Over the winter, we enjoyed more activities within our apartment block. Andy had another surgery scheduled in November, and spent a few days in hospital, due to an infection, he spent another day there in early January. We celebrated some milestones in April, the old guy turned 75, and I had previously turned 65 in February, so we had a small gathering in the lounge to celebrate with family and a few friends. We also purchased a new vehicle as our 14 year old car was beginning to show its age. We wanted to buy prior to tariffs being imposed on vehicles, so we ordered it in January for an April delivery.
On May 27th I fulfilled my Eastern star commitment, as chair for one of the luncheons during our annual session. Once that was done, we started packing up the SUV for our trip to the boat. We arrived in Thunder Bay on May 30th, the boat was in the water, repaired props were on, keel had some new fiberglass and bottom paint, and they thought we were ready to pull out of McKellar Marine. But not so fast! We ended up staying 10 nights with our friends Teresa and Maureen, as we had an electrical issue, and kept tripping the shore power breaker. Aaron, an electrical technician spent 17 hours on the boat, trying to solve this issue.
We finally left on June 9th, in the fog, and went to an anchorage we had been to the previous year—we were able to follow our tracks on Garmin. We then moved to another anchorage in Otter cove and spent a couple nights there. I saw these two moose at the end of the bay where we were anchored.
The following day we went to Red Rock Marina, and plugged into power, topped up our fuel and water. Our next stop was Rossport, and we stayed at the dock which we had frequented last year. We went to the Serendipity restaurant in town for their Friday night special- prime rib. On leaving Saturday morning, one of the engines wouldn’t start, Andy started the generator, and put the battery charger on for a few minutes to get it going. We travelled about 30 miles to the Slate Islands, and stayed in two different anchorages, in hopes of seeing the caribou that inhabit the islands—however none were seen.
Upon leaving we once again had an issue starting the starboard engine. Andy was in contact with Aaron from Thunder Bay, we travelled to Marathon, where we knew there were docks, and friends that would be able to help. Mitch Donaldson, came down to the boat, and when linked in with Aaron in Tbay, determined that either the Starboard Alternator, or Battery charger was not charging the starter battery. We went to Napa and bought another Battery; we also bought a trickle charger to keep the battery topped up. Aaron said he would order parts, and come down later in the week to assess and figure out a way to keep us charging as we were moving the last 300 miles across the north of the lake, with no services.
It has been really cold on the boat, we were getting warnings on our GPS system, that the water temperature was between 35 and 39 F. Also there has been several nights with frost warnings- so I had to cover my tomatoes. While here in Marathon, we have been staying with Mitch, to get out of the cold boat. To keep busy while we wait, we topped up the fuel tanks, using Jerry cans, some of which we borrowed from the town office. Typically, they do not allow overnight docking at the town dock, but when we told them we were broken down, they made an exception. We have also frequented the Legion, going for drinks most days, and wing night on Thursday. Aaron came to Marathon on Friday with a new battery charger, and other supplies.
He determined that the battery charger had stopped charging our starter battery, and the external regulator also needed replacing. The battery charger was 20 years old , so actually amazing that it had lasted this long. We couldn’t get a replacement regulator, so Aaron figured out a work around. Aaron returned to the boat on Saturday to finish up.
On Saturday night we slept on the boat, so we could get away early Sunday. We left around 7:30 and travelled 48 Statute Miles to Old Dave’s Harbour near Otter Island. To get to the deep water in the anchorage, we had to travel over a shoal, but the captain maneuvered over, in 6 feet of water or more. We stayed at this anchorage, which was near the old light keeper’s house for 2 nights as the winds on the lake were fairly strong, we kept busy reading, cleaning, playing cards and puzzles.
I was on the look out for caribou again, but once again did not see a single one. On Tuesday morning, we left, and had fog for most of our 64 mile trip to Oakes Cove in Michipicoten Harbour. Andy checked in with Brad Buck at the marina here, but we couldn’t get there as the river is silted in. On Wednesday, we had a sunny day and left around 8:15 for Sinclair cove, which was 48 Miles away, arriving around 1:30. ( Brad sent us this pic of our departure on Wednesday)
We saw people on the beach, and one person actually was walking in the water, as well as several kayakers and later in the evening a fishing boat. We left early (6:30) on Thursday morning headed for the Sault, which was about 80 miles away. There was very little wind, and sunshine for the first 5 .5 hours, until we approached Ile Parisienne and Whitefish Bay, then the wind picked up and we had a good chop, and waves hitting us on the beam.
We arrived at the lock around 2:30 and locked through with one of the tour boats. We got to the marina around 3:00 and filled up with fuel. Andy calculated that we had gone 444 statue miles from Thunder Bay and had used 848 Liters of diesel. We plugged in, to shore power for the first time in 2 weeks. Today it is raining so we are staying in the Sault another night, will catch up on laundry, reprovision and have a visit with Pat and Marcia.
We left Bondar Marina on June 26th, 2024 for our Circle tour of Lake Superior, and arrived back on the same day one year later June 26, 2025. I am happy we did it and got to spent extra time with friends in Thunder Bay and Marathon, but after all the boat issues of the last year my mantra has become: GMOOLS—Get me out of Lake Superior!
Our plan is to spend some time in the North Channel and Georgian Bay, before returning home for a family wedding later in July. We will continue our adventures in August.
In early January, we decided that we would like to spend a couple weeks in Ireland, after we had put the boat to bed in Buckhorn. We’d drive to Toronto and fly to the Emerald island but that didn’t really work out with the issues in Lake Superior, so we came home for a couple weeks. We left Winnipeg early on Tuesday September 17th and travelled as far as Thunder Bay. We stopped by McKellar marine and dropped off our newest lithium battery, we also were given 2 props that needed to be taken to Buckhorn. We stayed at the Choice hotel called the Courthouse, as that is what it previously was. We were given a room on the lower floor that had a wheelchair accessible shower, which was great but it was badly designed as when we showered the next morning it flooded the bathroom.
We checked out and drove towards the Sault. We spent the night, and went to Wacky wings for supper. We left early in the morning and travelled as far as Buckhorn arriving around 3pm. We picked up our refurbished props, and dropped off the other set from McKellar’s. We then drove up to Bancroft to spend some time with Brian and Helen.
On Friday we had lunch and a visit with Brian Hayton. We left around noon on Saturday, we stopped at Kawartha, as we were leaving Bancroft, as I had a craving for coconut ice cream. We arrived at Linda and Rick’s in Oshawa around 3 pm. We had some snacks and drinks and then Rick, Linda and I spent some time in their pool.
