The Apostle islands National Lakeshore

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The 22 Apostle islands in Northern Wisconsin cover 24 miles.

  • The islands were gouged out by glaciers, and have smooth  sandy shores, but no natural harbours
  • All but Madeline Island, which has a marina and resort  are un-inhabited, but may have remnants of former settlements or fish camps. Several like Rocky have a few cottages, but once the lease is up they will revert to the park service.
  • Several of the islands have lighthouses,  and about 9 have national parks docks, which you can tie up to for $15/night.  There are numerous hiking trails on the islands, as well as camp grounds.
  • Depending on the wind direction and waves, there is always a place amongst the islands to anchor

Andy wanted to blog this week – so here’s the Apostle Islands , through the eyes of the Captain, I still was the designated photographer, and did add a few sentences.

Tues. July 9;   After completing our re-provisioning, we cast off from Ashland Marina to the Apostle Islands.   First stop was 17 miles away where we dropped the anchor in Sunset Cove on the west side of Madeline Island.   The light wind shifted from the east around 4:30 pm and the evening and night were calm & peaceful.

Wed. July 10;  Weighed anchor at approx. 9:45 heading for Stockton Island, said to be the most popular with boaters.   At 11:30 am, and 12 miles, we dropped the hook in Presque Bay with 8 – 10 other boats.    The Captain didn’t pick a very good spot and should have gone in closer to shore.  Although we were protected from the wind (up to 20kts) and waves from the NE. the swells coming in around the bay rocked us all night.   Did chores & worked on projects.  Twylla busied herself cleaning the deck & gunnels. 

Thur. July 11;  Weighed anchor in Presque Isle Bay at 10:00 am heading for Cat Island 10 miles away.    Dropped the anchor about 150 yards off shore, behind the sand spit on the SW corner of the island at 11:10 am.  The water is so clear with a sand bottom, that you can see the chain laying in the sand.

 We should have protection from all three elements; wind, waves and swells, assuming I got it right this time.   Twylla is back to doing her daily area scrub of the deck.   I will do the usual boat checks; oil, temp, co-ordinates, fuel, solar energy  etc.   Ahhh!!! The captain’s work is never done.

Fri. July 12;    Enjoyed a very calm night at anchor.   Slept right through from sun down to sun up at 5:30 hours.   Weighed anchor at 07:35 headed for Rocky Island.  As we rounded South Twin Island, we could see the NPS (National Park Service) dock on Rocky Island with space to tie up at the dock.    We were greeted by the NPS volunteers Gene & Kandee & treated royally.  They were so gracious that when Gene went fishing with 2 other locals, they returned and gave us 2 large lake trout fillets for supper.  Approx. three pounds of fish.   We went for a long walk along the beach and later for a swim to cool off.  Temp reached 90 deg F. today.   All -in-all a very relaxing day was had.

Sat. July 13; Left Rocky Island at approx. 09:40 hours headed for the cove on the north side of Oak Island.  Weather is calling for strong SW winds (with squalls up to 70 mph possible).   We tucked into the cove with another cruiser and 9 sailboats to wait out any potential weather event. We arrived & dropped the hook at 10:45 having gone all of 6.4 miles.    Twylla is knitting & crocheting while the captain of course has his chores.   It is close to the time we have to change the engine oil.  I will also be continuing to work on wood working projects.

Sun. July 14;  Well, the severe weather storm with potential hail & 70 mph squalls was a non event.  The lake is full of surprises, some good.   Leaving Oak Island.  We have a plan.  Spoke to Silver Bay Mn. Marina & got a slip for Monday night.   We will visit two more islands today; Raspberry & Sand Island where we will anchor for the night and head out to the west shore tomorrow.  Raspberry Island stop did not happen as the waves were crashing on the dock, and we couldn’t tie up, so we didn’t get a tour of the lighthouse.

  Shortly after passing York Island, we decided to turn back to York and anchored in the NW corner instead of going on to Sand Island. 

Mon. July 15;  Anchored at York Island last night in the NW corner for protection from the west wind.  Also, the wind was shifting to S – SE overnight.   We assumed it would shift from west to SW to S to SE.    No!  It went clockwise around the compass to N -NE- E – SE.   Spent a sleepless, rocky night.   What the lake gives, she takes away.    All-in-all, we had a great relaxing week in the Apostles and met some wonderful people. This was today’s sunrise– lovely, even though the photographer hardly slept!

   We left York Island around 8:30 today and crossed the lower part of the lake north of Duluth to Silver Bay, MN.  approximately 30 miles.

The screen shot of the lake, shows 3 states, laying claim to areas that are quite close together in Lake Superior. The photographer read that Isle Royale instead of being part of Minnesota, belongs to Michigan and these islands were gifted to them, when Michigan achieved statehood- many moons ago.

Got in & tied up before the rain & thunder showers, filled up the water and Twylla did laundry.   Met a couple who are wanting to do the Great Loop and are starting on Lake Superior going north & east along the Canadian side to the Soo.   We helped them with potential marinas, anchorages etc.    We also gave them chart books and looping guides as they really are not well prepared.    Wishing them safe travels.

 Off tomorrow for the NW coast of Minnesota, Isle Royal & back to the Great White North by the weekend.

We left Michigan behind and are now in Wisconsin

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We did not leave as we had planned-the small craft warning, along with wind, waves and rain, kept us in Marquette for another day.  The staff and facilities at Cinder Pond were amazing!

On  Wednesday, our 14th Anniversary, we left shortly after 6 am, and travelled past Big Bay, the Huron islands and this lighthouse. The waves were at most 1-2 feet, but as we crossed the Keweenaw Bay, they increased slightly.  We travelled 69 miles, and reached the Portage lower entrance of the Keweenaw waterway at 1:15- a long 7 hours.  Keweenaw comes from the Ojibwe which means the crossing place. This 25 mile long waterway  cuts out  almost 100 miles, by not having to go around the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Since the next day was going to be Independence Day, we decided to stay tied up to the pier wall for a couple days.  Being near the boat launch and entrance to the canal, there was a fair bit of boat traffic.  On July 4th we could hear fireworks in the distance, but didn’t see any.  We spent the day working on projects- Andy his woodworking and me crocheting poppies, I also had book club Thursday night which I could join because of Star link. On Friday morning, it was raining off and on, so we didn’t leave the pier until just after noon.  We headed into Houghton, to go through the lift bridge—our reference books, indicated that the bridge was at 7 feet, and lifted on the hour, and half hour.  Andy contacted the bridge tender to alert him that we wanted to make the 2pm lift, and that our height with antennas and star link  was 19 feet.  He informed us that the bridge was now at a minimum level of 32 feet, so he wouldn’t need to raise it for us. 

We proceeded through and down the channel to the Lily Pond,  another pier set aside as a harbour of refuge, just before the upper entrance. We tied up using the bollards and wooden wall structure.  We were joined by a family fishing, and later by some young people that entertained us by jumping into the water ( they didn’t stay in too long) or by trying to hit golf balls across the canal.  Once again with the boat traffic and boat ramp nearby, we were rocked by many wakes.   On Saturday morning we left shortly after 7 am, and headed down the channel to Lake Superior.  The wind was fairly light and the waves less than 2 feet. We travelled 42 miles to the town of Ontonagon  arriving at 11:45. The water here is a very dark brown colour, when I asked about it, they said because of the iron in the hills, that the river brings down to the Lake.  There is a definite colour difference out in the bay leading to the lake. There were fireworks in town, that we could see from the boat. Here is the old lighthouse in Ontonagon.

