Time out

We timed our arrival at Killarney for a Thursday, so that Louise could go to Mich's camp for a get together. Mich was having lots of people to the camp for the weekend, and we were in the area, so time to go. We could not bring Eevee with us, so I stayed behind with the boat and a list of chores to get done. Altogether the boat would be at Killarney 4 nights, which is a bit longer than normal for us, but the situation dictated it.

I stayed back on the boat, and worked my way through a list of small jobs that kept getting put off. Some cleaning, small installs, and a couple of small repairs. 

Eevee followed me into the engine room while I was checking the engine oil to inspect and make sure everything was OK.

In between chores, I sat on the flybridge and read or watched the traffic in the harbour. Lots of boats moving in and out here, big and small, even a few float planes.

During the weekend they had to squeeze a sailboat in behind us, and we eventually had to move the boat forward to make enough space for their water taxi to land at the dock we were on. 

Lots of BIG boat traffic here. Some of the biggest boats we have seen so far on the trip! Steady stream of boats coming and going all weekend. Great to watch.

To add to the chaos, the town was having their annual fish-fry weekend, so things were extra busy and all the docks were completely full. 

Meanwhile, Louise was at Mich's camp on lake Panache. 

Paulette and Jean-Yves stopped by the boat at Killarney on Sunday, and got a full tour. We then went for ice cream and walked around the town and harbour. A lot of the facilities here have been rebuilt recently, and the two resorts to the east of us are brand-new, and high-end. On Sunday night Dom, Mich and the kids brought Louise back to the boat, and we all went to the fish-fry for supper. They had set it up at the local community centre, using a covered hockey rink as the venue. 

Great venue - outdoor covered rink. Big upgrade from when I was a kid. The floor was poured concrete instead of gravel, and the ice is protected from snow and slush by the roof. 

The kitchen was set off in an area in one of the corners.

Home and away benches with timekeepers box in between.

They put the bar in the penalty box.

Not a super-action-packed weekend, but very enjoyable, and we were both in great places. Got some rest, made some repairs, and visited with lots of people. Monday we are headed west towards the North Channel. The weather prediction is for light winds for the next week, so it is a great time to visit this location.

Boat name of the day: Bow Movement (sounded really special on the radio when they called the marina for dockage).

Crazy day at Henry's

We arrived at Frying Pan Island just after 11 on a Sunday morning. There is a restaurant on this island called Henry's, that was on our list of places to visit. I had heard about this place from the Boogaboo youtube channel, and also from a few blogs on the AGCLA website. According to the youtube channel mentioned, the docks here were available for overnight use, and were supposed to be a good place to stay. When we arrived at the island, the docks at Henry's were basically empty, there was only one other boat there. We called the dockmaster on VHF, and since we were going to stay overnight, they assigned us a dock at the far end of their harbour. They brought us all the way up to the shore to maximize space, then we got set up for the day. WOW, what a day!

Within 45 minutes the docks were packed. There were even 3 float planes that landed. We found out later that these were tour planes that fly out of Parry Sound, and stop for lunch here as part of a tour package. It was lunch time, and everyone was coming in for lunch. The restaurant had a lineup to get in, people were all over the docks, and we were getting a steady stream of wakes from all the cottage boats going back and forth in the channel. What a show. Was very impressed by how the cottagers handled their boats. The docks are long fingers with minimal space between, so they had to thread the needle while backing or landing. Fun to watch. The only issues the dock staff had was with a couple of big trawlers who did not follow instructions - Louise overheard the dock staff discussing them using "sentence enhancers". During the lunch period, 11:30 until about 15:00, it was just crazy. Boats coming in and out, float planes coming in and out then taking off right in front of the restaurant. Music from the patio, people walking around with ice cream, thong bikinis, dock craziness, super loud cigarette-boat exhaust, constant waves and noise, it was freakin awesome. Then at around 15:00, the place emptied out.

We got some ice cream for lunch, which was amazing, they had their own custom flavours - lots of ways to mix maple syrup with other random stuff. 

When was the last time you saw one of these? Louise checked but no dial tone.

Louise was planning to walk around in the afternoon, but it turned out that the area was surrounded by private property, so not much place to walk. After the lunch rush, I used the time to clean the lazarette and check the oil and coolant on the engine.

We went for dinner at the restaurant, and Louise had the pickerel, which was pretty much all that was on the menu. Huge portions - she had leftovers for the next day - and really good. They used a special kind of batter, that was very unique. 

Traffic on the docks picked up at dinner time right around 17:00, but it was not nearly as insane as at lunch. No really big boats, just local cottagers. It was Sunday night, and we figured that many people would have left for Toronto in the afternoon to go to work the next day.

The restaurant closed at 20:00, and by 20:30 the docks were empty except for us and two other over-nighters. Really glad we stopped here.

The next morning we were planning to go to Parry Sound. Louise had called the day before to make sure the Rendezvous herd had moved on and to make a reservation at the marina there. We took our time, had coffee and generally slacked off for a while. I spent a few minutes with the chartplotter entering some waypoints. The small craft channel here is well-marked and easy to follow, but the route to Parry Sound had several branch points. 
At each of these branches, I put a waypoint so that I would know which way to go. At each location I chose the widest, deepest channel, not worrying if it was longer distance or not. The channel gets narrow in some places, and the overall area is very rocky, so I did not want to be messing around with the chartplotter instead of watching for shoals. Basically I set it up so that when we came to a fork in the road, that we would be able to take it.

