On the Georgian Bay
July 26, 2025
A few days ago, we drove back home. It was just as hot and sticky in Massachusetts as it has been here in Canada. Heidi got a new do, so she’ll be a bit more comfortable in this heat.
Yesterday, we headed back to the boat. Not 15 minutes into our drive, we got harassed on the highway by a carrier for Portland Stone; tailgating way too close for comfort and blasting his horn continuously. Took a bit of maneuvering to get away from him. We think it was the Ontario plates that upset him a tad. A sorry state of affairs our current administration is putting us through. Entering Canada we had no issues with the border guard. He asked a couple of questions and we were on our way. He was all business, but it was a much more pleasant experience than when we entered the U.S. After an eleven-hour drive with minimal stops and a half hour wait because of a nasty accident, we finally arrived back at Hindson Marina. While we were away, the chocks were installed and our dinghy and outboard are now on our flydeck.
This morning after breakfast, it was off to the grocery store to provision, mostly produce. Brian tried to pay our dockage fee, but the office is closed on the weekends. The rental vehicle needs to get returned; waiting to hear from a marina employee, so Brian will have a ride back from the car rental; today being Sunday, the rental company is also closed. Brian installed new cleats on the flopper stopper poles, so now the lines can be secured on them instead of on the mast. That means we can launch the plates that go into the water from the main deck, making it much easier and safer. Before we had to launch the plates from the flydeck and let them swing out 20 feet from the boat; it was a bit dangerous as the plates have some heft to them. The way it was set up previously, it put too much stress on the cleats on the mast. As a result, two of the cleats had blown apart. You can see our post from Yorktown for a further description. Now it’s much safer and there is a lot less stress on the cleats. Brian also installed two winches; one on the mast and the other on the boom. They will be used to launch the dinghy and the outboard. The old ones were not self-tailing. The new ones are Lewmar self-tailing winches; which means you only need one hand to operate them. The winch for the boom was relatively easy to install. Brian had to drill and tap (make screw threads in the plate that holds the winch onto the mast). The old winch on the mast was frozen. He took a trip to Home Depot for a much larger screwdriver (just like the several he has at home – lol). It seems like no matter which project he’s working on and the numerous tools he has on board, there is always the tool that he didn’t bring that is needed. Once he had the new screwdriver, he heated up the old screws and used the new screwdriver to eventually get the screws out. After that, he had to use the base of the new winch to mark the location of the new screw holes, drill and tap those locations and install the winch base. Then, it was a simple matter of putting the new winch back together. EXCEPT, when he was putting the collets back in place (small brass pieces that hold the line stripper in place) one of the collets fell onto the cloth tarp he placed under the work area to catch anything that fell. The collet actually bounced off the tarp and skittered about 8 feet across the deck, up over a 2-inch lip and safely settled in the silt ten feet under the boat. It looked as if someone had a string on it and pulled it straight across the deck; a one in 10,000 chance that could possibly happen. So of course, we are in an area where that part cannot easily be replaced. We will have to see if we can purchase on-line and have it shipped to a marina or a Post Office where we will be in a couple of weeks. The joys and challenges of maintaining a boat. We will be leaving the marina tomorrow to continue our journey on the Loop through the Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Would definitely recommend Hindson Marina; great staff, no matter what department they worked in.
Brian reading: Smith of Wootton Major & Farmer Giles of Ham – 2 short stories by J.R.R. Tolkien
July 27, 2025
Lines off the dock at Hindson Marina at 8:10. It’s an overcast day with a slight breeze; can still feel the humidity. Traveled about 2 hours and dropped anchor at Beausoleil Island near Thumb Point. There is a sailboat anchored nearby. Numerous boats anchored just before our cove; too crowded. We like anchoring where there’s more privacy – nice and quiet. Since it’s a bit cooler today, a baked-mac and cheese with ham is on the menu for dinner. Need to plan our meals for the next 2 weeks, so we can use up perishables and whatever else that will not be allowed when we cross into the States. It is so quiet here; hoping the skies clear later so we can see the stars. Shortly after anchoring, we were serenaded by loons and two swans.