We  left on Sunday morning by 7:30, and had plans to go as far as Saxon Harbour, however we encountered some storm clouds on the lake, so we entered the Black River Harbour, part of a state park.  We had tired calling the number for this harbour on Saturday, but got an office in Ironwood, that was closed until Monday.  We didn’t know if there was space, but we wanted to get off the lake.  The entrance to the harbour, had some shoals, but Andy stayed tight to starboard and we were able to get in and tie up. He did see 4 ½ feet at one point, but we had 8 feet at the dock.  We tied up on the commercial dock, because they had power, however, it kept tripping, so we relied on the sun to top up our batteries.  The first thunderstorm hit at 1:00, and we were drenched.  We helped a sailboat into the harbour around 3:00 and they tied up farther back on the dock. John was able to provide some advice on the Apostle islands, as he had just spent a month there with his family.  We had the second storm hit at about 4:00, again with thunder lightning and rain.  There was a very nice day use picnic site here, and numerous trails, there was also a suspension bridge across the Black River.

On Monday morning, Andy talked to the commercial fishing boat, for advice on leaving the harbour—he said to stick to the port side on exiting.  We left at 7:30 Eastern time , and started experiencing some light fog.  About an hour and a half into our voyage, we passed by the Porcupine mountains and finally left Michigan behind, and entered into our second state- Wisconsin, where we switched back to Central time.  The winds were light, the lake was fairly flat and the temperature were finally rising. Just the way I like it!

 The fog continued for quite awhile, and at one point, a small fishing boat at full speed, came out from a fog bank, and nearly hit us. We had our first glimpse of the Apostle Islands, passing by the south end of Madeline. We called the Marina in Ashland, to find out if they had a slip for us, and we proceeded down Chequamegon Bay for over 2 hours to reach it.  We filled up with fuel, water and got pumped out.  We walked up to the grocery store to re-provision, and in the afternoon, the marina staff gave me a ride to the laundry.  I had to walk back which was almost a mile.   In the evening, we walked over to a nearby Chinese food restaurant and then to the Liquor

Today, July 9th –we are off to the Apostle Islands, not sure how many of the 22 islands we will stay at– but will likely see them all.

Lake Superior Adventure -south shore

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So, we are going to the lake that the Ojibwe call Gitche Gumee, which means big sea or huge water. Here’s a few facts:

  • Lake Superior contains 10% of the planet’s fresh surface water.
  • It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area.
  • It covers 82,000 sq km (31,700 sq mi) with an average depth of 147 metres or 483 feet.
  • The deepest point in the lake is 405 metres or 1,333 feet.
  • There have been about 350 shipwrecks  recorded in Lake Superior and Lake Superior is known to never give up her dead.
  • Some of the world’s oldest rocks, formed 2.7 billion years ago can be found on the Ontario shore
  • The lake rarely freezes over completely. The average temp of the Lake is  2 C.

Why are we doing this trip?  It is on Andy’s bucket list, as he was born on the north shore of Lake Superior.  We had a sampling of the Lake in 2019, when we went as far as Marathon on the Canadian shore. 

Andy called the Border patrol agent at 6:00a.m., and we made an appointment to meet them at George Kemp marina at 7:15.  So Andy started the engines at 6:50, and we left Canada and entered the state of Michigan in the  U.S.A.  The border patrol person looked at our passports, asked some questions about the boat.  He said I could keep my garden, but in future no plants can be brought into the U.S.A. I was happy about this as I have several cherry tomatoes that are getting quite big. After the patrol agent left, Andy called the lockmaster to request locking.  He replied that the McArthur  lock was ready, so we hustled over there, and immediately  got the green light,  entered the lock and two lines were thrown down to us.  We were joined by a work boat.

  We were out of the lock by 8:00, and then followed the channel markers to leave the Soo.  The winds were light, as were the waves, as we were sheltered in the channel.  Once we got into Whitefish bay, the waves increased, as did the wind.  Around noon we made it to Whitefish Point harbour, The area can only be described as rustic—wooden docks with cleats and posts, and not in great repair.  Many of the eight slips were occupied by fishing boats—we tied up in slip 5.  We are now in the U.P. Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

In the afternoon, we walked about a mile to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.  We walked around the grounds, and checked out the lighthouse keeper’s house.  The lighthouse at this location has been operating since 1861, one of the oldest lighthouses on Lake Superior. We also watched a video on the Edmond Fitzgerald sinking, which we both found to be very interesting. The Edmond Fitzgerald wreck was found  about 17 miles from Whitefish point. More than 300 ships have sunk in Lake Superior, more than 100 near  Whitefish Bay, or along  the shipwreck coast, which runs from whitefish point to grand Marais.  In  the museum Shipwreck gallery, there was the stories for more than a dozen ships and their fate.  The original Edmund Fitzgerald bell is also on display here. We were told that more than 100,00 people visit this site each year.

We left Whitefish point at 7:45, waves didn’t seem to be too bad, until we turned past the point, and started following the shipwreck coast.  Waves were about 2 foot plus, but it was the swells that kept hitting us, that were torture.  The depth running a few miles out from shore, varied from 60 feet to 300 feet, and with the wind blowing, we were both freezing.   

After a few hours of the swells hitting the boat,  the Admiral and her morning coffee parted ways.  We arrived in Grand Marais, 6 hours after departing, and had gone 52 miles.  We tied up at the Burt Township Marina, and relaxed.  For supper we walked into Grand Marais and stopped at the Lake Superior Brewing company,  I had a Blueberry wheat beer and Andy tried the Granite Brown.  Very good as was the  food. We met the crew on the R/V David Boyd, shipwreck museum  research boat back at the marina, as they had come in from Copper Harbour, where they had been doing some diving at a wreck site.  Interesting Marina, they also have a fish cleaning station here, and boat launch, which starts getting busy before 6am.

On Friday morning, we got up and learned that a small craft warning was being issued for our area, and that rain would start in the early afternoon.  We decided to leave immediately, staying close to shore, where the waves would be in the 2 foot range.  We passed by the Grand Sable dunes, that ran for miles outside of Grand Marais, we then went by the au sable light station, which was built in 1874 and is 86 feet tall.  After a couple  hours we could see the beginning of the Pictured rocks. These rocks are brilliantly colored sandstone, cliffs, sea caves as well as beaches. 

We  travelled along the east side of Grand Island, and were sheltered a little from the winds.  We arrived at Bayshore Marina in Munising at 11:15, and happily tied up.  At the marina there are a number of tour boats, some taking people to the pictured rocks, or glass bottom boats that take you on a shipwreck tour.  Busy place.   By 2:00, the rain had started, the wind picked up and thick fog rolled in so that Grand Island was no longer visible.  In the evening, we added an additional line to the boat, as the wind was continuing to increase.

In the morning, it was very calm, and we contemplated leaving, however we had read that Munising harbour is very sheltered because of the size of Grand Island, and it can give a false sense of what the conditions are on the lake.  We decided to stay put for the day, and walked up to the dollar store, which was nearby looking for some provisions. Andy worked on some of his wood projects, and I did some cleaning.

During the morning a small craft warning was issued that expires Sunday morning at 10AM. Northwest winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts to 30 Kt (>55Km/hr) and waves of 5 to 8 feet are  expected, as well a Beach warning was issued – dangerous swimming conditions are expected due to high wave action and strong rip currents.  We may have missed this weather- if we had left at 6AM  but I’m glad we didn’t find out.  The sun shone for most of the morning, and winds in the harbour were light. We had a squall go through at 2 pm, and followed by some fog.  The winds started to pick up around 5PM and blew all night.  We put all our fenders on the starboard side of the boat, to keep us from banging into the dock.  With the wind howling, and the continuous banging, neither of us slept much.

There was a Marathon going on in Munising on Sunday morning, and the start and finish line was at the marina, so we saw lots of people participating.  Around 2 pm, when the waves had died down, we left the dock and went about 5 miles to Murray Bay near Grand Island and anchored.  It was relatively calm, except for when the tour boats came by  to look at a shipwreck which was near Muskrat point.  The sun was shining and we had very little wind.  I decided because of all the beating that our fenders had taken over night, that I should likely pump them up and changed their covers.