All went well until we got to the Wasauksing swing bridge. As we were approaching, we heard the big boat in front of us contacting the bridge about the 11:00 opening. uuuuuh.....what swing bridge? Oops, I saw the bridge marked on the chart when I was checking our route earlier, but did not clue into the fact that it was a swing bridge, or that it had a fixed schedule. Luckily, we were right on time for their 11:00 opening because otherwise we would have been stuck until the next opening at 13:15. Better to be lucky than good.

We arrived at the marina and got set in place. Louise went off to do laundry, while I broke out the pressure washer and scrub brush and cleaned the front and side decks of the boat. Louise was in the laundry area for a long time, and later I found out she was playing with a large jumping spider that had visited her. 

Eventually all the laundry got done, and I went for a walk around downtown, only to discover that most of it was closed. Seems that in a lot of cottage country towns people take a day off on Mondays. After grabbing a shower on the boat, we went to Boston Pizza for dinner.

The next morning we were planning to take a run outside the small craft channel, so we were up by 5:30. Had breakfast and coffee, then got the boat ready to move. I filled the water tanks, which were not really empty, but one thing you learn on a boat is to not wait for shit to happen. We were off the dock just after 7:00 and made our way up to Ojibway Island where we anchored in an enclosed bay near Eureka point.

Initially there was one other boat there, but after about a half hour they left so we had the place all to ourselves. Louise decided to go swimming (bathing suit optional), but as soon as she was ready to come out of the water, another boat showed up. Not only that, but there was no wind and so our boat was swinging so our stern was fully visible to the other boat. A bit of magic with a towel - now you see me now you don't - and she made it on board. Spent most of the rest of the day on the flybridge enjoying the nice weather. 

A lot of the rocks here have an orange coating. I initially thought it was iron ore, as from a distance it sometimes is in a kind of banded layer, but Louise pointed out that it was lichen. 

Every day on the boat I check the weather at least 3 times. I use a couple of apps to determine what it will be like (rainy, sunny, cloudy etc) and a couple of other apps that predict the wind and waves for the area. All these apps break down the forecast hourly, so you can plan whether it is better to move in the morning or afternoon for example. I check forecasts for the day, for the next day, and a few days out so we can make sure if bad weather is coming that we don't get caught. knowing the expected wind direction is also very valuable when selecting and anchoring spot, you don't want to get exposed in the middle of the night if the wind shifts.

When we made our initial plan for this stop, the forecast for the next day was looking really good, however over the course of the day, the forecast changed and we could now be looking at high winds and waves in the following afternoon on route to our next destination, the Bustard Islands. I took some extra time to place some waypoints for alternate anchorages in case there was no space on the Island. Based on the forecast, we had a weather window until about 13:00 the next day before the winds were to pick up, so it was important we had time to find a hiding spot before then. One concern about the Bustard anchorage was that we knew it was on the itinerary of the Maple Leaf Rendezvous, so it was very possible it would be packed. We knew they were heading out to Killarney, but did not know for sure if it would be today or the next day. Based on what they had been doing so far (we were always just behind them), we expected that they would move the same day we were moving, so we thought we would be good. But until you know you don't know.

Overnight there was a thunderstorm and the winds shifted. I don't think each of us slept very soundly, since we were both aware of the wind change, and also the anchor chain was very noisy when the wind shifted - the sound of the chain dragging across the bottom carries to the boat. It did this on our previous boats, but for some reason the sound is much louder on this boat, I guess because the chain is much larger. Or perhaps it was because we were expecting a wind shift and thunderstorm, so were sleeping less soundly. In any case, we did not move, and even had some trouble getting the anchor up the next morning as it had sucked its way down into the mud. I like this anchorage. Hope to come back here next year.

Next morning we were up early and treated to an early morning thunderstorm while we had breakfast, then we pulled up the anchor and set off. As I mentioned above, it was important for us to get an early start to get tucked in before the winds subsided.

The first hour of travel was protected and flat calm, as we were travelling on the inner small craft route. But then we passed the lighthouse at Pointe au Baril and the ride changed a bit. 

The barrel marking at Pointe au Baril.

In order to save time we decided to move offshore about 3 - 4 km to make the run north. This would allow us to run straighter and a bit faster than in the small craft route, since we could run straight and would not have any no-wake areas to slow us down. The winds increased steadily, and we were eventually in whitecaps. Was actually not too bad of a ride, as the waves were just off the bow, so we did not roll. As we went along, each time we came to a plan B bailout location we confirmed with each other that we were both comfortable to continue. Eventually we turned back inshore to re-join the small craft route so that we could enter our planned anchorage. When we made the final turn, we passed a small group of 4 boats. Two sailboats mixed in with a couple of home-made craft. The first one looked like a landing craft, no idea what the second was supposed to be.

As we were approaching the Bustard anchorage, we saw a steady stream of large boats leaving the inlet - the Maple Leaf crowd was leaving en route to Killarney. SCORE!