Brian reading: King and Maxwell, by David Baldacci Lauren: The Goodbye Man by Jeffery Deaver
July 28, 2025
Anchor up at 8 am, moseyed along as we weren’t traveling any great distance today. Dropped anchor about 2 hours later smack dab in the middle of an anchorage behind Kennebeck Island and Wabena Point; almost like a pond. We are surrounded by several houses, though it looks like several are unoccupied at the moment. We could hear the loons calling out. Watched a dad on a seado pull his young teens (3 of them) one at a time, of course, on a single water ski; they all did well. We got a lot of lookey-loos coming around, saying “hello” and complimenting us on our boat. We think the choice of paint colors that the previous owner chose is actually the draw; it does stand out. If the winds pick up, we are well protected all around. Really have to watch our course getting into these anchorages; the locals weren’t kidding when they said that the Georgian Bay is all rock. It is absolutely beautiful here; reminds us a bit of Maine, though on steroids times a thousand. Pictures do not do it justice.
July 29, 2025
Left our lovely anchorage just before 8 am and headed towards Parry Sound. Along the way we did hit rock; once. The depth was supposedly good for our boat, but…. Yikes! What a jolt in the gut that was and also to the boat. Thankfully, Lauren was going ever so slow through the pass. The keel may be missing a bit of paint. Prior to arriving at the Big Sound Marina where we had a reservation, we came to a swing bridge. We had at least a half hour before it opened, so we motored around a bend and anchored until just before it opened. When we came back around the bend heading to the bridge, for the scheduled opening, there were several boats also waiting for the opening. We arrived at our slip at 1:30. After hooking up to the electric, Brian noticed a ding on the bow of the boat low near the water line; we think it is from the anchor, because we haven’t run into anything (yet) with the bow. Heidi was taken off the boat for a walk and to relieve herself, while Brian paid for our dockage. Then we cleaned up a bit and took a walk into to town for a bite to eat. As we were walking down the dock, we saw that Iron Maiden was also here at the marina. It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen them. Hopefully, we will be able to touch base with Rick and Jennifer.
July 30, 2025
We were able to spend a few minutes talking to Jennifer on Iron Marriage yesterday afternoon, but did not see Rick. They left the marina this morning. Stayed another day here at Big Sound Marina here in Parry Sound. We walked into town for breakfast. The place we had chosen was actually in a VFW. Other than the waitress, Lauren was the only female there. It took quite a while for our order to arrive, but in the mean time we were entertained by all the plaques on the walls; funny. Our breakfast was good. Brian spent the rest of the morning dealing with Garmin. When he enters our course on the IPad, it takes into consideration our keel depth. But if he enters the same information or transfers from the IPad to our chart plotter, it doesn’t chart the same course. The chart plotter has us routed over 2 feet of water in some places; geesh! So, Brian was on the phone for several hours trying to get help for that issue. Garmin’s final solution was they don’t know what the problem is. Brian was told to chart his course each day before heading out (we do) and if we encounter an area that we cannot navigate because of depth, to then chart a new course from where the problem starts. Seriously??!! Not helpful at all. What a waste of a day! While Brian was dealing with Garmin, Lauren spent that time cleaning and laundry. This afternoon we took a walk about town after stopping at the Trestle Brewery Company for a late lunch, early dinner. Lauren had a healthy shawarma chicken bowl with grains and veggies, Brian had a Rueben sandwich that had the correct ingredients; corned beef, 1,000 island dressing, sauerkraut and swiss cheese. We’ve seen this sandwich on a few menus that use mozzarella cheese and ranch dressing – hmmm.
July 31, 2025
Backed out of our slip at Big Sound Marina at 6:55 am; a bit of wind off of our starboard pushing us off the doc. Lauren made sure the thrusters were working so that we did not scrape the yacht next to us. There were some rather large yachts here. All but one dock worker was female. They were polite, pleasant and knew how to handle the lines for the boaters. This was one of the better marinas that we’ve stayed at, though the slips on the outside pier gets a bit rocky from motor craft traffic in the bay. We watched seaplanes land and take off, listened to the loons and watched a family of ducks paddling around in the marina. Traveling this area via water, you can see the need for the seaplanes up here. For the most part, today’s travel was pretty uneventful, though a bit stressful a few times as we had to be vigilant because of all of the low areas and rocks; no scraping rock today. We also got rocked a number of times by other pleasure crafts; Heidi doesn’t handle that well. Anchor down at 12:40 in Klokaloo Point on Parry Sound. It is so quiet and the wind finally died down which makes it even more calming. Heidi was given a treat and is down for a nap; think she was a bit stressed today. Brian has already mapped our route for tomorrow and is now relaxing on the after deck with a snack (Lauren made butternut chewies) and a cup of tea and is currently reading. Lauren is going to exercise. So far, we have the anchorage to ourselves – nice! We are surrounded by granite.
