Olden days

In the olden days (about 25 years ago) it was possible to take a boat through this gap into the bay beyond.  Michael used to take his 26ft Bayliner through here without any difficulty at all.

Seven or eight years ago the tree fell, making this bay accessible only to dinghies.  Now, with the water levels as low as they are, we were lucky to get our small boat through without hitting the rocky bottom.

Please visit http://www.stopthedrop.ca/ to see how you can help.

Three Finger Bay

Today we moved further into the park, to a place called Three Finger Bay.

It's a pretty run, but care must be taken to avoid areas where rocks lay in wait for unwary boaters.  Helpful cottagers often mark these rocks with bottle floats.  In one season a few years ago, at least half a dozen boats from our marina damaged their props on these rocks lying just under the surface.

We arrived without mishap, and again, we had the whole place to ourselves, with our pick of anchorages.  We headed for a small beach, next to a narrow cut through to another bay.  We thought there was a sign posted indicating no fires allowed, which was fine with us.

Michael set the anchor perfectly, and began to back towards the beach to set a stern anchor.  As we got closer, I was able to actually read the sign, which in fact said 'No Anchoring'.  Trust us to pick the only place in the whole bay!!

So we upped anchor, and slowly cruised to our second choice based on the projected winds.  Again, we set the anchor, and waited to make sure everything was OK. The wind gusts were not coming from the direction they should have been, according to the weather reports, and we were soon beginning to drift around the anchor in entirely the wrong direction.

So we upped anchor again, and headed for a large, shallow area where we could anchor and swing all the way around and not hit anything.  It was such a rough day, Michael decided we should go to Henry's for supper, and I quickly agreed!

It was a dark and stormy night.....

Actually, it was a lovely evening, bright and sunny, but still with a cool wind.  We had been joined earlier in the day by Heart Tug (Randy and Audrey from Cambridge, ON) and Frederica Lady (Charlie and EJ from Georgia).  Both boats are heading for the North Channel, and have ended up travelling together after meeting in the Trent Severn Waterway.  They arrived in Echo Bay, set their anchors and headed out to Henry's for lunch.  On the way, they stopped by to say hello to us, and invite us over for drinks that evening.

We headed over around 5pm, looking forward to hearing of their travels north.  EJ offered us a Dark and Stormy - something I had heard of but never tasted.  After hearing it's made of dark rum, ginger beer and lime, I quickly agreed, as did Michael. I think I've found my new favourite drink.

It was a late dinner for us that evening, and we were up fairly early the next morning to wave goodbye to our new friends as they continue their travels.

Michael and I then went on a tour in the runabout.  As you can see, the wind is still very cold!

But another beautiful evening brought our neighbourhood loon back.  This time, I got the pictures to prove it!

Is it summer yet?

Once again, it's been ages since my last post, but quite honestly there hasn't been much to write about.

It's been a long slow start to summer.  Despite the calendar showing us well into June, the weather has yet to indicate the arrival of summer.  It's been often cool and wet, with the occasional sunny day thrown in, and boating activity here on Georgian Bay has been sparse. Most folks are either staying home, or staying in the marina where they can plug in to run heating.

Every Saturday at the marina is hot dog day, courtesy of Doug.  He supplies the dogs and buns, bring your own beer.

We have taken a number of short trips in the runabout to familiarize ourselves with changing water levels, and have finally ventured out for a few days in the Massassauga Park.  This is a provincial park encompassing 13,000 hectares of Georgian Bay shoreline, and is a must-see for anyone visiting the area.

Twelve Mile Bay

O'Donnell Point (where Twelve Mile Bay meets Georgian Bay)

One of our favourite spots is Echo Bay, which right now we have all to ourselves. We are visited each evening by a beautiful loon, who heralds the sunset with his (her?) mournful calls.

Last week we went to Henry's Fish Restaurant for lunch with a bunch of friends from the marina.  Great pickerel and perch, but you have to try the Georgian Bay Shrimp (actually deep fried smelts).....delicious.


Today we went to one of our favourite restaurants out here...Craganmore's. They have the best wings on the water!  Being a Monday afternoon, it was pretty quiet, but that didn't stop us having a terrific lunch with a couple of Stella's to wash it all down.

Brought to you by the letter 'S'

S is for Spring, which arrived, according to the calendar, on March 21.  

