Summer 2010

  

Summer blasted off in April and May.  We had to keep reminding ourselves, as we sat at the dock in Penetang in mid 20C temperatures, that it was still spring and not summer.

Bob hosted our boy family (with the exception of west-coast Peter) at the boat for a bit of bonding and we hear they had a great time anchoring out, swimming and hiking.  We also hear that the rules are that what happens at the boat stays at the boat so we assume that all the fun, eating and drinking was in moderation.

Below, left to right:
Marcin (daughter Jenn's partner), Captain Bob, Bob's son Paul, Sharon's son Steve

Meanwhile, I was tidying up all the final arrangements for the property management company in order to rent our house for the summer. Mom and I had several great visits and I spent the overnight with Kim then made my way to the boat, once I was certain that Bob would have it all cleaned up following the boys visit.


Bob and I left the marina on June 8th with an ultimate destination of Lake Superior.  Our first night of anchoring was in one of our favourite spots, Wanee Bay near the mouth of Twelve Mile Bay.  Never have we had the anchorage to ourselves but this time it was all ours.  On the second night here, our generator stopped and we decided to cruise further into Twelve Mile to Moose Deer Point Marina.  When we hit a rock a couple of years ago, we spent a few days here while they fixed the boat.  Moose Deer was the first marina completely run by First Nation's people.  Jean Chretien was Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the 60's and approved the marina.  The marina is beautiful and the people are among the best we have met.  They remembered us and sadly told us that their former chief and marina manager (who we knew) had suddenly died two weeks previous at 61 years of age.  This was a huge loss to them and we felt their loss.  The mechanic was unable to fix the problem and when we went to the office to pay them for our stay they looked at Bob in shock and asked "What are you paying us for?  We didn't fix the problem!"  There's a first time for everything.
Below:  Moose Deer Point Marina

We moved on to Parry Sound where we found a mechanic who was able to fix the generator. Waiting for the repairs to be done, we explored the town and did a lot of walking.
Below:  Parry Sound Sunset

We even met an "almost famous" person! Bobby Orr's brother (for those who even know who he is) owns this meat shop and deli, has lots of memorabilia in the place and is a very nice fellow.
Doesn't look at all like his brother......riiiiiiight!!!










Repairs done, we moved on to Killbear Park and anchored in Kilcoursie Bay, another gorgeous anchorage. Only one other boat was in the anchorage. In another couple of weeks the place will be full! The next morning as we had coffee and looked at the beautiful scenery, I saw what I thought was a dog running alone on the beach. Bob identified it as a small deer, all alone, running along by the water. It moved into a camp site and sniffed around the tent, the inhabitants still asleep and completely oblivious to it's presence.  The quality of the photo is not good because we had to shoot it in a rush and through acetate but you can identify it as a deer.

It was a beautiful morning and the day we were crossing Georgian Bay from east to west and about a six hour crossing. The last time we did this we were crossing west to east in high waves and it wasn't pleasant. This time we were praying that the marine forecast was accurate with a prediction of less than 1 metre waves and sun the entire way. They were right! It was absolutely flat and we made it to our anchorage at Cabot Head, Bruce Peninsula, in 5.5 hours. It was amazing to get to the middle of Georgian Bay and not see land anywhere.
Below:  Entry to anchorage at Cabot Head is very shallow and so you line up those babies on shore and stay between the markers or you'll be sorry!!!

Once in, the anchorage is lovely with lots of wildlife. Below are the Merganser ducks (we had never seen white ones before) and the loon that kept us company. I just loved the name of the sailboat!

....and the beauty of the sunsets when we are boating.

Below:  Flowerpot Island near Tobermory

After a couple of days we moved on to Tobermory to gas up, pump out, do laundry and buy groceries. We love Tobey but we had a long way to go to get to Superior and with a plan to spend Canada Day in Sault Ste. Marie, we knew we had to keep moving to spend time in the anchorages we had on our list between here and there. Early the next morning, we shoved off and headed north to The Pool at the end of Baie Fine (pronounced Bay Fin), the best kept secret of the Ontario north. Baie Fine is the longest fresh water fijord in the world. It is nine nautical miles long and after wending our way around a bit of a rocky entrance, we cruised another 2 miles and into The Pool. We have visited this anchorage before and it has been quite crowded but this time we discovered one sailboat. What a treat!
Below: Baie Fine; Scenery in The Pool and yes, that is our boat in the distance, overshadowed by the towering quartz hills. Note the calm water. This is the day the tornado hit Midland.

We saw turtles, a hawk, beaver and huge dragonflies..a perfect place!

Lots more to report however it is Canada Day in the Soo and I have to get back to the celebrations!

Happy Birthday Canada!!!