In the morning, we woke up to single digit temperature—very cool on the boat, as our hull is in water that is likely in the single digits as well. We had a peaceful night.  The lake was calm, and we departed for Marquette at 8 am.  I crocheted a couple of poppies enroute.  We arrived at Cinder Pond marina at 12:30 and tied up, having gone 39 miles.  I did some laundry and then we walked to the Marquette Coop to buy a few things, enroute, we met a couple, who actually gave us a ride to the store, so we only had to walk the mile back.   Andy called the next marina to book a slip for tomorrow, and to find out the depth, as we had read that it was prone to silting in.  The person he talked to couldn’t answer either of those questions, we will likely take our chances and go there early in the morning, as the winds are supposed to pick up near noon. We want to keep moving as getting a slip during the July 4th holiday weekend, will be next to impossible. Lake Superior’s weather/waves have not been to our liking– hope we get more weather like we had today! Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Hustling  across Georgian Bay and the North Channel to get to Superior

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We had quite a rain storm and wind event on Thursday night which was followed by the double rainbow.

  We left Friday morning on the first lift down, and were out of Swift Rapids by 9:10.  We proceeded to the Big Chute where we found Heart Tug and New Song on the wooden docks.

We visited for a bit and then we proceeded to lock down on the railway carriage.  We arrived in Port Severn around noon, and tied up at the wooden docks.  Around 3:00 we walked over to the general store and ice breaker for ice cream.  We brought back ice cream for the 3 lock staff. Heart Tug and New Song tied up on the wooden dock when they arrived. 

On Saturday Rick and Linda came for a visit and we went to lunch at the Grill.  David had arrived to do more upgrades on the boat, and had brought his Mom, Grace, so she came for lunch with us as well.  David worked most of the afternoon, re-wiring in the engine room. He took a break for supper, and continued on until well past 10:30.  There was one issue he couldn’t resolve with the new conversion box, so he reverted everything back to how it had been set up.

On Sunday,  there was a good wind, so we decided to stay at Port Severn one more day.  We did however lock through after 5, so we were at the bottom, in order to get an early start.

We left on Monday morning at 6:45 and headed to Victoria Harbour. We tied up at 7:45, and I proceeded to walk up to Foodland for some groceries, while Andy waited for a pump out and fuel.  By 9:15 we were on our way north west, we finally stopped at 2:45, and anchored near the Jones Island lighthouse, which is South of Parry Sound.  There was one other sailboat there. **

It was a hot day and I cooled off in the water a couple of times.  While sitting on the back deck we were swarmed by deer and black flies.

We left at 6:25 and travelled for about an hour, before we were hit by an incoming squall.  We pulled off the channel and anchored for about an hour while it passed.  We continue on and passed through the Hang dog reef around 10:30.  It was a little choppy, with a 10 plus knot wind.

We continued on and exiting Alexander Passage we had a good hour of rollers.  We made it to the Byng Inlet lighthouse by noon, and continued westward.  To get out some shelter from the wind and waves, we moved inland, and finally anchored  at 2:30 near Obstacle island in the French Rivers area.    Just before reaching our destination, we had to go through the Parting channel, which is the narrowest channel with the green and red markers almost on top of each other- so very challenging to get through.  A 72 mile day.

On Wednesday, we got up and started making our way back to the small craft channel.  The waves were predicted to be about 0.5 meters, the first 45 minutes, while we were in sheltered waters was OK, but after passing the Bustards, we were in open water on Lake Huron for the next 17 miles. The waves were approaching a meter to a meter and a half- very rough, and the waves were hitting us broadside at times. 

We had a few casualties- lost a 23L water jug, that fell on its side and went under the canvas, as well as a boat hook which was unsecured, and one of our fender holders,  shook free and also went overboard.  Luckily we  didn’t loose the fenders that were in it, as they had been secured to the railing. A very scary couple of hours for the admiral.  The captain did an amazing job of getting us through.  We were both thankful to reach the sheltered waters of Beaverstone Bay and Collins Inlet.  We continued on, and went through Killarney just after noon. 

We anchored in Covered Portage, with several other boats.  There were gusty winds in the afternoon, and our anchor dragged, so we repositioned it a couple of times, by night fall the winds had subsided.  In the late afternoon, Kate and Tom from Molly Brown, kayaked by and we had a good catchup with them.  We had first met them in Orillia a few weeks ago.

On Thursday morning we left the anchorage by 8:30, travelling  the 23 miles to Little Current.  We wanted to make the 11:00 opening of the bridge, we were there with 20 minutes to spare. 

Once through the bridge we called the Port of Little current for our docking assignment.  They originally had us on the town dock behind the Post office, but the new GFI power pedestal did not like our boat, and kept blowing the fuse.  The dock people reassigned us to the floating docks which still had the older type pedestals, and we had no problem.  Once we were tied up here, I set off to the laundry mat.  Between washing and drying, I checked out a couple stores on the main street.   On my return to the boat, I met Bill and Julie from Jubilee- loopers who also plan to circle Lake superior- we exchanged boat cards.  Once back at the boat, I found that Molly Brown had tied up in the next slip to us. Later in the afternoon we walked up to the grocery store, and bought a few supplies.  Leaving the store, a women offered us a ride back to our boat—which was very kind of her. We went to the Anchor Inn for supper, and had Pizza and wings. On our return Kate and Tom dropped by and we provided highlights for the North channel.  Molly Brown is on a tight schedule and needs to be back in Florida by early September, so their time is very limited.

In the morning, we set off shortly after 9 am.  We had planned to go as far as Spanish, to check out the marina, but Andy had noticed that the channel was very narrow and shallow- so we may just stop there sometime, while we are in the car.  We continued through the McBean and Whalesback channels and anchored in Long Point Cove, which had been recommended to us by Randy and Audrey.  We went about 45 miles and there were 5 boats in this anchorage by nightfall.

On Saturday morning we left Long Point cover, passing by Blind River, Thessalon, Bruce Mines and finally ending up in Hilton Beach on St. Joseph’s Island.  We had originally intended on only going as far as the Grant Islands, located between Blind River and Thessalon, but the rain started before noon, and the winds increased as the day progressed.  We arrived in Hilton Beach after 1:30, totally drenched, having gone 61 miles.  After tying up, we had lunch, and then went for hot showers at the marina.  Around 5:00, our friends Pat and Marcia Gillespie, stopped by for a visit, they live in the Sault, but have a camp near Bruce Mines.

We went for dinner at the Tilt’n Hilton, which is just across the street from the marina.  It continued to rain and blow throughout the night and into the early morning.

Around 8:30, we decided we were likely not moving for the day, so I went up to the boater’s lounge and did a couple loads of laundry.  We were both very impressed with how clean this marina is kept– immaculate! We spent the afternoon, looking over the plans for our trip around Lake Superior.  Andy called the marina in the Sault, to book us in for a couple of nights, as Tuesday’s weather does not look good for travelling. He learned that the Canadian lock, which is usually used for pleasure boats, is under construction, so we will be using the larger American lock to get into Lake Superior.  In the afternoon, it cleared up a little and several of the sail boats from the marina went out into the bay. Most of the boats in this marina are sailboats, the exception are  6 power boats, a couple of pontoon boats and a seadoo. 

We caught up on episodes of Coronation Street. In the evening,  I figured out how to access the marine traffic website- as I wanted to know how many freighters, are usually in the commercial channel.  When I looked, I took this  picture —we show up because we have an AIS system that sends and receives.

On Monday morning we untied and went to the gas dock for some fuel, as we weren’t sure if we had enough to make it to the Sault. We passed by the Samuel Risley, which was anchored and is a CCG ice breaker—I guess you can never be sure when it might be needed in these waters.  At one of the lighthouses, we saw workers doing some repairs.

  We started down the St. Joseph’s channel and eventually entered the commercial shipping channel.  There was a freighter behind us, called the Evans Spirit,  at a wider part of Nicolet lake, Andy pulled over and he passed us.  About 45 minutes later we met the CSL Assiniboine,  both boats, did not give off much of a wake- I was pleasantly surprised. 

We arrived in Sault Ste Marie at 12:30 and took on more fuel and had our waste tank pumped out.  Once we were tied up to the dock, we filled up our water tank, and had lunch. We went for dinner with Marcia at Lychee Thai, and then she took  us grocery shopping.