We pulled into the anchorage with only one other boat, and dropped our anchor. Great place to ride out some weather. A short while later four boats came in together and anchored using the shore tie method. They had it down to a science, the first boat came in together with two kids in their dingy. While the mothership anchored, the kids in the dingy went onto the shore and secured a line around some rocks. Once the big boat was anchored, the kids in the dingy took the shore line out to the big vessel and they tightened all the lines. Then the next boat came in and repeated the process, with the additional step of rafting to the boat already there. These guys were really good, they each hung back waiting their turn so nobody was crowded. Each member of each crew had a job to do, and it was obvious they were well-disciplined and practiced. It was like watching a military operation. Very impressive.

Only one other boat came in in the afternoon, so there was only a few of us in this big anchorage. It was very well protected from the outside winds, except for a narrow cut in the rocks that funneled some wind up the middle of the channel. This stiff breeze kept us swinging the whole time we were there that day. The weather was not great during the voyage to the anchorage or at anchor that day. Started out thunderstorms, then rain, then windy and grey (but warm). In the afternoon was sunny for about an hour, then got cold, grey and windy. Louise was hoping to do some exploring with the dingy - this anchorage is a perfect location for it, but it ain't got no gas in it, so we napped in the afternoon, and then cleaned up the salon. We had been using the front shelf as a general catch-all for projects and things for the boat, and so it was becoming piled high with junk. We sorted through it and cleaned out all the dust and dead bugs, then put back the stuff that should be there (binoculars, headsets, spare radios etc), but now the space was organized. Looks awesome. Wonder how long it will stay that way?

Louise caught this amazing sunset picture. Looks like lava coming through the gap. Really like how the two trees look like they are on fire.

Woke up the next morning after having slept in until 6. Using binoculars, we could see the whitecaps on the big water outside the entrance to the anchorage. The forecast was for diminishing wind and waves that morning, so we planned to take our time and leave closer to noon, expecting a 3 to 4 hour trip. The winds definitely were lighter than the previous day. When we arrived and got on anchor, the wind was coming through the small cut you see above (it faced west and the winds were north to north-west), causing the boat to swing and fish-tail on the anchor and blowing our flags pretty straight. In the morning, the flags were not moving much, and we were not wiggling any more. The winds were supposed to be more westerly that morning on the forecast, so this was a good sign that the winds had diminished overnight. 

We had made a reservation at Roque's marina in Killarney for that night, but wanted to extend it over the weekend so that Louise could visit her sister. There was no cell service where we were, so we could not call them, so decided to set out and figure it out on the way. We left the anchorage around 10 and found that the winds had fallen off and the waves had mostly diminished. As we passed north of the island, we could see the wet marks on the rocks where the big waves had washed up the previous night. No wonder nothing grows close to the water here. When dry you can see the pink clean granite rock. Very pretty! 

The waves were washing up 4 to 5 feet the previous night. Water looks calm in this photo, but the waves were still about a foot high, so it was wavier than it looks.

During the trip the ride changed several times. Coming out of the anchorage we had light winds and fairly small waves. These waves were "rollers" with a long period (distance between peaks), and also were coming from the beam (side) so we were gently rolling along. About an hour into the trip, the sun came out and the waves turned "sparkly". By this time the waves were also more on the bow, and so we went from rolling to pitching, again on long-period rollers. As we continued, the wind picked up and now there were whitecaps and the waves became choppy. The wind was now blowing the waves towards us, so the ride got a bit rougher and every once in a while we had some spray from over the bow. Still, it was a lot less rock-n-roll than we had experienced coming out of Beausoleil island.

When we left the anchorage to head west, initially we could not see any land in that direction, but slowly the tops of the LaCloche mountains appeared and then eventually the shore line. The LaCloche mountains are a very old formation on the Canadian shield that has been eroded by glaciers. Very striking to see them, as they are a mix of green trees with sections of white quartz visible in steep areas. Interesting to watch how the mountains appear and seem to "float" above the water until the shore gets close enough to see.

We were travelling about 4 km offshore, so we were very surprised to see a straight line of foam stretching across our path as we passed the western channel of the French river. Not completely sure, but this really looked like some kind of artifact from the river mixing with the bay, even this far out from land. Quite amazing to see.

Louise decided to try contacting the marina to see if we could extend our reservation for four nights. I did not believe she could get a cell signal this far from land, but she managed to contact them. After speaking with the guy at the marina, all was good, we were told we could spend 4 nights there no problem.

The waves were slowly increasing in size as we passed Collins inlet, and we now had lots of whitecaps, but once we made the turn near Scarecrow island, the wind died down and the whitecaps disappeared. Making the final approach to Killarney, we could see the wind approach over the water, as a line of whitecaps suddenly seemed to "flow" past us, and we were now in choppy water again. Finally, we entered the Killarney channel, and the wind and waves died down to nothing. During the 4 hour trip across Georgian bay it seemed like the weather and waves kept changing about every 45 minutes or so. What is more, we could see the weather approaching us as the water state changed with the approaching wind above it.

