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