On Tuesday morning, we were awoken to a thunderstorm before 6 a.m.  The day was cloudy and overcast.  We walked over to the Station Mall, in search of advice on cell phone plans for the USA.  We checked with one provider, and they could give us a deal, but they wanted to upgrade our phones.  We ended up going to the Bell Mobility store- we explained we would be in the USA for about a month and didn’t want the Roam better plan which was $13/day for each day we either used the phone or text.  The Customer rep was very knowledgeable and offered Andy a plan for the USA and Mexico for an additional $16 per month immediately.  He also found that for only $1 more than the $35  that I was paying for no data, that I could get 60 GB.  So I signed up for that as well.   Andy with his new phone plan called over to George Kemp marina in Sault Michigan, and asked about stopping there in the morning, in order to go through customs before locking.  We were advised to come over around 10:00.

 So now we are set for the start of our big adventure of circumnavigating Lake Superior- it starts tomorrow, on the American side, weather permitting. Our plan is to be in Thunder Bay by July 24th, as we have rented a car to go back to Winnipeg for about a week for some medical appointments.

Taking our time on the Trent

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We left early Saturday morning, after packing the last of the things in the car. There was a gift card for Tim Horton’s on the windshield from  Gisele, a new friend from our apartment building, so we could have coffee and a muffin.  We made it to Marathon by 5 pm.  To occupy myself in the car, I crocheted  snowflakes, we had overcast skies most of the day with rain and fog in places.  Sunday, we woke up early to get on the road, and again had rain and fog.  We arrived in Midland around 5:00, another 11 hour day.  On Monday morning we drove to Queen’s cove marina in Victoria Harbour, we wanted to find out their prices for storage.  We also had coffee with Tom, Peggy and Nyla, on their boat Water Lily. We then set off for Buckhorn, arriving there around 1:00.  The boat was in the water at the launch ramp, we started unpacking the car, and were asked to move the boat to the wall by the gas dock.  We finished unloading and headed to Bancroft, where we were spending the night with Brian and Helen. Brian Hayton joined us for supper, so we got to visit with him as well.  After some grocery shopping Tuesday morning we headed back to Buckhorn to continue with unpacking.  This is our 9th year using the Parks passes, and my 10th year of writing this blog- Yikes- where has the time gone?

On Tuesday night, when Andy went to start the BBQ, it wouldn’t work.  After 14 years our Magma had finally quit.  We drove over to Home Hardware, just before they were closing for the day, and bought a Grill Pro replacement.

On Wednesday morning, we finally untied and headed down the Trent Severn Waterway.  Our first lock was Bobcaygeon, followed by Fenlon Fall, where we stopped briefly to make a LCBO run, and then on to Rosedale.  We shared the night at  this site with this 92 foot boat- Encore.

Our friends, Julie and Glen, picked us up from the lock and invited us to dinner at their place on Balsam Lake.  We hadn’t seen them in a couple of years, so it was a good night of catching up.

Thursday morning, we headed to the Kirkfield lift lock, which had been closed the previous day for inspections.  The work to repair it from the 2022 breakdown has almost been completed. Only one tub was working, and we locked down with one other boat.  The Encore was there, however he had to lock by himself, because of its length and weight. We did another 3 locks before stopping at the top of Thorah for the night.  In the morning we locked through this lock and Gamebridge, and were out on Lake Simcoe by 10:00.  Winds were between 10 and 15 knots per hour,  so a bit of a bumpy ride, with 2 1/2 foot waves. 

We took on fuel at Bridgeport Marina at the Atherly narrows, and then headed to Port of Orillia.  It was great to get off the lake, and we relaxed.  There was an event in the park, so we bought lunch at one of the vendors.

On Saturday, Brian and Helen stopped by on their way home from Barrie.  Just after noon, David, the electrical engineer/magician arrived.  We had a list of issues that we needed addressed, including the external regulator, being reprogrammed, a 12 V socket, Star link install, and source the issue with the batteries not being charged while running.  David spent several hours Saturday, and returned on Sunday to continue. 

On Sunday, I walked up to Wilkies for Chelsea buns and tarts. I saw these street decorations on the sign posts,   I then walked over to Home Hardware to buy some potting soil- I bought 25L of soil and then had to walk back the 9 blocks to the boat, carrying it. But my garden is complete- 3 tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and radishes.

David left Sunday night to return to Hamilton, but since there were still a few more items on our list, he agreed to meet us at the Port Severn lock on June 15th to knock off a few more.  We stayed in Orillia one more night as the winds were still blowing.  On Tuesday we left at 10:15, and made it to the CN swing bridge, and had to wait for about 45 minutes for a couple of trains.  We dropped the anchor in the channel.  Andy found that something was jamming the gear cable on the starboard side, he investigated and  found that the starboard  turbo exhaust screen clamp  had broke.  He tightened it to get us going to Couchiching, where he could make a proper repair.  The bridge finally swung for us around noon, and we arrived at Couchiching, and tied up.  The first lock of the day was just going down, as the lock staff had been away tending to water and dam issues for  most of the morning.  All the boats entered the lock and went down, so we were alone for most of the afternoon.  We took the time to do a few tasks around the boat; after replacing the broken hose clamp, Andy also replaced our Canadian flag, and cleaned and re-greased the starboard door.  The sun was shining, and that along with the house batteries now charging, while we are running our batteries were at 100%. By nightfall we were joined by 4 other boats. One of which was Heart Tug, which we had first met in 2017, Randy and Audrey gave us some tips on their favourite anchorages in the north channel.

On Wednesday morning we locked through with 2 other boats and headed to Swift Rapids,  we passed through Sparrow lake and McDonald’s cut.

We arrived  just after noon and were able to get close to one of the power posts to  plug in.  There are 5 boats at the top of Swift Rapids.

In the afternoon we put deflectors over the starboard windows, and affixed the Norek PT-35 sign.

On Thursday morning, with the help of Jean  Francois from Felixo, we were able to put a plate under the teak railing  join where it was cracking.  All the boats left and we decided to remain plugged in, as severe weather was predicted for the afternoon. We did some cleaning and encountered intermittent rain showers. We will leave in the morning and go through the Big Chute and then on to Port Severn lock, where we will meet David on Saturday. Our tentative plan is to re-provision in Victoria Harbour on Monday, and then start heading west towards the North Channel. Our Star Link is wonderful- love having internet at my fingertips!

2024 update and boating plans

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We are both  enjoying Apartment life!

We had a fairly busy fall and winter.  We participated in 2 person stick curling after Christmas.    I’m saying I participated, as I really couldn’t figure out how to throw my rocks using the stick to have them end up where the skip wanted them. Needless to say, there weren’t many W’s beside our name!  We had a relatively mild winter here—here’s a picture from our balcony on my birthday in February—it was raining, first time that ever happened in Winnipeg.

I remained very involved with the social committee in our building, as well as the crotchet and knitting group.  I learned to knit on circular needles and made this. 

Our group is now making poppies for a remembrance day display later in the year.  And who says all poppies need to be red— I made the outlier  which represents animal victims of war. 

It is estimated that 8 million horses were killed during WW1.  We also participate, in the Wednesday games night, and rarely miss the Thursday happy hour.  Over the winter there was also Movies on Friday—so lots to do here, and we’ve met quite a few of the 60 apartment dwellers.

I am also a director on the St. Vital Agricultural society, and since I will rarely be around for the annual August fair, I took on the role of  producing the fair book handout.   I was guided through this process by Val Johnson, a former member of the board, who had done it for many years.  I needed to contact and solicit advertisers, as well as update and replace information. Here’s what the finished product looks like.

I also became more involved with my Eastern Star group, and did  a number of tasks at our Grand Session  this week.  Here’s a picture of my 2010-2012 grand rep  counterpart from Missouri who came to Winnipeg for our session.

Also here our some of the Grand officers from 2015-2016 at one of the luncheons this week. 

