Month: August 2017

Day 66 – Sunday August 20 – we wake early to depart Bobcaygeon – not as early as all the fishermen, but early enough to catch the first lockage at 09:00, and, with an eagle eye on the engine gauges, we cruise to Buckhorn and on to our destination: Lovesick Lake and its delightful Lock 30, a distance of 23 miles plus two locks (each of which will take between 20 and 30 minutes, depending on traffic) .

On the way, we see cottage country at its most playful, with lots of speed boats and water toys, and after we stop at Buckhorn Yacht harbour for a pump out and fresh drinking water, we move into the crowded Buckhorn Lock.

Continue reading “Luvverly Lovesick Lake Lock and onwards”

We leave Georgian Bay early on Monday, August 14th with benign weather: little wind, and no threat of rain, and we need it so we can tackle Lock 45, which is notorious for its bridge and its currents. When we passed through it on the way up, the torrents from the dam were intimidating, but now, two months later, they have abated somewhat. Still, we want to be there in time for the first lockage, to get it over with, and then move on as far as Lock 43 at Swift Current, tackling the Big Chute Railway in between.

Continue reading “Of locks, loons and luck both good and bad”

Sunday August 6 is Day 52 of our trip, and a perfect day to cruise. The winds are light, and the sky is clear, so we head out for our next stop: an anchorage at Stairs Island near Pointe au Baril, 30 miles south.

Because the weather is so fine, we opt to go out into the Bay from Byng Inlet, then head south on the outside in open water, a route which avoids all the shoals and rocks that clutter the inside, protected channel, necessitating as they do a great deal of close – sometimes extremely close – maneuvering, especially round Hangdog Reef. So off we go, and come back inside again at Pointe au Baril, the next inlet to the inside, a distance of 30 miles.

Continue reading “The Last of the Bay Days”

It’s July 29, a Saturday – although it’s hard to remember what day it is when you’ve been on a boat for 44 days straight – and a beautiful morning as we’re off for the short trip from Hotham Island to Eagle Island, a favourite of many, but big enough to take all. We pull up the anchor – it has snagged and this is our first time having to coax the anchor out of the clay – but by 10:30 we are joining several boats there, and anchor in 18 feet of water in good firm holding. Shortly after, Tim and Rhonda also show up in Rhonda Jean and anchor nearby.  (The key to boating in the North Channel in high season is to get to an anchorage you like the sound of around 11 am – that’s 11:00 hours to us mariners – when vessels who are moving on have already left, or are about to, and those on their way there have yet to appear.)

Continue reading “An Eagle, a Sturgeon, a Bucket of Blueberries, and a Little Current”