We entered the Killarney channel from the east side, and contacted Roque's marina on VHF. They gave us our slip assignment, and we trundled down the channel. There was a sailboat coming in to the marina just in front of us, but on the other side of the marina from where our dock was supposed to be. We watched them dock with help from a couple of people on the docks. The dock people then moved to the other end of the harbour, where we had stopped to wait., to show us our slip. They showed us where to come in, and we got docked and tied up. There were only a few plugs available, so I spent a few minutes making sure we could get shore power (we need two 30 amp out-of-phase outlets).

Once we were set up we went into the office to pay, only to find out that our call to the marina in the morning was completely mangled. Instead of extending our stay from Thursday night only to stay 4 nights Thursday-to-Monday, the person Louise spoke to had changed our reservation from Thursday night to Monday night. To add to the fun, the lady at the desk told us they did not have space for us to stay the four nights, they were fully booked for the weekend. Uh-oh. We were OK for Thursday night, but she did not have enough dock space for us to stay longer. It turned out this weekend there was a big fish-fry event going on in the town, and everyone was coming in to join in.

She told us to leave it with her for a bit, and she would see if she could figure something out. About an hour later she stopped by the boat to tell us all was good and we were fine to stay the four nights. She had found a way to shuffle boats around on the docks so that we could stay. We ended up moving our boat forward about 6 feet to make space for a 30 footer that would arrive behind us the next day. Big shout out to Mary at Roque's marina for finding a way. The people here were extremely friendly, and we really appreciated that they went out of their way to make it work for us.

Louise and I walked around a bit and got some ice cream, then Mich, Dom, the kids and Lilliane arrived and we all went for dinner at Herbert's Fisheries. The only thing they serve is fish & chips, and the fish is fresh - we saw the boat come in about 2 hours before dinner with the catch of the day. The place had started out as a fish stand in a converted bus many years ago, serving fresh-caught fish literally from the boat, and now has a dining room and even a second location in Sudbury.

After dinner, everyone left, Louise included. There is a bunch of people coming to Mich's camp this weekend, and Louise wanted to go. I am staying behind on the boat with Eevee, with a list of boat-chores to do.

Boat name of the day: MotorBoat'n Tatas

First Days on Georgian Bay

We decided to take a day off and hang around in the marina. Really nice marina, but isolated, there is nothing nearby. After arriving, fuelling up, and getting set in our slip, we went for a swim in their pool, and then I walked around in their chandlery for a bit.

The next morning we took our time getting up, and then set off to the grocery store to get some provisions. For the next week or two we will not be able to do a lot of shopping, so needed to make sure we had what we would need in terms of food. As mentioned above, the marina was isolated, it was a 2 km walk each way to the grocery store. For this trek, we brought our cart with us. Many boaters use carts or wagons to haul things on foot. We did some searching around before we left Ottawa and found a nice one at LeeValley. Light and small. Louise also decided to try out her walking sticks, actually ski poles with rubber tips. She found it made the walk much more comfortable, as it kept her back straight while she walked.

After getting back to the boat, I caught up with some chores. I sealed the Starlink wire and transom plate from the davit install properly. I had been using duct tape for a temporary fix, which helped us blend in with the yachtie types, but was not a long-term solution. I also changed the fuel filter on the generator for the first time. This has been on my list for quite a while, but keeps getting superseded by other priorities. Although simple, this was one of those jobs I wanted to do with mechanic help nearby, in case I ran into problems priming the system. All went well, and now that I know how to do it, will be able to do so without hanging around places with mechanics.

We then conducted an audit of our inventory. We had created an XL spreadsheet listing the stuff we had stored, how much was there and where it was located. All our stuff is in plastic bins located in various places around the boat, however when we did the original inventory, some things got mixed up and we could not find them.

By doing the audit we were able to sort out our missing stuff (one or two things are still missing - they are on the boat but we don't know where) and now our inventory is more or less accurate.

Had various leftovers for supper. 

Time to plan for the next couple of days. I broke out the charts to help do this, and of course Eevee had to help.

The next morning we treated ourselves to bacon & eggs for breakfast instead of our quick oatmeal and fruit, then set about getting the boat ready to move. We had checked for possible anchorages the night before, so all we needed to do was confirm the wind and weather forecasts, and we were good to go. Started out pretty smooth coming out of Midland, but once we exited the bay we were exposed to the big water and things got more nautical. 

Cruise ship docked at Midland.

We were going through about 2 foot waves, pretty much nose-on, and were starting to slam into them a bit. I reduced speed to a more comfortable ride, but Eevee was not happy at all. She meowed a lot, and then went and hid in the spare room. Sometime during the trip she puked on the carpet (of course) near our bed. I know because I stepped in it later - barefoot - squishy between the toes.

Eevee decided to be co-pilot coming out of Midland, but once the ride got rougher she took a break.

Once we got closer to Beausoleil island, the waves eased out and we were back on a smooth ride. We went all the way to Chimney bay, then swung around looking for a place to stop. We finally decided to stop at McCabe rock.

The docks were only about 30 feet long, so we had to spring our stern out. Some boaters who were already on the island came out to help, and kept us from hitting our nose on the T-dock (too hard). We visited with them for a bit, then went upstairs to the flybridge and both of us crashed. We slept for quite a bit, then made some hamburgers for supper. Louise used some leftover bacon (I know, how do we have leftover bacon?) and so we had bacon cheeseburgers. Yum. It really cooled off in the evening, and we were both in hoodies by the time supper rolled  

Next morning we were up early as usual, but had to suffer with no coffee! OMG! When you are on the docks here, there is a rule that you cannot use generators before 8 am, so we were kind of strung out on caffeine withdrawal until 8. We survived, and cranked up the genny to make coffee and breakfast. After we ate, we secured up and got underway. Again, the people on the docks came out to give us a hand. Very nice.

