Author Archives: JH

It is another balmy day – the temperature is 21 degrees at 6:30 am. Good thing that the water is great for swimming!

Yesterday, I did an hour of aqua-jogging and it was lots of fun (well, not really but it is an ok workout). Then, Sharon and I kayaked over to Killarney to get fish and chips. Dennis said that it was 2 kilometres and it turned out to be almost 5 km. Needless to say, my arms were pretty sore. We kayaked backed too but I towed Sharon most of the way because I used my peddles instead of my paddle and we went twice as fast. It probably was not what Mountain Equipment Coop would consider good form, but it would have taken us forever to get back to the boat had we paddled.

We also went to our first “pot-luck” on a rock. It was organized by a guy from Sarnia and was actually a lot of fun. People were identified by their boats – “Are you on that beautiful blue boat?” “No, we’re on the white boat beside the blue boat.” Anyway, everyone was very nice and the potluck was typical boater food. We didn’t actually need to eat as we had eaten fish and chips already!

Today, before it gets too hot, we are hiking up the hill to get a good view of the harbour. I will post pictures later on. Then, we are heading over to Heywood Island and getting lined up for the Manitoulin bridge tomorrow morning. Heywood is the closet place to anchor and if you leave about an hour an a half to catch the bridge, you won’t have to circle for 45 minutes until they open the bridge again (15 minutes on the hour).

So far, we have had good weather and lots of fun. The food is keeping nicely in the fridge – I finally have the produce sorted out so that it doesn’t go bad and now know the correct quantities to buy. We are getting lots of exercise and are enjoying the extras such as the satellite radio (so that I can listen to the CBC) and also the turbo-hub that I brought from home so that we can get the internet wherever there is a cell signal. What a difference from our trip in 1997 – no GPS, refrigeration, hot water, exercise, communication…

Ok – that is all the news for today. Pictures later…

Happy birthday to Nick! Nick turned 23 today. Over the years, he has spent quite a bit of time at our favourite anchorage – Covered Portage Cove, but unfortunately for him today, he has to work. Oh well, we do wish him a very happy birthday!

Our exit from Squaw Island was uneventful – we glided over 7 feet of water at one point but since it was calm, we weren’t too worried. That is definitely on my list for the trip back – so nice and quiet.

We passed through Killarney and stopped at the Sportsman Inn for fuel and water. I did manage to find a couple of minutes to buy the best cinnamon bun ever – it was delicious!  We will go back for fish and chips tomorrow. I will be kayaking – I think it is only a few kilometres, so no big deal. Dennis should row but I doubt that he will since he finally put the motor on the dinghy.

We are probably going to stay here for two days – there is almost nobody here, so it is nice and quiet. We went blueberry picking but did not find any – I am not sure if we are too early or if other boaters have already picked all the berries. There are lots of bushes but there is nothing on them. Oh well, we still have a few more places to go blueberry picking.

Today, Dennis finally caught a fish – it was about a foot long and I think it was a bass. He brought it back to the boat in a bucket, I took a picture and then he let it go. I guess we’re having spaghetti for supper (again…)

Also today, I tried the aqua – jogger – it is finally warm enough to swim for more than 20 seconds. At first, I didn’t think that I had a good workout, but now I am aching all over, so it must work! I swam (jogged I guess) for 45 minutes and although I didn’t go very far or fast, it must have done something as my legs are quite sore. So, I will definitely do that again.

I am enjoying all the new exercise equipment – the aqua – jogger and  the peddling kayak are my two favourite things, as well as having a GPS watch which shows my distance and speed. So, now I am getting plenty of exercise!

Nothing else happening today – we may listen to Randy Bachman on the CBC tonight – just like at home!

I am not sure who named these islands but a little more imagination is in order. Club Island, Squaw Island, Little Squaw Island… This island (Squaw Island) is really neat! Except for getting into the anchorage, it is perfect! There is only seven feet of water in the entrance, so we definitely picked a good day to explore – as it is quite calm. I wouldn’t dare try to approach the island on a windy day – we’d be dashed up onto the rocks in no time! At any rate, we made it in with no problems.

The best part about this island is that there is nobody here! We have the entire anchorage to ourselves. Very nice – I think I am part hermit as I sure do like my solitude! I got a ton of reading in – I am reading “The King’s Speech” on my Kobo. It is a library book and after two weeks, it expires. There is no overdue fine – the ebook just gets locked.

We did some exploring and I took some interesting pictures. Obviously with all the rock building going on, others must have been here before and had quite a lot of time on their hands.

Dennis also went fishing and he actually caught a fish the size of his finger! He tried for a couple of hours and had every lure he owned on the end of the line but he was not successful so we had ravioli for supper.

Tomorrow, we are off to Killarney – we have to stop and get some fuel, a pump out and get some more water. That should take about 20 minutes. My job, while Dennis is tending the boat, is to run down to the fish and chips place and get our treat! Since we may stay in “Crowded Portage Cove” for two nights, we may skip the fish and chips tomorrow and go back on Saturday. I will go in the kayak and at least I will earn my lunch!

Anyway, that is all the news for today!

We are currently anchored at Club Island – it is about halfway between Tobermory and Killarney. There are only three boats in the anchorage and it is nice and quiet.

We wandered around the island and checked out the sights – more water, rocks, trees, water, rocks, trees…

We might stay here tomorrow or we might move on to Squaw Island – which is close to Killarney. I am going kayaking for an hour and Dennis has ventured off in the dinghy and then walked over to the other side of the island. No exciting news to report.

