Wednesday, July 8, 2009

When we set out yesterday, our plan was to head for Thessalon today and then on Thursday make the crossing to Drummond Island where we would clear customs. As we were visiting with Betty and Leo last night, John and Lisa of Distant Voyager hailed Dues Paid. They know each other since both couples live in Punta Gorda, Florida, and they both spend time in the North Channel each summer. We spoke with John and he invited us to travel with them on Thursday directly to Drummond Island since it was supposed to be a nice day with winds out of the Southeast. For the past several days, we have been heading directly into a west wind so the change sounded good to us and we stayed at Long Point Cove another day.

In the morning, we explored in the dinghy, hunted blueberries (found a few nearly ripe ones), and fished. Just before noon at exactly the same time, Gale and Maureen each had a fish on the line – two big Northerns! Back at Blue Heron we enjoyed a fantastic lunch of our first pancakes made with North Channel blueberries. Mid-afternoon we moved the boat into the shallow pool at our anchorage and Gale pulled the big boat with the dinghy into less than two feet of water. Here we scrubbed the hull and removed the scum that had accumulated – mostly in the saltwater during the first few weeks of our trip. After cleaning Blue Heron we moved her back into about four feet of water for the night, took baths ourselves in the co-o-o-o-o-o-l- d waters of the North Channel, and went fishing again. Gale caught another Northern, but since it wasn’t as big as the others we’d been catching, he released it.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The forecast for the day was similar to yesterday but since it wasn’t raining when we awoke, we decided to move on. We had noted several different anchorages along our route in case we needed to duck in to a safe harbor. Leaving early in the morning usually allows for a few good hours of traveling before the wind picks up so we hauled up the anchor at 6:30 am and set out for Sanford Island. We came through Little Detroit Strait, a spot so narrow it is customary to announce your intentions to pass through on the radio before entering. Fortunately, it is also protected, so there is no concern about waves or currents making it dangerous or difficult to navigate. The wind did get stronger as it got later into the morning and by 10:30 am we were very glad that we were nearing the end of our trip for the day. We had originally intended to anchor at Sanford Island, but Gale noticed a Gemini catamaran coming up behind us and hailed them on the radio. Leo and Betty of Dues Paid said they were going into Long Point Cove and they would be happy to lead us in. We followed and found another lovely, secluded anchorage where, amazingly enough, there was only one other sailboat. Since it was only 11:30 am when we set our anchor, we had the rest of the day to look forward to. We took the dinghy over to meet Betty and Leo in person and they invited us aboard. This was the first Gemini we had seen since leaving Delaware City two months ago!

After lunch, Gale and Lucy went fishing while Maureen stayed on the boat to do a little housekeeping. There were showers off and on all afternoon, but it didn’t stop us from fishing, hunting blueberries or visiting our neighbors. Gale caught a large Northern just before it was time to come back and pick up Maureen so we could share “happy hour” with Betty and Leo on their boat. Gale cleaned the fish, we spent a little time aboard Dues Paid and came back to Blue Heron for fresh Northern.

Monday, July 6, 2009

It started raining sometime during the night and continued into the morning hours. We slept in and enjoyed the peacefulness of this place, listened to the wind and rain, and felt the boat being gently blown from side to side on the anchor. We decided it was a good day to stay put especially knowing that if the wind was affecting us so much in a protected cove, it wouldn’t be much fun out on the open water. A black bear cub showed up about the same time of the afternoon in the same spot we saw the adult bear yesterday. We believe there were two cubs and a mother bear living in the vicinity. Again, we tried to get some pictures, but the only way one would know there is a bear in the photo is if we point it out!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

It was a sunny morning and the breezes were light and out of the west. We pulled anchor at 7:00 am and headed for an anchorage behind Hotham Island near the LaCloche Mountains where we arrived at 10 am. The spot we tucked into already had three sailboats and three power boats at anchor, but there was room for more so we motored all the way into the cove and dropped our anchor in about 5 feet of water. As usual, the water was very clean, clear and cool. We talked to some “old friends” and met some new ones as we toured the area in our dinghy before lunch.