The forecast for that day was for west winds, so we were expecting to get rocked at one point, but this would only be for a short time.

We set off on the small craft route past Honey harbour and headed north towards our target for the day, Indian harbour. The first 2 hours of the trip were pretty easy, as the small craft channel is fairly protected here. However, we eventually came out from behind the islands, and got hit with some 2 foot waves on the big water. During the first part of the drive, we were on the flybridge to catch the view, but the wind was pretty cold so I decided to drive from the lower helm. Louise had her hoodie on, so decided to stay on the flybridge.

Unfortunately, we were headed north through a narrow area, with waves coming from the west. I zig-zagged as best I could to avoid getting hit beam-on, but we rolled pretty good a few times. Louise was pretty uncomfortable up top, and texted me asking me to heave-to so she could come down (I think we need some kind of intercom). Eevee was pretty freaked out and yowled a few times. Louise kept her company to clam her down. To add to the fun, this was the first day of the Maple Leaf Rendezvous, so we were being passed by huge motor yachts (50 + feet) plowing massive wakes. The wakes were way worse than the waves from Georgian bay! One looper boat (Act III) called us channel 16 to arrange a slow pass - thank you.

We made it into Indian Harbour and found that there were only 2 boats anchored there. We set our anchor and were done travelling for the day.

Louise went swimming, while I set up the dingy to take it for a test drive. Louise spent quite a while in the water, and went all around the boat with a microfibre cloth cleaning the waterline. 

After a bit of messing around with the davits, we figured out how to use the davits to lower the motor onto the dingy. Once we were rigged up, I checked to make sure there was gas in the tank. Yup, there is gas. And off we went to try out our dingy and motor for the first time. What could possibly go wrong?

We drove for about 300 meters before we decided we would need a bigger motor. The 3.5 hp is light, and so easy to handle, but it was very slow. We had a good laugh over how fast we both decided we would need a bigger motor. Anyways, we went off around the island behind us to see how things worked. All was going great, we only almost grounded out once. The rocks here are incredible, you have to constantly check the water for depth changes. 

Lots of Inukshuks everywhere.

The shoreline is very distinctive. Rocks, then growing stuff. Lots of cliffs and boulders left over from the glaciers.

Once we got back in sight of the mothership, I opened up the throttle to max, and we roared along at trolling speed, almost making a wake, at which point the motor stopped. I checked the tank - out of gas. I guess I should have measured how much gas was in the tank, there was gas in there, but just enough to cover the bottom of the tank when we left.

I broke out the oars and started rowing. Meanwhile a guy from one of the other boats got in his dingy and offered to tow us. We told him we were OK as the distance was not large, and so I rowed and he motored slowly beside us as we chatted.

Back on the boat I noticed a fitting on the davits was loose, so fixed this, and checked over the rest of the system to make sure all was good.

We hung out on the flybridge and read, enjoying the day. Louise found the wind a bit too cool for swimming in the evening. Had a bit of an issue with the anchor light, but found the issue quickly - just a bit of corrosion, and we turned in for the night. Its amazing how things suddenly stop working due to electrical connection issues. You need to use every system on a fairly regular basis to make sure it stays working. Normally, I try to run everything on the boat at least once a month whether we need it or not to make sure all is OK, but think I will now increase this frequency to every couple of weeks. 

The next morning was a bit windier, you could hear the wind howling and waves slamming on the other side of the island we were anchored behind. GPS showed we were right were we should be so that’s good, no anchor drag over the night. We were swinging a bit more than the previous day as the wind was more westerly and stronger, and we were feeling more of it. One really nice thing about being at anchor is that we can run our generator any time we want. Sparked it up as soon as we got out of bed around 5:30 and enjoyed coffee while we watched the sun come up.

We enjoyed the morning, then moved the boat a little. We were in a well-protected spot from east winds, and had no issues that day or night, even though the offshore winds were heavy. However, the forecast had the winds shifting to north-east in the middle of the night, so we moved away from shore a bit to give us plenty of swing room when the winds clocked that evening. 

In the early morning there was a fleet of bass boats that ripped through, must be a fishing tournament based south of us. The fishermen race to get to their secret spot, then race back to get their catch weighed. We saw the fleet twice, early morning and then about 3:30 in the afternoon it picked up again going the other direction. A few big boats early in the morning, I guess late arrivals for the Maple Leaf Rendezvous.

Spent most of the day relaxing on the flybridge. This anchorage reminded me a lot of Upper Duck Island. It is in a wide and protected part of the small craft channel, and so there has been a steady stream of boats and wakes all day. No issues for us since we are on anchor, and I actually like a bit of wake when anchored. I guess it just brings back lots of memories of anchoring on the Ottawa river with friends from RYC.

Around 4 the winds really picked up and swung to the north. A few of the other boats in the anchorage pulled up anchor and moved to more protected locations. We toughed it out, and the winds subsided after dinner. Our anchor was well-set, and we did not move at all. Nice having a big Mantus anchor and heavy chain.

