Friday, July 13, 2018

Lots of beautiful anchorages. Port Rawson, Parry Sound, Snug Harbour, Regatta Bay, Alexander Passage, Britt, ON. July 5-13, 2018

Typical Georgian Bay view.



The photo below is Niki and Craig departing in the morning.  Niki had commented about how hard it is to deal with the anchor pulling with releasing the bridle, spraying mud off the rode, securing the anchor, etc.  Julie has told numerous women on various vessels about her piloting the boat when we set and pull anchor.  In her words, that is the easy job.  So Julie encouraged Niki to try the pilot role instead of "anchor wench".  Well, look who is anchor wench now!

After Niki and Craig departed on Thursday we noted that we were supposed to get some pretty strong NNW winds and the SE corner of Port Rawson with its long fetch would not be a great place to be.   So, I set out in the dinghy to explore a couple other Port Rawson anchorages that would be appropriate.  I went to “Shotgun”, an anchorage we had seen on our way in on Wednesday which was then occupied by a sailboat.  But the boat was now gone, so we pulled anchor and headed over there.  It was a beautiful spot.  








We spent the day cleaning, floating and generally beating the heat.  One item completed was the retirement of our fender covers that have served us well for 129 locks!  Kenny and Kathy, take note, the covers are finally gone!

As predicted, the wind came up overnight with 25 knot gusts registered, even in our protected anchorage.  In the morning we had not moved but the wind gusts were still very strong.  I was doing some route planning and not really paying attention to our position.  Julie came up to the salon and said, “look where we are, we are dragging anchor!”.  Luckily, we just dragged lengthwise in the cove and we were able to start the engines and motor back up the cove and reset the anchor.  It remained windy and much cooler throughout the day, so it was a good day to read and putter around.  In the evening it calmed down and the evening was delightful.

Saturday morning we departed for Parry Sound to take a slip, recharge batteries, re-provision and get a pump out.  A narrow section along the way.


Upon arrival we went to get pizza and it was good!
In the afternoon, Julie got busy with laundry and I tried to get her to go on a sea plane ride of the area.  She is not big on small planes so did not go along but I was able to snag a seat on the 4:30 flight.  They had to weigh each passenger to be sure the four seater plane could handle the pilot, the other couple who had booked the plane and me, the "tag along" fourth passenger.  Well they said all was fine but it sure seemed like our takeoff took a long time!  But it was a fantastic flight around the area for 35 minutes.

We spotted Jeff and Sharon (Yachts of Fun) whom we had met at the Christmas in June celebration in Orillia.  Here is Yachts of Fun docked near us in Parry Sound.  By the way, this boat used to be owned by Jeff and Ann, the Harbor Hosts in Gananoque who visited us there!  Small  cruising world....  Jeff and Sharon hope to start the Loop in a year or so too.  
We went to dinner with Jeff and Sharon and their travelling friends.  Wellington's  had some very good prime rib for a very reasonable price.  On our way to dinner....which way is it?
The sunset view from the marina on our way back from dinner.
Sunday morning we took a nice walk along the trails in town and tried to go to the observation power but the trail was too muddy.  But here are some photos along the way.



We planned to leave Parry Sound on Sunday morning so we called to arrange a pump out at the town docks and readied Sum Escape for departure.  I was untying lines and disconnecting power while Julie fired the engines.  Well, at least one engine, the port would crank but not fire.  So I tried to start it too, but no go.  Hmmm, what's the issue now?  So I changed into engine room appropriate garb to see if I could diagnose anything.  But before I went to the engine room, I shut off the port engine circuit breaker and turned it back on, let the preheat cycle on the engine run again and bam, she started right up.  Perhaps it sat too long after turning on the circuits when we tried to start it the first time?  Who knows, it is a computer controlled engine and this is the first time we have ever had this phenomenon.  Anyway, we got underway and had a nice cruise to our anchorage.  
We looked at staying at Kilcoursie Bay, a very popular anchorage with a nice beach but it being Sunday there were many Jet Skis and small boats racing around the bay and many boats anchored so we pressed on for Snug Harbour.  This turned out to be a very protected and nice anchorage, even though there were a few cottages around too.  
This also put us within 2 miles of our next planned anchorage where we will meet Dave and Sue (Manana) and two other boats.  You may recall from the last post that they had dinghyed out to see us in Chimney Bay and were on a short cruise and we all agreed to stay in touch and try to hook up.  So we left the anchorage around 11:30 as they said they would arrive around noon.  Sure enough, there they were taking turns entering Regatta Bay and dropping a bow anchor and tying the stern of each boat to shore.  We joined the raft up.  Such great hospitality was given to have us join them. The other two boats were Dave's brothers, so it was a family cruise they allowed us to join for a couple days! Three rafted, we will be the fourth.
 Our Helpers!





We all took a nice dinghy ride over to the other side of Franklin Island on Tuesday. 





We also went to Gilley's for dinner on Tuesday night.  Thanks you so much for picking up the tab Dave and Sue, we will reciprocate on our return trip back through the area in 2019! They had Kawartha ice cream too!

When we returned from dinner we shared a blueberry pie we had baked during the day with the group and had a good time reminiscing about the mutual friends we have made on the Loop.   

We left the 4 boat raft off anchorage on Wednesday after spending a couple wonderful days with our Canadian friends Dave and Sue (Manana).  Our destination was Alexander Passage, a short 17 or so miles away.  The waterway certainly became even more narrow and one had to pay attention!  We also avoided the Hangman Reef where we were warned a vessel of our size could have some difficulty negotiating the sharp turns.  
 Narrow channels.


We anchored in about 10 feet of water in a rock and tree lined bay along the Passage. 




Later in the afternoon we were surprised by some folks from Grand Haven, MI.  Gary and Carol (Reflexions) left on the Loop last August and plan to finish this August.  Gary lived down the street from me when I was growing up in Spring Lake.  I kept my 12’ boat with 6HP motor at his riverfront home for a couple summers when I was in junior high.  We used to “cruise” the Grand River in our two boats, sometimes even venturing out into Lake Michigan to “jump waves”.  Or following the barge on the river so close the pilot would holler at us to get back.  Boys will be boys.  Carol graduated from high school with Julie too…small world.  My Mom had told me Gary and Carol were on the Loop as she keeps in contact with Gary’s Mom.  We’ve sort of been “watching“ each other’s position so it was nice to finally meet up.

Weather forecast on Friday looks a little iffy for running outside to the next inside portion of the Small Craft Channel so we will plan to take a slip at Britt for a couple days.  That will also allow us some much needed exercise after so much anchoring out!  
The marina we chose was Wright's and as we were signing in we talked about Loopers in general and they informed us Luc and Sylvi (Lil Hide Away) were returning to the marina today to complete their Loop!!  We met them on the wall in Campbellford a few weeks ago.  We joined a group of folks on the lawn in the evening for champagne and snacks to celebrate their Gold!  Congratulations!  Small cruising community it is...

One more note.  We added a couple videos to the last post (July 9 entry) you may enjoy.  Couldn't post those on the phone network but did so with the wi-fi here at the marina.  We hope you enjoy them.
We will be anchoring out the next few days in the French River Provincial Park.  We will not have internet for a few days until we arrive in Killarney on July 19.  We hope to post an update there.  Thanks for following our blog adventures.



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