8/17/17

We left Echo Bay at 9:30 so we could catch the 11:00 swing bridge opening in Parry Sound.  On the way we passed Henry's again and got a good picture.  Georgian Bay Aviation flies seaplanes out of Parry Sound and they used to offer a fly and dine deal to Henry's but since Henry's restaurant is closed this year I'm not sure what they are offering. Fortunately I experienced dinning at Henry's 25 years ago.  They would come and pick us up on our boat at anchor, take us to the restaurant and then return us after dinner.  We certainly saw a lot of their planes flying around on our approach to the town dock in Parry Sound.

Henry's

One of many seaplanes

coming and going

Didn't eat here but took the picture for my good friend Andre Seguin

We went over to Sound Boat Works for a pump out and some fuel.  Their pumpout doesn't work very well and it took over an hour with three people working on it to finally get pumped out.  Seas the Day had already headed over to Big Sound Marina for the night since the anchorage we had selected for the night would have been exposed to the forecasted high winds. The cruise ship was in town which means that the public dock is a "security Zone" and no docking is permitted. Bill, Debbie and I all wanted to get haircuts so Debbie hobbled up to the Main street and I rode my bike.  I asked a few people where the barber shops were and was given three choices.  Harry's which has been there forever, the new guy (who supposedly talks a lot) and another a few blocks over.  The lady I was speaking with said that Harry's also did women's hair in the back room.  I stayed with Abby while Bill and Debbie went first.  Poor Debbie was disappointed when she was told that no they did not do women's hair and she should go to another place they recommended.  Debbie in some pain (with her knee she fell on) made her way to the salon while Bill and I exchanged duties entertaining Abby while the other got their hair cut.  We both finished and Debbie came back dejectedly and told us  the other salon had no time for her today so it was back down the hill to the boat.

About half way there I met a lady from the cruise ship and stopped and chatted with her.  She was from Oxnard CA and had gotten on the cruise ship in Chicago, with stops in Little Current, Mackinaw Island, Parry Sound and Midland. There maybe other stops but this is a pretty good size ship.  Traci (from Oxnard) was in search of some health food goodies and went on her search up the hill.  I spotted an ice cream store and Abby and I went for a waffle cone and Pralines and cream.  Back to the boat and get ready for dinner.  Debbie was the worse for wear after her excursion into town and was not coming with Bill, Sandy and I for dinner.  Alcohol was on the menu for her!

The cruise ship was in town for the day

Sandy, Bill and I went to the Bistro on the Bay for a lovely dinner on the porch with a couple of bottles of wine and dessert.  It had started really raining and we were about a half mile from the boat so we got very, very wet on the way back.  So much so that Bill and Sandy took of their pants in the back of the boat.  Debbie was sitting with Abby looking better when I got in.

Dinner here with Bill and Sandy

Sandy looks geat, not sure what Bill sat on