Glad the session is over for another year, so I can start packing.

Andy has been keeping busy as well, he has been designated the baker of our monthly birthday cakes for the building and  has been busy as well.  Here’s the cake he made for the April birthday people- which turned out to only be him.

His first priority was to keep his numerous doctor’s appointments.  He also did some enhancements to the  airflow issues in our apartment, by ordering deflectors—it took  us 3 tries from Amazon, before the appropriate ones were found.  Since  setting up his Amazon account—you never know what might appear outside our door- a drone came last week. He also makes frequent trips to Princess Auto, to pick up his on-line orders from there.

 He also toiled in our very small storage room, making this signage for the boat. Since our boat was never finished in the factory, 39 years ago, we wanted to indicate the marine architect that designed it along with our model.  Thus  Norek  PT-35.  The first sign, took almost 2  months, however he was able to re-fine his techniques, and the second one was produced in a couple weeks.

We didn’t make it up to Swan River over the winter, however my two sisters, did come to Winnipeg in early May for a visit, and it turned out to be the day of Maxine’s birthday.

So now that it is almost summer, and my commitments in Winnipeg are done– we are going to start the 22 hour trip to the boat, on Saturday June 1st – so that we can relax! 

Our plan is to go as far as Marathon in the first night, and then to Midland on the second.  We should arrive at the boat mid-afternoon on June 3rd.  The boat should be in the water, and hopefully we can leave Buckhorn on Wednesday headed for Orillia.  We’re booked into the Port of Orillia  for a couple days, so David, from Hamilton, can come and do some electrical upgrades, including running wires for our new Starlink “Roam” internet service.  Following our visit to Orillia, we will be headed out to Georgian Bay,  and the North Channel with the our goal to be into Lake Superior by July 3rd.  It is finally going to happen—we are going to take the Lake Superior Circle Tour on the water!

To prepare for this we did enroll in a 5 week webinar course put on by the Great Lakes Cruising club school, showing us what there is to see and do in Superior. We have been looking forward to returning, since our 2019, as we only saw a fraction of the Canadian side. So only 2 more sleeps until our 2024 summer adventures begin!

Fall Colour Excursion

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We’ve been in the apartment for over a month and we decided we needed to take a road trip back to Ontario to view the Fall colours and do some visiting.

We left early (5:30 a.m.) Saturday morning September 30th  and Andy drove us  towards Marathon. We made a stop at the Terry Fox Memorial in TBay, and I took a few pictures.

We arrived at our hotel 11 hours after leaving home and Andy called up one of his friends, and we went with Jerry to the Legion to catch up on the news in Marathon.  The next morning after picking up coffee and a pumpkin spice muffin at Tim Horton’s, which was located next door to the Travelodge, we were on the road again.

Today we were headed to Manitoulin Island, which is the largest lake island in the world, with an area of 2766sq KM, and has over 100 lakes.  He drove as far as Little Current . We went over the  one-lane swing bridge,

which we had waited for in the past on our boat , in order to enter the Little Current harbour.  we checked into the Manitoulin motor inn

It was a relatively new hotel, but its downfall was that for TV stations, it only had Netflix—so no access to current news.  We went out to one of the restaurants- Elliot’s  in town for dinner, and then returned and watch part of a series on National parks, that was narrated by Barrack Obama.

In the morning, Andy went to the Tim Horton, which was located next to our hotel, for coffee and a muffin and then back in the car.  Today we were going to South Baymouth to catch the Chi Chemaun (ojibwe for big canoe) Ferry to Tobermory.  It was a 65 Km drive across the island that was dotted with field of grasses, and several herds of cows.  There were also lovely colours in the trees as they were changing from greens to yellow, orange and reds.

We arrived early and got into line for the ferry.  While we waited to load, we walked around and checked out the trading post as well as the nearby marina  I bought some hawberry jelly, which is a native berry to the island. 

Once onto the boat we left the car and we explored the boat, and then had lunch in the cafeteria.  We went outside and I took a few pictures,  it was very windy, and there were about 2.5 foot waves.

For a good portion of the  43 KM ride, there was no land to be seen. Approaching  the Bruce peninsula, the Cove Island lighthouse came into view, marking a treacherous narrow passage between Georgian bay and lake huron. This lighthouse is located on the northeast tip of the island in the Fathom Five National Marine park, and was built in 1858. 

Once we reached Tobermory, we exited the ferry and drove towards Owen sound, stopping in Wiarton to check out the marina, and look for Wiarton Willie, the famous weather predicting ground hog  and  then we stopped again at  the Georgian Shores marina in Owen sound. Once we got to Mike and Franziska’s we had drinks and visited in their backyard.  In the evening, we went to a restaurant near the east harbor, that was originally a Canadian Pacific train  station.  Mudtown Station,  with the mud  referring to the neighborhood streets that were , covered with thick mud during the spring melt.  The meal and drinks were very good.  We returned to the Edney’s for dessert and more visiting.  After breakfast in the morning,

we were back in the car and on the road again.  We were travelling 2.5 hours, so that we could have lunch and a visit with my uncle in Strathroy. We went through the countryside, where there were many corn and soybean fields, and trees of all colours. 

We met Wayne at his place and then  we followed him to Roy’s restaurant. 

After lunch, back in the car and we were off to Hamilton to check into our hotel.  We had plans to meet David, the electrical engineer  for dinner at Chuck’s. to talk about upgrades.  Before we were finished eating, Andy’s niece Caitlyn and her partner Chris, stopped in at the restaurant for a visit and beers.  We had a good visit with the two of them, and learned a little about Cait’s post doc research, and Chris’s  PhD research.  Great visit! Seems like a pattern is developing on this trip—travelling in the car, eating and drinking. In the morning we met up with Tom and Peggy Dunmore, boating friends, 

who live in Hamilton, for coffee and a 2 hour visit.  Then back in the car, and off to Oshawa.   Our route took us across the Burlington bridge,  then along 403 and 401, very busy traffic with many lanes, however we were lucky that it was mid-day, and we had very few slowdowns.    We arrived in Oshawa, around 3:00, at Rick and Linda Wigmore’s, who again were boating friends that we met on the Trent Severn. Linda had already started decorating for Halloween, and we found this couple on their front step.

  Andy also found a partner, with more limb issues, than he has.  Don’t they make a fetching couple!! It was a lovely afternoon, and we spent an hour visiting in the back yard.  Andy and Rick  moved indoors to watch the Blue Jay’s  playoff game on TV, while Linda showed me some of her quilting projects. 

She let me sew a few squares together—maybe this is something I could do.  After supper, we sat out on their back deck—their house backs onto Camp Samac, so no neighbors behind them—it was so quiet and relaxing.  In the morning, after breakfast,

it was back in the car, our first stop was Campbellford, as Andy wanted to buy some more pea-meal bacon to take home.  Then it was off to Buckhorn, to check on the boat.  We found it on the hard, in the back boat yard.  We were told that the Lithium batteries, were dead or asleep—so Andy called Karl in Ottawa, to find out what needed to be done.  The batteries were boosted, and then they again started absorbing power from the solar panels.  While at the boat, we dropped off a few things we had brought from Winnipeg, as well as picked up a couple things that we had forgotten to take when we left in early August.  The surveyors report that had been done a few weeks earlier was not available as yet, so Andy got the name of the surveyor, in order to track it down, as we need a new survey before we can renew our boat insurance.   We left around 3:00, and then it was on to Bancroft to stay with Brian and Helen for the night.  We  visited, for a while, and  went out for dinner at Dave’s Place.  We returned from the restaurant and had dessert- apple crisp with Kawartha ice cream.  Yum! 

In the morning , after breakfast, Andy and I went over to Brian Hayton’s place, to check in on him. He had his left knee replaced on Wednesday- so was recuperating, and being looked after by his daughter. 

We stayed for about an hour, and then back on the road.  We stopped at the Kawartha store—Andy wanted some dried sausage, however I opted for coconut ice cream in a dish.

