August 27, 2017 - Georgian Bay thru North Channel, Canada

We just finished our last leg of the cruising in Canada.  We experienced a lot of firsts that we hadn't been able to so far on the trip.....anchoring FINALLY (inverter issues resolved for now), swimming off the back of the boat, granite mountain ranges, beautiful water, rafting with friends (of the boat kind, not the people kind), hiking and moments so quiet, I could hear Roofus breathing....great times!!

This last section was a combination of the Georgian Bay and the North Channel.  These areas make up the northern shore of Lake Huron and are about 300 miles from one end to the other.  We entered the Georgian Bay on August 15th and two weeks later we were leaving the Northern Channel, heading back to America.  The topography is the most striking feature of our time here.  All along the way there are granite outcroppings, some large enough for towns and communities, some only room enough for a cabin, others only barely above the water and thousands just below the surface.  Needless to say, that last category had us minding the channel markers closely and on constant vigilance.  I am proud to say we made it through with no bumps, bangs and our props intact.

We started in Port Severn where we encountered the first test of nerves.... the very narrow channel known as Potato Island Channel.  There was barely enough room to cruise through let alone make the tight turns required.  Our thought was that if this is how it starts, then the next 300 miles will either be a charm or a nightmare. 

Me, Ken, Jude (in Pat's lap), Pat and Terry at the top of the mountain overlooking Topaz Lake. 

 

Port Severn - Potato Channel, notice the how close the green and red buoys are!!!

Our first port of call was Midland.  We were here 4 days getting the inverter installed.  And of course, it was not easy, but nothing has been when it comes to mechanical and electrical issues.  But we left with a working inverter and ready to start anchoring out.

A day out of Midland we did our first successful anchoring!  Our first one on the loop.  Yoohoo!  We found a lovely cove off Monument Channel, near Bernadette Island.  Great protection from wind and currents.  One really unexpected treat was a protected Osprey nest on one of granite outcroppings.  Though Ken got little sleep and me, just slightly more, our anchor held.  Better yet, the anchor came up easily and pretty clean.  No water grass beard to fight with.  I must say that the reason we tucked into Monument Channel is the water and wind got a bit rough, and after taking it on our beam for about an hour, Roofus had had enough.  She got sick and was miserable.  I was right there with her on the miserable.  To keep our little family together we agreed to find a safe harbor.  It was worth it in the end as we found this little gem of place to spend the night.

View off the stern on our first anchorage.

View to the left of our first anchorage. An Osprey nest.

View to the right of our first anchorage, love the reflection of sun on the water.  So peaceful.

The next day took us to Parry Sound.  Our destination was Kilcourse Bay at Kilbear Point Provincial Park.  Unlike last night's anchorage we were definitely not alone.  There was a dozen or so boats, already anchored, beach goers in the water, and lots of small craft including row boats, dinghies, paddle boards, sea-doos, swimmers off the anchored boats and lots of activity.  We managed to anchor amid it all, without incident or embarrassing ourselves.  Yeah us!  The highlight of this day was that we decided to make like the tourists and hit the water.  It was chilly but refreshing and the water was clear enough to see your feet under you. 

Kilcourse Bay - Time for a dip. Ready, set and........

Go!!!!

....so cold but only for a moment.  Was really refreshing.

Ken after his dip in the bay but had to check out the running gear and zincs while he was in.

Kilcourse Bay - Popular vacation destination with long sandy beaches.

By sunset all the beach goers and small craft were gone.  So peaceful.

On our way to Byng Inlet, we passed Pointe Au Baril Station Lighthouse.  In the mid-1800s to better aid navigation the locals erected a barrel with a lantern on top at the point of land to be called Pointe Au Baril, meaning 'point with the barrel'.  In 1889, the barrel was replaced with the lighthouse that is still in service. 