After a nice afternoon nap, everyone was outside on deck: Gale working on the dinghy, Maureen reading a book and Lucy continuing her nap. Lucy started sniffing and making some noise and when we looked to the shore, we saw a black bear on the rocks. He gave us a look, Lucy barked at him and he disappeared into the bushes before we could get a picture. Gale and Lucy decided to try to take the dinghy out to catch some fish while Maureen stayed on Blue Heron and enjoyed reading her novel. The fishing expedition was unsuccessful this time, so we thawed the fish we’d purchased in Killarney and added a salad for a late dinner.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy Fourth of July! The skies were blue, the sun bright and the temperature around 70 degrees. We were up at 6 am to enjoy this beautiful day! The Laundromat was only a few feet from the boat, so Maureen couldn’t pass up the opportunity to throw in a couple loads of wash. It didn’t even feel like a chore with things so handy! We had decided to hang around this morning to take care of a few things but, mostly, to check out the Little Current Yacht Club Cruisers’ Net program which broadcasts every day on VHF Channel 71 at 9 am during the months of July and August. Roy Eaton is the announcer and he makes his broadcast from the Anchor Inn Hotel, just across the street from the docks. At the hotel, we met Steve and Rae Mason, Barefoot Shoes, whom we had heard checking in on the radio program for the last two days. In fact, they had been anchored at The Pool when we first arrived, but left before we had the chance to meet them there. Steve gave us a good lead on an antenna that they use to boost their WiFi signal. We hope to catch up with them again during our travels. Roy, from the radio program, stopped by the docks with his radio tester to offer to check anyone’s VHF radio. We could not easily get to our antenna and radio, so we passed on the test; however, Roy did take Gale and our propane tank to the only place in town that refilled tanks. Thanks, Roy!

A few more chores, a little lunch and we were just about ready to leave Little Current when two female customs officers walked by and asked for our paperwork. They were very pleasant, friendly and professional and gave us some more paperwork in case someone wanted to check us again.

We left Little Current at 4 pm and as soon as we were out of the harbor, we headed into the wind and 3 to 4 foot waves. This made for a very rough ride! Our original plan was to anchor at Fox Island, but we soon realized that was too far to go in these conditions. There was a sailboat coming out of Little Current behind us which turned north. Instead of continuing west and riding the waves as we were, we decided to fall in behind the sailboat, Olajuna, and try to hail them on the radio. Gordon and Hilda were piloting the boat and Hilda told us they were going to Louisa Island for the night where there was a very well protected cove. We followed them in to a delightful anchorage that actually had a small sand beach! After setting the anchor and putting things in order, Gordon rowed his dinghy over to meet us. We invited them back after dinner for a cocktail and some snacks and enjoyed getting to know this very nice couple.

Friday, July 3, 2009

The forecast for the day was for sun and clouds with winds beginning to build from NW to W and up to 15 to 20 knots by afternoon. It took a little bit of work to free the anchor from the weeds, but we were on our way shortly after 7 am and headed to Little Current, the only “big” town in these parts (pop. 1,500). There is a swing bridge just at the entrance to the Little Current harbor which opens for 15 minutes every hour on the hour. We just made the 11 am opening and found ourselves at the fuel station on the town dock by 11:20 am where we topped off the diesel fuel tanks and filled the dinghy gasoline tank and the fresh water tanks. We were told that we could tie up to the wall or move into a slip and stay for the rest of the day to shop, lunch, do laundry, or whatever. We stopped at the post office, checked out some gift shops, took our laptop to the Pantry restaurant for lunch and picked up groceries. Both of the grocery stores in town have free delivery to the docks. What a nice service! After groceries, we walked to the LCBO to pick up some wine and wandered a bit around town. The winds had increased to over 20 knots, the water was beginning to show whitecaps, and the sky was getting darker. We thought it best to stay tied to the wall tonight and venture out again tomorrow. We settled in, did some business on the computer and went out for a burger at the Anchor Inn.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

We stayed at anchor another day. Gale and Lucy took the dinghy out around 7:30 am to see if they could catch dinner. While they were out, one of the neighboring boats hailed him over and asked what he thought about all the commotion last night. Maureen had mentioned to Gale that the boat that came in late in the day seemed to have a lot of lights on it and they were using a spotlight on shore. She also heard someone’s VHF radio with the volume cranked way up and thought another boat came in during the night. She didn’t hear the two little girls aboard hollering things like, “Daddy, Please don’t! Daddy, No!” There had been a domestic incident happening right next to us and we were unaware of any problem or that the woman had sent out a “Mayday!” The Coast Guard and the Ontario Provincial Police were on scene and handled a difficult situation very well. The mom and two girls were taken away on one boat and the dad on another.

While Gale was out, Maureen was putting together some snacks to take along while we ventured out of The Pool and into the fjord. We couldn’t go too far because we were getting low on gasoline, but did make it out to The Narrows portion and had a little picnic on an island. We saw beavers in the water, eagles over the water and loons on the water! After lunch, we headed back to The Pool and tied off to the dock used by the Killarney Provincial Park staff. It was here that we found the trail up to Topaz Lake and hiked up to see the mountain lake. Even though we were wearing full raingear, rubber boots and hats, the mosquitoes found their way into any exposed areas and left us all with a few large welts. As we stepped over the ridge, we discovered that the lake was aptly named because the water appeared to be a beautiful dark turquoise color. Gale enjoyed a little swim in the clear, cold water but neither Maureen nor Lucy joined in.

After the hike and a little break back on the boat, we thought we had better get out and try fishing again. Maureen was the one who brought home dinner this time – a good-sized Northern.