  Then back in the car, and we headed for Sudbury via North Bay.  We filled up the car at one of the first nations gas stations, and continued on to our hotel in Sudbury. The hotel was located next to a Perkin’s restaurant, so that was our choice for supper.  In the morning we were at my  father’s  85 year old cousin Betty’s place for breakfast.  Andy cooked bacon and eggs, while Betty and I talked and visited

  At 10:00. We left and headed west, stopping in the Sault for gas, and then continuing on to Terrace Bay.  Arriving after 7:00 p.m. at the Red Dog Inn. 

We had picked up KFC for supper.  The plan on Sunday was to go as far as Fort Frances, and spend Thanksgiving with Dave and Elaine.  In the morning, after scaping the ice off the windshield, we reconsidered, and opted to drive 9 hours to get home to our own bed. Also there could be delays on Monday, because of holiday traffic and construction. 

The ice on the windshield reminded me of a billboard I had seen earlier on our trip, near Haliburton, Enjoy the changing colours, as the next one will be white. Along the way I took more pictures of leaves and the , trees and rock, as we travelled along by car.

We stopped near Nipigon for more cheap fuel at Lake Helen, and topped up in Dryden. Near to home, we passed the centre of Canada,

and the landscape had changed from bush and rocks to flat fields.  We arrived home shortly after 4:00. 

We  were gone 9 days and Andy drove over 4700 Km on our fall excursion, and I’m sure we both gained some weight with all the sitting, drinking and eating we did. No other travel plans in our immediate future! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

The Reunion, and our new home

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We ended up having to make 2 trips up to Camp Morton, as we had too much stuff to take to the reunion.  First drive up, we arrived at 11:00, which was the check in time for the rec hall, but it was locked, so we drove over to what was suppose to be our cabin, and found it to be empty and the door was unlocked. 

We filled up the fridge and freezer and dumped off our golf clubs and the other stuff that was in the trunk. We then went in search of Park staff to let them know what we had done, and then headed back to Winnipeg, to pack up for trip number two.  We arrived the second time around 3:15 and took our stuff to our cabin, which had been cleaned since our first visit.  This time I sat on the bed, and found out that it wasn’t much softer than sleeping on the floor, had I known this I could have brought a mattress topper.  We then went to the Rec hall, and unpacked food items.  Everyone was assembling there, and we were given our assignments for the week. Jack arrived around supper time,  he will be staying with us for the reunion and sleeping on the futon in our cabin. My crew, was responsible for cleanup after dinner, which was Chili and buns.   Our first dilemma was that the rec hall did not have a sink or running water.  We were able to heat water in a huge pot over the propane burner, to use for washing dishes. 

Each person was responsible for bringing their own dinnerware and cutlery, so we only had to clean up the electric roasters and utensils used for cooking the chilli.  Somehow, I managed to get red stains all over the white shirt I was wearing—I had brought my McMorland apron, but had failed to bring it to the rec hall.  Lots of visiting happened during the evening.  We left by about 10, and went to our cabin.  Around 3:30 a.m., most everyone was woken up by the passing thunderstorm, and a very large bang, that almost sounded like a gun shot, but was one of the transformers at the park struck by lightening.  This was followed by a second bang and a second transformer being blown.  The result of the storm, left us without power or water—so our flush toilets were inoperable.  In the morning once it was light, Andy tried to call Manitoba Hydro to report the outage—this was a feat in itself, as the cell coverage at Camp Morton was very weak and spotty. When Andy finally got in touch with someone, they asked what the meter number or account number was—we didn’t have a clue and didn’t know where to find it.  Shortly after 8:00, our power was restored to the cabins, however it would be another couple hours before the water was restored.  Thankfully there were some outhouses at the park.  For breakfast, the menu was pancakes and sausages, and these were cooked on the outdoor grill. During the morning, a crib tournament was held for those that were interested.  Andy participated and made it to the quarter-finals, Wenda was crowned the winner.

  After supper, there was the fun facts competition.  Each person at the reunion had submitted a fun fact about themselves that wasn’t to be shared.  Everyone was placed on a team,  given the list of facts and were given 17 minutes, to try and figure out which fun fact belonged to which person. You had approach people  and confirm a fun fact by asking and they had to be truthful.    Our team was not the winners here.  On Wednesday morning at 11:30, the golf tournament was being held at Marvellous meadows in Arnes, which was only about a 10 minute drive from Camp Morton. Andy was looking after this event- there were 24 participants, assigned to 5 teams. I was on a team with Doreen, my sister-in-law, Caitlin, my niece, and Jack , my 14 year old grandson.  Jack  drove our shared golf cart.  Didn’t know the golf cart could go that fast, and stop on a dime. We played best ball, so the game went fairly quick.  On several holes, there was rain drops, and on the 6th hole, we had a short shower. 

It was a fun round, followed by lunch at the restaurant.  Once again, we were not the winning team, in fact I think we were the worst at 7 over.  My group was in charge of  making supper this evening, which consisted of burgers, hot dogs and macaroni salad—so very easy.

When the  golf prizes were handed out that evening—Jack won a prize for being the most honest as he thought he had the shortest drive on the first hole, when in fact it had gone out of bounds, under a tree. The trophies, were some of Andy’s which we re-purposed, with labels, as well as the addition of Manitoba tartan kilts on each of the golfers. 

A bon-fire  outside  the rec-hall  brought an end to the evening.

Highlights from Thursday, were the reunion picture, taken mid-morning, as some people had to leave to start driving home. 

The McKendry clan:

In the afternoon, there was the hockey game, with new rules, Matt had put down strips of duct tape on the grass, and players had to stay with both feet planted on the tape. Both young and old participated in the game. 

Dinner that night was lake Winnipeg caught Pickerel, which was  very tasty.

The highlight of the night was the family auction,  funds raised from the auction, go towards defraying the cost of the reunion.

Following the auction, some people said their goodbyes that evening, as they had plans to leave in the early morning.  Jack left with Erin after the auction. Friday morning, we packed up most of the stuff in the cabin, and then went to the rec hall, for coffee, and to help with the cleanup.  We were done by 10:00, and headed back to Winnipeg.  Maureen was staying with us for one more night, as she didn’t fly out until Saturday afternoon.  We took the rest of Saturday and Sunday off, but got into packing up the house on Monday morning. This continued for most of the week.  On Wednesday, we got the keys to the apartment, and went to check it out.

On Thursday, Jack came back to help take loads of stuff to the apartment by car, as well he helped Andy to disassemble our bedroom suite. Jason stopped by on Friday, and took a few things that would otherwise have gone to the garbage.  On Saturday afternoon, Erin came to get Jack, in total I think he helped take 7 carloads of stuff to the apartment.  Sunday night, we gave a truckful of stuff to Ukrainian refugees, including a Queen sized bed with mattress, and box spring. We continued packing on Monday.  Tuesday was moving day, the movers were to arrive at noon, they called at 12:05 and said they were running late at their morning move, and would be another hour or more before arriving at our place.  When they hadn’t arrived by 1:30, I called the apartment building, as our booking for the elevator was between 2 and 5.  The building manager, Linda, told me not to worry if we were late, as we were the only scheduled move in the afternoon.  The moving team of 5, arrived around 2:30, and had everything wrapped and moved into the truck by 3:45. 

Then we were off to the apartment, and they started moving in the stuff.  One of the guys helped Andy to re-assemble the bedroom suite.  The movers left shortly after 5:30 they really knew what they were doing and were very efficient. But we had boxes and stuff everywhere in the apartment to find a place for. We ordered take-out for supper, as we tried to relax amongst the boxes.

On Wednesday we went back to the house, to clean it, as well we had a dumpster delivered in order to throw out stuff that we weren’t taking and was junk.  Dave our neighbor took out the shelfing that was in our garage to re-purpose it.  My friend Joan and her daughter Becky stopped by for a visit and took a few items that needed a new home. On Thursday, we went back and I finished cleaning up the main floor and basement, and said goodbye to Sterling- where I had lived for 23 years.