Au Baril Station Lighthouse

Reconstructed Barrel at Au Baril Station Lighthouse

The next few days brought high winds and rain, so we decided to marina in rather than anchor out.  This brought us into Byng Inlet where we met Terry and Pat Moy, loopers from Atlanta, GA.  Lovely people, very knowledgeable and easy to be with.  We all enjoyed our docktails and sharing adventures.  The boys talked boat, navigation, mechanics, destinations, more boat and oh, a little more boat.  Pat and I didn't mind in the least, and we settled in to get to know each other and talk about both our 2 legged and 4 legged children.  To our great fortune we ended up traveling together to the next three spots along the way.  After a week we went our separate ways, Terry and Pat to meet up with Terry's brother and his family, Ken and I to head back to America.  I will cherish our time with them and the great memories we made.

First day in Byng Inlet at Wright's Marine. Ken talking to Terry about everything.

Terry talking to Ken about everything.

Yes, we were officially in bear country.  Bear proof containers everywhere.  Makes you feel safe, right!?

Beautiful sunrise over Wright's Marina

After the weather past through and wind died down, Independence and Happy-Happy cruised on together to Collins Inlet and Keyhole Island to anchor out.  This was our last stop along the Georgian Bay before entering the North Channel.  It was the trip up the Collins Inlet that we started to see the granite walls and higher elevations of hills around us.  Absolutely gorgeous.

Heading to Collins Inlet with Happy-Happy in the lead.

White granite hills in Collins Inlet.

Collins Inlet - Small waterfalls everywhere along the way.

Collins Inlet - Remains of logging industry that prospered around 1900.

Collins Inlet - Fascinating how the pines grow out of and cling to the granite walls.

Collins Inlet - Some areas of granite so smooth that it shines in sunlight.

Collins Inlet - See the rock statue in the sitting on top of the ledge?  This is an 'inukshuk'.  Historically these are monuments made of unworked stones by the Inuit for communication and survival.  They signify that someone was here or that you are on the right path.  They are seen frequently but not sure this one is by the Inuit or other adventurous travelers.

Keyhole Island - After anchoring, Terry, Pat and puppy Jude came over for docktails.

Keyhole Island Anchorage was beautiful, calm and quiet

Sunrise at Keyhole Island over the water with mists rising.  Happy-Happy in the foreground.

Sunrise at Keyhole Island with Independence.  One of the advantages of traveling together, is getting pics of your own boat that you can't get alone.

Sunrise on 'The Pool' with the mists starting to lift.  Notice how calm the water is, like glass.

Our next day took us into the North Channel as we headed to Baie Fine.  As soon as we entered this narrow channel, we saw white quartz mountains on either side.  These are the La Cloche Mountains that are one of the oldest on earth, at approximately 3.5 billion years.  They were absolutely stunning.  They ran the entire length, 9 nautical miles of the channel.  At the end was our destination, 'The Pool'.  The Pool is a small bay with mountains on 3 sides.  There are hiking trails with one leading to Topaz Lake, which we did that afternoon.  YES, I took my poor left knee for some exercise it did not expect or want but we both survived. :)  But I get ahead of myself.  Upon arriving at 'The Pool' we decided to raft up with Happy-Happy.  Independence being the larger of the two vessels anchored then Happy-Happy rafted up next to her.  Our first time rafting while at anchor!  We did have to go for a second try as Terry pointed out that in order to launch Sparkler (our dinghy), Happy-Happy had to raft on Independence's starboard side.  Rafting certainly made it so much easier for docktails and dinner.... just a step away from either boat.  Terry later tied Happy-Happy to a tree which kept both boats from swinging which was great.  All went smoothly and soon we were talking about what to do next.  Launching the dinghies and finding Topaz Lake was the adventure for the afternoon.  So glad we did this as the lake was breathtaking to see from the top of the mountain.  The day ended too quickly but left us all with memories of a lifetime.

Baie Fine and the white quartz 'La Cloche' Mountains

Baie Fine heading to 'The Pool', our anchorage for the night.

'The Pool' - A popular anchorage but room for all of us.

'The Pool' - view from our stern, about 20' away from the rock wall.

Happy-Happy and Independence rafted together

Ken and Linda on Sparkler heading out to hike to Topaz Lake

Hiking to Topaz Lake - Now this is a gnarly tree.

