3rd Week Out-4,July 4-5

We left Midland Saturday, July 4, traveling 50 miles north through the Small Craft Route to Parry Sound. The small craft route is an intercoastal, well-buoyed route through the very rocky coastline. The small craft route is from Killarney in the north to Midland in the south on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. On our way to Parry Sound, we stopped off for fish and chips at Henry's, which is located on one of the 30,000 islands along this coast. We traveled up there for the scenery and now have to turn around and go back south to enter the Trent-Severn Waterway.

An aerial view of Parry Sound showing the cruise ship that cruises in and out of some of the 30,000 islands.

3rd Week Out-3, July 1-3

The aerial view is of harbor Penetanguishene and port of Midland in the far distance. We arrived Penetang Wednesday morning and topped the fuel tank off again. It only took about 100 gallon but got it for $3.00 U.S.. July 1 is Canada's 4th of July so we saw a nice fireworks show from the dock. The red and white 100ft boat is an old Canadian Coast Guard boat that is now a personal residence.

Thursday morning we moved from Penetanguishene to Midland (about 10 miles). They have a nice bike path and we rode our bikes from our marina on the west end of Midland to Victoria Harbor. As we were riding out of Midland, we saw this freighter coming into port. When we got back from Victoria Harbor, it was unloading grain at the ADM plant in Midland. We stopped and talked to the Security Guard at ADM. He said there were 15,000 tons of grain and it would take about 48 hours to offload the grain from the ship.

We met John Darien and his family, Valerie, Allison and Aden. John is the Canadian that got us the Canadian aircard which Deb uses to conduct her business from Canada. They have a cottage about 1-1/2 miles from the marina in Midland. John and the kids picked us up at the marina in their Boston Whaler and we went to dinner in their boat. Valerie met us there. After dinner, we came back to our boat and visited for about an hour. It was a very nice evening.

3rd Week Out-2, June 30

On Tuesday, we left Tobermory and headed south along the eastern side of the Bruce Peninsula. Our first stop was Lion's Head. We tied up at the shoppers dock for a couple hours and rode the bikes to get some groceries. In Canada, they are trying to phase out the use of plactic bags, so people bring their own reuseable bags; we didn't have a bag so I used my shirt.

The picture with the bike in the foreground is the marina at Lion's Head.

After two hours at Lion's Head, we moved on to Wiarton. We put on 1,289 liters of diesel fuel. It was a very slow pump; we must have been at the fuel dock for an hour. The boys that fueled the boat said it was a record for the amount of fuel pumped in one boat. It was a good price at $3.20 a gallon, U.S.

We spent the night here and, in the morning, we rode our bikes (and walked them part way) up a very large bluff that overlooks the harbor. We were trying to get a good picture so we walked for about 1/2 mile each way on the Bruce Nature Trail that goes down the Bruce Peninsula. We finally got to a lookout for the harbor, but could not get a good picture (too many trees).

This picture was taken as we were leaving Wiarton headed for Penetanguishene. It is July 1, Canada Day.

3rd Week Out-1, June 28-29

On Sunday, June 28, we crossed Georgian Bay from Killarney on the north end to Tobermory on the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula. Sea conditions were not pleasant - 3-6 footers on the nose and raining. It was a 56 mile trip and we had to slow down to about 15 knots.

We stayed Sunday and Monday. It is a bustling little tourist town. The ferry, Chi-Chemaun, crossed from Tobermory to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. During the summer, it makes 4 trips a day and we were amazed at the number of people and vehicles that cross on each trip. We watched them arrive and depart; the turnaround time is amazing. The people drive their own vehicles on and off and they unload and load in less than 30 minutes. The ferry opens at both ends so they can drive their car on and continue out the other end when they arrive at their destination.

The area has hundreds of shipwrecks and some are visible as you can see from the picture of a schooner in Tobermory Harbor. We have never seen water clearer than this. It is beautiful. There are several glass-bottom tour boats; some tour these wrecks. Other tour boats take you to Flowerpot Island to explore. If you look close, you will see Live Wire tied at the dock in one of the pictures.

A 74-foot Viking (same brand and style as Live Wire) came in and tied up on the dock where we were. It dwarfed our little boat. It was brand new, a $5 million dollar boat, that would burn probably 150 gallon of fuel an hour at cruise. It weighs from 120 to 140 thousand pounds.

I failed to mention that, while we were at Duncan Bay, there is a glass case in the clubhouse with two white styrofoam coffee cups that are smaller than a shot glass in size and have the names of Bob and Jill Williams on them. Jill Williams had purchased, from the Russians, a dive to the Titanic and the Bismarck for her husband, in one of their deep diving bells. On one of the dives, they took these full-sized styrofoam cups and wrote their names on them, placed them on the exterior of the bell and the water pressure at between 12,400 feet and 15,000 feet deep shrunk these cups perfectly.

Also, while at Duncan Bay, Dave Trotter, a well-known Great Lakes shipwreck explorer, put on a slide show and discussion which was very interesting. He has personally located over 2,000 wrecks and in one of the slides it shows the legs of a crewmember still intact on a wreck near Isle Royale.

