Archives 2023

Days 84 – 86; Aug 16 – 18: Left the Benjamin Islands at 7:00 am and headed to Meldrum Bay where we knew we’d have a safe harbor as the winds and rains passed by. It was a 45 mile run that was all open water once we crossed out of the Benjamins and easy on Legacy and Coda; a little bit bouncy for some of the ride for Puffin. We did some laundry, made fresh water and roasted a turkey. Arrived around lunch time and settled in for a couple days since the forecast was calling for strong winds and rain.

This tiny community once had an economy of ice harvesting, fishing and farming; present day less than 40 people inhabit the area. Our cruising guide had noted that it offers a “full service marina but limited provisioning.” Well they sort of nailed that…. Very friendly and helpful people with a full service marina which means there is power and water, a bathroom, shower and 1 washing machine & dryer. There is a general store that I hoped to buy some carrots to make turkey soup…..no can do. Their produce section was 2 bananas, 2 apples and 1 pear for $1.00 each! We made due with what we each had on all of the boats and of course, we still ate well. A sailboat from Wisconsin pulled in after us; they were meeting some friends to take them to the closest grocery store – 2 hours by car back to Little Current where we provisioned a couple days ago.

Meldrum did it’s job and provided us a very safe harbor from the storms, but we affectionately nicknamed it Doldrums or Humdrum…. Look ‘em up!

We did enjoy more family style meals including Steve’s enchiladas on Wednesday and on Thursday, Carol’s turkey soup and Barbara’s Lentil Squash soup. Tonight we celebrate Barbara’s birthday with Carol’s pesto pasta with shrimp, Shirley’s super salad and Steve’s chocolate birthday cake for Barbara!

Having a couple down days wasn’t a totally bad thing. I had 2 board prep meetings and 2 full board meetings to attend and the guys were able to spend another few hours in the engine room fixing the stern shore power issue. Thankful for the skills that Steve and Tony brought to the party – they cannibalized the parts they needed from the failed contactor and replaced the defective part in the new contactor. Eureka – success with a Frankensteined contactor! We are up and running again after several weeks of using the secondary shore power system in the bow.

Took a walk (2 miles) since the rib is healing nicely and feeling like I can start doing more, but the isolation freaked me out a little and I began to worry about bears. Stuck close to the Inn (which is closed) and General Store which is also the liquor store. Picked some wildflowers along the way and enjoyed the cool breeze (high of 65 today with winds out of the NW at 10-15 mph.)

Tomorrow looks to be a great travel day and sadly, Coda, Puffin and Legacy will go our separate ways for a while. Coda will make the last run to Mackinac City where they will leave the boat for a week and go home for some family events, Puffin is headed onto St. Ignace having already been to Mackinac Island last year, and Legacy will continue to De Tour and then Mackinac Island for a few days. Tomorrow will be our last day in Canada as we cross back into the USA at De Tour.

Day 82 and 83; August 14 and 15: Left Killarney headed to Little Current around 10:00 am with relatively flat seas (maybe1 foot) and the wind at about 10 knots at our stern. It was about a 2.5 hour run with about 15 minutes waiting for the swing bridge to open. It was a quick in and out to provision at the local grocery store (about a 1/4 mile hike from the marina, but up a steep set of stairs). I was particularly pleased to find they had whole butterball turkeys; Gary wasn’t so thrilled when he had to carry it back!

We dropped our grocery bags and cast off lines a little after 2:00 PM headed to the Benjamin Islands – a series of islands about 18 miles from Little Current and one of the most popular destinations in the North Channel. Popular not for its grocery store, weekly music in the band stand or marina with amenities; it has none of that…. The Benjamins are known for the sheer beauty of pink granite islands carved by the glaciers, wind and weather; the unique pink granite contrasts with the white quartz of the mountains to the north and limestone of the lower surrounding islands. Years ago, attempts were made to blast some of the islands and harvest some of the chunks of granite. You can still see some of the holes bored in the rock. There was enough concern raised that South Benjamin Island was declared a National Beauty Spot and will never be quarried.

I had a meeting at 4:00 pm, so it was going to be tight to get there on time. We took the lead so we could go faster than the flotilla, get their first, get settled and fire up Zoom. When we run at our cruising speed (9.5-10 knots/11-12 mph) we burn about 10 gallons of fuel per hour. When we run wide open (20-21 knots/24 mph) we burn about 77 gallons per hour! Well… it’s good to know we can do it if we need to, and you gotta do what you gotta do, so we did a couple wide open sprints to get there on time. It’s also very good for the diesels to run this way every now and then and we hadn’t done it in a while.

