Aug 31-10 Home

Last night anchored out at Chicken bay, just across from Shanty Bay. Droped in and saw a few other KBYC members anchored off as well enjoying the warm temperatures and water.
After everyone left around 8pm, the waters started to quiet down, no more pitching and rolling.
Arrived at Barrie marina about 9:30am and had the mast back up by noon. Spent the day cleaning and getting things off the boat. we will go home tonight for laundry and stock up on a few things then head out somewhere tomorrow for the night.
Preliminarily here are a few stats

1400 staute miles.
8 weeks 1 day away from Barrie. Slept on boat every night but 1
$3800 spent - $450 in deisel & oil, Dock/slip fees $850, Food and Drink $750, Lock fees $500, Dining out/coffee etc $400, Entertainment, mast stepping(4) charts, stuff... $875.

Aug 27-30 Return to Nowhere? Penetang to Orillia

Mast was dropped and we departed on Friday. finally some half decent weather. We locked up the Severn, Marine Railway was waiting for us, and got through Swift Rapids lock before we hunted for some anchorage. We ended up just off the main channel , just before Sparrow Lake.
Next morning we slipped into Port Stanton on Sparrow Lake, visited Bayview Wildwood Resort, like stepping back into time with Lodges, cottages, etc. An interesting place and it was busy. Almost a time share resort with all inclusive program, guests wearing wristbands. Individual cottages for rent. several of them 50 years and older.
Locked through Ching #42 and headed to Orillia for the night and some provisons. again another great day 28 degrees. blue sky....
A few pics of the locks and dams as we travelled the Severn

Aug 24-26 Webber Island -Beausoleil - Penetang

Have now completed the circumnavigation of Georgian Bay and have dropped the mast at Penetang, ready to head down the Severn tomorrow. Will return to Barrie on Sunday or Monday.
Last night was really windy at Beausoliel, with anchor checks every hour and half. Wind finally died at 4am to 10 knots. with fewer gusts.
A light rain came in at about 4pm. It was cold this morning as we headed out under sail to Penetang. Supposed to drop to 8 degree tonight. Had mast dropped and secured and ready to head out at about 3pm. We will spend night here and start locking upstream tomorrow.
Here is few pics of Webber Island and Beausoleil anchorages. An old freind again decided to join us, note his new hair do.

Wouldn't be complete without a final sunset in Georgian Bay.

Aug 21-23 cont'd

Sorry still having connection problems
Pics of Parry sound swing Bridge, Parry Sound Harbour,

Aug 21-23 Parry sound to Go Home Bay

Been a few days as we have connection problems. I lost connection with the Blackberry, no phone, no internet. SIM issue. The Bell coverage in this area is not great either.

Sat Aug 21 went through Parry Sound, topped up gas, got pumpout and free shuttle service up to Sobey's for shopping. Had a real good coffee,while out. This instant stuff gets to you after a while. Weather last few days has not been great either, rain, cloudy, winds... but you have all had the same. A few pictures of Parry Sound and and the anchorages we hit. We also stopped off at Henry's Fish Restaurant for lunchThis was in San Souci ( Frying Pan Island.
Beacuse of the rough weather on Georgian Bay we were pretty well restricted to the small craft route, and unfortunately very littk sailing opportunities, due to channels , shoals and depth.
At 12 Mile Bay we anchored in a little inlet called Wani Bay. Over a dozen boats were doing the same and by the end of the evening it was quite crowded.
Low and behold , at 11pm, I did my final eveing check and to my shock found my dingy running over another boats anchor line. This was a little too close for me, our anchor alarm did not go off, so all I can figure is that I under estimated the amount of anchor the boat beside me had out and his swing and my swing overlapped. We booted out of there quick and re- anchored a bit farther up. Took 2 times for the anchor to set. I wasn't comfortable as we didn't have a chance to observe our swings etc, so I slept in the cockpit , close to the alarm should if go off. Winds died down at 5am, so all was well.