Brian reading: True Evil by Greg Iles Lauren: Masked Prey by John Sandford
August 1, 2025
Pulled up anchor at 7:45. The anchor looked like Cousin It, except it was green; so much grass, you couldn’t see the anchor. It was a nice quiet anchorage with no other boats around. Traveled 4.5 hours and dropped anchor in Bad River Channel; one trawler and one sailboat already anchored here. On the way to the Bad River Channel we saw a perfect place for a new Trump Golf course, the windmills have already been installed. Shortly after arriving the trawler left and a catamaran, a sailboat and a trawler arrived; so, a popular anchorage. We are in a spot that won’t allow other boats to drop anchor near us unless they are a really small boat. We took off the cover to the fly bridge. Brian discovered that we are still leaking hydraulic steering fluid at the fly bridge. Even with a flashlight, it is difficult to see in the compartment where the leak is coming from. We scrubbed the fly deck free of the hydraulic fluid and about a gazillion dead bugs. We would like to try and steer the boat from the fly deck at least once. Today is about 70, but a really brisk wind making it seem rather chilly; no swimming today. We would also like to try and get our dinghy down off the fly deck. The new dinghy harness is attached, but not sure if the winch on the boom can do the job of getting it lifted off the deck and down to the water; only one way to find out – think we will wait until the wind dies down. We have about one week before we reach the states, so Lauren has been planning meals so that we use all of our produce and meats and dairy.
Lauren reading: Smith of Wootton Major & Farmer Giles of Ham – 2 short stories by J.R.R. Tolkien
August 3, 2025
Yesterday we were planning on leaving. We saw a trawler leave from here, but had turned around and came back. We decided to give it a go; got towards the end of Bad River and watched a sailboat that had been anchored near us bouncing all around; more like a bronco horse. Just watching it made our stomachs roll, so we also turned around and came back and anchored again. We could have used our stabilizer, but by the time it revs up, we would have not been comfortable in those waves. So, what’s the hurry? We got our dinghy down from the fly deck and took Heidi out for a spin. First, we stopped at Heron and met Dan and Myla. They recently bought their boat here in Canada and were tooling around getting comfortable with all that it entails. They invited us back for mid-afternoon. After tooling around for a bit in the dinghy, we found a spot to dip into the water where we could easily get in and out on the rocks. Brian found a handful of blueberries. We were shocked that Heidi even made an effort to walk an inch or two into the water; hey, it’s more than she’s ever done – she is not a fan of the water. Once we started back to the boat, the winds had picked up significantly. Knowing our visit on Heron would cut into dinner time, Lauren prepared our planned dinner for lunch. We whiled the rest of the afternoon with reading and cat naps. We had a wonderful visit with Dan and Myla. They were going to teach us a card game, but we were enjoying our conversation so much, we never got to the game. Lauren brought them a bag of books we’ve read and have been unable to exchange or drop off at any of the marinas we’ve recently spent time at. They were thrilled to have new reading material.
This morning, we saw Peregrin (a catamaran) leave the anchorage, but he came right back. Apparently, it’s still a bit rough out there. We had thought about leaving also, and in the meantime, we got our dinghy and outboard back up on the fly deck. It took a bit of maneuvering, but got it figured out. Next time, it will go much smoother. Brian wants to replace the block and tackle on the topping lift. The topping lift connects the boom to the top of the mast. It allows us to raise or lower the boom. We will change the block and tackle so that we have two to one or three to one lifting advantage on the boom. That will make it much easier and less stressful on the rigging to raise and lower the dinghy. The Gene, the Captain on Peregrin shouted over to Brian to call him on the VHF. Apparently Peregrin’s Starlink wasn’t working and wanted to use our internet password so that he could let his contacts know he was safe and where he was. Brian will later change our password, because who knows how many people may have overheard the conversation. Lauren spent part of the morning scrubbing the inside of the boat. The grate in the shower floor came up and was scoured along with base of the shower. The bathroom and kitchen drains were run through with baking soda and vinegar; floors vacced and wiped down with disinfected wipes and furniture vacced. Brian worked on cleaning the outside, from the flydeck on down. We have the generator running to juice up the batteries and making and heating water; so hot showers tonight – woohoo!
Late morning, Dan and Myla stopped by. We gave them a tour of our boat and visited for quite a while. During that time, several boats came into the anchorage; there are 9 boats anchored including ours. Guess they all had had enough of the not-so pleasant cruising out there today. Tonight, the winds are purported to die down to almost nothing. We will be pulling up anchor early than usual and heading out before breakfast as it will be a long day on the water.
Lauren reading: The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly
Brian reading: Dead Sleep by Greg Iles
Hope all is well and stay safe out there.