  By 2:00, I was on my bike and pedaled the 2 Km to our apartment.  On Friday,  our internet and TV was installed in the morning.  In the afternoon, Erin dropped Jack off, to help with the final adjustments on our bedroom suite, as well as adjust the air vents in the ceiling, that only someone over 6 feet tall could do. He became our first overnight guest, and slept on one of the loveseats. On Saturday morning around 8:30, both our internet and TV stopped working.  After numerous call, to Bell MTS, we finally got a person who could fix it, saying that the installer had missed a critical step the previous day.  Our next issue was having our email addresses transferred to the new account, this needed escalation to a case manager and programmer in  order for this to be done, and took most of the day.  For a communications company- Bell MTS is not very efficient. Saturday afternoon, we went to our old neighborhood and dropped off some empty packing boxes for our neighbor, while I was visiting with another neighbor, Andy  took our old MTS equipment to Canada Post to be returned. On Sunday and Monday, the unpacking continued, we both went to the gym located on our floor for a short workout, and went down and met the property manager. It is now Tuesday, and we have been here for a full week, most of our things have found a home, or are living in the 2nd bedroom.

We are both liking the apartment, I especially like the island in the kitchen.  One downfall is the small parking spot, and adjacent pillar, however it is very near to the elevator- I’ve not tried parking yet, I’m thankful that are car is older and white—if I hit the pillar, it may not show up! Although we are fairly close to Bishop Grandin boulevard, we don’t get much traffic noise.

Andy’s brother Duncan and sister-in-law are coming through Winnipeg, the first week of September and we have booked the guest suite for them to try out, at $75/night, it is much cheaper than a hotel. It is also located on the 3rd floor, so just down the hall from our apartment. Likely my last blog for the year, unless something exciting happens to the apartment dwellers in Winnipeg.

The Return trip

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We left Campbellford just before 9:00 and locked on the second lockup, this lock is a Port tie, not our preferred side.  We then went through Crowes’s Bay and then on to Healey #15, another Port tie when locking up. 

Once we were through, we tied up on the wall,  about an hour later there was a huge rain storm.  We were joined on the wall by Virginia II, which we had seen several times over the past week.

  On Monday morning, we went through the Healey flight locks, 16 and 17, and once again did a cross over, when both boats were at the same level.  We then continued on to Hastings and were through the lock and tied up on the wall by noon.  Three locks and 13.5 miles.  We were joined on the wall  by many other loopers as well as Virginia II. 

On Tuesday we left Hastings around 7:30, as we had 38 miles to the next lock, as well as the crossing of Rice Lake.  We were through Scott Mills by noon, Ashburnham by 12:50, Peterborough Lift lock at 1:50, followed by Nassau Mills at 2:50, Otonobee at 3:20, we moved on to the bottom of Duoro, Lock 24 and tied up at 3:30

Long day 8 hours, 5 locks and 42.7 miles. We visited with Roger and Sue, which we had met the night before in Hastings, and had travelled through the locks with.

The flower garden’s here at Duoro, are the nicest I’ve seen, lots of Asiatic lilies in bloom.

   On Wednesday morning we locked through, Duoro at 9:35, followed by  Sawer Creek  at 10:15 and Lakefield at 10:45 and tied up at  11:00.  A short day, 3 locks and 2.3 miles.  We wanted to plug in to power for the day, as our batteries were in the low 20’s, and it was going to be a hot day, so fans would be required.  We walked into town, for some other essentials—beer  for Andy and coconut ice cream for me. Around 3:30, Virginia II  (Doug & Liz& Cassie) arrived and tied up—I’m absolutely sure that they are following us. We later had a visit with them at the picnic table,  Also Stuart and Rod from Sea Turtle joined us, and Andy gave them the Cole’s notes version of where to go in Georgian Bay and the North Channel. We also met Vicki and Aaron on the boat No Fixed Address—they are full-time live-a-boards, as well we met  people on a boat called Prairie Girl,  from Saskatchewan.

  I will be leaving my tomatoes plants here at Lakefield Lock 26, I can’t take them home in the car, as they are much bigger than when I brought them here in June.  Becka and the lock staff will take good care of them and share the tomatoes with other boaters passing through this lock. I had thought that I had brought a prairie pride and a brown cherry onto the boat, but the second tomato doesn’t look like a brown cherry , so it may be a rio grande—got my labelling wrong.

We woke to rain on Thursday, so I spent some time purging and packing on the boat.  Once it cleared before noon, it became very hot outside, getting up to the mid 30’s.  So we fired up the air conditioning to cool off the boat.  We spent some time at the picnic table, in the shade.  I pulled out the hose and washed the bow of the boat,  I would still like to give it a coat of wax in the next day or two.  Lots of boats came through the locks today, and the wall here is full.

Liz had gone into town in the afternoon,  when she returned she brought over a gift for us, as a thank you for helping them tie up on numerous occasions.

On Friday morning, we left around 10:00 and headed for Young’s point, we were followed by Virginia II.  Once through the lock we tied up on the right and Virginia II tied up on the left. 

We continued packing up stuff, in the afternoon we went to Lock side trading for ice cream.  Around 4:00 we were invited to the picnic table near Virginia II for Caesars and snacks.  Liz had made mini pizza’s using naan bread, they had peppers, onions , cheese and smoked meat on them- very tasty.  For the sauce she had used BBQ sauce with a couple teaspoons of Dijon mustard. Can’t wait to try this at home.  We had a lovely visit with them, I can’t call them stalkers anymore, as they are now friends, and we hope to meet up with them next summer on Georgian Bay.

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In the evening Andy did a little fishing beside the boat, and caught several fish.

On Saturday we had planned to leave to go to Burleigh or Lovesick but a combination of rain and wind  kept us at Young’s point for one more day, which was fine as there was more cleaning and packing to do. We left on Sunday morning and headed for Buckhorn, passing through the locks at Burleigh, Lovesick and Buckhorn.  There was no room at the Buckhorn lock so we continued on to BYH, pumped out and then tied up near the gas dock.

Andy brought the car around and we started packing up the trunk.  Later that evening we were entertained by the Fuderer family, as they all came down to the gas dock for high level cage diving, I asked Peter about it and he said it’s a tradition in their family.

On Monday morning, we were up early and went to Lakefield for the 6:00 opening of the laundromat.  I didn’t want to be bringing clothes and bedding home, that could just stay on the boat. Once we were back on the boat, we continued packing up the car and I defrosted the freezer. We learned that our alternator had not arrived- as it was shipped to Ivy Lea and not Buckhorn, so it will likely not be installed until spring.  We left and went to Bobcaygeon, for my last coconut ice cream from Kawartha.  We then drove up to Bancroft, as we were going to stay a night with Brian Hayton, before heading west.  We spent the afternoon visiting, and I did a little bit of weeding in his flower beds.  Brian and Helen Vermeersch joined us for supper—Brian fried up some fresh pickerel that he had recently caught along with fries, coleslaw and fresh beans from the garden.  Helen had brought berries and Kawartha ice cream for dessert—so I got to have ice cream twice in the same day.  After they left Brian and Andy played cross-crib, but I was tired, so I went to bed. In the morning, after coffee and a bagel, we headed off, stopping in Parry Sound for gas, and arriving at our hotel in Sault Ste Marie around 4:00.  We met the Gillespies for drinks and snacks at the Water tower hotel around 7:00.  Had a great visit and caught up on what they’ve been up to. On Wednesday we left the hotel around 7:30,  it was very foggy out, Andy could only see a few meters ahead of the car.  We gassed up, as we left the Sault, the fog started lifting. There wasn’t a lot of traffic in the morning, but it increased as the day progressed.  We stopped at the A&W in Marathon for lunch, and then stopped again in Nipigon for gas. Lots of road construction in this area, it looks like they are twinning the highway all the way from Nipigon to TBay. We stayed at  Super 8 motel in Thunder Bay, as my friend Teresa’s partner Maureen, had come down with Covid.  So we didn’t want to risk visiting them. On Thursday we left the hotel around 8:00, and started the last leg of our trip home.  Stopping in Dryden to top up the gas, and then several stops because of road construction between Dryden and the MB border. Doug Ford is spending lots of money in northwestern Ontario!