We anchored in a cove of South Benjamin Island after passing through the Sow and Pigs Islands as well as the Boars (a group of rocks) and Porcupine Island to our starboard. Who gets to name these islands? We got there just about the same time we received word that the meeting needed to be rescheduled. Oh well!! It made for an easier time anchoring and getting ready for the arrival of Coda and Puffin.

What a beautiful spot! That called for a special safe arrival drink – Pina Coladas! We enjoyed California guacamole by Shirley, fish tacos with mango slaw by Gary and Carol (used the remainders of the monster Northern Pike that Gary had caught) and we topped it all off with angel food cake and strawberry creamy by Barbara and Steve….. oh my! It was off to bed at Looper midnight (about 9:00 pm) to get an early start (anchors up at 7:00 am) to get to Meldrum Bay with relatively flat seas before the winds kick up in the afternoon.

The forecast is calling for windy days the next couple days, so this 45 mile run will get us to a safe marina. We needed to get some miles behind us to get to Mackinac Island on time for Steve and Barbara’s flight. It wasn’t just their timeline, however. Gary and I wanted to be at Mackinac by late August since we will be in South Carolina for a week in September (when Legacy will be in Lake Michigan) and we want to enjoy Michigan without rushing through her.

The ride was an easy one for Legacy (about 5 hours) so we roasted the turkey, did some laundry, made some fresh water and caught up on some chores.

It’s hard to capture the beauty of the waters, islands, coves and beaches in words or pictures. Temperatures today in the low to mid 60’s; blue skies with sun peeking in and out; winds at about 20 knots blowing the smoke away. Life is good. Thankful and blessed!

Day 81 & 82; August 14 and 15: Had a very pleasant ride with very little wind and flat seas from Bad River to Killarney. We had reservations for all 3 boats at Killarney Mountain Lodge, a full service Lodge with a pool, gameroom, restaurant, bar, fitness center, kayaks, sauna and more. Unfortunately, we only planned to spend one day there as we proceed toward Mackinac Island for Steve and Barbara to catch their flights home for a week, so really didn’t partake of any of the amenities. We did get a few critical provisions at the local, very pricey convenience store, and the guys spent most of the afternoon in the engine room trying to figure out the shore power issue we were having on Legacy. Thankful for Steve’s skills as an electrical engineer and Tony’s as a licensed electrician (who knew!), so between the 3 of them they got the bow shore power system back up and running and have a pretty good idea what needs to be done on the stern! Yahoo!

Killarney was a lovely stop and typical of northwest Canada with granite cliffs, pine trees and beautiful clean clear water. Some of the haze and smoke of the Canadian wildfires had rolled back in graying the beautiful blue skies. Temperatures remained in the high 60’s/low 70’s – not the 90’s we are used to in August at home.

Killarney, formerly called Shebahonaning, was established in 1820 by Étienne De La Morandière (although indigenous peoples were living there prior), a French Canadian originally from Quebec and a fur trader in Saul Ste Marie, Michigan, along with his wife Josette Sai Sai Go No Kwe, an indigenous woman from Michigan and a close relative of Chief Kitchi, meaning Big Gun. Soon after the arrival of the De La Morandières, many French-Canadian families started to settle there, starting fishing businesses. The population increased when the logging industry took off in Colins Inlet in the late 1800s. Hundreds of people from around Ontario went to Colins Inlet for work and established a large community in the area. The logging industry collapsed in the early 1900s because of the low demand and the population declined. Remains of the large village can be seen across from the present-day Mill Lake lodge. The collapse of the fishing industry at the end of the 1950s further reduced the population, yet recreational fishing remained with a fishing camp run out of the Killarney Mountain Lodge. Clients and guests would be flown in via sea planes for vacations during the warmer summer months. We are told the waters freeze up solid in the winter such that the locals drive their pick up trucks across the channels.

A quarry in Killarney Bay located on the westside of the Landsdowne channel had created employment for many families and had been very financially efficient after the downfall of the fishing industry. The quarry eventually was shut down in 2016 over a labour dispute and the industry that replaced it was tourism. We were pleased to contribute to that in our own small way, even if it was only for a day!