Aug 20-10 Killbear Park& Huckleberry Island

Visit Killbear Park for a half hour, brought back memories of when we went camping here with the kids. They still jump off the rocks but looks like "suicide" has been blocked off as no one was jumping from there.
Saw our first bear the other night in Shawanaga Inlet where we anchored last night.
Tonight finds us on Huckleberry Island where we went ashore and had a campfire. This surely was one of the nicer areas we have anchored at. Again calling for 20 k wind tonight with rain and thunderstorms tomorrow. We have been lucky with the lack of rain but the high winds, high waves as well as the cooler teeperatures this week have made it difficult to get any sailing in, so we motor on.
Here are afew pics of the last few days. Bear, an old Freind.Huckleberry Island and Killbear

Aug 18-19 The Great Escape

The winds died down and about 15 boats made a dash south. Winds were about 10 - 15 K from the north west , seas were about 1 metre making for some great reaching and downwind sailing. We sailed for about 6 hours then charged some batteries. Anchored off Cunningham Pass just north east of Britt. Made about 43 miles today , averaged over 5kt.
Rain and thunderstorms this morning held us back by about an hour. We hve been in rain gear all morning and finally the sun is starting to break through. We have motored most of the day as the waves on the Bay are still quite high, 1 meter but the winds have dropped a bit. We decided to take the small route passage through Porte au Barill.
Not much else to say today. will be anchoring here and set off tomorrow for Port Carling or Killbear Park.

August 17 Return to Killarny

1-2 meter waves and 25 Knot North west winds caused us to return to the harbour after a 35 minute battle. Just wasn't fun, so we , like almost everyone else in the harbour returned.Docks were at a premium. The forecast calls for winds to start to drop by wednesday afternoon and change to south west 15 k, so a more realistic opportunity tomorrow.
Here are some pictures of the last 2 days. Gorgeous country. In the one picture of the high rock formation, if you enlarge , you may be able to pick out the face of an indian chief ( as legend says)

August 15 Killarny

Quiet day today. Dense fog did not lift until noon. Had to run engine for an hour to charge up batteries. So used to getting up and going this has not been a concern. Went into town to look around. Town of under 500 and has about 6 differnt marinas, A little fishng industry,but mostly tourism.

Here are a few pics from the last few days. Cloche Mountains, Killarny and Beckwith Island sunset

Aug 8-14 Lake Sturgeon to Killarney

Sorry for the delay, but we have been tryig t figure out where nowhere was.
Last Sunday ( the day of all the rain) we locked downstream to Lake Simcoe. As luck would have it and because crew member "Murphy" was on board, we entered Simcoe around 5pm and the high wind alert came out for all to seek a port. We headed to Beaverton and tied up on the wall for the night. Within a half an hour the sun was out and a beautiful evening.
On monday we headed to Orillia, to meet up with all the kids (except Chris). Had the opportunity to meet our new grandaughter Charlotte Fay, now a month old. All the grand kids were there and we had a great evening. Had a chance to reprovision , do some laundry, clean up the boat for the next adventure.
Tuesday we left Orillia and locked down the Severn and arrived in Georgian Bay. Anchored off the family cottage at Methodist Island. Cottage was sold and closing date is this week. Met with the Admiral's father the next day to close the cottage up.
Thursday headed up to Penetang to put the mast up then headed over to Beckwith Island for the night.
Friday we went to Cabots Head (Tobermory) and today we sit in Killarny, where the Journey continues. A bit exhausted having done a 100 miles in 1-2 meter waves the last 2 days ( 18 hours) What sailing we did was great.
This part of the journey is to be the relaxing part, I hope so. We are now over a 1000 nautical miles since we stsrted and have finished week 6.
Another boat may be on the horizon in a few years, but I won't hold my breath yet.
Sorry no pictures today . The internet access over the last few days has been limited as well. Talk later.