Note: There may be more than one post per week. Be sure to check for additional posts for the week. I am numbering them, for example, 2nd Week Out-1; 2nd Week Out-2; and so on. If these are not on the main blog page, look at the bottom for archived posts.

2nd Week Out-3, June 27

Here are pictures of our stay in Killarney. One picture is of the Sportsman's Inn as it looks today, one shows an airplane taxiing for take-off down the Killarney Channel and the third one just shows a view down the Killarney Channel. As you can see, we were the only one staying at the Sportsman's Inn. We haven't spent the night on the hook yet, so every stop, we have been able to mount the satellite dish and watch Tiger baseball. Deb is thrilled! We have been carrying a motorcycle that we carry in the cockpit and two bicycles that are attached to the bow rail on the front of the boat. Here is a picture showing how the motorcycle is taken off the boat. Ray built a davit which we disassemble and stow when not in use; we attach the motorcycle, lift it and swing it between the dock and the boat. Ray has used the motorcycle at almost every port. We are also using the bikes in each port. We have a little more range than we would on foot!

2nd Week Out-2, June 25-27

The picture of the little boat was our rescue of a vessel in distress. We were on our way to Gore Bay when a boat a mile and a half away hailed us and asked if we could help them. They had an engine problem and were 10 miles from any land. The closest port was Cockburn Island Government Wharf. There were 4 people on board, 2 men and 2 women. It took us 2 hours to tow them in. They were very appreciative.

We arrived Gore Bay Thursday morning. We went straight to the post office to see if our Canadian air card had arrived. It was there! We went straight back to the boat to try it. Other than slow speed, it worked and Deb was able to access her office desktop. Here are a couple of views of Gore Bay harbor and the new docks. Not much traffic!

Friday morning, we left Gore Bay for Little Current. Arrived about 10:30am. Uneventful trip! Stayed at Spider Bay, but cruised to downtown area and saw the new docks. We stayed at Spider Bay because they offered free high speed internet. Deb worked and Ray washed the boat. Boy, did it need it! We rode our bikes to a little Mom and Pop restaurant for dinner. Had a very nice meal and got to see most of Little Current.

On to Killarney. We left Saturday morning and made the 8am bridge. Beautiful cruise! On our way, we passed this lighthouse. Once we had docked at Sportsman's Inn, we headed for fish and chips. While we were eating, we watched a group of about 24 boys embark on a canoe outing with sleeping bags and gear. There were 3 boys per canoe, 8 canoes. One of the canoes was not in the water 2 minutes before they had tipped it over. Someone is sleeping in a wet sleeping bag.

2nd Week Out-1, June 21-24

While at Duncan Bay we met Byron and Germaine Smith, they are friends of Sky and Lynne Cheney and have a Hatteras motor yacht just like the Cheney's. We also met Dick and Karen Robinson, who live in Grand Ledge like us and have a Viking 41 just like ours.



I had parked my motorcycle at the auto parts store in Cheboygan, and when I came out there was an older gentleman sitting on his Honda scooter next to mine. He asked me where I'd gotten it, and we ended up having a very nice discussion. He had a 2008 Honda scooter, but what impressed me about him, was he was 85 years old. Neat guy, and it's these kind of people that will make this trip special.



A picture of the new Ice breaker Mackinaw located in Cheboyban.



Wednesday June 24 we finally got underway again. We had been sitting, waiting on the logistics of the Canadian air card we had purchased to clear up before we proceeded into Canadian waters. Got word that the air card would arrive Gore Bay on Thursday. So we left Duncan Bay at 7:30 am for Detour Village, a 38.9 mile passage. I did a fuel mileage check between Duncan Bay and Detour running 8MPH the entire way, and got an astonishing 1.75 MPG. At 8MPH I start to kick up about an 18 inch wave.



We picked up three bundles of mail at Detour, and met three great couples while at Detour. From left to right in the picture. Donna and Frank, Pat and Dave, Rosita and Bob. They were there by boat and were out of Duncan Bay. We all went out to supper together. The picture of the Freighter is Thursday Morning just we were about to leave for Gore Bay, Ont.

First Week Out, June 14-21

For those that don't know us, we are Ray and Deb Blake from Grand Ledge Mi.. Ray retired in November and Deb continues to work. We have boated out of White Lake Michigan for the past 20 years. We have talked about doing the loop many years and now that day has arrived.

We left Ellenwood Landing Sunday morning June 14 at 7:20am and passed under the Mackinaw bridge that afternoon at 4:17. We had topped off with fuel before we left so we wanted to do a mileage check. We called around for diesel fuel prices near the bridge, they were all the same, $2.79gal. We topped off at Sheplers, 335 gal. I know we were 20 gallons shy of being full when we left, so doing the math we got .69mpg. Or 35 gallons an hour at cruise speed, approx 22knots.

After fueling at Shepler's, we continued on to our destination, arriving Duncan Bay at 5:30. Ken and Brenda Nye from Ellenwood offered their slip here for our first stop.

And what a nice stop it is. Very nice,very quiet. It's Thursday and the weather has been very nice for me, 65-72 and mostly sunny. Deb told me when we left she would like to hunker down for a couple days to get caught up on work, so we have. I'm not sure what day we will leave, but the next stop will be Detour.

This is my first attempt to blog so bear with me, hopefully I will improve.
Regards,
Ray