S is for Splash, a boating expression for launching one's boat.  We splashed our Trojan F32 on April 26.  There were only a few other boats in the water ahead of us, but there has been a steady increase in numbers since then.  

S is for Scrub.  After three years in a shed, there was a tremendous amount of cleaning needed.  The outside had accumulated a lot of dirt, despite the tarps we draped around her hull.  The inside, while dusty, wasn't too bad, except for evidence of mice.  Nothing that some bleach can't cure.

S is for Sunshine, of which there has been plenty over the last 10 days.  Temperatures have steadily climbed well into the 20s (Celsius) for over a week, and we have been in shorts and T-shirts - a welcome change from the warm clothes needed previously.  

S is for Snow, which we got again yesterday, along with rain, freezing rain, and ice pellets.  The warm sunny days have left us, at least for now, and we have been huddled inside with our two electric heaters working overtime to keep us all warm.  Strong winds have pushed lots of water up the bay, and changed the water level in the marina by at least 18 inches.  The sun is shining again today, but it is still cold and windy.  

And, finally, 

S is for Summer, which officially arrives in Ontario this Victoria Day Weekend - first long weekend of the summer.  We expect an influx of boats this week, and lots of people at the marina on the weekend.  Weather forecasts are not encouraging right now, but lots can change over the next few days.

It's great to be back on Georgian Bay, and we are enjoying renewing friendships with boating friends from years past, and sharing tales of our adventures.  

The true north, strong and free

And white, and wet, and cold!!  They don't call Canada 'The Great White North' for nothing.  As with most parts of the American mid west, and the rest of Canada, spring has been interrupted by another blast of winter.  We fared better in Northern Ontario than many parts around the great lakes, but were still hit with freezing rain and several inches of snow.  It has been a couple of days of hunkering down with good old fashioned comfort food and some good movies.  Today is showing some promise - the snow on the ground appears to be melting again.

We visited our marina the other day, but there is still lots of ice in the bay.  We were shocked at how low the water is - down a good three feet  from 2010, when we were last here.  The marina does have floating docks, but many of the access areas are standing well above the water line.  It will be an interesting season, and we have decided that our first weekends will be spent exploring in the dinghy, to see which of our favourite places are still accessible.  There will be new routes, and new rocks to avoid, for sure.  Marinas all over Georgian Bay have been dredging to ensure they have enough water for their boaters, but that is just putting a bandaid on it.

On one of our road trips, we found this beaver dam, which has obviously made a big difference to the local landscape.

Too bad we can't build a dam on the St. Clair River, and stop the outflow there!!

Best laid plans

It has been a full month since my last post, and so much has happened that I hardly know where to begin.  I'll try to make a very long story short.

On March 7, I flew from Tampa to Buffalo,and rented a car to drive across the border.   I visited with some friends and family for 5 days, then headed back down to Buffalo to catch my flight back to Florida.  Everything fell apart when I reached the border, and the guard sent me to see Immigration, where the woman told me she considered me to be an 'intended immigrant'.  We had done our research, and believed that, as Canadians, we were allowed to stay in the US for up to 6 months at a time, and that we could 'reset' the clock by returning to Canada.  The length of time we are required to be out of the US is not written down anywhere, and reentry to the US is entirely at the discretion of the border and immigration people.

As much as I like spending time in the US, especially during the winter months, I have no desire to give up my Canadian residency, and all the benefits that come with that.  But it didn't matter what I said, she was not going to let me back in!!

So, there I was in my American rental car,stuck on the Canadian side of the border, burning up the cell signals to Michael in Florida as we scrambled to figure out what we were going to do.  Our original plan of leaving the President in Florida for the summer would still hold, but we would move the schedule up.  And now, Michael would have to do all of the work by himself.  Meanwhile, I needed to find a place to stay until we could get the Trojan in the water - and the water in Northern Ontario is still frozen!!

Friends and family came to the rescue for me, and friends in Florida helped Michael with many of his chores, and provided some much needed moral support as well.  Thank you to everyone - we couldn't have done it without you.

We are now settled into an apartment in MacTier, a little town not far from our home marina. We have been boating here for many years, and know the waters of Georgian Bay very well, but have never really spent the time to explore the local area by car.  We are now enjoying exploring the land based attractions.   It's still quite cold here, and yes, the water is still hard, but there are signs that spring is definitely on the way.

This is the view from the town dock in Parry Sound.  Brrrrrrr!