Tuesday, August 15th looked like a great day for travel with relatively flat seas (maybe a foot) and a 10 knot wind on our stern. We planned to travel about 20 miles to LIttle Current to re-provision and then put another 10-20 miles behind us and choose an anchorage for the night. Fish tacos are on the menu, using some of Gary’s delicious northern pike! No one starves on these boats!

It is very stress reducing to be so disconnected from world events, although we certainly do keep pseudo in touch with the news. Recent events include the tragic fires in Lahaina, Maui, the Trump indictments coming one after another and the continued war in Ukraine. I thought about putting a comment at the end of each blog post about the top story of the day in world affairs. Then I thought better of it!

Day 79 & 80; August 12 & 13; Left Bustard Islands around 2:00 in the afternoon with 5-10 knot winds headed to Bad River and Devils Door – a little less than an 8 mile run. It is a very protected anchorage with pink granite cliffs and a place to go shoot the rapids in the dinghy. We figured we still had daylight ahead of us and that run would get us a little closer to Killarney. Coming out of Bustard Islands, we passed 3 lighthouses all on one point – Bustard Rocks Range Lighthouses. I wondered why there were 3. These lighthouses provide for safe navigation into the French River. Two of the lighthouses use fixed white lights of different elevation and are about a half nautical mile apart from each other. The navigator approaching the mouth of the river steers the vessel to keep the two lights aligned one above the other. They can be seen about 10 miles out. Doing so guides you to the mouth of the river with safe passage. The other lighthouse has a red light.

It was about an hour and a half run but got a bit bumpy as soon as we turned out of Bustard Island with 2-4 foot seas hitting us on our port side. The waves were one after the other with a short time between each wave called a period. Just as important is the fetch – the unobstructed distance that wind can travel over water; the longer the fetch the larger the waves can be. Being in the open water outside of the protection of the Bustard Islands, the fetch was substantial – the entire width of the Georgian Bay from SE to NW.

Legacy has stabilizers which helps to reduce the pitching from side to side in those conditions, but Puffin did not so they were getting a bit tossed around. That lasted about 30 mins when we finally turned to the starboard toward Bad River. Once in the river, it was a matter of negotiating the twists and turns of the channel, arriving at Devils Door where we anchored and rafted up in the same configuration we had used at Bustard Islands. Tony and Shirley said those were the worst conditions they had been in with objects flying around inside, so we were glad to be settled at our anchorage where they could catch their breath.

Sunday morning was a little cool, so we grabbed our jackets and headed out in the dinghies to explore Devil’s Rapids. Steve and Barbara joined us in our dinghy while Tony and Shirley took theirs with Sophie (their little pup) standing proudly on the bow.

It was a beautiful ride where we found rapids and small waterfalls, as well as both shallow and deep water. Travelled through the Cross Channel and Lovers Lane, Crooked Rapids and Liley Chute. It was beautiful and great fun. Okay, so we hit bottom once….okay twice but if you’re not out adventuring you’re missing out! Beautiful pink granite walls, red flowers, pine trees and waterfalls. A great morning! Check out the short videos below and gallery of pics.

We enjoyed the peaceful day in this gorgeous anchorage topped off by Steve’s Manahattans at happy hour and flat bread pizzas with Barb’s amazing sourdough flatbreads for dinner. Flatbreads had Shirley’s leftover chicken from last nights dinner, salad from Legacy and whatever we all had in our fridges for the pizza toppings! It was a group effort baking in our little boat ovens, but they, along with a bottle of Cabernet, were fabulous!!

We pulled anchor around 9:45 am headed to Killarney where we will stay in a marina for a day, reprovision (all of the boats are almost out of beer!) and chart our next course in to the North Channel and Mackinac Island. With winds at about 3 knots, the water is flat as a pancake making for a very pleasant ride!

Day 78 & 79; August 11 & 12. We left Wright’s Marina in Britt at Byng Inlet around 9:00 am with Coda in the lead, followed by Puffin then Legacy. It was about a 3 hour cruise all in open deep water once we were out of the inlet. It was slightly overcast with light winds, but the temperatures got cooler – we closed the isinglass on the fly bridge but still ran from up top (as opposed to the pilot house) but I retreated to put on my sweat pants and sweat shirt, it was too cold!