After dinner, I learned how to play shuffleboard, we also played a game of skip bo. On Sunday we relaxed, swimming, and playing games. Following lunch on Monday, we packed up and headed for Toronto. We called our parking garage, to see if we could arrive early, which was fine. We arrived at park 4u around 4 pm, and were given a ride to the airport. We got our boarding passes, and had to wait in departures, until we could check our large bag at 8pm. We then went through security and moved to our gate. We boarded our Air Transat around 11:15, and left Toronto at 11:55. At 1pm we were given a full meal, we then attempted to sleep, I was in the middle seat, between a man in the aisle and Andy, at the window, so a little cramped. It was a 6.5 hour flight and we arrived in Dublin at 11:30 a.m. once we were through customs and picked up our checked bag, we took a taxi to the Marine hotel in Sutton Cross, just outside of Dublin.
We rested a little, and then I switched the SIM card in Andy’s phone, so we would have phone and internet capabilities. We then for a walk to scout out the Dart tram station, and a grocery store. We ran into some friendly people who set us in the right direction of the station. Upon returning to the hotel, we ate in the restaurant, having soup and an Irish cheese plate for dessert. In the morning we went for breakfast, and then called a taxi to take us to Heuston station, where we were catching a train to Cork at 11:00. While waiting for our train, I scouted out where the Luas tram station was, as we will be using it on our return trip. On our 2 hour and 40 minute ride to Cork, we saw lots of fields with cattle and sheep. It rained for most of the trip. We picked up our standard rental car which was a little Mazda, we requested a GPS, which was an older model Garmin, which wasn’t very useful. We missed a few turns, but finally arrived at the cottage called Glen cairn, near Lismore. Rural roads were very narrow, hardly wide enough for 2 cars to meet, no shoulders on the road, roads are typically bordered by a hedge or rock wall. I was thankful that I wasn’t the designated driver. After unpacking at the cottage, which consisted of a bedroom, small kitchen and a bathroom, we set off for Lismore to pick up a few groceries.
We found that the cottage, was cold, so Andy emailed the owner and he turned on the heat. We also seemed to have a fly problem, it didn’t matter how many I killed or let out the window, they seemed to be multiplying. On Thursday, we drove back to the car rental place to get some more instructions. We then drove to Blarney castle, where we walked around and explored the gardens and the lower parts of the castle. We did not join the 1 hour wait to kiss the stone, especially since my husband has no problem with the gift of the gap, and “long story short”.
After a stop at the gift shop, where Andy found this saying that he liked, we left.
We then headed to the port of Cobh, pronounced Cove. The GPS took us the shortest wait, but involved taking a ferry across the harbour, which we didn’t want to do. So we revised the route, and after several missteps, arrived in Cobh. After finding parking, we went into the Cobh heritage centre, we started by eating, and then toured through the centre where we learned about Irish emigration, as well Cobh’s link to the Titanic. There was a cruise ship parked nearby, so the centre was very busy.
We stopped at a grocery store enroute to the cottage and picked up something to cook for dinner.
On Friday morning, I put in some clothes to wash, but the washer did not seem to be functioning properly- we informed the owner, and then left for the day. First stop was Waterford, another port city. After finding parking, we walked around, checked out some of the stores, and saw this artisan blowing glass.
We then ventured north to the town of Kilkenny. We went to the Smithwick brewery aka Killkenny tour and learned that Guinness actually now owns Kilkenny beer. Following the tour we went to Kytelers Inn for a pub meal and more beer for the navigator.
When we got home we learned that the washer was broken, so Katherine had taken my laundry to her mother’s place to wash and dry our clothes. She dropped them off after 9pm.
In the morning, we set off for the Rock of Cashel, enroute we stopped at the Vee, which is about 2000 feet above sea level. The V refers to v shaped turn in the road in a gap in the Knockmealdown mountains, from here you can see multiple counties. Upon arrival at the Rock of Cashel, we learned it is the greatest cluster of medieval buildings in Ireland, it was originally a seat of the Munster kings but was given up and repurposed as a church in the 11th century. It also has views of the plains of Tipperary, one of the most fertile areas in the republic.
We came back to the cottage, Andy cooked supper and then we started packing up our stuff. We left shortly after 7, as it was more than an hours drive to Cork, and it was raining quite hard and was very windy. We got into Cork, by 8:30, and had to find a gas station that was opened to fill up the tank. After dropping off the car, we were given a lift to the train station with our bags. We left on the train at 10:25; headed to Dublin. Enroute we learned that flooding, and some trees were down in Cork due to the rain and winds. Once in Dublin, we transferred to a Luas tram to get us to Connelly station, 2 very kind Luas employees helped us with our luggage and escorted us to our destination. We left Connolly at 2:50, on a train bound for Belfast, however due to construction of a new Grand Central station there, we were only able to go as far as Newry, we were transferred once again to a bus for the last hour. We arrived at Lanyon station, and called a cab to take us to our hotel. What a travel day in 10 hours, we travelled by car, 2 trains, a tram a bus and a taxi, going from Cork to Belfast in Northern Ireland. We met some people on the train, who said they would never go that far in a day. Andy explained we live on a boat in the summer and think nothing of driving 22 hours to get to it.
Our hotel was located in the Cathedral quarter of Belfast, close to city centre-called the Quarter by Warren, the room was very small, but adequate. In the morning, we went to the kitchen room, for breakfast, of toast, pastries, cheese, ham and beverages. Following breakfast we called a cab to take us to the Titanic exhibition. The exhibit had information about life in Ireland, the famine, emigration, and industry making of linen. The focus of the exhibit was on ship building, as well as the fate of the Titanic. Very well presented!
After lunch, we walked about 10 minutes in the rain, to the Public records office of Northern Ireland. we signed up for membership cards, and then went up to one of the research room, and got some assistance and guidance on what we needed to do to find Andy’s ancestors.
We were able to find the marriage, and birth records of his grandfather and 2 great uncles. We also found that there were McKendry’s in a cemetery in Portglenone. Leaving PRONI, we caught a bus to city centre, as it was raining, and went to White’s pub for dinner- rather than beer I have been trying the Irish apple ciders, and had a rockshore, which I think is made by Guinness—quite refreshing. On Tuesday morning after breakfast we walked around near our hotel and saw St Patrick’s church as well as St. Anne’s cathedral.
We checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the car rental office. This time we have a 2022 Hyundai Tucson, automatic, with an on board GPS , so a little easier for the driver. We found our way out of the city, and got to our cottage in Broughshane which was about 35 miles away. We dropped off our luggage then drove to Ballymena for some groceries.
In the main house, which our west wing rental is attached to , there is a film crew using it for series. I was told it was for BBC, and was about one of the Parnell Hall, puzzle lady mysteries. Interesting, people were buzzing around, until well past dark. Our accommodations were amazing, the kitchen was well equipped, it had 2 bathrooms, 2 TV’s and plenty of storage. We were very comfortable!
In the morning, after breakfast we set off up Carnlough road for the Antrim coast. We followed the road, stopping in Ballycastle, and took some pictures of the marina, which has more than 70 slips. Ballycastle, no longer has a castle it was destroyed hundreds of years ago. We did stop at Dunseverick and Dunluce castles. We proceeded to the Giant Causeway, which is an UNESCO heritage site of 40,000 basalt columns which remain after a volcanic eruption some 60 million years ago.
Following the causeway we then went to Bushmills Distillery and took the tour. Bushmills was started in 1608, and is one of the oldest distilleries in Ireland.
Following our tour, and tastings, we met some other Canadians, from Charleswood- small world! At the grocery store, across from the distillery I picked up some red wine for Andy and a 4 pack of OUTCIDER, another Irish cider for me to try.
On our way back to the cottage, we stopped at the Thatch inn for appetizers and drinks. Andy also enquired if anyone knew any McKendrys, and learned that there was a regular who typically came in on Thursdays- we may have to return.
On Thursday we started the day by going to Robert McKendys plumbing in search of relatives. We talked to Helen, who called her father in-law, who suggested we go to Portglenone, which was already on our list for today. At the cemetery we found a headstone/braid where Andy’s great great grandfather, great grand father, great grand mother and great uncle were noted.
Here is the inscription on the headstone at the townhill Portglenone cemetary:
Erected by Andrew McKendry, Mayboy, in memory of his father Frank who died 17th August 1887; aged 71 years. Also his mother Jane, who died 28th February 1857; aged 35 years and his brother James, who died 16th October 1889; aged 42 years. The above named Andrew McKendry died 28th March 1926; aged 76 years. also his daughter Mary Jane, who died 11th January 1931, aged 32 years and his wife Agnes, who died 13th June 1931, aged 71 years.
Following our visit here we drove to Londonderry, and once we found parking, we set off walking to see some of the murals. We could have booked a 2 hour guided walking tour, but we did not, which I was glad of. At one mural, there was a tour, and I couldn’t understand a word that the tour guide had said.
On our way back to the cottage, we had planned to stop at a pub in Ballymena, but couldn’t find parking, so we stopped in Broughshane, and bought some groceries for supper. On Friday morning, I put in a load of laundry, before we set off the “Candy” laundry machine, washes and dries clothes but takes about 6.5 hours for a load.
Since it was raining,we decided we needed indoor activities,so we drove into the outskirts of Belfast, and toured the Belfast castle and had lunch.
On on way back we stop at a grocery store in Ballymena, and purchased a few things. We drove back to the west wing, and noticed that the film crew had left. The laundry wasn’t complete, but it was on the drying cycle. Around 7, we went into Broughshare to the Merchant, and ordered fish and chips- I ordered smoked haddock and Andy had cod- the orders were massive- we likely could have shared an order. I enjoyed a couple outciders and Andy had wine. We then watched coronation street- in Ireland it is on Mon, Wed, and Friday for an hour, typically in prime time between 8 and 9. Ireland, have lots of game shows, and you can find one at almost any time of the day or night. We watched a lot of the chaser, but also bull’s eye- that combines darts and trivia, as well as tip-it, more questions, and moving markers to win money. This part of the world love their quizzes.
On Saturday, we packed up around 10 and headed for Belfast to return the car and catch our train to Dublin. Since we arrived early at the train station, we were able to take the noon train, instead of the 2 pm one which I had booked.Once again, we took a bus to Newry and then switched to the train. We arrived at Connolly station at 2:15, and got a cab to take us to the Marine hotel in Sutton.We were happy to learn that our room had been upgraded to a sea-side view. This will be our home for the next 5 nights as we explore Dublin. Here’s our view, with a few brave souls taking a dip in the Irish Sea.
For supper we went to Cucinos, an Italian restaurant in the hotel, where we shared a pizza. On Sunday after our breakfast of eggs, ham, hashbrowns, black and white pudding, we decided to venture into Dublin. It was overcast with intermittent showers. We walked the 10minutes to the Dart (Dublin area rapid transit)station, and took a train, getting off near Trinity college.
We did some souvenir shopping and walked around. We ended up going through the national Archaeology. Museum. Here there were many displays of artifacts-pottery, bones, mummies, and metals. As well there was information on how the Vikings in the 10th century had a role in Irelands history. Many of the artifacts had been unearthed in bogs, which had preserved them intact. We met some Canadians here, from Brandon MB.
We left, but taking the Luas tram back to Connolly station to catch our Dart train. We also purchased 3 day leap cards for each of us. These leap visitor cards are good for buses, dart and luas trams in the Dublin area, and only cost 16 euros for 3 days. For dinner we went to the Golden Elephant, which was located near our hotel. I had a Thai curry, and Andy has beef with vegetables.
On Monday after breakfast, we took the dart to Connolly, and the walked up to O’ cconnel street to the hop-on, Hop-off (ho-ho) terminal. We decided we would spend the next 2 days seeing the sights in Dublin by this method. We started by doing the entire city loop with its 25 stops, and saw many of the highlights of Dublin.
We then went back to stop 2, and took the docklands tour, which showed some of the newer areas of Dublin. Following the tour, we went to Murphy’s Pub for lunch, as one of the perks from the ho-ho was a 2 for one lunch deal. I had a salad and an angry orchard cider- wasn’t as good as the rock shore that Andy had.
After lunch, we took the ho ho to stop 5, where we got off near the Oscar’s Wilde statue, we then went to the national gallery of Ireland. The artwork dated back to the 1500’s, and had several Renoir, Picasso and Van Gogh pieces.
We got back on the hoho and went to stop 8 which was near the Pearce dart station. We got a train headed for Howth, and got off at the Sutton station. Tuesday, was a sunny day without rain, we reversed our steps from the night before, and got off at Pearce, and got on the hoho bus. We took it to the temple bar area, and walked around the area, with wall to wall bars and restaurants.
