Clay
and I had an awful time getting up Thursday morning after intermittent
overnight storms not only disrupted our sleep here at anchor in King Bay but
had us vertical and closing doors, windows and portholes, significantly
curtailing airflow in the cabin! Once up, my generator lesson of last evening
continued with a review over breakfast (I now have to understand and remember
that my microwave uses 920 watts; toaster oven, 1200 watts; coffee pot,
900 watts; etc) after which we pulled anchor and motored toward Frying Pan
Island for lunch at well-renowned Henry’s Fish Restaurant. Not only did we
enjoy a delicious lunch, but we delighted in a mini-rendezvous with Looper
friends Sherry and Preston (Sojourner) and Darcy and Wally (Summertime).
Lunch was much more fun than breakfast!
Shortly
after leaving Henry’s, our reservation (wait listed) for Big Sound Marina in
Parry Sound Harbor was confirmed. Earlier morn I had requested a reservation
there only to be told their harbor was full with twenty-five on the wait list.
Uh-oh! But the good news of our slip confirmation now defined our destination,
so off we motored through charted Georgian Bay waters. By this day two, Clay
and I had reached a comfort level with Georgian Bay, its charted courses, rock
obstacles and shoals. And, the beautiful weather and calm waters far surpassed
any concerns we might currently have. Of course, we also understand that can
change in a heartbeat (or something quite close to that).
Clay,
in particular, was overjoyed to see Trawler Life and Heart Tug docked
in port at Big Sound Marina as we snugged into slip A-9 just past the
break wall. I apologized to the dock hands when Clay eased into the wide slip
accommodating two boats smack in the middle. This inconvenient-at-best position
reminded me of early Loop days and dear dock master Sherry in Brunswick, GA,
who knew her stuff, handled Clay’s ‘driving’ like a pro (she was), and
single-handedly used SaSea’s spring lines to finalize a poor start to docking.
Clay, get with it! Where did this habit come from? I think Clay must have lost
focus on docking, thinking ahead as he must have been to reuniting with
captains Michael (Trawler Life) and Randy (Heart Tug), with whom
we’d had such fun at Port Severn dock tails. (After 37+ years of marriage, I
know my hubby pretty darn well! And, sharing close quarters aboard SaSea Sally
for two-plus years has only enhanced that knowledge!) P.S. Clay is so sweet to
tolerate/enjoy leftovers which was the menu item of choice this evening; of
course, he didn’t suffer too much dining on last night’s ke-bobs made with
marinated beef tenderloin (Caroline, remember that purchase?), plentiful with
mushrooms (Clay loves them), green peppers, and zucchini (you all know the
story on that one).
Clay
was in seventh heaven (where ever did that term come from?) as we joined the
caravan of Heart Tug and Trawler Life departing Big Sound Marina
Friday morning. I was pretty happy myself (cloud nine?) because I love people
who make me laugh! And, Randy and Audrey, Michael and Cathy do just that. We
realized we were in for a treat over the next days that we would accompany them
on our journey. Loopers from FL, Michael (USMC) and Cathy (an adorable gal who
reminds me of both Carla and Rachel Starkey) are perpetually happy people who
make everyone around them happy as well. I like happy! With my current
situation of cold showers, bugs (you know the routine), I need and want happy
people surrounding me! And in particular, Randy and Michael feed off each other
with barbs, one-liners, and quick come-backs which keep each of them on their
toes and the rest of us smiling in response. (And, my wine glass is empty, so I
will refill (to the halfway mark, Sus) before typing any more; you see, I am
typing after the fact—can’t write about it, Walter, until it happens—on August
2 as we are at anchor in Thomas Bay, ON, near Killarney, ON).
As
we motored toward Franklin Island through Parry Sound, we peppered Randy with
questions about the scenery around us (for example, the veins on the rocks are
remnants of lava flow; the orange patches on the rocks are lichen) which he
answered with patience. We three boats were monitoring Channel 6 so as to be
able to remain in contact while traveling which was a good thing when Cathy
discovered her cell phone missing. That event forced a 180 by Trawler Life
as we and Heart Tug continued on, to be joined by Cathy and Michael once
the phone was recovered (it was).
We
reached the southwest of Franklin Island where Randy selected a protected
anchorage and proceeded to assist in Med (short for Mediterranean) anchoring
SaSea Sally for the duration of our stay here. A Med mooring requires the
setting of the bow anchor with the stern tied to shore (a big rock, a big tree,
a stake or ring bored into rock, etc) which negates the moored boat swinging
about an anchor. In their dinghy, Randy and Audrey traveled to shore where
Audrey secured our 90’ of line to a rock.
A
series of short firecracker-like noises a short while later elicited my
comment, “Wow, sounds like firecrackers going off; unusual here.” Those same
noises elicited action by Clay who bounded out of his salon chair to note our
stern line laying slack in the water with the rocks having broken free from
their nesting. My shouting Randy’s name got no response, but a boater nearby
was in his dinghy in a heartbeat offering assistance which I readily accepted.
With Clay at the helm and me at the stern to assist, the good Samaritan soon
had us securely tied to a 10” tree, noting the bigger the tree the
better; up here, tree root systems are shallow, and boats have been known
to uproot trees under these Med mooring circumstances (that’d really give me
something about which to worry, eh Dah Dah?)
The
rest of the day passed anti-climactically with the four of us enjoying
wine/beer and boat chatter on SaSea’s fly bridge where we were alert to Trawler
Life’s arrival for her first Med mooring experience. My, but we were
fortunate to have hooked up with this group to further our adventurous life and
to expand our knowledge base!
Saturday’s
travels had Heart Tug leading us toward the Bustards (a group of
islands), passing Pointe au Baril and through Hangdog Channel along the way. We
were elated to have an experienced boater leading the pack for it enabled
exploration of somewhat treacherous waterways littered with unmarked rocks,
shallowly-submerged islands and plentiful shoaling. I realize the fellows
thrilled in accepting the additional challenge of narrow channels with markers
barely 20’ apart though which each boat had to pass.
We
arrived at our selected anchorage in the Bustards between Strawberry and Tie
Islands and again snugged in for the overnight using our newly-discovered
preferred method of anchoring (Med mooring) in this Georgian Bay. Med mooring
keeps all of the boats aligned in neat order kind of like parallel parking;
this enables many more boats to share an anchorage than if anchored in the
swinging mode know to us. In the process of anchoring while Clay was assisting
me with an uncooperative hook lock, Clay’s foot slipped which caused his right
leg to disappear into the anchor compartment. When the leg emerged, Clay was
sporting a full shin length of a nasty abrasion which would keep him out of the
water for a few days. Donning my ‘Nancy Nurse’ hat, I would come to his rescue
(Clay wanted a dose of TLC), but not before we finalized the anchoring. What a
sport!
Our
days at this point have settled into a routine of sorts with my early morning
Nordic Tracking at the stern, all the while my eyes are appreciating the
gorgeous scenery and searching for bears and other critters known to wander
these parts. A quick breakfast usually follows after which we pull anchor and
cruise through these fabulously clear waters to our next anchorage of choice
(usually Randy and Audrey’s). We often meet for docktails aboard one of the
boats then go our separate ways for dinner and overnight. We share stories,
laugh over jokes and one-liners, and all-in-all enjoy each other’s company.
With
Sunday this last day of July designated as a stay-put day, we look forward to
new adventures that lie ahead. I will keep you apprised!
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