The next morning the winds were now from the north-east, and all the boats in the anchorage had swung. Glad we had moved the previous day, as we would have been up against the rocks otherwise. 

This shows our track from the chartplotter. The loop at the bottom is approximately where our anchor was set the first night - winds from the bottom. The blob just above that is our track for the first day and night, as we wet back about 80 feet from our anchor spot. In the morning of the second day, we pulled up our anchor and set it in the space in the middle of all the blobs. The blobs at the top show our track for the second day. You can see the blobs track clockwise, as the winds shifted clockwise. Had we not moved, we would have been in shallow water the second morning. When we are anchor, I keep the chartplotter on and tracking, this way we have an easy way to monitor how well the anchor is working. Blobs are good, loops are bad. We also set an audible alarm that warns us if we stray outside a certain radius from the anchor, valuable to warn you in the middle of the night if something lets go.

We took our time in the morning, as the plan was to try to get a dock on Frying Pan island for the night. Boats normally leave docks in the morning, and so turnaround time is usually around 10 or 11. By leaving at about 9, we felt we should get there with the best chance of getting a dock space.

Had to pull on the anchor for a bit, and it came up covered with clay. Hosed it off, and off we went. It was a very different travel day for us. The water was flat and calm, and we cruised along mostly by ourselves. We got to Henry's around 11, and there were only 2 boats on the dock. We called on the radio to get a slip for the night, and the dock guy came out and set us up at the very front of the dock (near the shore) so he could maximize his space on the dock. By the time we were set up and plugged in the docks were full of boats! The restaurant was opening soon and everyone was coming in for lunch. We paid for our slip, and got some ice cream. The boats going by make lots of wakes, very few boats slow down. Reminds me of a sunny Saturday at RYC. Tomorrow the plan is to head to Parry Sound.

Exit the Trent

Louise abandoned Eevee and I at the Port of Orillia. 

Her sister Micheline picked her up and the two of them set off for Toronto. Louise plays Pokemon Go, and there was an "event" happening this weekend. Apparently, these events work best in large cities, so they set off for T.O. for a girl's weekend.

I think she caught 'em all.

I was left behind on the boat with a list of boat projects. YES! (Don't kid yourself - Bill was in heaven)

One of them was laundry. Nooooo.

First on the list was our alternator replacement. When the boat was launched in the spring in Albany, the alternator was mis-behaving. The mechanic at the marina told us he could get it rebuilt in a couple of days. I took the alternator out to speed the process (he had to get it to the repair shop by noon to be able to get a quick turnaround), and off it went to be rebuilt. At the time I had discussed with him the idea of just replacing it with a new one, but he assured me it would be much cheaper to rebuild than buy new. Unfortunately, I forgot the golden rule, and did not ask the magic question "how much cheaper?". Anyways, it got put back in the boat, and we were able to leave Albany on time to get the boat back to Ottawa. All this happened last year.

Fast forward to this year. When we had our 2000 hour service done on the engine, the mechanic told me that the alternator appeared to be too big for the engine. Physically too big. He said that after he adjusted the belt tension, that the alternator was too close to the motor mount. This could be problematic because if we ever had to put a big load on the engine, the engine would twist on the motor mounts (which is normal) but when it was done twisting the alternator could rebound and strike the engine mount. This would be bad for not only the alternator, but for the engine mounts, and various other components on the front of the engine ($$$$). 

The alternator is the big object on the left, attached to the engine. Looked like it came from a Soviet tractor. The bottom flat part is about 1/32" from the motor mount. Danger!

To make a long story shorter, we decided to replace the alternator with a new, smaller one. I decided to do it right and go with a Balmar alternator with an external regulator. I did some research over a couple of days, and then we ordered the stuff we needed from Amazon of all places (much cheaper than boat stores and way faster delivery). Got pissed when we realized that the new Balmar, with all the trimmings, was going to be cheaper than our Albany dinosaur rebuild. Break Out Another Thousand. 

We received all of the parts except the alternator itself within 3 days, before we left Ottawa. The alternator was delivered to Donna, Louise's sister, just before we arrived in Kingston a couple of weeks ago. Mike and Suzie were kind enough to drive it down to us, and so we had all the parts we needed in Kingston.

I had never replaced something like this on an engine before, so decided to do it in a place with nearby mechanics in case I got in over my head, so we carried the parts around with us for a week or so. During this time, I was careful to throttle up and throttle down very slowly so as to limit any twisting of the engine on the mounts. I also took time to study the install, and also prepared to program the regulator. To the uninitiated, a regulator is a small computer that controls how much power the alternator puts into the batteries. On a car, these devices are pretty simple, because you just need to refill the starter battery as you drive and power the car's equipment. The battery bank on our boat is large and somewhat expensive, so the regulator we were using controlled various things on the system, including battery and alternator temperature, voltages, and belt wear to maintain the correct voltage and amperage to the batteries. For all of this, the website MARINE HOW TO was invaluable. There were 4 or 5 really good articles about the topic on the site, and I read all of them several times, making notes as I went so that when the time came, I could do the install properly. Now was that time.