Then back on the bus and we went to Dublin castle and toured the interior.
We caught the hoho and went to Phoenix park, I walked around some of the gardens, with many of the flowers still in full bloom in October.
Back on the bus, we got off at stop 23, and walked to O’Shea’s merchant for their lunch special which was Irish stew and a Guinness for 10 euros, I substituted Guinness for rock shore cider. Once we were back on the bus, we took it to Pearse and caught our Dart to Sutton, arriving at 5:30. After some snacks, I put on my bathing suit and did some laps in the hotel pool.
On Wednesday, our last full day in Dublin, had rain in the forecast again. We decided to take the dart train to the end of the line in Greystones. This town is about 30 miles south of Dublin, and much of the track runs along the coast of Dublin Bay.
We passed through Blackrock, Seapoint, Mallin, Dalkey, Killiney and Brey before arriving in Greystones.Upon exiting the station, we stopped for hot chocolate and scones at the grey cafe. I had a raspberry scone which was very tasty. When we left the cafe, rain had started, we walked up the street a little, but the rain was coming down harder, so we decided our exploring of Greystones had ended, and we would catch a train heading back to Dublin. The first train was headed to Malahide, but we were told we could take it to Brey and switch to a Howth train there, so that’s what we did.
We took the train to Howth, arriving there at 2:30. Howth is a fishing village, with many vessels in the harbour, and several fish mongers set up to sell the catch, and many restaurants. We stopped at the Oar house for a late lunch.
Over the winter we had seen a “you gotta eat here” show, and the oar house had been highlighted. Our meals were fantastic, Andy had a small order of the bay mussels in a white wine sauce- he had between 40 and 50 mussels for 11 euros, I had grilled salmon, and a salad also very delicious. When we came out of the restaurant, the sun was finally shining. We got on the Dart and headed to Sutton and the hotel.
I attempted to check in for our flight, but wasn’t able to so we decided we would leave the hotel around 8:30, to ensure we are at the airport 4 hours before our 1:15 flight. I took some pictures around the hotel, and went to the water’s edge and stuck my feet in the Irish Sea- it was cold. I picked up a few shells on the shore, as the tide was just starting to go out.
On Thursday after breakfast, we were picked up by taxi and taken to the airport, arriving shortly after 9:15.We got our boarding passes, and checked our bags, because our flight is full, they also took our carry on cases at no charge. Once we were through security, we stopped at another gift shop to spend more euros, and then went to our gate to wait for boarding, which commenced at 12:15. We arrived in Toronto around 3:30 local time, once we were through customs and had our luggage, I texted Park 4U, by the time we found the column where we were to meet, our car and driver were already there. He drove back to the compound, and turned the car over to us. I would highly recommend this service, very professional and prompt, and you don’t have to wait for a shuttle to take you to the car park. I’m not sure if we have this service in Winnipeg, but it would be great- especially in winter. We left Toronto and headed for Barrie, traffic was horrible, since it was the end of a working day. We arrived in Barrie around 6 pm, found our hotel, and picked up supper. Long day, crossing many time zones. On Friday, we left the hotel by 7 and headed west, saw that the leaves were a range of colours.
We stopped for gas a couple of times, and arrived at the Travelodge in Marathon at 6 pm. Andy called Gerry Ferguson, and we met him at the Tim Horton’s, as the Legion isn’t open on Friday nights- had a good catch up with him. On Saturday we were both up before 4 am, and left the hotel just after 6, although it was dark out, we were travelling roads that the driver knew very well, having grown up in Marathon, so I wasn’t concerned. We stopped for gas in Nipigon, and once we got to TBay, Andy dropped me off at Teresa and Maureen’s for a visit, while he took our refurbished props to McKellar marine. He picked me up, and we were off again. Originally we had planned to stay with Teresa and Maureen, but because our sleeping habits were out of wack, we decided to head home and to our own bed. We fueled up in Dryden, and arrived at our apartment in Winnipeg at 5:30. We unpacked the car, and I started some laundry. It was great to be home, after being away 26 days. Our Ireland trip was great, highlights were finding some links to Andy’s ancestors, the Irish people that were so very helpful, the castles and ruins, the fresh seafood however I didn’t like the narrow roads, and lack of parking in the cities, and all the walking. It was tough to select pictures for this blog, I think we took well over 500 pictures between us– so there was lots that we saw on the Emerald Island. The captain is already talking about our next adventure, which may involve a canal boat somewhere in the U.K.
We went to the Keg on Tuesday night to celebrate the new props with Tim and Suzie. On our way back to the marina, we saw this cruise ship docked in the harbour.
On Wednesday morning we headed out towards Rossport. We went the 100 miles, and arrived at 4:00, just in time for Andy’s virtual doctor’s appointment. Once it was complete, Andy did the usually engine and fuel checks. He noticed three things of concern, there was a diesel fuel smell, he had encountered a few issues with steering, while we were enroute and noticed the transmission fluid on the Port engine was low. He also noticed that we had used more fuel than was typical with the old props. We had a sleepless night, and in the morning, started to make a few inquiries. The additional fuel usage, was due to the slightly different sized props. So, we called ahead to Wawa, to find out if we could get diesel there, as we had in 2019. Andy learned that the Michipicoten river was very silted this year, as there was no spring run-off—so obtaining fuel there was not an option. Andy called Chris, who lives in Rossport, and was the person that pulled us off the shoal on August 7th, Chris agreed to take Andy to Schreiber to get some more transmission fluid. We also called McKellar marine in Thunder Bay to find out if there was an option to be pulled out there for the winter. After much discussion, we decided that this was likely our best option. Around 1:00 , we decided to start heading back to Thunder Bay again. We had completed all but 70 miles of the circle tour– just couldn’t get passed Rossport.
We were amongst islands, so were fairly sheltered, but as we got into more open water, we found that there were 3 foot plus waves, hitting us on the beam. We went about 12 miles and pulled into a secure anchorage on Simpson Island- called Woodbine harbour.
We joined another boat that was already anchored there. On Friday morning, we left the anchorage and returned to the open water, but it had not settled at all, there were still 3 to 5 foot waves- so we returned back into the anchorage. We spent part of the day, adding a tinting film to the front wind shield sections.