Me, Ken, Jude (in Pat's lap), Pat and Terry at the top of the mountain overlooking Topaz Lake. 

Topaz Lake - Absolutely beautiful.  The water is so clear.

Back to our boats.

'The Pool' - Only downside was the beard of water grass that Ken had to wrangle to remove.

Independence heading out of 'The Pool'.  Hated to leave!

We ended our time together with Terry and Pat at Little Current but not before we had the opportunity to attend Roy Eaton's Cruisers' Net broadcast.  Roy is the voice of the Little Current Cruisers' Net - a daily broadcast he runs every morning during July and August.  He shares news, marine weather and messages for boaters in the North Channel of Georgian Bay.  It is a great public service and for us loopers, gives us an opportunity to find out where everyone is at the moment.  We really enjoyed both his broadcast and getting to meet him.  Ken noticed that he had burgees from many different boating organizations but not one for the AGLCA.  We had two so decided to give him one of his own.  He was very gracious and happy to add our looper burgee to his wall.  So glad we made time to do this. 

 

Roy Eaton (center) after doing the Cruisers' Net broadcast on August 27th

Roy with the AGLCA burgee on the wall

With a fond farewell and hopes for calm seas and fair winds, we said goodbye to Terry and Pat.  We then headed to our last stop in Canada, Blind River, before returning to America.  We were in Canada just over two months and it is hard to believe it's over.  I'm very glad we have kept this blog so we can go back and remember all the wonderful places we have seen, anchorages & marinas we have stayed and the people we have met.  It has been a fabulous adventure so far.

PS From Roofus:
Not to be a Debbie-Downer in this happy-happy, joy-joy cruise in the Georgian Bay but I want to take you back to the beginning of this trip out of Midland.  First, let me say there was not just one day of rough weather but two.  I did not complain the first day (this was on our way to Midland).  I bucked it up and handled it like this was normal everyday cruising but the second day, I couldn't keep up the charade.  I tried my best, I really did.  I know I started out being fussy by refusing to go back up in the pilot house but the time before it was so rough I thought I was going to get pitched right out the wide-open side door.  So here I was thinking I was safe in salon with my mom human, all tucked in my blanket and snuggled in but NOOO, this pitching started again.  I tried to sleep to ignore it, tried to get my mom human to snuggle harder to take my mind off it.  I finally moved to the center of the salon and curled up to wait it out while sending pleading looks at my mom human (my pic this week, don't I look pitiful?!).  BTW, I am smarter than you think because the rocking is not as bad in the center of the boat, which is why I did not want to go back up in the pilot house, my humans did not seem to get that.  Well, my stomach finally had enough and good thing too because if I hadn't gotten sick, we would probably still be out there rockin' and rollin'.  And that's the truth!

August 18, 2017 - Stats Update

This is Ken and wanted to do another post of our stats so far. Again, no fancy photos, postscripts from Roofus or anything like that.

We are currently sitting in Midland, ON getting the inverter installed and taking care a couple of other minor things. We are now through all of the canals and locks in Canada and only have the Georgian Bay and the North Channel left before we re-enter the US.

So as of August 18^th, below are our stats on our trip:

Miles traveled              1658
Days traveled                 51
Hours traveled              210
Fuel consumed              1097 Gallons

Ave speed                       7.9 MPH
Locks traversed             127
Bridges crossed under   203
Tunnels crossed              6
Days lost to weather      17
Days lost to repairs         6

We are running a little behind schedule, but now that we have our inverter getting straightened out and don’t have any further mechanical or electrical issues, we will be fine. We hope to be in Chicago by the middle to late September. This is a fantastic trip, and we are having a great time and really had no problems accomplishing the loop so far. We will be beginning the Georgian Bay and the North Channel over the next three to four weeks, so that has some potential grounding and anchoring trials, so hopefully we can stay off the rocks and anchor successfully in those areas. We have seen every type of lock possible, many unique bridges, more rocks than I thought were in the world, daily beautiful sun rises, and sun sets. The people we have met along the way have been fantastic and very helpful.