We arrived at the Bustard Islands a little after noon into the anchorage between Tie Island to the north and Strawberry Island to the south. We think this is the most beautiful anchorage we’ve been in yet, and totally protected on all sides. Coda dropped anchor first then we dropped our anchor and rafted to Coda on our port side. This would allow us to launch our dinghy from our starboard side. Finally Puffin rafted on Coda’s port. We felt totally safe with 2 anchors out but also needed a stern tie to the rock formation behind us to prevent swinging; Tony on Puffin was off on his paddle board with Steve’s 400 feet of line to get that job done! Such teamwork.

The sun came out and it was a beautiful day. Check out the video of this beautiful anchorage below.

Gary was off in the dinghy to go fishing, having had a tip from the Dockmaster at Wright’s where to fish. I sat on the bow with a book and everyone else set out with their own tasks. Gary emerged victorious with a huge Northern Pike and a big grin on his face, especially after Steve volunteered to clean it! The two of them were off to catch more fish – which they did – while the ladies changed up the dinner plan from chicken to fish! It is amazing how every meal comes together in a beautiful orchestration of what we have on board! Barbara is an amazing cook and baker! Steve made some homemade Creamy (kind of a cross between ice cream and a slushy)

I’d been eager to gain more confidence in flying the drone and saw Tony was flying his. Winds were just a gentle breeze so Tony graciously agreed to give me a few lessons. The drones are the same brand but slightly different models and controls, so we decided we’d wait to fly ours when we were on land and not risk splashing it into the beautiful Georgian Bay! I got to fly Tony’s drone from our bow and feel better about flying ours. We think the skills are 95% transferable between the two and we’ll go ashore at our next stop (Killarney) and together we’ll fly ours. Check out the cool drone photos below!

Next stop Killarney where we can re-provision and then onto the North Channel. It’s lunch time and we’ve not decided whether to eat and then go to our next stop or just hang in this beautiful spot for the day…. A real first world problem!

Day 76 – 78; August 9-11. Arrived Byng Inlet in Britt around 3:00 in the afternoon after taking both an inside (through the twisty turns) and outside (open water) route. It was a little less than a 6 hour run in what started with 10-15 knot winds and a little chop to very manageable seas on the bay heading toward Byng Inlet. We very much enjoyed the open water run with over a hundred feet of water versus the glacial paths that twist and turn with shallow waters and lots of rocks. Not that they aren’t beautiful…they are…. It was just nice to not have to think so much for a little while.

We caught up with Coda and Puffin on the way, so slowed down to their pace and let them lead the way. We normally cruise at 9.5-10 knots while Coda cruises at around 7.5 knots. Each boat has a place that it hums the best!

One of the points of interest toward the end of our run was Pointe Au Baril Lighthouse with history back into the late 1800’s. Fur traders from Pentetanguishene (you will recall we were there a week or so ago!) lost a canoe along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay and it was discovered the following spring by some stranded fur traders. They helped themselves to the barrel of whiskey they found in the canoe. After some whiskey-fueled merrymaking, the traders left the empty barrel on the point as a marker. Soon thereafter, French mariners started to refer to the place as Pointe au Baril, meaning “Barrel Point.” The usefulness of the barrel was later improved, when a tradition started wherein the first returning fishermen would light a lamp in the barrel to guide the rest of the fleet back to safe harbour. A portion of the barrel was removed and the lamp placed inside so that its light was only visible when the fishermen were approaching along a safe course….an early day “range light”.

In 1887, the Department of Marine prepared plans for a set of range lights to lead into the inside passage among the island at Pointe au Baril but then decided to erect better buildings instead. In 1889, the government replaced the historic lantern-topped barrel with the present lighthouse.

We had a reservation at Wrights Marina, but Coda and Puffin did not. We were all thrilled when we arrived that there was room for everyone. There was a weather system coming in later in the evening so it was great we were all secure in the marina. Had a great group dinner of Tricia’s Mexican chicken by Legacy, Mexi salad by Coda, Mexi corn and a second salad by Sea The USA and Guacamole, chips and fruit as an appetizer by Puffin. It is truly amazing how such a delicious meal comes together with a little ingenuity! We did break up the party after dinner when the weather started rolling in and agreed on a plan to stay here one more day as Thursday looked to be windy and rainy, but Friday looked perfect for our next leg of the trip. We heard reports of damage to the marina and boats at one of our next stops (Killarny) from the storm that passed overnight.