We also began packing up items, that needed to be put away for the winter or taken back to Winnipeg. On Saturday, the wind and waves had subsided, we ventured out, continuing our trip westward. We had first thought we would anchor in the Loon Islands, but continued on and ended up at Tee Harbour, which is part of Sibley peninsula (the sleeping giant), having gone 70 miles. We tied off to a Mooring Ball. We thought we would be protected as south winds were predicted, but once again we were bounced a little by swells. The cruise ship which we had seen earlier in the week, was still in the area- taking people to Silver islet, which was nearby.
On Sunday we left Tee harbour and travelled 20 miles to Prince Arthur Landing. We tied up in Tim’s spot, as we knew he was away at Thompson Island.
On Monday morning, we contacted McKellar marine and found out that we couldn’t actually stay on the boat there—so we decided to stay at the Landing one more night in order to pack up everything before moving the boat there. We also moved up our rental car to Tuesday at noon, from Wednesday. Since Tim was returning, we asked to stay another night, and had to move to Pier 2. When we plugged in there, we kept tripping the breaker, so yet another issue. We hadn’t had this problem at any of the 4 other slips we had stayed at in this marina, so we are hoping it’s a marina issue and not our boat’s issue—yet something else for McKellar’s to look at.
On Tuesday, August 20th, we left Port Arthur Landing and travelled to the McKellar River and to the boat yard.
Due to silting in the river, there were spots, where we had less than 4 feet, but the channel was very well marked. We arrived at 10:30 and were tied up. We met with the owner, and technician. Around 11:00, Tim arrived and drove us to Enterprise to pick up our rental.
By 1:30, we had packed everything we needed to take back to Winnipeg, as well as the damaged props into the Ford Escape. We then went to Teresa and Maureen’s place, where we were going to spend the night. We arrived at their place before they did, as they were on their way back from Ottawa. We decided to leave a box of chemicals and cleaning products along with another bag in their basement, to be retrieved in the spring. We also left a plug in freezer with the contents of our boat freezer, which we will pick up on our return trip. Andy cooked up some pickerel and it was enjoyed by everyone. In the morning, we left and headed East. We need to take the props to Kawartha props in Buckhorn for repair, and also retrieve our car which we left there in early June.
We drove as far as Sault Ste Marie, and booked into the Water Tower hotel. We met Pat and Marcia there for dinner and drinks in the bar as well as a visit. The next day we continued Eastward, arriving at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour just before 3:00. The props were dropped off and the car retrieved. I was now given the task of driving—something I had done very little of in the past, as the Captain prefers to drive. We left and headed up to Bancroft to spend a couple nights with Brian and Helen. And yes, we did have Kawartha Ice Cream—can’t miss out on that opportunity! On Saturday morning, we started back in a Westward direction, with Andy in the lead in the rental, and me following in our car.
We used the headphones/wife-savers which we typically use on the boat for communicating when docking. We chose to take the northern route, going through North Bay, as the highway is divided for more of the trip with very little construction. We passed through Sudbury and Nairn Centre, and then were brought to an abrupt stoppage in traffic. There was an accident somewhere near McKerrow, in 1 ½ hours we moved a total of 5 Km. Once we got to Jacklin Road, we were able to detour around the accident site. We arrived in the Sault just before 6 pm and checked into our hotel. On checking the 511 website, we learned that the highway had not re-opened until 5:45, so we were very glad that we had found the detour. After eating we watched football on TV.
In the morning, we left and gassed up before heading out for Thunder Bay. Highways in north western Ontario, have lots of hills and curves—at times it felt like I was on a roller coaster—very different being a passenger vs the driver—but I survived. Thankfully there were lots of passing lanes, and I had the captain leading the way. We arrived at our hotel around 3:00—we had originally planned to stay with Teresa and Maureen, however they were ill with Covid.
On Monday morning, we returned the rental and I gladly turned over driving the car to Andy. We went out to McKellar’s Marine Centre, and Andy talked to Jeff the mechanic.
The boat was still in the water, Jeff thought he had found the source of the diesel smell- as there was a crack in the exhaust pipe. We picked out a couple of items we had forgot on the boat. I included the picture of the conservation boat for Jack– who wants to be a conservation officer– look what you could be driving! We stopped at Teresa’s, wearing masks and picked up the items that we had left there. Then we hit the road headed for Manitoba and home. There was a fair bit of traffic on the road, and several accidents—we saw 2 semis in the ditch , as well as a couple other vehicles. I was happy to not be driving. We arrived home around 4:00, and unloaded the car.
Since being home, we have gone golfing, resumed apartment activities, like crochet group and games night. We are now planning for our trip to Ireland next month. We will drive back to Toronto to catch our flight, so that we can pick up our refurbished props and return them to Thunder Bay to be put on the boat before the spring launch.
We will get to spend some more time on the Canadian side of Lake Superior, before completing our circle tour next summer.
I finished giving the salon a coat of Cetol, and we left shortly after 6:00, headed for Winnipeg.
We made a stop for coffee, on our way out of the city, and then didn’t stop again until Dryden, where we got gas. We arrived in Winnipeg shortly after 2:00, and stopped at the Co-op for a few groceries. We attended the apartment’s Happy hour and birthday night- many people were happy to see us and had been following the blog. The puzzle table is being well used in the lounge, and several puzzles have already been completed by the group. It was nice to be home, and sleeping in our own beds. Arlene had all the mail waiting for us, and had been watering my Kale plant- so it continues to grow. On Friday morning, Andy was off to full-fill his 2 blood work requests, and I went to the gym and got reacquainted with the rowing machine—30 minutes was a long time, after being away from it for almost 2 months. I had a Ladie’s lunch date with Andy’s cousins at Fion McCool’s , while the guys went to the Curtis hotel—we later all met on Kathie’s patio for more wine. On our home we ran a few more errands. In the evening, we went up to the lounge and learned to play the horse racing game. On Saturday morning, we drove out to Tyndall to see Erin, Jason and Jack—Andy wanted to get another lesson in drone flying, as well as seeing if Jason could fix his broken boat hook, and share with Jack what he would be doing on his 10 day vacation with us. We stopped at Princess Auto for boat oil and other supplies. That night we watched the Bombers lose yet again on TV. On Sunday, Andy went to our other princess auto location to buy boat hooks, and he met a friends for coffee. We lazed around a little in the afternoon, and did some cleaning and re-arranging stuff. We also started packing our suitcases for our late September trip to Ireland.