This trip is so much fun, and it is challenging without being terrifying. It has been educational and the experience we are gaining is priceless. And most of all we still love each other, and we are all healthy and happy.

August 15, 2017 Kingston to Midland thru The Trent-Severn Waterway

This part of our loop adventure takes us through the Trent-Severn Waterway.  It is 240 miles long with 44 locks, numerous swing bridges, lakes and villages along the way.  It was very different geographically from anything else we have experience, in that the land is very rocky, trees mainly firs and spruce, with islands of bare granite.  This is prevalent through out western Canada and called the Canadian Shield.   We left Kingston on our way to Trenton, the entrance to the waterway.  With the generator repaired we had hoped to anchor out that first night but once again it was not to be.  It was not for lack of trying though.  We had our trusty 'Active Captain' guide but what we had not counted on was the water grass.  Our first and only attempt, though we visited a couple of different recommended sights, was a disaster.  It looked prefect on the surface and we dropped the anchor.  We decided to pull up the anchor and try again when we felt we were to close to the shore.  Then horror of horrors....as we pulled up the anchor, long strands of water grass came up with it.  It was awful, I was pulling off grass from the chain to keep it from getting on the boat and in the chain locker.  By the time we got the anchor out, it looked like it had a green beard 4' long.  I didn't think I would ever get it all off.  And the mud, yuck.  We took our disillusionment and made for the nearest marina.  Beginning to think we will never anchor out!!  Needless to say we took no pics so only evidence is this post, which I have control to edit, if and when I choose, so some day this portion of the post may get accidently edited.  ;)  

We made it to Trenton a day later.  Once we provisioned, did some laundry and cleaned the boat of all evidence of grass, we were ready to start.

Trenton - A welcome sign to the entrance of the Trent-Severn Waterway

By day 2 we had been through 13 locks and were docked up in Campbellford.   A couple of points of interest that are purely Canada.  First, Ken had heard that the best 'butter tarts' were in this town.  So we headed to Dooher's Bakery to check them out for ourselves.  Have to say they were the best we tasted so far.   As a reminder, this sweet treat is a small pie with a flaky crust and a decadently sweet filling similar to pecan pie without the pecans.  Talk about a sugar high after eating only one.  And of course, while we were there, we couldn't resist picking up tea muffins with cheese, donuts and a few other treats.  Yummy....  Second, Campbellford is home of the designer of the Tooney, Canada's 2 dollar coin.  There is 10' replica of the coin in the park.  This was great little town where we also enjoyed the farmer's market, the 'World's Finest Chocolate' outlet (yes, we indulged here too) and biking on the Rotary Trail which we took to see Ranney Falls from a suspension bridge that was 300' above the water.  Great stop, maybe a bit fatting or a lot really, but a great stop!!

Campbellford (Lock 13) - Monument to the designer of the Tooney coin.  Independence in the background.

Campbellford - The Trent Canal.  Independence docked up with Tooney coin monument in background.

Campbellford - Suspension bridge over the Ranney Falls

 We continued on our way moving through 7 more locks.  We found that we were rarely alone in the locks given it is the height of the summer season here.  Typically, we were the first boat into the lock as we were the biggest, then all the other boats moored up around us.  In some cases, we had to move as far forward in the lock as possible, as was the case within Healey Falls, a two-flight lock.  We got so close to the front wall; I could reach out and touch it.  In the pic below, we are in the bottom lock and what was really neat about this was the double rainbows created by the mist of water as it filled the lock.

Heally Falls Locks 16/17 - See the double rainbow?