Thursday was a day for boat tasks, reading and a little fishing followed by a “bring what you want to grill for your own family” dinner and docktails. Let’s just say there wasn’t any fish. The marina has gas grills, Adirondack chairs and picnic tables for patron’s usage, so we enjoyed using them with the other looper boats here tonight – Coda, Puffin, Sea The USA, Fitz Perfectly, Sea Breeze, Kayak, Chaniel and Runaway. A bit of sprinkle came through just before dinner time, but then the sun came out and it was beautiful! Happy Loopers!

Day 75 & 76: August 8 & 9. Morning of 8/9/2023 after a perfect latte prepared by Steve on Coda, we had a plan (every morning when we are with Coda, Steve makes custom coffee and we plan the day)! Lil Sudden and Saga were off to Killbear where there was a nice sandy beach to swim and relax; Legacy, Coda and Puffin were off to Parry Sound. We planned to spend the night in Parry Sound, but Coda and Puffin would just spend the afternoon. Leaving Echo Bay, we cast off lines in a well orchestrated symphony; individually releasing lines, pulling anchors and reconfiguring the stern anchors in perfect order It was critical we didn’t get our anchors tangled and manage the swing of those who were still anchored as each boat pealed off the raft up. Time was also off the essence since we needed to arrive at the swing bridge at Parry Sound for it’s 1:00 opening, or be forced to wait 2 hours. The bridge only opens every 2 hours on the odd hour. The symphony began around 9:30 am. La- La-La-Laaaaaa!!!!

We arrived at the swing bridge around 12:30 and hovered until it was time to go through; the pause was a good time for lunch. Although we had our eye on the 1:00 hour, these are also very unforgiving waters you don’t rush through. This was another twisty, turny route. Coda touched bottom once with a quick wrong turn, but corrected quickly and all seems okay. Check out the video below.

The town dock had room for all of us; Coda and Puffin were off to find a place for lunch while we headed to the Bobby Orr Museum. Parry Sound is the largest community on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay with a whopping population of 6900. For that, they get a Walmart! Parry Sound started as a logging town then became a major port for oil and salt. Salt is still delivered today. It’s a busy working harbor with freight trains crossing the trestle bridge, a large tour ship coming and going, construction barges making regular trips to “cottages” on the island or separate from roads and seaplanes taking off and landing… and of course there is the Walmart and a $12 cab ride from the town dock.

Parry Sound is Bobby Orr’s hometown. For those who don’t know, Bobby Orr was the star defenseman for the Boston Bruins from 1966 – 1976 and changed the game of hockey with his style of play as a defenseman, changing it to an offensive position. I can remember watching NHL Hockey with my Dad with Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Derek Sanders, Teddy Greene and Gerry Cheevers playing for the Bruins and their first Stanley cup in almost 30 years in 1970. Gary was really looking forward to this. It was a little less impressive than we had hoped, but worth the trip just the same. We reconnected with Steve & Barbara (Coda) and Tony and Shirley (Puffin) for ice cream (my waistline says we’ve been having a little too much of that) and then bid them adieu as they went to join Lil Sudden and Saga at anchor for the evening.

We opted for a seaplane tour of the area where we actually flew over the bay where the 3 musketeers were anchored and toured the area north of us we’d be traveling on Wednesday – part of the North Channel. It was just the two of us and the pilot. Great to be able to hear her commentary and ask her questions. From the air, its obvious why they call this area 30,000 Islands. Maybe it should be one million rocks! It also gave us a great appreciation for how the heck they build these homes out on islands of solid rock! We ran at about 110 mph almost all the way to Britt where we turned back at the large wind farm.

After our seaplane ride it was dinner at Turtle Jacks, a cab ride to the grocery store and great sleep with the generator off and windows open. After coffee, breakfast and a quick pump out, we were off to Byng Inlet where we will rejoin Coda, Puffin and Sea the USA. Byng Inlet is about a 6 hour run with both an outside (open water) and inside (twisty, turny, rocky) segment. We left Parry Harbor around 9:30 am right behind Thistle and Into the Mystic, although they had a shorter day planned with a stop at Shawanaga Island. We are all stocked up so dinner on board tonight. Gary plans to spend some time in the engine room getting the new contactor installed that Todd and June carried in their luggage. That should solve our stern shore power problem….we hope! Winds were 10-15 knots with a bit of a chop; we came upon Coda and Puffin ahead of us and will follow them into port. It was bumpy for Puffin, who is smaller and lighter than us. We are much heavier and built for this. Off we go!