Monday began Andy’s marathon of Doctor’s appointments and tests. He saw the thoracic surgeon at 9am, and got the green light for hernia surgery in the next six months He also briefly saw the Urologist, who works in the same building. We then went to see our family doctor to fill out pre-op paperwork for the hernia. But we learned that Dr Shabayo was on vacation—Andy was told he could come back to Lakewood the next morning, and see the Dr. at the walk-in who could fill out the paperwork, using Andy’s medical records. Next stop Monday was the Misericordia hospital for a CT scan. Andy did a couple more errands on his way home. We also went out and bought British Pounds and Euros for our upcoming vacation. We had an enjoyable supper and evening at the Cappers and learned a new dice game called “Farkle”?
On Tuesday, after the gym, I went to my crochet/knitting class—not a lot of knitting was done by me—I mainly pulled out the yarn on a towel I had been making on the boat, that was more kite shaped than square. Was good practice—will try to knit it correctly the second time. We had some great discussion; Tuesday morning crochet is becoming my favourite activity. In the afternoon I did more packing, and realized we likely have more stuff to take back to Thunder Bay, than the little SUV can hold—so came up with a solution—Stuff we didn’t need immediately could be brought by Erin, when she picks up Jack on August 11th.
In the afternoon, Andy had an appointment with the Endocrinologist, she was extremely happy with his progress, and gave him 5 stars and graduated him—his diabetes treatments will now be overseen by our family doctor. Tuesday night Erin and Jack came for supper, as Jack was going to spend the night with us, so we could have an early 6am start. We packed and repacked the car several times that evening, getting everything to fit, including Jack- although his 6 foot body was squished like a pretzel in the back seat with very little room around him.
We left before 6, and stopped at Clear water Bay, and again in Dryden for short rests and gas.
Back in Thunder Bay. While on the road, Andy got a phone call from another boater, who had hit the back of our dinghy while he was waiting to gas up a couple days before. We said we would assess the damage once we were back at the marina. We arrived around 2:30, and started to haul everything to the boat—it was great having a second able-bodied person to help. I called my friend Teresa to see if she could take me grocery shopping at some point—so that Andy and Jack could return the rental car before the 5 pm deadline.
On Thursday, we left the marina and just got through the break wall, when the Starboard engine started acting up and then quit. So back to Prince Arthur landing- gas dock. Andy called his new friend Tim for advice, and Tim sent Cody down to assist us- likely an air lock. We thought it was fixed, and ventured out again, only for it to happen again, Cody returned did some more bleeding on the fuel fittings on the engine, and we set off again, this time with Cody in the engine room- same fault. On returning to the marina, we decided that the secondary fuel filters may need to be changed, and Cody did this. By this time, the starter battery would hardly turn over- it was boosted but still weak– so we decided to call it a day, and get a slip for another night. Cody returned in the morning, and changed the fuel separator—which was the cause of our issues—it was plugged up- so the engine was being starved of fuel. We went on one more test run, and all was good,
We returned to the marina to let Cody off the boat, and then prepared to leave. We cast off at 12:20 headed for Sibley peninsula and the Sleeping giant.
We passed by Silver islet, Porphyry lighthouse and Snaganash light house and continued on to the Loon islands—we anchored between Spain, Chapleau and Borden for the night- having gone 50 miles from TBay Very peaceful!
On Saturday afternoon, we moved 12 miles to Otter cove, where we had read there was good fishing, a moose feeding ground and a waterfall. When Andy did the fuel check he noticed that we were not using any fuel on the starboard side- and realized that the return valve between the engines was shut off. Andy opened it so that the tanks could equalize. We spent the day doing cleaning in some of the storage lockers. On Sunday we moved a little farther down the bay. In the afternoon, we launched the dinghy, I had planned to row Jack and I to the waterfall. Although I work out on the rowing machine at the apartment block—the movements of doing it in a boat are quite different—I was pathetic, and we went around in circles. Jack and I switched places and he rowed us to the waterfall—the last 100 feet was very shallow, with lots of logs underwater. Jack got us there – and I didn’t even get my shoes wet. We trekked through the paths, found the waterfall, and I took some pictures.
Returning to the boat, we realized we were creeping into to very shallow water, so we decided to move back to some deeper water. On starting the engines for the move, Andy found out that the Starboard engine wouldn’t start. He contacted David, our electrical magician, for some advice, using what’s app—as no cell phone service where we were. Andy tried a few things and then suspected it was the key switch– so did some by-pass work– but still no luck.
On Monday morning, we decided to leave limping in to Red Rock using only the Port engine. It took us about 5 hours to go 38 miles, some of which was in the Nipigon Channel, between the mainland and Fluor or St Ignace islands. We did notice that even thought the Port engine was running, that no power was going into the house bank—which we thought was strange. Something we will need to address for future- maybe a battery combiner? After docking, Andy did some more trouble shooting, and realized that the neutral battery post on the Port labelled battery had melted. He replaced this battery, with our redundant spare—and the engine fired up and it also began charging the house. We will need to buy another spare battery in the very near future.
On Tuesday morning, after showers, Jack and I walked into town to reprovision at the grocery store, Andy asked Bev from the marina if she could find a home for a rusty anchor and some chain, we also wanted to dispose of the useless battery. Both items were taken from the boat. On our return from shopping, we moved the boat to the fuel dock and topped up the tanks. We then departed, going back down the Nipigon channel and around Fluor to anchor or dock at CPR slip on the east side of St. Ignace Island in a very secure bay. We were told that the area had been excavated years ago for the ballast used along the CPR lines. This place was similar to what we had experienced at Thompson Island a few weeks back—the island is privately owned, has a lounge area/bunkhouse, a shared BBQ area, sauna, fire pit, trails and several docks. Once again rafting is the norm—we tied up to a sail boat. The area is around a gravel spit and has protection from all sides. Once we were settled in, we met people from the other 9 boats, already tied up. We knew a few already–Tim and Suzie, Suzie’s sister Leslie and Chris, and her parents- Brenda and Dave. There was an 86 year old, Doug- who spends a lot of time here at CPR in the summer. There was another person, Ron, tied up on a sail boat, who actually lives at Victoria Beach, north of Winnipeg, but boats out of Ontario. Andy chatted with him for quite awhile, as he has taken his sailboat to Newfoundland, Labrador, and done most of the Down East Loop. After dinner there was a camp fire, and most of the kids made smores and played. Jack was really good with the younger children, here he is with Cooper at the campfire. Once it was dark, and the mosquitos came out most people returned to their boats.
