Day 70 – 72: 8/3 – 8/5. With Todd and June on board, we tossed lines around 11:30 am headed for Chimney Bay at the north end of Beausoleil Island – about a 2 hour run. Beausoleil Island is a 5 mile long island that is the largest island in the Georgian Bay National Park system and the only place in the parks that allows camping. The entire island is a national park, so there are hundreds of trails to hike and numerous children’s sleep over summer camps. We anchored and had a swim and a float while the sun peaked in and out of the clouds. Weather forecast called for a thunderstorm later in the day, so we made sure the anchor had a good hold and wanted to get our swim in early. While we floated, another Fleming (Blessed Again, a Fleming 55) arrived and anchored. Within about 30 minutes another Fleming (Blue Moon, a Fleming 58 arrived) and anchored. Soon the locals were coming by in their day boats wondering if this was some sort of a Fleming reunion! Reality – we don’t know each other and this was totally unplanned! All 3 of us are doing the loop and although we crossed paths with Blessed Again in NJ, we had not seen them since.
When one of the locals came by, Todd asked about getting a local t-shirt and he reminded us that Honey Harbor was a short dingy ride away if we cut through Big Dog Channel – a passage too narrow and too shallow for Legacy. We hopped in the dingy and off we went to find the General Store. Todd found a t-shirt and while we were there, who did we run into, but Mike who we met the other day at their waterfront home when we anchored there! Coincidences? You tell me!
It was a lovely day in Chimney Bay until the skies darkened, we could hear the thunder and we knew the storm was getting closer. The winds picked up and it started raining very hard. We dropped our second anchor to be sure we wouldn’t drag. 2 boats did start dragging their anchors. One was headed toward the rocks (he was able to quickly get his engines going and re-anchored in a safe spot) and the other (which was actually 2 boats rafted together) was headed toward an anchored sailboat. They did collide, but didn’t appear to inflict any damage. They too finally got their engines going and simply left the bay for open water. The storm passed fairly quickly and the sun was back out. We certainly had our excitement for the day. We later heard there was equal excitement at the Big Chute where 35-40 boats were tied to the wall or the floating dock. The floating dock broke loose and began to move with all the boats tied to it. Everyone scrambled and helped each other separate from the floating dock and raft off of the other boats tied to the walls.
Once the storm passed, it was time to get the grill going for some steaks, baked potatoes, fresh corn on the cob and caprese salad June and Todd brought from a farm stand. It was a beautiful quiet night with the sounds of children’s laughter in the distance from the summer camps. We pulled anchor the next morning around 9:15 am with the intent of arriving at Cedar Point west of Midlands around 11:00/11:30. June and Todd have friends with a cottage there. It was flat seas with little/no wind. We arrived at Ken and Cathy’s right on time, dropped anchor and Ken ferried us in on his dinghy. What a beautiful home, just built in the last couple years. We had a lovely lunch, walk on the beach, just hung out for the afternoon, met Cathy’s sisters and saw their homes also along the shore. The winds began to pick up later in the afternoon and we knew it was time to go.
We pulled anchor around 5:00 pm as the winds were gaining strength; once underway we measured them between 25 and 30 knots with 4-5 foot waves. Our original plan was to anchor at Giant’s Tomb where they say you can see the bottom 30 feet down, but that would have given us zero protection with the direction of the winds. Instead we headed toward Peneteanguishene Bay (the locals call it Penetang or P’tang) where we knew there was protected anchorage just inside of Magazine Island. We saw 2 looper boats already there and checked in with them if there was room for us. With a thumbs up back from Bama Breeze, we endured a bit of a bumpy ride (first time for Todd and June) and secured our anchorage around 7:00 pm. It was time for a “safe arrival” beer, dinner and a sunset!
We were up and out early to get June and Todd back to Midland to start their drive back over the border to Buffalo, NY and flight home. It was a wonderful few days with them and we are missing them already. I am particularly missing Todd who took over most of the responsibilities for the lines and anchoring while on board. At the beginning of the trip he was just being Todd, the gentleman we know and love. On Thursday afternoon, I slipped coming down the stairs between the pilot house and the salon and took a hard hit to a rib. Wish I had a good story to go with it, but I don’t. We weren’t in a storm, no pirates on board I was running from and we weren’t even drinking…. I just slipped. Anyway, I’m sure I cracked it or broke it straight through. Having Todd and June here was a Godsend to handling the boat. So now we are adjusting to the fact I really can’t be pulling/throwing lines, moving fenders, and lifting things. Glad I learned to drive this thing 3 years ago, although my docking is a little rusty; we’ll have to reverse some roles for a while, I think. Rick, the harbor master and his wife Debbie helped us get a wedge pillow ordered so sleeping might be a little better. Praying for it’s overnight delivery tomorrow, then we will be off again to ‘not yet sure where.’ We have places to go, people to meet (or reconnect with) and things to do. This will certainly slow us down, but we will figure it out! Little worried about my upcoming air travel in about 5 weeks (they say healing takes 4-6), but that’s a worry for another day!
Today is our 34th wedding anniversary. Love you Gary! Blessed to be taking this adventure called life with you!
Chuck Hurley
Sorry about your rib, Carol, but it sounds like you are having a fantastic time!
Chuck and Ginnie