I started out the project by programming the regulator. This turned out the be pretty easy if tedious, thanks to the excellent tutorials, cheat sheet and videos on the above website. Took just under an hour to program the regulator and install it. The interface was kind of like programming an old calculator, or perhaps the guidance computer on Apollo 13. For this I had a checklist and even a script so I would know the correct sequence. You program it using a magnet on a stick!

Now the wiring. I had to run 3 wires from the regulator to various components of the charging system. This took almost 7 hours. Part of the time was spent walking to Canadian Tire to pick up a fuse block (I did not want to use inline fuses for various reasons), which was 4 km away from the boat. The rest of the time was spent in various boat-yoga positions trying to get the wire loom secured on its route. I actually ran the wires twice, as the first route I chose turned out to be 1 foot too long for the battery temperature sensor, which I discovered when I was almost done. Love my job so much I do it twice.

Once the wires were all in place it was time to take out the old and put in the new. This part of the job scared me the most, as I had never done anything like it before, and was worried that my measurements would be off and I would screw up the engine. Turned out that the new alternator slid right into place. The only glitch I had was one of the mount holes on the new alternator was slightly out of round. This I fixed with some careful drill-bit-action.

As part of the install, I got a belt-buddy. This is a turnbuckle-type gadget that helps you set belt tension. Was I ever glad I bought this, made tensioning the belt super-simple. By the time I finished, it was getting late, I had worked from 7 am to 8 pm, so I decided to get some sleep before test running it.

Got up the next morning, and checked all the connections, then did a "pre-flight" test on the regulator to check voltages and program settings. Started up the engine. ITS ALIVE. Worked perfectly, and lots of clearance Clarence.

Spent the rest of the morning adding a second drain to our air conditioner. Normally these drain at the aft end, but our boat has a slight port list, and so condensation water was accumulating on the port side of the pan and overflowing. Adding a drain to this side would prevent this, and it did.

Rest of my day was spent cleaning up and having a nap. Louise made it back to the boat after supper, and we turned in for the night.

Next morning we were up bright and early. We were hoping to make it close to the Big Chute railway that day, and Louise wanted to get some laundry done before we left. She went off to do laundry and shower, while I enjoyed my second coffee of the day. Got a text from Louise, she had forgotten her towel. I texted back that I was on the way, but she told me not to bother as she had taken the access key and I could not get in the marina building. Did I mention that she discovered she had no towel AFTER she had showered? Turns out she had also forgotten her soap. She showered using hand soap from the bathroom dispenser, and dried herself with her shorts. Ahhh, boating life.

Back on the boat we got secured and set off across lake Couchiching to start our adventure for the day. The plan was to get to the Washago CNR swing bridge by about 9:30 to get the first opening. While we were in the middle of the lake on autopilot, I made some checks on the alternator voltage and amperage. Everything looked great.

We arrived right on time to see a line-up of about 6 boats. Apparently, there was heavy train traffic, and the first opening would not be until 11-ish. A few of the boats were turning around to wait in more open water, and we decided to do so as well. Turned out there was a marina nearby, and 3 of us opted to wait on their gas dock. Each boat got fuel to compensate the marina, while we got a pumpout. We wanted to get fuel as well, but events intervened.

While we were on the dock we visited with the other two boats, both loopers. Just after the dock staff moved us up to the fuel station, a thunderstorm hit, so the dock staff had to run for cover. I rushed upstairs to close up the canvas on the flybridge, and Louise went in to pay. It was getting closer to 11 by that time, and we did not think there would be time to get fuel before the bridge, so we apologized to the dock staff, and told them we would forgo the fuel-up.

You can see us on weather radar in this image. We are under the red dot.

The three boats set off. The first boat went ahead, while we were third in line out of the marina. Turned out we got shut out at the bridge. It had opened at about 10:45, and the boats hovering there made it through, including the first boat that had left the marina we were at! We had gone slower behind the boat in front of us and were now stuck here for a while (sign flashed next opening at 12:30). We hovered for about 45 minutes before a train went by. Then waited some more. Finally the bridge opened around 12, no warning lights or bells or anything, just swung. I put the hammer down to make sure we made it through before they closed the bridge behind us.

Made it to the next lock in time for another thunder storm. The lock staff told us to tie up (we were four boats by this time) and wait out the thunder. When the storm eased, the lockmaster came out to give us instructions, and in we went. We were the second boat in the lock.

Locking was uneventful, and as second in we were second out. The boat in front of was going slow through a narrow zone with lots of cottages, so good idea to not make a wake, however he overdid it a bit. We were in a following current, which added about 2 kmph to our speed. If using a GPS as a speedometer (which I do and I assumed so did the guy in front) this means you can go a little faster than normal before you start making a wake. But anyway.

The boat behind us lost patience and passed us in the narrow channel. He was starting to pull a big wake to get past, so I throttled down to idle to let him pass. Once past us, he was stuck behind the first boat, and at that point I think he realized he was stuck following slower boats.

Our little flotilla meandered along until we got to the next obstacle of the day, the Hamlet swing bridge. The approach was around a curve, and there was a sign saying to sound horn 3 times to request bridge opening. No horn from first boat. No horn from second boat. As we came around the corner, I hit the horn 3 times to make sure the bridge knew we were coming. Glad I did.