August 6-7-10 Peterborough to Sturgeon Take

This entry finds us about 36 miles from Lake Simcoe , 6 miles south of Fenlon Falls.
Yesterday we traveled 25 miles but went through 8 locks. Most locks were within a mile or 2, No traffic on the locks going up, but there was quite a bit going downstream. Usually not a wait, as locks were open for us as we approached.
Worse area was going through Peterbrough. The Peterborough lift lock really is a highlight of the system . I believe it was the Ottanabee lock that we had trouble with, winds were so high, that we had trouble holding the boat to the wall. The Admiral. almost let go and was heading for a swim, but managed to hold on. Not much leverage for a 100 pounder trying to hold 8 tons. I had a go of it also, so how Jo managed I'll never know, but she did. Anchored off Douglas Island in Lake Katchewanooka. This proved to be a comfortable spot as winds died after 8pm.
Today we made it to Sturgeon Lake and again winds have dropped, so we should be okay for the night. Made 45 miles and 5 locks today, some great scenery through Lower Buckhorn, Huricane Alley, Hell's Gate, Buckhorn , Bobcageon. Finally made it through Bobcageon without hitting ground. First time out of 4 attempts. Busy at this lock , 45 minute wait.
That's it for now
Here is a pic of the morning at Lake Katchewanooka (7am) & Peterborough Lift Lock

August 4-5-10 Trenton to Cambelltown, Otonabee River

15 miles south of Peterborough now and we want to be north of it before the weekend.
Aug 4- we left Trenton and locked up 7 stations and moored off at Lock 8 Percy Reach. Was an impending weather alert and severe thunderstorms so we thought this was best. Arrived at 5pm and the rain started at 5:20pm but only lasted for 20 minutes. The rest of the night not a speck of wind, and it got hot and humid.
Next day was to be a big one, We locked through 11 times and went 49 miles. Left at 8:30am and arrived at 9pm. Had a quick meal , then bed.
Yesterday noticed water temperature rising, so I changed impeller when we arrived. We were going to go to Harcourt on the south side of Rice Lake for the night, but we ended up thick in weeds and turned tail and motored up the Otanabee River ( option 2) I should have trusted my "sailor" sense and chose option 2 all along , would have saved an hour.
After another day of weather warnings and forecasted high winds, all was going great until 4:30 after we locked up at Hastings. The skies opened and the rain came down sideways. We saw it coming so we had a bit of a chance to batten down, but we road it out for 45 minutes and it slowed down. Navigated at slow speed by chartplotter, navigation lights and lookoutss. Visibility was off and on, for a short period, but relatively okay.
Rice Lake was great for the first hour and a half, then got choppy and winds stiffened. This combined with my decision to go to Harcourt, added to the day.
A few pics of Percy Reach, the otonabee and Healey Falls lock. Not sure the order they will appear in. Bell reception has been in and out of range most of yesterday.

Aug 2-4 - Kingston to Trenton

Pictures of Glenora Ferry on Adolphous Reach. Sailing in Quinte, Entrance to Trent System.

Aug 2 & 3rd had some great sailing weather from Kingston to Trenton. We anchored in Port Hallowell ( Picton Harbour) and next night in Murray Canal.
Weather hot, humid and sticky.
When we arrived at Trenton, via, Alphous Reach, Long Reach, Telegarph Narrows, Big Bay, Belleville, then Trenton. Some great sailing, broad reach and runs. some good waves coming across Amherst Island up to a meter and a half. All in a days work.
We arrived at CFB Trenton at 4pm to take mast down. Got stuck several times going into the crane, due to the weeds and low water. Eventually plowed a path in. No option.
Got out as soon as we could. didn't want the weeds to sink their roots into our keel.
Moved over to Murray canal for free tie up on canal wall. Dove down to pull weeds off shaft and prop. Unbelievable, they were wrapped around shaft 2" thick , fortunate didn't overheat. Checked out water strainers in morning, all okay. The down side of this area (Trenton) is the weed growth, Don't know how they sail here as the depth of the area is , generally less than 10 feet, combined with the weed growth.
Glad I didn't stay any longer up the Saint Lawrence or would not have gotten into this Club if we waited much longer.

Ciao, the Admiral is doing fine.

July 31-August 1 Brockville to Kingston

Presently anchored in Deadman's Bay , Kingston. Last few days have been great with some sailing and with the winds behind us, allowing us to make some headway.
Yesterday, set out to go to Alexandria NY, to go to Boldt Castle, we got there but no where to tie up and the harbour was so busy with tour boats and pleasure crafts we decided to continue on. We anchored at Ivy Lea ( Hill island). Set out this morning to go to Gananoque. Same thing, no place to dock and the harbour was so active, we decided to continue on. Once in the Batteau channel we had a nice downwind sail to our anchorage. Here are some pictures... Boldt castle, Singer ( of Singer sewing machines) Sunset at Ivy Lea and Fort Henry Kingston.