At this point, we came to one of our most anticipated parts of the trip......the Peterborough Lift Lock.  The best way I can think of to describe this lock is to think of two tremendous bathtubs where boats are lifted and lowered simultaneously.  It was completed in 1904 after 8 years of construction and was considered an engineering marvel at that time.  A better technical description of how it works is there are two pans weighing 1300 tons each when filled.  With one pan up and the other down the two balance each other.  It doesn't matter how many boats are in the pans as a boat displaces its own water.  When it is time to lower one pan and raise the other, one foot of extra water (130 tons) is allowed to enter the upper pan.  This extra water allows the upper pan to push down and raise the lower pan to the top level, which is 65'.  Once the pans are locked in place, the extra water is let out of the lower pan and the boats then exit in both directions.  Ken met the dock master at the marina we were staying at and through him we got the inside scoop on how to get a personal tour of the lock, if we were interested.  Oh, my goodness, if we were interested???!!!  Needless to say, we got our bikes out and headed to lock.  It was absolutely amazing.  We met the lock master, Ed, who allowed us a front seat view in the control room.  Literally, a front seat, for me.  Under extremely close supervision, I got to do a couple of the locking procedures on the control board and made announcements over the loudspeaker to boaters in the pans.  WHAT A THRILL!!!  A memory that neither of us will soon forget!  The following day, Independence made her our trip through the lock.

Peterborough Lock 21 - Me in the control room.

Peterborough Lock - Ken scooping fish caught in the locking gate.

Ed, Lock Master at the Peterborough Lock.  Great guy as well as his staff.

Peterborough Lock - Downstream pan at the top and the upstream pan at the bottom. Note: The downstream pan has green topped cruise boat in it.

Peterborough Lock - Pans are flipped

Peterborough Lock 21 - As we approach the upstream pan.

Peterborough Lock - In the upstream pan.  A 1300-ton bathtub.

Peterborough Lock - Our view of the downstream pan below us.

With that thrill of the lifetime behind us we put our minds to the business of, one more time, attempting to get the inverter fixed.  We stayed at the Duoro, lock 24 that night, then headed for Buckhorn just after Lock 31.  The locks and waterways in between were peaceful and beautiful.

Duoro Lock 24 sunset

Sawer Creek Lock 25 - Clever use of a canoe to make a flower garden

Lower Buckhorn Lake - Islands everywhere and most had a cabin.

Lower Buckhorn Lake - Islands really beautiful

We arrived at Buckhorn on the 8th with plans to have the inverter repaired.  We had the mechanic all lined up.  In fact, Ken was in daily communication with them to make sure.  This was his 5th attempt at lining up a mechanic and he wasn't taking any chances.  The mechanic showed up and went to work.  Yoohoo!  Unfortunately, yes of course, it turns out the inverter itself was the problem.  Ken then needed to contact the manufacturer and go about getting a replacement as it was under warranty.  We found out Xantrex was a Canadian company out of Vancouver, so we thought getting the warranty filed and shipped would be a snap.  Right?  Wrong!!  Ken spent hours with customer service and each time he spoke with a rep, he was comfortable when he got of the phone, that things were moving forward; only to find out with each subsequent call (with a different rep most of the time) that they needed documentation (already sent), not returning calls/emails when promised and just general lack of movement.  He finally got it all settled and even paid for a more powerful inverter.  All that was left was to ship it out, which they said would be done by Friday the 11th.  And guess what.... you got it, it was not shipped.  Accounting held it up!  Don't know why and Ken didn't care.  He was livid and spoke with a supervision late Friday.  Again, it was promised to ship first thing Monday.  We never got the email with the ship tracking data so he was a bit doubtful that it would be waiting for us when we arrived in Midland.  Got here Tuesday the 15th and no inverter.  Ken called again and found it had not been shipped, no explanation.  We got tracking info about an hour later for express shipping out of California!!!!  Go figure, a Canada company shipping it from America.  Ken was done.  He bought a new 2000-watt Samlex inverter and is having it installed before we leave.  Since the next leg of our journey is the Georgian Bay and North Channel, and we will be mainly anchoring out, so having an inverter is a must.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  Need to finish our travels on the Trent-Severn Waterway......

Buckhorn - Chilling while waiting on inverter repairs.  We were under cover and waters very calm.