On Wednesday morning we left before 10 am headed for an anchorage at Wilson Island, about 30 miles away. At 12:15, we ran into an issue—can you guess what happened?
We were on the wrong side of an island and encountered a rock shoal. Not good! Andy called Tim, who found us someone in Rossport, that would come out to pull us off. While we waited, both Andy and I got into the water. How many people can say they walked around their boat in Lake Superior—The stern of the boat was in about 3.5 feet of water, but the bow was in about 2.5. There was nothing Andy and I could do to move the monster. Chris and his son Peter arrived around 2:15 with a boat with a 90HP motor, after a few attempts with a single rope, we both put bridles on and he was successful at pulling us off. We followed him to Rossport to assess the damage. No water was coming in, however there was a vibration. Peter took a couple pictures of the props, and they were still there. We tied up Rossport- not knowing what to do- a sleepless night, because of worry, trains, wind and waves.
In the morning, Jack our techno grand kid was able to get our Safaire camera working and took an underwater video, confirming that the props and rudders were intact, but each of the 6 flutes had some damage- the port prop seemed worse than the starboard.
When the staff at the marina arrived, we asked if we could stay a couple more nights, and possibly plug in for power as the forecast was for cloudy and rainy weather. We decided to stay put in Rossport- known as the “Gateway to the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation area”and have Erin pick up Jack here—as we couldn’t make Marathon for Saturday- and didn’t want to move much without a full assessment of the damage. As the day progressed a plan emerged- thanks again to Tim. He was in Red Rock for the music festival and had found a trailer that could likely pull us out to exchange the props. Tim is really an angel in disguise, and has got us out of all of our recent predicaments– hard to believe we only met him July 21st. Will definitely be a lifelong friend—I think Andy already has him on speed dial!
We will travel to Red Rock on Sunday, once Jack has left . The rain continued for most of the day, but it became warm and sunny later in the afternoon. We had a quiet night—I had book club, and it was nice to connect with the group by zoom. It rained several times during the night, and there were only a couple of trains- so we slept somewhat better- knowing there was a plan.
On Friday, it rained off an on for most of the day, and the wind, went from calm to gusting. Jack and I went for a short walk down main street, Andy called the Serendipity restaurant to make a reservation for the evening. We walked over at 5:30 and had a really good meal- Andy had the prime rib special, and Jack and I chose Greek salad with either mediterranean chicken and spanakopita. Food was really good.
When we got back to the boat- Andy and I watched a few episodes of Coronation—we are weeks behind. It was a chilly night, and we kept the heater on- warming up the boat while we slept. I can’t image what it would have been like without power here for 4 days.
In the morning, we saw this rainbow over Rossport—hopefully it is a sign that our week is going to get better.
We heard that Erin was on the way at 8 a.m. so she should be here in about 11 hours. We dug out the spare props, which reside under our bed and placed them in a box on the sundeck.
At one point, a visitor on the dock suggested that instead of going all the way to Red Rock to be pulled out that we should try and find a diver that could change the props. We spent some time doing that—one guy could come out on Sunday- but didn’t have the right tools and no guarantees that he could accomplish the task. We decided our better bet was to limp into Red Rock- yet again, and get pulled out with the town grater and someone’s trailer.
Erin and her cousin Shannon arrived around 7:30, and we visited and showed them their sleeping quarters in the ON BUSINESS hostel. Jack got bumped from the V-berth to sleeping on the dining room table—which he said was also not soft enough for sleeping. In the morning after some more visiting, and a few pictures of the crew, and 3 generations of McKendry’s, Erin, Shannon and Jack left.
They were headed to the Amethyst mine, and other sites in TBay before heading down to Duluth for a few days.
Here is Jack’s take on spending time on the boat:
Highlight: we ended up high centre on rocks enroute to an anchorage, met a few people and had some nice times and I learned lots of things about the boat. I learned that it is always good to have a straw in your tool box, because you never know when you might need it to fill a filter- and a straw might fit. I saw some very nice places to visit on Lake Superior.
It was great having him aboard, an extra set of hands and technical skills that Grandpa and I lacked😊
Once they were gone, we unplugged, fired up the engines and left at 9:20 for Red Rock at 6 MPH, we passed Simpson, St Ignace, Vert Island and La Grange, waves were less than 2 feet for most of the journey as we were sheltered by the islands.
We went 36 miles and arrived just after 3 PM.
We topped up our fuel, pumped out, filled our water and did laundry, in hopes that we will continue our journey Eastward.
UPDATE: Unable to be pulled out in Red Rock– too risky, so we made the 12 hour trip back to TBAY at 7.5 MPH. Hope to get lifted out of the water tomorrow for a damage assessment and prop change.
UPDATE: Aug 13
Successful prop exchange- our journey will continue Eastward tomorrow.
After fueling and a pump out on Tuesday morning in Silver Bay , we set off for Taconite Harbour, which was 25 miles away, passing by the Pallisade Rock, with the tower on it. The wind was going to increase in the afternoon, so this would be far enough for us. The refuge harbour consisted of 3 mooring balls surrounded by a break wall. No wind issues here. We selected the closest mooring ball to the entrance, and tied off. One minor casualty- I broke the end off Andy’s locking hook, while pulling it out of the mooring ball loop. (He’s hoping that someone with a 3-D printer might be able to make him a new one.)
Later in the afternoon, the captain decided this would be a good place to replace the oil in the engines, as we were at 108 hours of use since leaving Buckhorn. So, he pumped out the old and replaced it. We had a peaceful afternoon and evening, and watched a fishing charter captain, with 2 of his groups for the day and their catch.
On Wednesday morning, we left at 8:30 and proceeded up the Minnesota coast to the Grand Marais marina, this was a 33 mile trip. We arrived around noon, and ran into the crew from the Princess Margaret, who were getting fueled up for the next leg of their Great Loop adventure.
In the afternoon, we walked up to one of the grocery stores for a few supplies, we stopped at Dairy Queen on the way back- as it has been weeks since we last had ice cream- it wasn’t Kawartha- but it was cold and creamy.
On Thursday we had originally thought we would head over to Isle Royale, however the long term weather forecast was not favourable for this trip, as we might not get off the island for several days in good weather. So, we switched to Plan B- continuing up the Minnesota coast towards Grand Portage, and ultimately the Canadian Border. Once again because of weather, we only went 21 miles to Horseshoe Bay. Dave at the Grand Marais marina, had told us about this new facility ( it was not in the Bonnie Dahl Superior Way reference book that we have been using for this trip).