As we rounded the corner we could see the bridge was closed, and the two boats in front of us were stopped and hovering. I shifted into reverse to stop, but we didn't stop! Turns out this was a heavy current zone! Our stern was pulled sideways in the narrow channel with visible rocks on both sides. Bit of throttle to get control, and eventually we made it through the current and got straightened out, but were now very close to the boat in front. The boat behind us saw this and put on the brakes before the really bad current, but he got caught in a swirl and shoved right over against one of the banks. At this point, the bridge started to open, so we could move forward out of the swirling water but holy cow! I hit pucker factor 10 on that one, even made a couple of diamonds I think.

Once we got out into Sparrow lake things opened up and all the boats increased to about 15 kmph. We were slightly faster than the boat that passed us, and so passed him back in the middle of the lake to retake second place.

Here and there we passed more heavy current zones. The water was high, and it was a following current, which tends to grab the stern and yank it to one side. Nasty. But now we had better spacing, so there were no more diamonds made.

At the approach to the lock we were passed by an express cruiser running on max plow. Got wobbled a bit with wake and some dishes went flying. Guess we have gotten complacent about putting things away before travelling. This boat is very stable, and we don't get slammed like our older boat, but we got slammed today. Learning experience.

Arrived at the lock, we were third in line, and they only took three of us. A huge boat had appeared from nowhere, and passed the boat behind us just as we approached the lock. Turns out he was too big to fit. We locked down and tied to the empty grey line. However, after sitting for a while we decided to move to the grey inside the lock apron. The dam spillway was dumping huge amounts of water, which created a very heavy turbulence. We did not mind the motion too much, but I did not want to sand the fenders on the concrete all night.

Huge lock, similar rise to the one in Smith's falls.

The spillway was just tunderin.

View from the top.

Just a few stairs to get to the top.

As the next down lockage came out we got waked by the huge mystery boat as he did not wait to crank up the RPMs until he was passed the tied up boats. WFT bro?

Had a nice spaghetti dinner and turned in for the night. 

Woke up in the morning to a thunderstorm. This lock station was very isolated and dark. We were awake at 5 and I got up to watch the light show, thunderstorms have always been one of my favourite things. The view of the dam was also spooky. There were floodlights on the spillway, which was raging and full of mist. The photo does not capture the spooky part, but trust me, it was spooky.

Since we were up so early, we decided to get an early start. The forecast was for rain all morning, which often makes for good travel days since most other boats stay put. We got underway at 7 am, and made it to the next lock, the Big Chute, at 8 a.m. The blueline was empty, so we would be first in line for the day.

Interesting to watch the start-up sequence for the day. Only one operator got on the railroad, and they ran it all the way from one side of the railroad to the other to test it. When they put it into the water, they also tested each sling, and ran it a different speeds. Then, one of the lockmasters walked under the tram and inspected various components. Once the operator and lockmaster were satisfied, the tram returned to the side of the lock station and the rest of the lock staff got aboard.

They got on the loudspeaker and told us to move to the centre-rear of the tram. As we entered, they used the bow strap to stop the last of our forward motion. The lock master checked with me about the boat size, location of the engine and running gear. They used an underwater camera to check everything, and since we were relatively deep draft, told us our keel would be resting on the tram. We ended up with the stern of our boat hanging over the end of the car, I think Louise was a bit surprised to look over the stern. Once we were in place, one of the lock staff climbed down a ladder and inspected the bottom of our boat, and announced all was good. 

Entering the tram. You can see the underwater camera screen to the lockmaster's left.

With all the exercise (boat yoga and walking) + hot weather boat diet, I'm losing my gut!

About 8 feet of our boat was overhanging the tram end.

Checking the keel.

So over we went. Very freaky. The boat did not stay perfectly level. Initially we were slightly bow up, then after the crest went slightly bow down. Very un-natural sensation. 

Once we made it back to the water they told us to start up our engine. I checked the exhaust to make sure we were pumping water out, then we powered out and away. Wow! What an experience.

We were slightly bow-down going over the top.

Departing the tram.

Travel to the next lock was pretty quiet. The Port Severn lock is the smallest we have seen anywhere. I guess they had budget cut-backs the year it was built. We locked down and out of the Trent. Again, a very heavy following current through the skinny channel and then we were in Georgian bay.

Last lock for a while.

Start of Georgian bay. The current was ripping past the buoys here.

The channel markers were interesting here, they changed three times in the space of about 5 km. As we were coming down the Trent, the red markers were on our left, as we were with the current. As we exited the last lock the reds were now on our right through the tug channel, but switched back to our left just south of Port Severn in Balise Chenal. Tricky. We increased RPMs and set off for Midland.

Got in around noon, got filled up with fuel, and docked in for the day. Had to clear an air-lock from our air conditioner pump. When they lifted us out of the water for the railway, our underwater plumbing all emptied out. The engine pump uses a rubber impeller and is self-priming, but air conditioner pumps are centrifugal, so sometimes get air-locked. Hung out in the pool, and did some chores, but basically took it easy for the rest of the day.

Supper required three cooking devices (induction, microwave and air fryer). The air fryer has been a great addition to the boat. We have not used the barbecue since we brought it onboard. Even makes julienne fries (does not slice or dice though).