Left Inner Bay around 9:30 am in a little bit of a spitty rain. It was cool (mid 60’s) but very calm seas with very little wind. It was a slow go in winding, twisty, turny but well marked channels. Lil Sudden lead the way with Saga next and Legacy last. Lil Sudden draws the least water, so goes first and let’s us know how much water they are experiencing. It never got shallow enough to create a level of concern. Check out the short videos below to experience some of our trip.

As we came around at corner, we were surprised to see the 2 Flemings we had run into the other day anchored there – Blessed Again and Blue Moon

We arrived at Echo Bay around 1:00 and rafted up with Coda and Puffin. We didn’t realize we would see Coda here, so we were thrilled to reunite with Steve and Barbara. We had met Puffin in Annapolis the day before we left, so that was a nice happenstance reunion as well with Tony and Shirley. Being 5 boats rafted together, both Saga and Legacy dropped anchors so we have 3 anchors for 5 boats plus a stern line to a pin in a small rock island that keeps us from swinging. It was a quiet afternoon of fishing (but no real catching) by some of the guys and virtual work by others. We had periods of some pretty hard rain but then the sun came out to make it a beautiful but crisp day.

We had hoped to go to the infamous Henry’s Fish Restaurant for dinner but alas they are closed on Mondays. Dang! That called for Plan B, which was amazing. Mayli, Tonia and Barbara lead the way for a group dinner of Chicken Cordon Bleu, rice, salad bar and peach cobbler with Steve’s homemade ice cream. Everyone made some thing and all enjoyed! We will stop by Henry’s for lunch tomorrow and then it will be onto Parry Sound where Gary is particularly looking forward to going to the Bobby Orr Museum. Hard to believe our Seattle friends didn’t know who Bobby Orr is!

Day 73: 8/6. Had an amazing dinner to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary at Lilly’s Italian Eatery in Midland – highly recommend the bruschetta, lemonatto and chicken parmesan. All were fantastic and we still took home lots of leftovers and were too full for dessert. Had a quiet day in Midland waiting for our Amazon package to arrive (bed wedge for better sleeping with the broken rib) and enjoyed chatting with fellow loopers Lance and Brenda on Blessings Flow, who stopped by the pier on their walk. Lance is a recently retired pastor, ergo the name of their boat. Enjoyed watching the kids climbing the rigging and stowing the sails on an old tall ship that pulled in behind us. Caught up on emails and read a novel! Once our package arrived, we were off to rejoin the Seattle crew (Lil Sudden and Saga) at Inner Bay on the way to Sans Souci. Weather on Monday had a forecast for rain, so we wanted to get a few miles behind us with the sun shining, clear skies and daylight left on Sunday afternoon. Left around 4:30 pm after a heartfelt thanks to Rick (harbormaster) and his wife Debbie for all their help with the Amazon package. It was great to rejoin 2 of the 3 musketeers after not seeing them for over a month. Steve and Barbara on Coda (3rd boat) had gone ahead to be able to catch a flight back to Seattle for some family events, so we missed them but hope to catch up with them soon.

Inner Harbor was about a 1.5 hour run which puts Sans Souci 10-12 miles closer. Samuel de Champlain named the area “Sans Souci” meaning “without care” which seems a perfect name for an area know for its cottages and cruising grounds. Sans Souci is best known for Henry’s Fish Restaurant on Frying Pan Island which is a must stop for loopers. Henry’s serves up a Pickerel (Walleye) with coleslaw, beans and french fries. Of course we will go! We’ll spend atleast a day and night in Sans Souci then it’s onto Parry Sound.

The entire area is a maze of waterways and islands. Slow navigating through lots of rocks and narrow channels. It’s still hard to wrap our heads around having 40 feet of water under the boat and rock ledges 10 feet high and 10-15 feet away on either side.

We rafted up with Saga and Lil Sudden where we had dinner and chatted with Jim and Cuqui (also loopers) on Thing1 Thing2. Tomorrow morning (Monday), despite a forecast for light rain and cool temps, we are off to Sans Souci. Rain clears by Wednesday so the next couple days will be cool and damp.

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!