We left Wingfield Basin this morning at 6:45 and had an uneventful trip until the dinghy ripped loose. One of the metal pieces that holds it to the davits, broke so Dennis had to go on a rescue mission. I slowed the boat down while he wrestled with the lines that were still attached. He had to cut one line with his Swiss army knife (fancy having one of those handy!) and then was able to untie the rest of the lines (except one – ha!). He then tied the dinghy to the big boat and we towed it the rest of the way. This rescue mission was much more low key than some of the other times we had lost a dinghy – thank goodness!

We circled around the Tobermory harbour for a few minute until they found a spot for us – right on the wall – and we immediately became a tourist attraction, so we had to be on our best behaviour! We went grocery shopping and then I went for a big bike ride down Hwy 6. It has a paved shoulder and it wasn’t very busy, so it was a good ride on my full sized folding bike. Dennis, meanwhile, cleaned the bugs off the boat and answered many questions.

We had supper at The Crow’s Nest and then went back to the boat. I am relaxing down below while Dennis fends off more questions (do not feel sorry for him – he loves this!). Everyone is nice though and there are a lot of people from different parts of the world – lots of different languages being spoken.

On the way to Wingfield Basin this morning, I got out the Outback oven and made some brownies. Of course, I was forced to kayak even further than usual around the anchorage to wear off all the brownies that I made. But, the Outback oven is great! It makes perfect cakes, breads, pizzas, and brownies every single time! It also doesn’t make a huge batch, just enough for the day, so we don’t have to worry about storage.

Wingfield Basin has a shipwreck in it – a burned out fishing boat of some sort. I kayaked over to it and thought it was pretty interesting – lots of birds, frogs, snakes and plants live on it now. I saw a two foot water snake swimming by – it was kind of interesting I guess, if you like snakes.

Lots of boats are in here tonight – about twelve or so but everyone is behaving themselves – no loud music or endless generators going. We’ve gone “swimming” a few times today – it is 19.5 degrees, so a dip is all we have – just enough to numb your body and then you climb out again.

We walked over to the lighthouse and checked out where all the wrecks are located. There are quite a few of them and this area is a good place to go diving if you have the proper gear. Lots of neat things to see underwater!

Tomorrow, we are off to Tobermory and then the following day, we are headed off to Club Island and then Killarney!

We left Killbear this morning at about 6:30 and motored out to Red Rock. From there we sailed until 1:00 – we were actually doing 6 knots (for us that is good). The wind died down and we motored the rest of the way – very uneventful. We arrived at our anchorage at about 3:30 and as soon as we were anchored, Dennis took down the kayak for me and the dinghy for him. It seems odd to drive around all day on a big boat and then drive around some more on a little boat, but we wanted to do some exploring and see the shipwreck. I also wanted to get my 5 km in on the kayak and did it in less than an hour but it was a great workout! I would highly recommend the Hobie Cat Mirage – it is a peddling/paddling kayak – so you can exercise both your arms and your legs.

I probably did not get as much exercise as the two boys, Gubby and DJ, who paddled all the way from shore on an inner tube. They were just having fun and wanted to see the boats in the anchorage. They paddled way over to the other side of the anchorage and the water temperature wasn’t even 20 degrees. They were in the water for almost an hour while Dennis and I just dipped in and out!

We are heading to Wingfield Basin tomorrow – the weather is supposed to change soon – no more sunny skies for a couple of days.

We had a nice quiet time at Killbear Park. Although there was a lot of smaller boat traffic, the anchorage wasn’t full and we had lots of room in the anchorage. The little boats though, were interesting – people rowing and canoeing around as well as having the usual sea doos and wind surfers trying to dodge everyone. There were actually three kite boards really flying by. Good thing they were wearing wetsuits because the water is freezing! You can just dip in and then you have to get out – otherwise your feet go numb! I can’t imagine what Lake Superior will be like!

Just a little side note – this morning two deer (at about 6:30) were running down the beach! Cool to see but what were they thinking? The park is pretty full!

We are off towards Wingfield Basin today and might stay there two days because it is supposed to thunderstorm tomorrow – very hot and humid weather. Maybe the lake will warm up a bit!

Dennis arrived at Bob’s Point (Big Sound Marina) on June 30th at 9:30 in the morning. He, Glen and Nick had been anchored at Killbear Park and motored into Parry Sound for the crew change. It took quite a bit of the morning for me to bring all my stuff on board, but eventually I managed to find a spot for all of it on the boat. The boat was pretty ship-shape – Dennis had spent a lot of time cleaning the millions of bugs off of it!

It was a hot, sunny day – perfect for Canada Day and we spent the afternoon getting organized and then did some swimming. The water temperature was reasonable. According to Dennis, the water is really cold everywhere else, but I have hopes that it will warm up.

Quite a few people came by the boat in the evening – Jane and Thom, Lynn and Bill as well as Jo, Glen, AJ, Hamish and Callan. We enjoyed the fireworks display – it was was well done!

Yesterday, (July 2nd) – Dennis spent a good part of the day fixing the generator. It would only run for ten minutes and then it shut itself off. Good thing he is mechanically inclined! He eventually found the problem – a corroded sensor so now he’ll have to find the part for it.

Nick arrived for quick visit, and it was nice to see him. He survived the five day trip with his dad and Glen! He did mention that he spotted a rattlesnake on Club Island – he was walking through the bushes and came upon one.

We still had the car, so Sharon, Jim and I went grocery shopping at 1:00. That was a bit of a mistake! Sobey’s was packed full of people! We did manage to buy our groceries though but I spoke to Taylor (a girl who was bagging the groceries) and she said that Friday was even busier and that customers were lined up to the freezers (which are at the back of the store!).

We had Gabor and Jerry for supper (they are staying at the house while we’re gone). It was very nice and the sunset was spectacular! Check out the photos!

We will be heading to Killbear today and then over towards Tobermory tomorrow.