From Buckhorn we headed to Bobcaygeon and Lock 32.  We had heard that houseboats are very popular in this area and to be very careful around them as most of the boaters piloting had very little experience on the water and locking.  We did see an abundance of boats of all kinds and lots of water traffic.  We were feeling pretty good about navigating all this until we got to the lock in Bobcaygeon.  We were tied up on the blue line waiting for the lock to open when here came a houseboat making for a space on the blue line in front of us.  I was securing lines on the bow and noticed this houseboat was getting a little too close for comfort when it makes a sharp turn to port.  Before I could even react, it hit our bow pulpit.  The impact blew out one of their windows and shattered more than few nerves.  Ken was below and needless to say flew upstairs to see what was going on.  Independence had no damage other then some scratches.  The guy came over and apologized profusely.  I know he was embarrassed down to his toes and unfortunately to add to this, he had a pretty significant audience given the boat traffic and the land observers.  I really felt for him, though with that we now understand completely about being BEWARE OF HOUSEBOATS!

We continued our journey with a healthy awareness but would not allow it to bother us.  We went through a very narrow channel beyond Rosedale Lock 35.  If we had met another boat, some one was going to have to back up.  Fortunately we didn't.  We arrived at Kirkfield Lock 36 which was another lift lock, like the one at Peterborough.  We locked through alone so moved Independence as far forward as possible so we could look over the edge of the pan.  We were 49' in the air but felt like a 100', especially when you consider our boat was with us!!!  This was our first lock down.  We had ascended 564' to this point and by the end of the TSW we would then descend 263'.  For those doing the math this puts the Georgian Bay ~300' above Lake Ontario.

Trent Channel - Very narrow and was cut from solid granite.

Trent Channel - Granite walls. Water was so very clear.

Kirkfield Lift Lock - Ken maned the starboard.

Kirkfield Lift Lock - Linda taking in the view.

Kirkfield Lift Lock - Felt like we were on the edge of the world.

Thorah Lock 40 - isolated and quiet.  Great sunset.

We continued on to Orillia where we marina'd in and started preparations for the Georgian Bay.  We re-provisioned, did laundry, cleaned the boat outside, the took advantage of internet to catch up with family, the world and life in general.  The weather is getting distinctly cooler with temps in the low to mid 70s and 50s overnight but has been most sunny, so pretty perfect.  From here we headed for the last big adventure on the TSW....Big Chute Lock 44.  This really isn't a lock but rather a marine railway.  Yep, you read it right, a rail car but much bigger for multiple boats.  Independence was floated into a rail car, secured then driven over land by rail tracks to the basin on the other side, where the rail car submerged enough to let  for the trip.  We decided that Ken and Roofus, acting as first mate for me, would make the trip.  I would stay back on the observation deck to takes pics and make a few videos then walk over to the basin.  It was a bit eerie to see Independence completely out of the water.  Ken said it was bumpy ride but had a blast.

Big Chute Lock - Ken and Roofus head for the bule line....leaving without me was strange.

Big Chute Lock - Independence is loaded and starting the crossing while nestled on straps with her keel resting on the bottom of the rail car.

Ken took pics at the top of the hill.

Ken with First-Mate, Roofus, who was chillin' on the way over.

Heading downhill to the basin.

Almost there. Notice the tracks and pulleys. Pretty impressive.

Back in the waters and docked up.

Ready to head out. What an adventure.

From here we had one more lock to complete the Trent-Severn Waterway.  With this amazing section of the loop completed, we headed to Midland on the Georgian Bay.  We are currently waiting on the mechanics to install the new inverter and have a meeting with the dock master tomorrow to attend an overview on what to expect on the Georgian Bay.  We will take all the advice we can get!!!

PS From Roofus:
Well, my titles are multiplying.  So, in addition to Princess, Best Dog Ever, Taste Tester Extraordinaire....I can add First Mate.  I even have a scarf to wear.  Though, to be honest, I wasn't really crazy about my mom human not being with us and missed her terribly till we were reunited at the bottom in the basin.  Dad human told Mom human I was a bit whinny which I take exception too.  I was just making sure Dad human was listening to me as First Mate.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it, though I was much happier when later, Mom human and I took a long nap together.