We arrived home around 3:30, unpacked the essentials from the car and turned on the AC in the house, as it was very hot out.  We ordered take-out for dinner.  On Friday, I pulled some weeds in the garden, we went to the lawyer’s office to sign house sale papers and then drove to Morris to sign the forms for our new tenant’s policy at the apartment and Andy renewed his driver’s license. We also changed the address on both of our licenses.  On our return to the city, we drove by the apartment, and saw patio furniture on some of the balconies, so we know that some people have already moved in. In the afternoon,  I spent a lot of time on hold on the phone as I tried to inform our utilities of our upcoming move.  After dinner, we visited on Dave and April’s deck catching up on what been happening on the street as well as our boat adventures.  On Saturday, I spent a couple more hours out in the garden pulling weeds, it was definitely easier than previous years, as Dave had sprayed roundup on them. The lawn is full of weeds as well, I pulled a few, but may have to spray them as there are hundreds! In the evening, Andy went to the airport to pick up his cousin Maureen, who had flown in from Victoria for the upcoming family reunion at Camp Morton. On Sunday we did some shopping, and I spent another hour pulling weeds from the lawn. I also baked a sour cream rhubarb pie for dinner, using rhubarb from my garden. While pulling the rhubarb, I noticed a couple of shoots of asparagus, which I thought was quite weird, as I’ve only ever seen asparagus in May.

The plan for tomorrow is to see if everything that we need to take to the reunion will fit in the car-it’s going to be a challenge as there is 60 lbs of fish, sausages, baking, other food and beverages, as well as bedding, cooking supplies, 2 sets of golf clubs, prizes and clothes for the two of us. If we can’t fit Maureen and her stuff, one of the other cousins will take her to Camp Morton.

Travelling on the TSW

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We left Port of Orillia at 7:45, and crossed a very flat Lake Simcoe,

arriving at Gamebridge at 10:30.  Andy had  a low oil pressure on the Port engine, so he ran with only the Starboard engine through this set of locks.  We were through the 5th lock, Bolsover at 12:40—he checked the oil, and called the diesel mechanic from Orillia as well as BYH and his brother Duncan.  It may be that the oil pressure sending switch is toast.  We continued on and were through the Kirkfield lock at 16:10, after waiting for the lock to come down and then take us up which is typically an hour each way. We arrived at Rosedale at 5:45—long day, 42.2 miles and 6 locks. There were only 2 other boats above the lock,  I would have thought it would be busier for a Friday night.  Andy touched base with Karl, regarding meeting up later in the week.

On Saturday we locked through Rosedale at 9:05, and then were on to Fenlon at 9:50 and Bobcaygeon at 11:55.  These two locks were busier, as they are in the middle of busy towns and have power.  We had rain off and on in the morning.  Peter from BYH called, Andy told  him about our latest issues.  He said we could stay at the gas dock for the night, as we wanted fuel and a pumpout.  We arrived at 1:50 and tied up having gone 34.3 miles and 3 locks.  Rain continued throughout the afternoon. Around 6 pm a house boat stopped and the gas dock and tied up perpendicular to it. 

Both Andy and I came out to talk to them.  They knew almost nothing about boating, docking or tying lines. Andy helped them turn the boat, so they were parallel with the dock. Andy texted Peter, and he came down to tell them that they couldn’t stay there, and that they should go tie up on the blue line at the Lock.  After they left, we jumped in our car and drove to the lock, so we could help them tie up.  We told the lock staff that they were enroute, and Steve and his crew took over, and turned them around, so that they were facing away from the lock.  The driver of the houseboat, said he was restricted and couldn’t actually go through the locks—we figured he didn’t pass his 5-minute training session.  As pleasure craft owner,  we need a boating license—however renters do not—I don’t get it—they are definitely a hazard.

We  filled up with fuel and pumped out before we left Buckhorn Yacht Harbour at 9:00 on Sunday, passing by the rental- still tied up to the blue line.  We went through Buckhorn at 9:20, Lovesick at 10:10, Burleigh at 10:45, Young’s Point at 11:45 and arrived at Lakefield at 12:30, where we tied up and plugged into power.    There were several boats there, many of which were loopers. By late afternoon the lock was was full.

  There was also a kayaker there name Chris, who was from Ottawa.  He had started in Port Severn less than a week ago , and had gone 220 km.  He ended up pitching his tent, close to our boat, so Andy spent some time visiting with him.

On Monday morning, we went though the Lakefield lock at 9:30, with Chris.  He is amazing, and kept up with us the whole way,

  We went through Sawer Creek at 10:00, Douro at 10:20, Otonobee at 10:50, Nassau Mills at 11:20 .  Chris dropped off here for a rest.  We went through the lift lock at 12:10 and then through the Ashburnham lock at 12:30 and tied up on the gray line.  Tough day- 7 locks and 10 miles.  We visited with Kirk, the lockmaster who we knew from Buckhorn, as well as Andrew who was a Lovesick last summer. Chris appeared shortly after 1:00 in his kayak, he was taking it out here and going back to Ottawa.

We spent a peaceful night and met some loopers in the morning from around Duluth, that shared some favorite anchoring spots in Lake Superior.  We left in the morning, just before 9:00 to head to Scotts Mills Lock 19, so we could get through and head up the Otonobee River to Rice lake and Hastings.  We arrived at 1:30, having gone 38.4 miles.  We tied up on the gray wall, and were soon joined by many loopers.  We walked to the LCBO and grocery store, and just got back to the boat, when it started to rain. 

In the morning we locked through Hastings, and headed up the Trent river, when we got to Heally falls flight lock, we did a cross-over at the top of 17, with 2 looper boats and a deck boat. 

When we went over to the basin, before Lock 15,  we saw Just Wright in the lock.  We had planned to meet here for a catchup. We had last seen them on June 11th in Buckhorn, as there were leaving to go down the TSW back to the Thousand Islands and beyond. In the afternoon, Andy put a light coat of Cetol on the teak railings, and then we went to visit at the picnic table.  We had some rain, so moved onto our sundeck, after the rain it became very hot and humid. We had a quiet night.

On Thursday we went through Lock 15 – Heally falls at 9:25, followed by Crowe’s Bay at 10:30, here we waited for a couple of boats coming up, then it was on to Campbellford at 11:00.  We waited for a couple more boats, and once we were through the lock there was another 7 boats waiting to go through.  We arrived at Old Mill Park, Campbellford at 11:15 and tied up.

Around 1:00, Karl arrived with our new inverter, as well as some other parts.

  He worked most of the afternoon, on setting it up with our Lithiums, and when he left we were fully charging. .  After dinner, he finished up and was off to Ivy Lea.  We felt a whole lot better, although he discovered that one of our alternators wasn’t putting out the correct voltage, and will have to be changed.   He removed the DC-DC charger, and took our old inverter to sell to another boater.  On Friday we walked over to the laundry and Sharpe’s grocery store for a few things.  Around noon, Brian and Helen arrived from  Bancroft and we went to lunch, then the chocolate factory and V&S.

We had intermittent showers throughout the day. 

On Saturday, we had Rick and Linda Wigmore visit from Oshawa, we had drinks and snacks and told long-story- short tales at the picnic table. Around 1:30, David and his mother Grace arrived from Hamilton—David and Andy were going to come up with a plan for electrical upgrades over the fall and winter. 

David helped me upgrade the Garmin GPS system, as well as reset a tripped fuse on   the hot water heater, since my hot water was running out, even though we were connected to shore power.    We will be setting up a list with pictures of what needs to be done and sending it on to him later this week.  After they left we had dock tails with 7 or 8 boats looper boats. In the morning we will be starting our trip back to Buckhorn, as we have to leave for Winnipeg on the 1st or 2nd of August.