The L-shaped dock, had an outside crib and inner dock, because we were uncertain of the depth inside- we tied up to the outside of the crib, tying our lines around the wooden structure and lag bolts. Even though the winds were blowing out on the lake the bay was very sheltered.
I got off the boat, and took some pictures of the site. Several people came and talked to us by the boat—we had a long conversation with a couple from Nebraska. In the evening, we were rocked by the swells coming off the lake, I slept OK, but the captain slept very little.
Because of a small craft warning for the area between Grand Marais and Grand Portage, we cast off just after 7:00, and continued down the coast. We had learned that one of the marina’s in Grand Portage, was not taking transients as their dock was being rebuilt, and the marina at the Casino site only took small boats. Andy checked the possible anchorage in the Superior Way, to find out what would have the best protection from the SW winds. He decided on Clark Bay, so we traveled 21 miles to get there, and arrived at 9:20, and anchored in 18 feet of water. It was a very sheltered bay- the wind started to blow around noon, swinging us around for most of the afternoon. The wind died down by 7:00, and we had a pleasant night at anchor. The bay was located less than 2 miles from Canada.
On Saturday morning, we departed Clark Bay, and went 14 miles arriving at Little trout Bay. We transitioned from the USA to Canada, and reverted from Central time back to Eastern. Here’s our first view of Canadian waters, near Pigeon Point—I can’t tell the difference.
We went around the point and anchored in 15 feet of water, it was overcast, with a slight breeze. We called the Canadian Border Security Agency to report that we were back in Canadian waters and at anchor. We were given a clearance number that can be used until we land in Thunder Bay, provided we don’t go ashore.
For the USA portion of our Lake Superior loop, we spent 24 night in 3 states- 10 at Marinas, 6 at Harbour of refuge (no fees),7 at Anchor , 1 Dock in apostles islands. We have travelled 591 miles by boat along the Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota coastlines. Each state was very different, the sandy beaches of Michigan and Wisconsin changed to rocks and trees in Minnesota. We really enjoyed the Apostle islands, they remind us very much of the Parks Canada, Thousand Islands—but less rocks, as most of the Apostles have sand bottoms.
In Little Trout bay we were joined by a Loon and later in the afternoon an Eagle, the recent sunny days are helping my tomatoes to ripen- hope to eat these before we head off to Winnipeg. On Sunday morning we left the anchorage around Noon and headed closer to TBay. We learned it is not good to anchor near a Beaver house, or where logging had occurred in the past- as we pulled a log up with our anchor.
We had read about Thompson Island, were residents from TBay had set up a community in the 1970’s. This site is in a long Bay- called Wray Bay, and has docking, a shared BBQ area, Sauna building and outhouse, and here it is OK to raft boats together. When we arrived the only space available was too shallow for us, so one of the boats- Piper, allowed us to tie up to them. There was a sailboat ahead of them that was going to leave in the next hour or two – so we could have their space. Once the sailboat left, Piper moved up, and we took his space instead. When Piper left a little later, the space was filled by Knot Today, a 50 foot Bay liner, owned by Tim and Susie. We later learned that Susie’s parents were some of the people that developed this site. In talking with them further, we discovered they were planning to do the Great Loop in a few years—so they had some questions about it. Susie had asked some questions about charts—which provided us with the opportunity to share some of the dead weight that was taking up space in our hanging locker. We gave them all the charts for Florida and the East coast, as we had already given the Rivers charts to Princess Margaret earlier in the week. We went for a short hike to the rock shore on the other side of the island and spent a pleasant Sunday night on the dock. On Monday morning 3 of the boats left, so we decided to stay one more day. We did some cleaning and re-arranging on the boat, and started packing up stuff to take home to Winnipeg. On Monday night the wind picked up a bit, and we had some waves in the Bay. In the evening, we saw Tim flying a drone, so Andy pulled his out—which he had never got working, and Tim was able to figured out the software, and help him to send it on its maiden voyage. Tim advised not to run it from the boat, only on shore. After the boys were done playing with their toys, we partook in a Thompson Island tradition, and went for a sauna.
During the night there was some rocking and rolling, as the waves continued to pound the shore.
On Tuesday morning, Andy helped Tim clean up the sauna area, and then they burnt some boxes. Just a small fire. Around noon, it was time to take off and head to Thunder Bay, with the wind and waves, still coming from the East, there was still some big waves out in the Bay. We followed Knot Today, through the Thompson Island gap, and waves were a little less on the other side, we continued on passing by Pie Island. A couple of times, Knot Today, slowed down, so they could bail out their dinghy which was filling up with water. As we approached Tbay, we could see the sleeping giant, once we were through the break wall, the grain elevators were all visible on shore, many of them with names on them- that no longer exist- like Agricore United.
We arrived at the marina, and called in to customs again to let them know we had landed in Tbay. The women that Andy talked to said that it wasn’t necessary to call in again, as we had on Saturday—he thanked her and hung up. We got our slip assignment, which was next to some sailboats, and we tied up and plugged in to power. I went up to the marina office and checked out the wash machines, and later went back for a shower.
Around 5:30, Teresa and Maureen showed up, as we were joining them for supper—the first place we tried was closed, so we went to the Thai Kitchen- where the food was very good. They then drove us around a little and we went up to Hillside park- here’s a view of the bay and the sleeping giant. We then went to their house, and we got to meet the pets. We got back to the boat around 10:00.
On Wednesday morning, I did a couple loads of laundry, so I wouldn’t have to take it back to Winnipeg. I then spent some time cleaning the outside decks, while Andy worked on his wood projects. My plan is to give the salon floor a coat of Cetol clear when we leave in the morning- so it has a week to dry and cure before we come back.
In the afternoon, Tim came and brought us a few presents- step for upper helm, fender cage, impellers, he also changed the two fuel filters, which hadn’t been done in a few years.
Andy went and picked up our rental car from Enterprise- a Buick encore. We went out for dinner with Tim and Susie to the Prospector steak house—great food, and the buns were amazing- just like Teresa had said the day before.
We then walked over to the main stage in Marine park, where there was entertainment, we also stopped and had ice cream.
On coming back to our dock, the security door was broken, so the door will be left open. We will be leaving for Winnipeg as soon as we wake up in the morning, and the floor has its coat of Cetol.
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 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.
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!
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.
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!
Cruising ON BUSINESS 