A change in plans found us spending last night in Little Current. I found a barber for my first haircut since June, and Pam found a grocery store. A good stop!
A pretty day met us as we headed out of Little Current. The seas were calm and all was well until we were invaded by bugs! There must have been a zillion of them! Here we were in open water with no land close by and bugs so thick you could only talk by keeping your lips sealed. We both sounded like a pair of kazoo's.
The bugs kept up with us as we explored the anchorage at Croker Island and looked around the Benjamin's. It wasn't until we decided to head to Gore Bay and run a bit faster that we shook most of the pests.
Anchored in Gore Bay and secured we dropped the dinghy in the water and went to town. We found a grocery store, a hardware store, a couple restaurants, and an LCBO (liquor store). A quiet little town with everything condensed into a small area.
Back to the boats, we finished the day with cocktails aboard Coconuts where we celebrated Pam's B-day with a delicious pie that Sandy had picked up at the store in Gore Bay.
8/7/11 Sunday Happy Birthday Dad!
That's right. Back to back birthdays for Pam and Lew. Easy for me to remember that way.
The forecast called for rain and waves of one half meter building to one meter later in the afternoon. Not great but not terrible so off we went. The rain forecast was on the money starting not long after we cleared the harbor. Occasionally we could see lightning in the distance but it eventually passed south of us.
The waves started out as predicted but as the day grew on they started to build past the one meter stage making it a rock & roll ride that had us holding on every time we moved around on the boat.
Before it got bumpy.
With the wind out of the NE we had limited options for anchoring or marinas that would offer us protection. While researching this stretch we found a spot called Pilot Cove on Drummond Island that looked perfect. The Ports book described it as secluded, bigger than it looked in the picture, and a narrow entrance that in 2010 had allowed boats with a 6' draft to enter. Pilot Cove here we come. We splashed our way across the North Channel and arrived outside Pilot Cove's location only to find that the entrance wasn't readily visible. Closer in we went, since the charts showed good water right up to shore. Finally I spotted it and slowed the boat to an idle. This was going to be tricky. Making a quick assessment I decided to hug the port side upon entering and go in on one engine to keep our forward speed at a minimum. 10 feet. 7 feet. 6 feet. 4 feet. 3 feet under the keel with boulders on our starboard that were too close for comfort. Once inside the depth went back up to 10' under the keel but there was barely enough room to turn the boat around. We quickly positioned Tourist and dropped the anchor. We then ran a line to shore from the stern and also from the bow. Not very wide at all and certainly not what we had been led to believe from the description in the book. It was however flat calm with little trace of the wind that was howling on the open water.
Our running mate wasn't as lucky upon entering and ticked a prop on the rocks. Once both boats were secured we dinghied back to the entrance to sound it and mark it with floats so we could get out safely the next morning.
The anchorage was calm except for the disturbance made by the resident beaver who was very upset with our invasion of his space. After swimming around slapping his tail in the water he retreated to land where he sat for hours watching us. Later on we spotted a deer on shore eating her way around the cove.
8/8/11 Monday We inched our way out of Pilot Cove and worked our way around the north shore of Drummond Island to the Drummond Island Yacht Haven (http://www.diyachthaven.com/) to clear U.S. customs and check out the prop on Coconuts. The customs agents came right to the boat and after a few questions we were officially back home! We originally planned on continuing on to DeTour Village for the night but decided to stay here. Only problem. No cell service. We can't even text! For weeks we have been looking forward to getting back in the states so we would have full use of our phones and computer. Not to be. Welcome home.
For $12.00 we rented one of the vehicles from the marina and went to dinner at the Northwood Restaurant which turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
8/9/11 Tuesday Strong thunderstorms moving through our intended path of travel kept us in port today so maintenance took the stage. First up get the shop vac out and suck up the bugs in the engine room. Yuck!Second, change the sea water impeller on the generator. Only 100 hours on it. What's up with that? Next tighten a fitting on the dripless shaft seals. Last, change the duck valves on the macerator pump for the master head. Double Yuck! One thing about a boat, there's always something to do.
Later in the day the Coconuts crew joined us for cocktails and we proceeded to drink our dinner.
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